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Hurricane Janet
 
 
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Hurricane Janet was the most powerful hurricane
Tropical cyclone

A tropical cyclone is a storm characterized by a large low pressure system center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and flooding rain....
 of the 1955 Atlantic hurricane season
1955 Atlantic hurricane season

The 1955 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 15, 1955, and lasted until November 15, 1955. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin....
 and one of the strongest Atlantic hurricane
Atlantic hurricane

North Atlantic tropical cyclones usually form in summer or autumn. Tropical cyclones can be broken down by intensity. Tropical storms have one-minute maximum sustained winds of at least 39 mph , while hurricanes have one-minute maximum sustained exceeding 74 mph ....
s on record. It made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale is a classification used for most Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms, and thereby become hurricanes....
, causing catastrophic damage and at least 687 deaths in the Lesser Antilles
Lesser Antilles

The Lesser Antilles, also known as the Caribbees, are part of the Antilles, which together with the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Greater Antilles form the West Indies....
, Yucatán Peninsula
Yucatán Peninsula

The Yucat?n Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucat?n Channel....
, and mainland Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
.

ak tropical wave moved across the tropical Atlantic in mid-September. It organized into a tropical storm on September 21 east of the Lesser Antilles
Lesser Antilles

The Lesser Antilles, also known as the Caribbees, are part of the Antilles, which together with the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Greater Antilles form the West Indies....
.






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Hurricane Janet was the most powerful hurricane
Tropical cyclone

A tropical cyclone is a storm characterized by a large low pressure system center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and flooding rain....
 of the 1955 Atlantic hurricane season
1955 Atlantic hurricane season

The 1955 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 15, 1955, and lasted until November 15, 1955. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin....
 and one of the strongest Atlantic hurricane
Atlantic hurricane

North Atlantic tropical cyclones usually form in summer or autumn. Tropical cyclones can be broken down by intensity. Tropical storms have one-minute maximum sustained winds of at least 39 mph , while hurricanes have one-minute maximum sustained exceeding 74 mph ....
s on record. It made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale is a classification used for most Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms, and thereby become hurricanes....
, causing catastrophic damage and at least 687 deaths in the Lesser Antilles
Lesser Antilles

The Lesser Antilles, also known as the Caribbees, are part of the Antilles, which together with the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Greater Antilles form the West Indies....
, Yucatán Peninsula
Yucatán Peninsula

The Yucat?n Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucat?n Channel....
, and mainland Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
.

Meteorological history

A weak tropical wave moved across the tropical Atlantic in mid-September. It organized into a tropical storm on September 21 east of the Lesser Antilles
Lesser Antilles

The Lesser Antilles, also known as the Caribbees, are part of the Antilles, which together with the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Greater Antilles form the West Indies....
. A small hurricane, it rapidly organized on the 22nd becoming a Category 3
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale is a classification used for most Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms, and thereby become hurricanes....
 hurricane just as it hit Barbados
Barbados

Barbados , situated just east of the Caribbean Sea, is an independent Continental Island-island nation in the western Atlantic Ocean. Located at roughly 13? North of the equator and 59? West of the prime meridian, it is considered a part of the Lesser Antilles....
 with a 20 nautical mile
Nautical mile

A nautical mile or sea mile is a unit of length. It corresponds approximately to one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian .It is a non-International System of Units unit used especially by navigators in the shipping and aviation industries....
s (37 km) wide eye and a very small wind field. The storm passed through the Grenadines
Grenadines

The Grenadines are a Caribbean island chain of over 6 islands in the Windward Islands. They are divided between the island nations of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada....
 on the following day. As it moved through the eastern Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean situated in the mid-latitudes of the Western Hemisphere, bounded to the south and west by the Americas, with the North Atlantic Ocean proper to the northeast and the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest....
, conditions became unfavorable for continued development, and Janet weakened to a minimal hurricane on the 23rd. Over the next few days, Janet steadily intensified with better conditions, reaching a peak of 175 mph
MPH

mph is a three-letter acronym that refers to miles per hour, a measurement of speedMPH may also refer to:* Master of Public Health, a Master's degree in public health...
 (280 km/h) winds in the western Caribbean Sea.

Janet remained a Category 5 hurricane, and hit near the city of Chetumal, Mexico near the border of Quintana Roo
Quintana Roo

Quintana Roo is a Mexican state of Mexico, on the eastern part of the Yucat?n Peninsula. It borders the States of Yucat?n and Campeche to the north and west, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the nation of Belize to the south....
 and British Honduras
British Honduras

British Honduras was the former name of what is now the independent nation of Belize and was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland colony on the east coast of Central America, southeast of Mexico....
 (modern-day Belize
Belize

Belize , formerly British Honduras, is a country in Central America. Once part of the Maya civilization, and very briefly the Spanish Empire, it was most recently affiliated with the British Empire, prior to gaining its independence in 1981....
) on September 28. Wind gusts at landfall were measured at 175 mph (280 km/h) before instruments were destroyed, and the central pressure in Chetumal was measured at 27.00 inHg (914 mbar/hPa). At the time this was the strongest recorded mainland landfall of any Atlantic hurricane
Atlantic hurricane

North Atlantic tropical cyclones usually form in summer or autumn. Tropical cyclones can be broken down by intensity. Tropical storms have one-minute maximum sustained winds of at least 39 mph , while hurricanes have one-minute maximum sustained exceeding 74 mph ....
, and second overall only behind the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane.

As it crossed the Yucatán Peninsula
Yucatán Peninsula

The Yucat?n Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucat?n Channel....
, the hurricane's winds weakened to 100 mph (160 km/h). Over the Bay of Campeche
Bay of Campeche

The Bay of Campeche is the southern bight of the Gulf of Mexico. It is surrounded on three sides by the Mexico States of Mexico of Campeche, Tabasco and Veracruz....
, it did not have much time to restrengthen, and struck mainland Mexico between Veracruz, Veracruz
Veracruz, Veracruz

The city of Veracruz is a major port city and municipalities of Mexico on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexico States of Mexico of Veracruz. The metropolitan areas of Mexico is Mexico's largest on the Gulf coast and an important east coast port....
 and Nautla
Nautla

Nautla is a settlement in the Mexico of Veracruz.Nautla comes from the Nahuatl Naui, four; and from tlan, that means place; so it is know as Four Places....
 on the 29th as a Category 2 hurricane. Janet dissipated the next day over Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
.

Impact

Storm deaths by region
Region Deaths
Barbados
Barbados

Barbados , situated just east of the Caribbean Sea, is an independent Continental Island-island nation in the western Atlantic Ocean. Located at roughly 13? North of the equator and 59? West of the prime meridian, it is considered a part of the Lesser Antilles....
 		 38
Grenadines
Grenadines

The Grenadines are a Caribbean island chain of over 6 islands in the Windward Islands. They are divided between the island nations of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada....
 		 122
Hurricane Hunters
Hurricane Hunters

Hurricane Hunters are aircraft that fly into tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic Ocean and Northeastern Pacific Ocean for the specific purpose of directly measuring weather data in and around those storms....
 		 11
British Honduras
British Honduras

British Honduras was the former name of what is now the independent nation of Belize and was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland colony on the east coast of Central America, southeast of Mexico....
 		 16
Quintana Roo
Quintana Roo

Quintana Roo is a Mexican state of Mexico, on the eastern part of the Yucat?n Peninsula. It borders the States of Yucat?n and Campeche to the north and west, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the nation of Belize to the south....
 		 500
Veracruz
Veracruz

Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave is one of the 31 states of Mexico that constitute the republic of Mexico....
 		 ?
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas

Tamaulipas is one of the 31 States of Mexico of Mexico and is located in the northeast....
 		 ?
Total 687+


Janet caused at least $48 million (1955 USD) in damage through its path of destruction. In addition, Janet caused at least 687 deaths.

Lesser Antilles

While in its early stages, Janet passed just south of Barbados
Barbados

Barbados , situated just east of the Caribbean Sea, is an independent Continental Island-island nation in the western Atlantic Ocean. Located at roughly 13? North of the equator and 59? West of the prime meridian, it is considered a part of the Lesser Antilles....
 on September 22, the first hurricane to strike the island in 57 years; maximum winds on the south side of the island were estimated by locals at 110-120 mph. There were 38 deaths reported on Barbados.

On September 23 Janet passed directly between Grenada
Grenada

Grenada is an island nation that includes the southern Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Grenada is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela, and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines....
 and Carriacou
Carriacou

Carriacou is located in the Southeast Caribbean Sea, Northeast of Grenada....
 in the Grenadines
Grenadines

The Grenadines are a Caribbean island chain of over 6 islands in the Windward Islands. They are divided between the island nations of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada....
, killing another 122 people in this island chain. St. Vincent
Saint Vincent (island)

Saint Vincent is a volcanic island in the Caribbean, the largest island of the chain called Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is located in the Caribbean Sea, between Saint Lucia and Grenada....
 was leveled and St. Lucia suffered significant coastal damage.

Over $2.8 million (1955 USD
United States dollar

The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States and was defined by the Coinage Act of 1792 to be between 371 and 416 grains of silver ....
) of damage was estimated throughout the Lesser Antilles
Lesser Antilles

The Lesser Antilles, also known as the Caribbees, are part of the Antilles, which together with the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Greater Antilles form the West Indies....
.

Central Caribbean

Janet was the only Atlantic hurricane to cause the loss of a Hurricane Hunter aircraft, a P2V Neptune
P-2 Neptune

The Lockheed P-2 Neptune was a Maritime patrol aircraft and Anti-submarine warfare aircraft. It was developed for the United States Navy by Lockheed to replace the Lockheed Ventura, and being replaced in turn with the P-3 Orion....
 under the command of Navy
United States Navy

The United States Navy is the navy of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy currently has approximately 331,682 personnel on active duty as of 31 December 2008 and 124,000 in the United States Navy Reserve....
 Lieutenant Commander Grover B. Windham and with eleven crew and passengers on board. The last transmission from the flight came at 8:30 a.m. on September 26 and indicated they were entering the eyewall of the storm.

The eye of Janet passed over the Swan Islands on the 27th, where a U.S weather post was destroyed. No deaths were reported as the crew abandoned the station to take shelter shortly before the worst of the storm struck the island.

Yucatán Peninsula

At 1 a.m. CST
CST

CST can stand for:The following Time zones:*Central Standard Time *Central Standard Time *China Standard Time*Chungyuan Standard Time *Cuba Standard Time, see Eastern Time Zone ...
 on September 28 Janet made landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula
Yucatán Peninsula

The Yucat?n Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucat?n Channel....
 just north of the border of Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
 and British Honduras
British Honduras

British Honduras was the former name of what is now the independent nation of Belize and was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland colony on the east coast of Central America, southeast of Mexico....
, as a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale is a classification used for most Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms, and thereby become hurricanes....
. In all about 500 deaths and $45 million (1955 USD
United States dollar

The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States and was defined by the Coinage Act of 1792 to be between 371 and 416 grains of silver ....
) of damage was caused at this landfall.

Corozal
Corozal

Corozal may mean:* Corozal District, Belize* Corozal Town, Belize, capital of the district* Corozal, Puerto Rico* Corozal, Sucre, a city of Colombia...
 in British Honduras
British Honduras

British Honduras was the former name of what is now the independent nation of Belize and was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland colony on the east coast of Central America, southeast of Mexico....
 suffered the weaker side of the storm, as the southern eyewall passed over the city. Sixteen deaths and $5 million (1955 USD
United States dollar

The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States and was defined by the Coinage Act of 1792 to be between 371 and 416 grains of silver ....
) in damages were reported in British Honduras.

Chetumal
Chetumal

Chetumal is a city on the east coast of the Yucat?n Peninsula in Mexico. It is the capital of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo and the municipal seat of the Oth?n P....
, Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
 was devastated, with only four buildings left standing. Storm surge pushed water to a depth of 6.5 feet 1600 feet inland, despite the peninsula
Peninsula

A peninsula is a piece of Landform that is nearly surrounded by water but connected to mainland via an isthmus. Word origin: Latin paeninsula : paene, almost + insula, island....
 protecting the city from the open ocean. The death toll is uncertain; 120 bodies were recovered in the city but it is unknown how many were never found; total deaths were estimated at 500 throughout Quintana Roo
Quintana Roo

Quintana Roo is a Mexican state of Mexico, on the eastern part of the Yucat?n Peninsula. It borders the States of Yucat?n and Campeche to the north and west, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the nation of Belize to the south....
. Damages in the state were $40 million (1955 USD).

Mainland Mexico

Janet made another landfall in the Mexican state of Veracruz
Veracruz

Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave is one of the 31 states of Mexico that constitute the republic of Mexico....
, between the cities of Nautla
Nautla

Nautla is a settlement in the Mexico of Veracruz.Nautla comes from the Nahuatl Naui, four; and from tlan, that means place; so it is know as Four Places....
 and Veracruz
Veracruz, Veracruz

The city of Veracruz is a major port city and municipalities of Mexico on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexico States of Mexico of Veracruz. The metropolitan areas of Mexico is Mexico's largest on the Gulf coast and an important east coast port....
. No reports of damage or fatalities are available from the landfall itself.

Inland, as Janet dissipated over mountainous central Mexico, the storm dropped torrential rainfall over the Tamisi and Panuco River
Pánuco River

The P?nuco River is a river in Mexico that flows from the River Moctezuma in the Valley of Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico.At its source, it serves as a channel for water-drainage for Mexico City....
 basins. In the vicinity of Tampico
Tampico

Tampico, located at , is the main city in the Mexico States of Mexico of Tamaulipas, and is the Mexican Gulf of Mexico's main economic powerhouse....
 in Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas

Tamaulipas is one of the 31 States of Mexico of Mexico and is located in the northeast....
, the flooding added to rainfall already dropped by Hurricanes Gladys and Hilda
Hurricane Hilda (1955)

Hurricane Hilda was a strong Category 3 hurricane in the 1955 Atlantic hurricane season. The name was not retired even though the storm killed 300 people and caused over $800 million in damage during its course through the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico....
 earlier in the 1955 season
1955 Atlantic hurricane season

The 1955 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 15, 1955, and lasted until November 15, 1955. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin....
. The flooding that resulted was reported by the New Orleans Weather Bureau Office to be one of the worst natural disasters in Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
's history. According to some sources, 800 people died from the floods, with thousands more being stranded in the city.

Retirement

The name Janet was used on various tropical cyclone naming lists in the 1960s. Once formal lists for hurricane naming were created, however, the name Janet was retired and will never be used for an Atlantic hurricane
Atlantic hurricane

North Atlantic tropical cyclones usually form in summer or autumn. Tropical cyclones can be broken down by intensity. Tropical storms have one-minute maximum sustained winds of at least 39 mph , while hurricanes have one-minute maximum sustained exceeding 74 mph ....
 again.

See also

  • List of Atlantic hurricanes
  • List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes
    List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes

    This is a list of all recorded Atlantic hurricanes that have reached Category 5, the highest classification of tropical cyclone intensity on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale....