The 1926 Havana hurricane devastated large areas of Cuba and Bermuda in October 1926. The tenth tropical cyclone, eighth hurricane, and sixth major hurricane of the annual hurricane season, the storm formed from a low-pressure area in the southern Caribbean Sea on October 14. Moving slowly to the north, it steadily intensified, attaining hurricane intensity on October 18 near the Swan Islands. After passing the islands, the hurricane began to rapidly intensify as it accelerated to the north, attaining major hurricane intensity the following day. The storm later made two landfalls on Cuba as it reached peak intensity with winds of 150 mph (240 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 934 mbar (hPa; 27.58 inHg). The hurricane slightly weakened as it passed over the island, and after entering the Straits of Florida, made a close pass of southern Florida and The Bahamas and moved out over the North Atlantic Ocean. Afterwards, the storm gradually weakened, passing over Bermuda on October 22, before executing a clockwise loop and dissipating on October 28, after becoming absorbed by an extratropical cyclone.
Meteorological history
An open trough of low pressure was first observed off the eastern coast of Costa Rica in the southern Caribbean Sea on October 14. In HURDAT—the database listing all tropical cyclones in the Atlantic basin since 1851—the disturbance was listed to have attained tropical depression strength by 0600 UTC later that day. Ships in the vicinity of the storm reported low barometric pressures. Moving slowly towards the north, the depression slowly intensified, and was estimated to have reached tropical storm early the following day, based on a drop in pressures in the region. The tropical storm continued to steadily intensify, with more ship reports indicating a cyclonic circulation in the area. By 2000 UTC on October 17, the disturbance attained a minimum central pressure of 993 mbar (hPa; 29.33 inHg), with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 km/h).
At 0000 UTC on October 18, the tropical storm was analyzed to have attained hurricane strength in the vicinity of the Swan Islands as it began to move towards the north-northwest. The ship S.S. Atenas observed the hurricane at 1700 UTC later that day, reporting an eye associated with the storm and a minimum pressure of 974 mbar (hPa; 28.77 inHg). After passing the Swan Islands, the system began to rapidly intensify as it accelerated towards the north. At the time, the storm was located in a region of relatively low barometric pressures, with an outermost closed isobar of 1009 mbar (hPa; 29.80 inHg). By 0600 UTC on October 19, the hurricane had already intensified to an equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale with winds of 135 mph (215 km/h). The S.S. Mojave reported a barometric pressure of 950 mbar (hPa; 28.06 inHg) associated with hurricane force winds. The major hurricane later made landfall on the Isla de la Juventud at 0800 UTC on October 20, with a minimum pressure of 939 mbar (hPa; 27.73 inHg) based on a report from Nueva Gerona. The hurricane continued to intensify after crossing the island, reaching peak intensity at 1200 UTC later that day with maximum sustained wind speeds of 150 mph (240 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 934 mbar (hPa; 27.58 inHg) prior to making landfall in western Cuba.
Over Cuba, the storm slightly weakened prior to entering the Straits of Florida by October 21 with winds equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane. A ship offshore the northern Cuban coast reported a minimum barometric pressure of 949 mbar (hPa; 28.03 inHg). While in the straits, the hurricane began to accelerate to the northeast, passing in the vicinity of the Florida Keys and Biscayne Bay. The storm later passed through The Bahamas before entering the open Atlantic Ocean while maintaining Category 3 hurricane intensity, prior to passing directly over Bermuda on October 22 with an estimated minimum pressure of 962 mbar (hPa; 28.41 inHg) based on a report from Hamilton. After passing Bermuda, the storm gradually weakened, and had degenerated to a Category 1 hurricane by 1200 UTC on October 23. The hurricane later weakened further to tropical storm strength as it recurved to the southwest. The original HURDAT listed the storm as having undergone extratropical transition late on October 23, but the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project analyzed the storm to have lasted until October 28, prior to being absorbed by a larger extratropical cyclone.