The 1917 Atlantic hurricane season featured nine known tropical cyclones, four of which became tropical storms. The first system appeared on July 6 east of the Windward Islands. After crossing the islands and traversing the Caribbean Sea, the storm struck Honduras, Belize, and Mexico, before dissipating on July 14. After more than three weeks without tropical cyclogenesis, another tropical storm developed west of Bermuda. As the storm brushed eastern New England, four ships sank near Nantucket, causing 41 fatalities. The same cyclone brought damaging winds to Nova Scotia before transitioning into an extratropical cyclone on August 10.
A hurricane developed over the central Atlantic Ocean on August 30 and ultimately affected Bermuda with heightened tides as it passed to the east. Elsewhere, the hurricane had little impact, becoming extratropical on September 5. After the third system, a series of four tropical depressions formed, but failed to become severe. The fourth hurricane brought devastation to Jamaica, Cuba, and portions of the Gulf Coast of the United States, especially western parts of the Florida Panhandle. Overall, the storm left six deaths and inflicted at least $170,000 (1917 USD) in damage.
The season's activity was reflected with an accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) rating of 61, slightly above the 1911–1920 average of 58.7. ACE is a metric used to express the energy used by a tropical cyclone during its lifetime. Therefore, a storm with a longer duration will have high values of ACE. It is only calculated at six-hour increments in which specific tropical and subtropical systems are either at or above sustained wind speeds of 39 mph (63 km/h), which is the threshold for tropical storm intensity. Thus, tropical depressions are not included here.
Timeline
Systems
Tropical Storm One
Historical weather maps indicated a trough east of the Windward Islands on July 6. Around 06:00 UTC, a tropical depression formed about southeast of Barbados. Moving west-northwestward, the depression crossed the Windward Islands and entered the Caribbean Sea early on July 7. Later that day, the system intensified into a tropical storm. After peaking with winds of 50 mph (85 km/h) on July 8, it began to weaken and fell to tropical depression intensity early on July 10. Early the next day, the depression struck Honduras, before briefly emerging into the Caribbean Sea. The system struck Belize around 06:00 UTC on July 12 and entered the Bay of Campeche about 24 hours later. At midday on July 14, the storm struck south of Tampico, Tamaulipas. In the city of Veracruz, of rain fell in a 24-hour period.
Tropical Storm Two
An area of low pressure developed into a tropical storm to the west of Bermuda at 00:00 UTC on August 6. Initially the storm drifted westward and strengthened minimally. By August 9, it curved northward and began to accelerate. The storm strengthened further and attained its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of early on August 10; both were observations from the Nantucket Shoals Lightship. Offshore the island of Nantucket in Massachusetts, four ships were lost, with an estimated 41 people perishing. The storm continued northeastward and made landfall in Saint John County, New Brunswick while becoming extratropical at 00:00 UTC on August 11. The remnants dissipated over the Labrador Sea later that day. In Nova Scotia, dozens of boats were beached. Wind speeds up to in Yarmouth damaged trees, power lines, windows, and roofs. Crops were impacted throughout the Annapolis Valley. Fifteen barns were damaged or demolished.
Hurricane Three
Weather maps indicated that an area of low pressure existed between the Lesser Antilles and Cape Verde on August 30. At 12:00 UTC that day, a tropical storm developed while located about northeast of Cayenne, French Guiana. Moving west-northwestward, the tropical storm reached Category 1 hurricane intensity early on August 31. By late on September 1, the storm had intensified into a Category 2 hurricane. Further strengthening occurred brought the hurricane to a Category 3 intensity late on September 3, while briefly heading northward. Early the next day, the cyclone attained its peak force with winds of 120 mph (195 km/h); the lowest barometric pressure reading in association with the storm was .