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.
List of storms in the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season
Vince made landfall on the Iberian Peninsula near Huelva, Spain on October 11 just after weakening to a tropical depression. Vince was the first tropical cyclone on record to make landfall in Spain. No damages or injuries were reported, aside from flooding in some areas.
Tropical Depression Twenty-four formed southwest of Jamaica on October 15 and was upgraded to a tropical storm on October 17. On October 18, the storm developed a tiny, well-defined eye and began intensifying rapidly, reaching Category 5 strength with a record-setting pressure of 882 millibars by October 19. The rapid intensification from tropical storm to category 5 hurricane in 24 hours was the fastest ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, and the second-fastest worldwide, after Super Typhoon Forrest. Wilma slowly drifted towards the Yucatán Peninsula, weakening slowly to a Category 4 before landfall on Cozumel and then the Yucatán coast on October 22. It drifted equally slowly over the peninsula, bringing heavy rain and wind to an area hit hard by Hurricane Emily only 3 months before; Hurricane Emily had also passed directly over Cozumel. After leaving the Yucatán as a Category 2 storm, the storm moved rapidly to the northeast and strengthened slightly, making landfall on southern Florida on October 24 as a Category 3 storm. After crossing Florida, Wilma reintensified to a Category 3 storm over the Gulf Stream but sped rapidly out into the Atlantic, and became extratropical shortly after absorbing the remnants of Tropical Storm Alpha (see below).