1900 Galveston hurricane
The Great Galveston hurricane made landfall on September 9, 1900, near Galveston, Texas. It had estimated winds of at landfall, making the cyclone a Category 4 storm on the modern day Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale.
The hurricane caused great loss of life, with a death toll of between 6,000 and 12,000 people; the number most cited in official reports is 8,000, giving the storm the third-highest number of deaths or injuries of all Atlantic hurricanes, after the Great Hurricane of 1780 and Hurricane Mitch in 1998. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 is the deadliest natural disaster to strike the United States. This loss of life can be attributed to the fact that officials for the Weather Bureau in Galveston brushed off the reports because the city had "weathered them all" and they did not realize the threat. The second-deadliest storm to strike the United States, the San Ciriaco hurricane of 1899, caused around 3,400 deaths.
Meteorological history of Hurricane Maria
Hurricane Maria was the tenth-most intense Atlantic hurricane on record and caused catastrophic damage in Dominica and Puerto Rico in late September 2017. Originating from a tropical wave, it developed into a tropical depression on September 16 while situated to the east of the Lesser Antilles. Gradual intensification occurred over the next day or two and it strengthened into a tropical storm, which was named Maria. By late on September 17, Maria had intensified into a hurricane. As it approached the island arc, it underwent explosive intensification on September 18, with the hurricane reaching Category 5 intensity as it made landfall on the island of Dominica early on September 19. Land interaction weakened the storm somewhat, although it was able to quickly recover and later peaked that night with sustained winds of 175 mph (280 km/h) and a pressure of . Early the next morning it weakened to a high-end Category 4 hurricane before making landfall in Puerto Rico. Maria weakened significantly due to crossing the island, but was able to strengthen somewhat as it passed close to Hispaniola and The Bahamas on September 21–23. Structural changes in the hurricane as it moved further north and close to the Outer Banks in the United States ultimately caused Maria to weaken quickly. Turning away from the United States as a weakened tropical storm, it became extratropical on September 30, dissipating 3 days later.