The 1900 Galveston Hurricane | An Absurd Delusion | 1

About this episode

The episode discusses the 1900 Galveston Hurricane and the failures in weather forecasting that led to the disaster.

At the turn of the 20th century, a booming cotton trade had made the Gulf Coast city of Galveston, Texas an economic powerhouse. Located just a few feet above sea level on a narrow barrier island, it was prone to flooding. But in a time before sophisticated weather forecasting, residents failed to grasp the danger lurking in their midst. In early September 1900, as a tropical storm gathered strength in the Caribbean Sea, Cuban forecasters warned that a powerful hurricane was charging toward Texas. But in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War, U.S. Weather Bureau officials had banned all weather-related telegrams from Cuba. Soon, the deadliest natural disaster in American history would strike Galveston without warning. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Topics covered

• natural disaster
• hurricane
• Galveston
• weather forecasting
• historical events

Keywords

• Galveston Hurricane
• natural disaster
• weather forecasting
• Cuban forecasters
• U.S. Weather Bureau

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: U.S. Weather Bureau, Cuban forecasters

Places: Galveston, Texas

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