Hurricane King was the most severe hurricane to strike the city of Miami, Florida since the 1926 Miami hurricane. It was the eleventh tropical storm and the last of six major hurricanes in the 1950 Atlantic hurricane season. The cyclone formed in the western Caribbean Sea on October 13, and initially moved northeastward, slowly strengthening. Hurricane King crossed Cuba on October 17, causing seven deaths and $2 million in damage (1950 USD). It reached its peak intensity of and subsequently made landfall on downtown Miami. The hurricane damaged 20,861 houses in southern Florida, 580 of them severely, and destroyed a further 248. Further inland, King caused heavy crop damage, particularly to the citrus industry. After weakening to a tropical storm, King moved across Georgia, where it caused isolated power outages and minor damage. Across the United States, the hurricane left four fatalities and $30 million in damage ($316 million in 2014 USD).
Meteorological history
The origins of Hurricane King were from a tropical depression that developed just off the north coast of Honduras on October 13. It was a small system throughout its duration, and initially moved toward the east and east-northeast. At the time, the system was considered a weak and broad depression, producing convection, or thunderstorms, from Honduras to western Cuba. It tracked to the east-northeast, becoming a tropical storm on October 14. The system was later given the name "King" from the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet.
The tropical storm slowly intensified as it tracked toward Cuba, and on October 16, King attained hurricane status while passing between Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. It quickly intensified that day, and at 2200 UTC, the hurricane made landfall just west of Camagüey with winds of . The hurricane remained small, as the city of Camagüey reported peak winds of only . Within twelve hours, Hurricane King crossed central Cuba, during which it weakened into a minimal hurricane. After entering the Florida Straits, King quickly re-intensified, and Hurricane Hunters indicated maximum winds of over water. At the time, the barometric pressure was 988 mbar, and the eye was in diameter. The hurricane quickly intensified as it turned north-northwestward. Early on October 18, King attained major hurricane status; it was the sixth and final major hurricane of the season. In 24 hours, the pressure dropped 33.2 mbar and the eye contracted to in diameter. At 0500 UTC on October 18, Hurricane King made landfall on downtown Miami, Florida with peak winds of , making it a Category 4 hurricane. The city's Weather Bureau office, which was struck by the eastern eyewall, recorded sustained winds of with gust estimated at .
Over land, the compact hurricane weakened as it continued through the state. After crossing Lake Okeechobee, Hurricane King passed over the city of Okeechobee, which recorded a pressure of 977 mbar. The winds diminished along the southern and western side of the storm, although winds gusted to hurricane force in many locations in eastern coastal Florida. Early on October 19, King weakened to tropical storm status over north-central Florida, and later that day weakened further into a tropical depression over western Georgia. King curved northwestward, dissipating over Alabama on October 20.
Preparations and impact
Caribbean
Early in its duration, King produced a widespread area of convection that spread from Honduras to Cuba. Swan Island, located just off of the coast of Honduras, reported of rainfall. Prior to its first landfall, officials posted hurricane warnings across eastern Cuba and the Bahamas. While crossing over Cuba, Hurricane King produced winds of up to . The hurricane killed seven people and caused $2 million (1950 USD) in damage throughout the country. Offshore, a freighter sunk during the storm, prompting the crew's rescue by the Cuban navy. There was an initial report of ten people missing on the ship, although it is unknown how many, if any, were related to the seven confirmed deaths in the country.
Florida
About 36 hours prior to the hurricane making landfall, when it was still south of Cuba, the Miami Weather Bureau issued a hurricane alert for South Florida. About 18 hours before landfall, the alert was replaced by a hurricane warning. The advance warning time was believed to have prevented many deaths; however, the population was considered complacent with the warning, causing additional damage when they executed improper preparations, such as securing windows.