One hundred years ago, South Florida faced a hurricane season that would change Miami forever.
Historian and author Mike Bilder joins HurricaneCenter to take us inside the extraordinary 1926 hurricane season — a season with fewer storms than today's average, but tremendous impact.
At the center of the story is the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926.
There was no satellite. No radar. No computer guidance. Information traveled by ship reports, telegraph, newspapers and hurricane warning flags. By the time the hurricane warning reached Miami late at night, conditions were already deteriorating.
Then came one of the most remarkable moments of the storm.
As the eye passed over Miami, people walked outside believing the hurricane was over. Weather Bureau meteorologist Richard Gray knew better. He and his assistant tried desperately to warn people that the other half of the hurricane was coming.
It did — and accounts suggest the second half was even worse.
Mike takes us through the storm, the devastating surge across South Florida, the remarkable work of the forecasters trying to document it, and the hurricane's often-forgotten second act: another major hurricane landfall near Pensacola.
We also look at what changed afterward — and what hasn't.
A century of technology separates hurricane forecasting in 1926 from what we can do today. But one of the most difficult parts of hurricane preparedness remains remarkably familiar: getting people to understand the danger and act before the storm arrives.
Join Alex Garcia, former National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read and Dr. Hal Needham for a fascinating look back at one of the most consequential hurricane seasons in American history.
Guest: Mike Bilder — Historian & Author
In this episode:
• The extraordinary 1926 hurricane season
• The Great Miami Hurricane• Forecasting hurricanes without radar or satellites• Miami's late hurricane warning• What happened when the eye crossed the city• Storm surge and destruction across South Florida• Richard Gray and the historic pressure measurement• The hurricane's second major landfall near Pensacola• How the disaster changed Miami• What 1926 can still teach us 100 years later
