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Hurricane Hattie was the strongest and deadliest tropical cyclone of the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season, reaching a peak intensity equivalent to that of a Category 5 hurricane. The ninth tropical storm and seventh hurricane and major hurricane of the season, Hattie originated from an area of low pressure that strengthened into a tropical storm over the southwestern Caribbean Sea on October 27. Moving generally northward, the storm quickly became a hurricane and later major hurricane the following day. Hattie then turned westward west of Jamaica and strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of . It weakened to Category 4 before making landfall south of Belize City on October 31. The storm turned southwestward and weakened rapidly over the mountainous terrain of Central America, dissipating on November 1. Hattie first affected the southwestern Caribbean, where it produced hurricane-force winds and caused one death on San Andres Island. It was initially forecast to continue north and strike Cuba, prompting evacuations on the island. While turning west, Hattie dropped heavy rainfall of up to on Grand Cayman. The country of Belize, at the time known as British Honduras, sustained the worst damage from the hurricane. The former capital, Belize City, was buffeted by strong winds and flooded by a powerful storm surge. The territory governor estimated that 70% of the buildings in the city had been damaged, leaving more than 10,000 people homeless. The destruction was so severe that the government had to relocate inland to a new city, Belmopan. Overall, Hattie caused about $60 million in losses and 307 deaths in the territory. Although damage was heavier in Hattie than a hurricane in 1931 that killed 2,000 people, the death toll from Hattie was less due to advance warnings. Elsewhere in Central America, Hattie killed 11 people in Guatemala and one in Honduras. ==Meteorological history== For several days toward the end of October 1961, a low-pressure area persisted in the western Caribbean Sea, north of the Panama Canal Zone.〔 On October 25, an upper-level anticyclone moved over the low; the next day, a trough over the western Gulf of Mexico provided favorable outflow for the disturbance. At 0000 UTC on October 27, a ship nearby reported southerly winds of 46 mph (74 km/h). Later that day, the airport on San Andres Island reported easterly winds of 60 mph (95 km/h). The two observations confirmed the presence of a closed wind circulation, centered about 70 miles (110 km) southeast of San Andres, or 155 mi (250 km) east of the Nicaraguan coast; as a result, the Miami Weather Bureau began issuing advisories on the newly formed Tropical Storm Hattie. After being classified, Hattie moved steadily northward, passing very near or over San Andres Island. A station on the island recorded a pressure of and sustained winds of 80 mph (130 km/h), which indicated that Hattie had reached hurricane status.〔 Late on October 28, a Hurricane Hunters flight encountered a much stronger hurricane, with winds of 125 mph (200 km/h) in a small area near the center. At the time, gale-force winds extended outward 140 mi (225 km) to the northeast and 70 miles (115 km) to the southwest.〔 Early on October 29, a trough extending from Nicaragua to Florida was expected to allow Hattie to continue northward, based on climatology for similar hurricanes.〔 Later that day, Hattie was forecast to be an imminent threat to the Cayman Islands and western Cuba.〔 Around that time, a strengthening ridge to the north turned the hurricane northwestward, which spared the Greater Antilles but increased the threat to Central America.〔 With the strengthening ridge to its north, Hattie began restrengthening after retaining the same intensity for about 24 hours.〔 Initially, forecasters at the Miami Weather Bureau predicted the storm to turn northward again. Late on October 29, the center of the hurricane passed about 90 miles (145 km) southwest of Grand Cayman, at which time the interaction between Hattie and the ridge to its north produced squally winds of around 30 mph (50 km/h) across Florida. Early on October 30, the Hurricane Hunters confirmed the increase in intensity, reporting winds of 140 mph (225 km/h).〔 The storm's minimum central pressure continued to drop throughout the day, reaching by 1300 UTC; a lower pressure of was computed at 1700 UTC that day, based on a flight-level reading from the Hurricane Hunters.〔 Hattie later curved toward the west-southwest, passing between the Cayman Islands and the Swan Islands. Late on October 30, Hattie attained peak winds of 160 mph (260 km/h) about 190 mi (310 km) east of the border of Mexico and British Honduras. This made Hattie the equivalence of a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, making it the latest hurricane on record to reach the status until a reanalysis of the 1932 season revealed that Hurricane Fourteen had a similar intensity on November 5, six days after Hattie.〔 Additionally, Hattie was the strongest October hurricane in the northwest Caribbean until Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Hattie maintained much of its intensity as it continued toward the coast of British Honduras. After moving through several small islands offshore, the hurricane made landfall a short distance south of Belize City on October 31, with an eyewall of about 25 miles (40 km) in diameter.〔 Based on a post-season analysis, it was determined that Hattie had weakened to winds of 140 mph (225 km/h) before moving ashore.〔 The hurricane deteriorated rapidly over land, dissipating on November 1 as it moved into the mountains of Guatemala. During its dissipation, Tropical Storm Simone was developing off the Pacific coast of Guatemala.〔〔 There was speculation that Hattie contributed to the development of Simone, and later Tropical Storm Inga after the remnants of Simone merged with nearby disturbed weather. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hurricane Hattie」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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