Hurricane Cleo
A tropical wave that exited the coast of Africa on
August 15 moved westward, not organizing into a tropical depression until around 800 nm east of
Barbados on
August 20 as reported by a Navy reconnaissance plane. It continued west-northwestward, quickly strengthening to a hurricane the next day with a minimum central pressure of 993mb. Early in the afternoon of the 22nd, Hurricane Cleo crossed
Guadeloupe as a 115 mph Category 3. The hurricane continued to strengthen as it moved through the Caribbean Sea and reached its peak intensity of 155 mph on the 23rd while south of the Dominican Republic. It maintained that intensity for a day, bringing heavy rain and winds to
Hispaniola. As Cleo passed south of Haiti on the 24th, it veered northward momentarily, enough to move on to the Southwest Peninsula of
Haiti. The circulation of the hurricane was greatly disrupted by the mountainous terrain of the island, quickly weakening the hurricane.
Cleo weakened to a Category 1 before hitting southern
Cuba on the
26th. It crossed the island quickly. Shortly after emerging from the north coast of Cuba, Cleo restrengthened to a hurricane, having weakened to a tropical storm while over Cuba. Cleo managed to intensify to a 100 mph Category 2 hurricane before hitting the
Miami, Florida area on
August 27th. It weakened to a tropical storm while over
Florida on the 28th. The center moved offshore between
Jacksonville and
St. Augustine, Florida, but it moved back onshore near
Savannah, Georgia on the 29th without any increase in intensity.
Cleo continued to weaken as it moved through the Carolinas, drifting through as a tropical depression. After bringing heavy rain through the area, Cleo exited into the Atlantic Ocean near
Norfolk, Virginia, and quickly intensified to a tropical storm again on the 1st. The following day, Cleo became a hurricane again, but it remained well offshore to cause any damage. Cleo finally dissipated on the 5th northeast of
Newfoundland.
Guadeloupe
Official reports from
Guadeloupe indicated 14 dead, 40 injured, 1,000 homes destroyed and extensive damage to the island's infrastructure.
Cuba
Damage in Cuba was minimal because the hurricane moved through so quickly.
Florida
Cleo also caused the
Fort Lauderdale News, one of South Florida's biggest newspapers, to miss publishing, the only time that happened in its history.
Retirement
Cleo killed 217 people on its path of destruction. Cleo caused a total of $198 million in damage (1964
US dollars).
The name Cleo was retired and will never be used for an
Atlantic hurricane again; this name was replaced by
Candy in 1968.
*
List of notable tropical cyclones*
List of Atlantic hurricane seasons
