Isaac's Storm

Isaac's Storm because he was the meteorologist in Galveston in 1900 and storms were not named until 1953. Galveston in 1900 was built on a sand bar an average four feet above sea level, eight feet at its highest point. A one foot rise in tides covered 1000 ft of beach front. Little was understood about the formation and mechanics of hurricanes at the time. Hubris and one-up-manship completed the picture. Hurricane storm surge can exceed thirty feet. To say that residents had no clue what was about to hit them is an understatement.

The book goes back to basic principles describing Isaac Cline's training as a weatherman, Christopher Columbus' and other mariner's first encounters with cyclonic storms and even the original scientific discoveries about air—that it has weight, that moving air, wind, has force and that large storms move in circular patterns.

Back in 1900 meteorology was in its infancy and weather forecasting was an inexact science, many would say it still is. Modern technology made the collection of weather data possible but it wasn't until the advent of computers that complex modelling of weather systems became possible. Little was known about the development and behaviour of hurricanes and since they form over large bodies of water data collection was hit or miss. What was known about hurricanes was considered proprietorial information and little shared. Because hurricanes remain unpredictable and the work was a male domain until recent years hurricanes were given female names. Add professional jealousy to the mix and the fact that a dangerous, deadly hurricane was crossing Cuba was knowledge that could not be shared due to blockage of transmissions.