Hurricanes and the Making of Caribbean History
The 1899 San Ciriaco hurricane1899 San Ciriaco hurricane hit Puerto Rico, whose economy relied on coffee. The crop had already been facing problems with a decrease in prices and competing countries, but the hurricane wiped out any chance of rebounding from the losses of the previous years. The winds stripped the berries from the trees and the coffee exports of 1899 were only 10 percent of the average export. The losses amounted to 12 million dollars in revenue from 1899 to 1901. This left a dismal outlook on the future for farmers. Sugar was also affected by the storm, although the results were not as drastic. Only a third of the sugar crop could be harvested in 1899, but the soil was reinvigorated. The storm only affected the older haciendas, which would have been retired soon regardless of the hurricane. This allowed for newer technologies to be introduced to the sugar system and U.S. involvement increased. Overall, San Ciriaco helped and hurt the agriculture of Puerto Rico.
Hurricane Otto
On November 12, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) first noted the potential for a low pressure area to develop in the southwestern Caribbean Sea, assessing a low probability for tropical cyclone formation within five days. After a convectively coupled Kelvin wave and several nearby tropical waves interacted with each other in the aforementioned area, atmospheric pressure in that region began falling on November 14, resulting in a broad low pressure area forming north of Colombia on November 15. The low moved slowly and erratically, with a disorganized structure and light winds, disrupted by unfavorable upper-level conditions. On November 19, the convection increased and became better organized, amid marginally favorable conditions. The Hurricane Hunters flew into the system on November 20, observing a well-defined circulation, and the system became a tropical depression at 18:00 UTC that day.
The nascent depression meandered over the southwestern Caribbean Sea, its path to the north blocked by a ridge. Thunderstorm activity continued to pulse over the center, and the inner core of convection became more organized. The depression intensified into a tropical storm by 06:00 UTC on November 21, receiving the name "Otto". The storm had well-established outflow to the northeast, fueled by warm water temperatures of around . After the convection organized into a central dense overcast, Otto became a strong tropical storm with 70 mph (110 km/h) winds, and maintained that intensity for about a day. On November 23, the storm reached hurricane intensity, and began a period of rapid intensification, reaching Category 2 intensity by 06:00 UTC the following day, with winds of 105 mph (165 km/h). Six hours later, Otto reached its peak intensity as a Category 3 major hurricane with winds of 115 mph (185 km/h), becoming the latest major hurricane on record in the satellite era. At 17:30 UTC, Otto made landfall over the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve in southeastern Nicaragua, roughly northwest of the Nicaragua–Costa Rica border at peak intensity. This marked the southernmost landfall of a hurricane in Central America since reliable records began, eclipsing Hurricane Irene–Olivia of 1971 by .