Summary Of Isaac's Storm By Erik Larson

Isaacs’ Storm
The book Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson discusses the meteorologist Isaac Cline and his role in predicting the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, the deadliest hurricane in history. This was a time period where people believed that their technology had overcome the forces of nature. In their view, Galveston, Texas, a thriving city on the quiet waters of the gulf could not possibly be devastated by any storm. Meteorology as a science was still controversial; some people thought that the weather was god's own will and therefore should not be forecasted. Yet on September 9, over 8,000 people would die in Galveston alone.
However, meteorologists did have modern weather instruments available to them. Isaac Cline worked for the weather bureau
More millionaires lived in Galveston, street by street than in any other American city. It was competing with Houston in a race to dominate the Gulf coast. The city's residents were dependent on electricity and the telegraph, which made instant transcontinental communication possible. During the 1890's Galveston's population had increased by 29.93%, the highest rate of any southern city.
Meteorologists from Cuba identified a hurricane on September 5, the same hurricane that would hit Galveston four days later. The weather bureau did not take this news seriously, for they did not respect the Cuban weather forecasters. They believed that the Cubans were more concerned about "passion and drama, than science." In fact, the government had shut down its telegraph lines to Cuban meteorologists, believing they were conspiring against the weather bureau.The Cubans had predicted hurricanes far more accurately than the newly formed U.S. weather
Since September 6th, Dr. Young, Isaac Clines neighbor and a meteorologist, was aware of an approaching storm "Thursday afternoon, he wrote, the tide was again high and the water very rough, while the atmosphere had that peculiar hazy appearance that generally precedes a storm." (Page 130) At dawn Saturday, September 9th, Dr. Cline and Dr. Young observed massive ocean waves attacking the streetcar and the railroad, suspended above the Gulf of Mexico. The sight was enough to convince him that a great storm was coming. Cline then issued an illegal hurricane warning and told every person he saw to flee the city or go to higher ground. The weather bureau in 1900 did not permit stations to issue hurricane warnings without the bureau's approval from Washington, D.C. Cline knew that the bureau never would have granted him permission for issuing a hurricane warning. "Hurricane" was a term the bureau refused to use because it induced panic, and if such a storm were not really a hurricane, people would lose their confidence in the