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 Ida
Light wind shear allowed Ida to quickly intensify as it slowly tracked towards the Nicaraguan coastline. Late on November 4, microwave satellite imagery depicted an eye-like featured forming within the storm. The storm tracked west-northwestward in response to a weak ridge over the north-central Caribbean Sea and a weak trough over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico; these features were also responsible for Ida's slow forward motion. Early on November 5, the storm intensified into a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale as it passed near the Corn Islands. At approximately 1117 UTC, the center of Ida made landfall near Rio Grande, Nicaragua, with winds of 80 mph (130 km/h). After the hurricane moved inland, the high mountains of Nicaragua caused the convection associated with the hurricane to diminish, resulting in rapid weakening. Roughly 18 hours after landfall, Ida weakened to a tropical depression as it turned northward over Honduras.