The 1947 Atlantic hurricane season was the first Atlantic hurricane season in which tropical cyclones at tropical storm intensity or above were officially given names. The United States Air Force (USAF) assigned the names, which were taken from the 1943 iteration of the Joint Army/Navy radiotelephony spelling alphabet. This practice remained in effect until the end of the 1950 season before the United States Weather Bureau (renamed to National Weather Service (NWS) in 1970) took up tropical cyclone labeling in the following year, while the name list was used for another two seasons before a list consisting of female given names was introduced in 1953.
Seasonal summary[]
Much like the next several seasons to follow, the season was destructive and high in activity, featuring 24 named storms, 15 hurricanes and 7 major hurricanes. The first storm of the season, Able, formed on June 7, nine days before the official start of the season. It formed from a dissolving frontal wave but was absorbed by another approaching cold front two days later northeast of Bermuda. Another disturbance developed into Baker a day after Able dissipated and became the first hurricane of the season. However, the basin entered a period of dormancy that lasted a month and a half. On July 30, a tropical storm that formed in the far eastern Pacific offshore Guatemala 4 days prior entered the Bay of Campeche and was named Charlie, a rare storm to cross Central America from the Pacific side. Two major hurricanes, Dog and Easy, formed in the month of August and struck simillar areas to Charlie. This was followed by a frenzy of tropical cyclone activity in September and October, producing two thirds of the season's total systems, 4 major hurricanes and numerous landfalls. The most significant storm of the season, George, formed near the beginning of this period on September 4 and passed over Fort Lauderdale, Florida as a powerful Category 5 hurricane, hence its famous nickname The 1947 Fort Lauderdale hurricane. Casualties from the storm were remarkably few compared to simillar hurricanes such as the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane, which practically reduced the entirety of south Florida to ruins. Great improvements in construction standards, weather forecasting and emergency warning systems are thought to have contributed to saving the lives of thousands, if not tens of thousands. The impacts of Hurricane George also likely lessened the destruction wrought by major hurricanes King and Queen (no pun intended), as they both struck nearly identical regions. The last major hurricane in 1947, Sugar, passed just north of Bermuda at Category 4 strength and devastated the island. Activity substantially decreased towards the end of October, featuring no tropical cyclones for 4 weeks until a pair of disturbances developed into tropical storms Victor and William on November 28. The last storm, Xray, formed well after the official end of the season on December 16 and made an extremely rare landfall in Galicia, Spain on December 26, dissipating shortly thereafter.
Systems[]
Tropical Storm Able (01L)[]
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |
 | |
| Duration | June 7 – June 9 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min) 1006 mbar (hPa) |
An edge of a cold front associated with a broad extratropical storm over New England began to dissipate east of Florida and developed a small circulation about 380 mi (610 km) northeast of the Bahamian island of Eleuthera. The precise nature of this system, especially during its formation, is uncertain as to whether it was tropical or subtropical, mainly due to scant understanding of subtropical cyclones at the time.
Nevertheless, vigorous convection and 44 mph (71 km/h) winds were observed in the morning of June 7, prompting the USAF to classify the storm as Tropical Storm Able. The system proceeded to drift northeastward while barely intensifying at all as it struggled to combat wind shear and slightly below-average sea surface temperatures. Early on June 9 another cold front rapidly closed in on Able and absorbed it completely by noon, when it was located about 205 mi (330 km) northeast of Bermuda.
Due to the compact nature of the storm, Bermuda experienced only minor showers peaking at 2.2 in (56 mm) and 20 mph (32 km/h) breezes. Property damage was limited to partial inundation of beach houses caused by coastal erosion, totaling approximately $2,400 (1947 USD; $32,500 2023 USD) and no injuries or casualties.
Hurricane Baker (02L)[]
| Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS) | |
 | |
| Duration | June 10 – June 15 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 75 mph (120 km/h) (1-min) 987 mbar (hPa) |
An ill-organized tropical wave which entered the Caribbean on June 4 interacted with a shortwave trough and developed a rotating area of intense thunderstorms. The clouds contracted into a closed circulation just over 200 mi (320 km) wide and was designated Tropical Depression Two on June 10 approximately 160 mi (255 km) southwest of Kingston, Jamaica. 18 hours after forming, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Baker and thenceforth peaked with sustained winds of 45 mph (72 km/h) offshore northeastern Honduras. Close proximity to land hindered continued developement and weakened Baker back to a tropical depression early on June 12, hours before it made landfall on Ambergris Caye. A pressure reading of 1,004.2 mbar (hPa; 29.65 inHg) and gusts up to 37 mph (60 km/h) were recorded in Chetumal, Quintana Roo. Warm, saturated soil of the Yucatan Peninsula provided the system with moisture, allowing it to explosively re-intensify far beyond its initial peak into a minimal hurricane in under 12 hours, thus becoming an extreme example of the brown ocean effect. Later on June 13, the storm turned sharply northward and then accelerated northeastward to make a secondary landfall in the Florida Panhandle near Panama City, Florida early on the following day. Thereafter, a weakening Baker was further influenced by the subtropical jets and briskly exited the South Carolina coast moving due east but was yanked northward by an approaching baroclinic cyclone. During extratropical transition, the system regained tropical storm status one last time before merging with the low entirely just off the tip of Long Island on June 15.
Flooding primarily occured during the early stages of the storm as forward speeds reaching upwards of 65 mph (100 km/h) after June 13, particularly around its US landfall, resulted in the small storm leaving one area completely within a few hours after its effects began to show. This unusually brief passing of the storm earned Baker the nickname "30-minute hurricane" among residents in the affected states. Precipitation peaked in the Nicaraguan town of Waspam at 22.4 in (569 mm), 15 times higher than the US peak during the storm of 1.5 in (38 mm) recorded in Pensacola, Florida. Overall, the storm was responsible for 17 deaths and $410,000 (1947 USD; $5.55 million 2023 USD) in damages.
Hurricane Charlie (03L)[]
| Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS) | |
 | |
| Duration | July 30 (entered basin) – August 5 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 80 mph (130 km/h) (1-min) 977 mbar (hPa) |