A hurricane made landfall in the Florida Keys over Labor Day Weekend in 1935. When it blew over Long Key on September 2, 1935, it was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the contiguous United States. The Labor Day Hurricane is tied with 2019’s Hurricane Dorian for the strongest Atlantic storm to make landfall, bearing sustained windspeeds over 185 miles per hour.
The devastating tropical storm caused unprecedented damage to the Upper Keys and across much of Southern Florida. Twenty-foot storm surge waters rushed in from the shore and washed away buildings while the lashing winds blew debris and toppled trees. The storm was one of the most devastating ever to strike the US and caused $100 million in damage before adjusting for inflation.
Storm Formation
The weather pattern developed northeast of the Turk Islands on August 31. The next day, it advanced from a tropical depression to become a tropical storm. According to ships reports from the Caribbean, the cyclone explosively intensified on September 2, becoming a Category 5 hurricane in a matter of hours.
That day, the Weather Bureau sent a plane to survey the storm, marking the first time in history an aircraft was used for hurricane surveillance. The cyclone made landfall at Long Key on the evening of September 2 at its highest point of intensity.
Impact in the Keys
The hurricane battered the Florida Keys, triggering storm surge flooding and torrential rainfall. The storm surge knocked a Florida East Coast Railway Overseas Railroad train off its tracks. Its derailment left hundreds of people in the Keys waiting for evacuation that never came. The hurricane destroyed the town of Islamorada: reports from the era indicate that no structures were left standing in the village.
The Keys’ infrastructure suffered immensely due to the hurricane’s landfall. The storm surge washed away some bridges and railroads, while other roads were severely damaged. The region relies on an extensive bridge network that connects it to the mainland. As such, the destruction of its roadways brought trade grinding to a halt in the Keys for months.
The National Weather Service estimated that 408 people died during the hurricane. Experts attribute the relatively low death toll to the US Coast Guard’s successful evacuation effort. Half of the deaths were World War I veterans working on extending the highway from Key West to Key Largo.
Rebuilding
The Labor Day Hurricane couldn’t have occurred at a worse time for the Southeast US. The economic impact of the Great Depression complicated the rebuilding effort in the Keys.
The damage to the roads and bridges in the region was so extensive that completing the repairs to the region’s highways took two and half years. On March 28, 1938, workers completed the Overseas Highway, bridging mainland Florida and Key West.
The Works Progress Administration commissioned the creation of a memorial for Islamorada in 1937. Drivers on US Highway 1 can see the monument just east of mile marker 82, near where the original village of Islamorada stood. Known to locals as the “Hurricane Monument,” the stone dedication depicts palm trees curling against powerful winds while waves wash ashore from the ocean.
