1 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:05,800 Speaker 1: You're listening to American Shadows, a production of I Heart 2 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:21,200 Speaker 1: Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaronmankey. The winter had 3 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:24,840 Speaker 1: been harsh that year. Ice storms and weeks of bitter 4 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:28,760 Speaker 1: cold swept the northwestern states from Michigan and the Dakotas 5 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: down to Nebraska. So when the sun broke through the 6 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 1: clouds and the unusually warm temperature melted ice and snow 7 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 1: on the twelfth of January, people made the most of it. 8 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:45,600 Speaker 1: In the Dakotas, women hung out laundry. In Nebraska, children 9 00:00:45,720 --> 00:00:50,360 Speaker 1: began their trek home from school. In Montana, Idaho, and Kansas, 10 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: farmers enjoyed the break from tending livestock in the frigid cold. 11 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 1: Settlers in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming ventured into town for 12 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:04,720 Speaker 1: supply and errands. By mid afternoon, the clouds rolled in, 13 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:08,280 Speaker 1: dark and heavy. A farmer in South Dakota heard a 14 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:12,080 Speaker 1: tremendous roar, and, thinking the sound had come from a train, 15 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:17,440 Speaker 1: kept working. Minutes later, he realized the loud roar had 16 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: been thunder, unusual for winter. The sky grew as dark 17 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: as a seller, and icy winds tugged at his hat 18 00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:30,160 Speaker 1: and bit into his skin. He hadn't dressed warmly enough 19 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:34,040 Speaker 1: for the changing temperatures, and headed toward the house before 20 00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:36,959 Speaker 1: he left the fields. Though the snow fell from the 21 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:40,600 Speaker 1: sky like it had been dumped from a sack, seeing 22 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:45,039 Speaker 1: just a foot in front of him proved difficult. In Nebraska, 23 00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 1: the winds ripped the roof off of a schoolhouse. The 24 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 1: nineteen year old school teacher Mini Friedman tied her thirteen 25 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:55,840 Speaker 1: students together with twine and led them to safety at 26 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:59,760 Speaker 1: a farmhouse a mile and a half away. For her heroics, 27 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: he received the gold medal and over eighty marriage proposals. 28 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:09,639 Speaker 1: Another school teacher wasn't as fortunate. Lois Royce and three 29 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:13,240 Speaker 1: students were trapped in their tiny schoolhouse when the heat 30 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 1: ran out. She attempted to guide the children to her 31 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:20,000 Speaker 1: boarding house, just eighty two yards away. The white out 32 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,040 Speaker 1: conditions confused them and they lost their sense of direction. 33 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 1: No one knows how long they tried to find their 34 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:30,480 Speaker 1: way back. Sadly, the children froze to death, and though 35 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:35,560 Speaker 1: Lois survived, frostbite took both of her feet. As much 36 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:38,800 Speaker 1: as fifty five inches of snow fell across the plains 37 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:42,200 Speaker 1: that day, sustained winds of forty five miles per hour 38 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:45,720 Speaker 1: and gusts up to eighty miles per hour created snow drifts, 39 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:50,520 Speaker 1: some reaching upwards of fifty feet, covering entire houses. Trains 40 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:53,400 Speaker 1: were stopped in their tracks or derailed when they hit 41 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 1: snow banks. Telegraph lines snapped, cutting off all communication. Within 42 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,520 Speaker 1: twenty four hours, the temperature had plummeted nearly a hundred 43 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:06,400 Speaker 1: degrees fahrenheit. Fargo reported temperatures of forty seven degrees below zero. 44 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:10,720 Speaker 1: Known as the Children's Blizzard due to the time of 45 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: the day the blizzard hit and the number of children 46 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:15,799 Speaker 1: who died as they tried to get home, it killed 47 00:03:15,919 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 1: nearly two fifty people. Many died within feet of their homes. 48 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 1: Unable to use fences, buildings, or other landmarks to help 49 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:29,240 Speaker 1: guide them during whiteout conditions, they quickly became lost. Bodies 50 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:33,400 Speaker 1: were found days, weeks, and even months later. Some had 51 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 1: frozen to death, while others had suffocated under massive drifts. 52 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:41,200 Speaker 1: Those tasked with the recovery reported that the bodies had 53 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 1: been so solidly frozen that they made a metallic sound 54 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:48,120 Speaker 1: when touched. Children who had frozen were discovered with their 55 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:52,119 Speaker 1: arms wrapped tightly around each other. As you might imagine. 56 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:57,080 Speaker 1: Some of the missing were never found. The National Weather Service, 57 00:03:57,400 --> 00:04:01,680 Speaker 1: called the Signal Corps back then, had made a grave miscalculation. 58 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 1: While they knew a storm was coming, they believed that 59 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: using the words blizzard and white out conditions, much less 60 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 1: telling residents a dangerous storm might be approaching, was alarmist. 61 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:17,160 Speaker 1: By the time they realized their error, it was too late. 62 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:24,719 Speaker 1: In President Benjamin Harrison moved the Meteorological Department away from 63 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:29,040 Speaker 1: the War Department. The newly formed Weather Bureau reported directly 64 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:34,880 Speaker 1: to the Agriculture Department instead. Surprisingly, though nothing else about 65 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 1: how the weather was managed actually changed, and the results 66 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:45,839 Speaker 1: were devastating. I'm Lauren bobil Baum, Welcome to American Shadows. 67 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:58,560 Speaker 1: Americans hadn't been the only ones tracking weather over the waters, though. 68 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:03,040 Speaker 1: Back in teen fifty eight in Havana, Cuba, father Benito 69 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:07,159 Speaker 1: Vignier's founded the Balin Observatory, perhaps the most advanced weather 70 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:11,640 Speaker 1: station in the world. In Cuba, the stucco homes with 71 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:15,480 Speaker 1: their wrought iron balconies and zinc roofs, had been subjected 72 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:19,800 Speaker 1: to frequent storms. Hurricanes were so common that at least 73 00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:22,800 Speaker 1: once a year, storms even tore the roof off of 74 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:27,800 Speaker 1: the observatory. Father Vigny has filled notebook after notebook with 75 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:31,800 Speaker 1: drawings and descriptions of clouds. He cross reference to them 76 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:35,120 Speaker 1: with weather instrument readings, and made notes from incoming ship 77 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:39,839 Speaker 1: captains returning from sea. He also collected sordid and cross 78 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:46,360 Speaker 1: referenced newspaper clippings. He paid special attention to siras stratus clouds, 79 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:50,760 Speaker 1: the tall, gauzy clouds found on the outer fringes of hurricanes. 80 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:55,000 Speaker 1: His understanding of storms and cloud formations enabled him to 81 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:59,400 Speaker 1: predict hurricanes with uncanny precision. When he was done with 82 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:03,680 Speaker 1: his notebook, he published newspaper articles in terms that ordinary 83 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:08,359 Speaker 1: people would understand for him. The more informed people were, 84 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:13,480 Speaker 1: the better of all his notes and teachings. Father Vigneyer's 85 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:16,520 Speaker 1: stressed that sarah stratus clouds could be one of the 86 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:20,400 Speaker 1: best early indicators of large storms still many miles out 87 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:24,599 Speaker 1: to see, giving people time to prepare. Of course, the 88 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:28,320 Speaker 1: presence of such clouds alone wasn't proof enough. They also 89 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:32,400 Speaker 1: had a particular shape stretched across the sky in plumes, 90 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:35,279 Speaker 1: the bottom of the clouds pointing toward the eye of 91 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:40,000 Speaker 1: the encroaching storm. With this knowledge, the storm's current direction 92 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:45,640 Speaker 1: could be determined. This information, along with wind patterns, speed, 93 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:49,880 Speaker 1: and cloud density, allowed Father Vigneer's to build a storm model, 94 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:55,000 Speaker 1: effectively tracking its future path and intensity. Before long, a 95 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:58,960 Speaker 1: telegraphic network of observers across the Caribbean assisted him in 96 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:04,560 Speaker 1: gathering weather reports and cloud formations. The British, French, Danish, Dutch, Dominican, 97 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:09,279 Speaker 1: Venezuelan and even the American government passed along information directly 98 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:13,440 Speaker 1: to Father Vignyer's. With the additional input, his already stellar 99 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:19,440 Speaker 1: record for hurricane predictions improved exponentially. In the United States, 100 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:22,760 Speaker 1: Willis Moore took over as director of the U S 101 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:28,040 Speaker 1: Weather Bureau in He wasn't fond of Father Vigneer's work, 102 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:32,080 Speaker 1: nor any other weather forecaster, and decided that in the 103 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:36,480 Speaker 1: US at least there would be changes for starters. He 104 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:39,960 Speaker 1: wanted store warnings to go directly through him before being 105 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:44,600 Speaker 1: sent to local weathermen, effective immediately. Certain words were to 106 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:49,040 Speaker 1: be removed and devoided tornado, cyclone, and hurricane, among others. 107 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:52,560 Speaker 1: As far as he was concerned, weather men were over 108 00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 1: predicting the weather and terrifying the public. Moore's next change 109 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:01,640 Speaker 1: came in the assignment of Colonel Henry Dunwoodie to the 110 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:06,480 Speaker 1: Bureau's Caribbean weather station. Dunwoodie believed that those who claimed 111 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:10,000 Speaker 1: the ability to predict a hurricane's path using cloud formations 112 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:14,560 Speaker 1: and wind direction might as well use divination instead. At 113 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:18,920 Speaker 1: first glance, Moore's choice might seem a bit unusual. That 114 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:22,040 Speaker 1: is until you noticed that the new appointee shared in 115 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:25,520 Speaker 1: his dislike of father Vigner's and those who had followed 116 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:30,760 Speaker 1: in his footsteps. After the changes state side were in effect, 117 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:33,840 Speaker 1: both Dunwoodie and Moore turned their sites on the Cuban 118 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:38,080 Speaker 1: weather forecasters. The two men believed that despite the accuracy, 119 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:43,360 Speaker 1: the forecasts were created by backward and hysterical people. The 120 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:46,560 Speaker 1: two men appointed a Bureau veteran, William Stockman, to be 121 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:50,040 Speaker 1: in charge of the United States weather stations in Cuba. 122 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:53,680 Speaker 1: Once there, he not only agreed with his superior's viewpoint 123 00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:56,000 Speaker 1: on the local people, he took it a step further. 124 00:08:57,000 --> 00:08:59,560 Speaker 1: He reported back to More and Dunwoodie that the weather 125 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:03,240 Speaker 1: forecast ster's methods of prediction were based on superstition and 126 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:08,680 Speaker 1: lacked American know how and technology. He also told them 127 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:11,719 Speaker 1: that any data and know how the Cubans collected had 128 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:15,160 Speaker 1: been stolen from the U. S. Observatories, that they had 129 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:19,920 Speaker 1: been hijacking US data for years now. If you're thinking 130 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:24,240 Speaker 1: this didn't add up, you'd be right. Essentially, he was 131 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:27,840 Speaker 1: saying that the Cuban meteorologists, who had claimed were uneducated 132 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:30,840 Speaker 1: and superstitious, had never been right about the weather, but 133 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:33,680 Speaker 1: when they were, it had been because they had stolen 134 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:36,880 Speaker 1: U S. Data. He also claimed that their lack of 135 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:40,600 Speaker 1: understanding and knowledge had succeeded only in whipping the Cuban 136 00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:44,920 Speaker 1: people into a hysterical frenzy with warnings about monster storms. 137 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:49,439 Speaker 1: The report fed into Moore's beliefs, and in August of 138 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:52,640 Speaker 1: nineteen hundred, right in the middle of hurricane season, he 139 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:56,160 Speaker 1: determined that all communication between the Cuban weatherman and the 140 00:09:56,280 --> 00:10:00,160 Speaker 1: US must be shut down. Seeing that the war depart 141 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:04,400 Speaker 1: and controlled the telegraph lines, that part was easy. Banning 142 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:07,360 Speaker 1: communication between the U. S. Weather Bureau in Havana and 143 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:10,680 Speaker 1: the office in New Orleans was another matter, though. To 144 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:14,240 Speaker 1: remedy this, he ordered all reports go directly through him 145 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:18,360 Speaker 1: in Washington. He would determine what information New Orleans and 146 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:23,199 Speaker 1: other coastal cities needed, if any. His power grab had 147 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:27,199 Speaker 1: one small remaining problem, though the telegraph lines owned by 148 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:31,120 Speaker 1: Western Union More didn't have the authority to censor weather 149 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:35,560 Speaker 1: data over their lines. However, he did manage to strongly 150 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:38,480 Speaker 1: convince them to set all weather related news coming from 151 00:10:38,520 --> 00:10:43,120 Speaker 1: Cuba to the lowest priority. This would effectively slow the 152 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:47,160 Speaker 1: rate of transmission, or, as he hoped, force reports to 153 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:53,319 Speaker 1: be dropped entirely. On September three of that year, Father 154 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:57,920 Speaker 1: Lorenzo Gangoti, who had succeeded Father Vignier's, watched a new 155 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:02,240 Speaker 1: disturbing weather system off the Havana coast. The massive storm 156 00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:06,760 Speaker 1: twirled on its axis, changing speed and direction. Rough seas 157 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:10,040 Speaker 1: and wind gusts of sixty miles per hour battered the coast. 158 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:14,320 Speaker 1: Though the storm still sat miles off shore. While the 159 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:17,319 Speaker 1: center of the storm hadn't yet formed the all telling 160 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:21,960 Speaker 1: eye of a hurricane, he kept a close watch. The 161 00:11:22,040 --> 00:11:26,199 Speaker 1: next day, the storm intensified before making landfall, washing away 162 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:29,800 Speaker 1: train tracks and destroying buildings in its way. By the 163 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:33,720 Speaker 1: night of September five, cirro stratus clouds formed over the moon, 164 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:39,400 Speaker 1: and by dawn the sky turned red. Heading for warmer waters, 165 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:44,400 Speaker 1: the storm changed direction, moving north by northwest. As he 166 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:47,760 Speaker 1: had learned from his predecessor, Father Gengoiti, sat down and 167 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:52,160 Speaker 1: mapped out the hurricane, predicting the path the Texas Gulf coast. 168 00:11:53,240 --> 00:11:56,000 Speaker 1: More had cut off every method of warning the people 169 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:59,960 Speaker 1: in the US. In warm open water, the already well 170 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:04,640 Speaker 1: formed and deadly storm would gain strength. All Father Gang 171 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:07,760 Speaker 1: could do for the people along the Gulf coast was 172 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:19,680 Speaker 1: watch and pray. In the early nine hundreds, U S 173 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:24,120 Speaker 1: citizens were proud of American technology. They thought their advancement 174 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:28,320 Speaker 1: and inventions were unparalleled the world over. In such a 175 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:31,400 Speaker 1: short time, they had conquered the land, and now there 176 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:35,359 Speaker 1: had been talk of controlling the weather using cannon blasts, chemicals, 177 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:39,160 Speaker 1: and controlled forest fires. They lived in a time when 178 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:45,400 Speaker 1: anything seemed possible. In Galveston, Texas, technology sat front and center. 179 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:49,760 Speaker 1: They had electric street cars and street lights to telegraph 180 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:53,720 Speaker 1: companies and local and long distance telephone lines kept communications 181 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:57,600 Speaker 1: with other prestigious towns. Open a city of culture, people 182 00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:01,840 Speaker 1: enjoyed performances in three concert hall halls for travelers. There 183 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:05,760 Speaker 1: were no less than twenty hotels, including the ultraposh Tremont 184 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:09,600 Speaker 1: with over two hundred ocean facing rooms, private baths, and 185 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:14,080 Speaker 1: their own power plant. More millionaires resided in Galveston per 186 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:17,960 Speaker 1: square mile than Newport, Rhode Island, resulting in enormous and 187 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:22,880 Speaker 1: elaborate mansions along Broadway Avenue. At the turn of the century, 188 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:27,440 Speaker 1: cities competed amongst each other for wealth and prominence. In Texas, 189 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:31,600 Speaker 1: Galveston strived to reach the status of Baltimore in San Francisco. 190 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:34,640 Speaker 1: The New York Herald had already written a piece on 191 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:38,480 Speaker 1: Galveston the New York of the Gulf. Others called it 192 00:13:38,559 --> 00:13:42,160 Speaker 1: the Queen City of the Gulf. In comparison to other 193 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:46,160 Speaker 1: Texas cities, Galveston was small, just a narrow island along 194 00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:48,800 Speaker 1: the Bay, barely nine feet above sea level at its 195 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:52,680 Speaker 1: peak and only two hundred and nine square miles. Despite 196 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:56,440 Speaker 1: the size, it was the biggest cotton port in the 197 00:13:56,520 --> 00:14:01,199 Speaker 1: country and the third busiest port overall. Forty five steamship 198 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:04,600 Speaker 1: lines provided service from Europe to Texas. One of the 199 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:08,160 Speaker 1: fastest growing cities in the country, almost thirty eight thousand 200 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:11,000 Speaker 1: people called the small city home by the summer of 201 00:14:13,559 --> 00:14:16,840 Speaker 1: On September five, the weather report in the Galveston Daily 202 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:20,560 Speaker 1: News was short. A tropical disturbance is moving over western 203 00:14:20,680 --> 00:14:24,760 Speaker 1: Cuba and headed the south Florida coast. The report had 204 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:27,640 Speaker 1: come directly from Willis Moore at the DC Weather Bureau. 205 00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:31,280 Speaker 1: The day before, no one worried. An article in the 206 00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:35,240 Speaker 1: local paper back in had stated that a hurricane of 207 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:39,240 Speaker 1: any significant strength would never make landfall on the island. 208 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:44,760 Speaker 1: On Thursday, September six, people awoke to a beautiful day 209 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:48,640 Speaker 1: with clear blue skies that mirrored the Gulf waters. At 210 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:51,880 Speaker 1: six a m. The Weather Bureau's chief observer, Isaac Klein, 211 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:55,960 Speaker 1: and his brother and assistant Joseph, took their morning readings 212 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:59,120 Speaker 1: from the roof of the five story Levi building. They 213 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:02,520 Speaker 1: noted a no a, more barometric pressure and light winds. 214 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:08,240 Speaker 1: The temperature, however, was already a steamy eighty degrees. That 215 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:11,880 Speaker 1: summer had been warmer than normal. The air was hot 216 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:15,680 Speaker 1: and humid. You waded through it more than walked. Residents 217 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:17,920 Speaker 1: and tourists who ventured out for a swim at night 218 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:21,520 Speaker 1: said the Gulf felt like bathwater, giving very little relief 219 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:25,640 Speaker 1: from the oppressive heat wave. Two hours after his first 220 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:29,400 Speaker 1: weather report, Isaac telegraphed d C asking for an update 221 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:33,640 Speaker 1: on the prior day's tropical disturbance spotted over Cuba. Moore's 222 00:15:33,680 --> 00:15:38,560 Speaker 1: reply was brief, not a hurricane. The director assured him 223 00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:42,040 Speaker 1: that the storm would certainly recurve when it reached the Gulf. 224 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:47,240 Speaker 1: According to More, Caribbean, storms on a northern trajectory couldn't 225 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:50,760 Speaker 1: continue that path and would curve back towards South Florida. 226 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:53,160 Speaker 1: Though he didn't state how he had come to such 227 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:56,720 Speaker 1: a conclusion, he insisted that the heavy rains and moderate 228 00:15:56,760 --> 00:15:59,400 Speaker 1: wind force would only affect the ships moored off the 229 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:02,760 Speaker 1: Florida Key Ease. He also predicted that areas up the 230 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:06,240 Speaker 1: coast from Norfolk to New England would get rainfall before 231 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:09,600 Speaker 1: the storm remnants moved off into the Atlantic. Sometime Friday, 232 00:16:11,080 --> 00:16:13,840 Speaker 1: Moore did tell the weather stations in New Orleans that 233 00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:16,000 Speaker 1: they should put up the red and black storm warning 234 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:20,000 Speaker 1: flags to alert ship captains of potentially rougher seas, but 235 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:25,040 Speaker 1: issued none for cities further west. At one PM, More 236 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:29,160 Speaker 1: telegraphed East coast cities like Savannah and Charleston that Cuba 237 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:32,400 Speaker 1: had experienced heavy rain and that the tropical disturbance had 238 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:36,600 Speaker 1: moved towards Florida as he had predicted. Later in the evening, 239 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:39,160 Speaker 1: Isaac and Joseph took the last reading of the day 240 00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:42,480 Speaker 1: ninety degrees, which was hotter than usual for the season 241 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:45,560 Speaker 1: and especially for the time of day. The wind was 242 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:48,720 Speaker 1: coming out of the north, and the barometric pressure had dropped. 243 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:53,240 Speaker 1: Thick clouds began to dot the coastline. After sending off 244 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:56,400 Speaker 1: the report back to Washington, Isaac returned to his house 245 00:16:56,480 --> 00:16:59,080 Speaker 1: on Q Street, where he lived with his pregnant wife, 246 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:03,920 Speaker 1: four children, and his brother. On Friday morning, September seven, 247 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:07,320 Speaker 1: Isaac knew something was wrong. Though the reports from d 248 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:11,400 Speaker 1: C insisted the storm wasn't heading their way, the rough 249 00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:13,919 Speaker 1: surf and the strong winds at least convinced More that 250 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:19,400 Speaker 1: Galveston should raise storm warning flags for the steamerships. Isaac 251 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:22,360 Speaker 1: went about his day of readings without any idea that 252 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:26,560 Speaker 1: More was withholding information. The East coast weatherman had given 253 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:30,480 Speaker 1: Washington some fairly surprising reports. The storm that had been 254 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:34,560 Speaker 1: told would hit them never arrived. Key West had experienced 255 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:38,080 Speaker 1: strong winds but not much more, and Central Florida never 256 00:17:38,119 --> 00:17:43,639 Speaker 1: got the storm More had predicted either. Isaac wasn't privy 257 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:46,919 Speaker 1: to the reports coming from East coast cities. He couldn't 258 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:50,040 Speaker 1: have known that Savannah and Charleston reported clear skies and 259 00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:54,040 Speaker 1: mild weather. He assumed the torrential rains More said would 260 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:58,280 Speaker 1: hit the coast had already happened when the telegram arrived 261 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:01,239 Speaker 1: that morning. It never mentioned what the Washington Bureau had 262 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:04,640 Speaker 1: already concluded. The storm that was supposed to be skirting 263 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:09,720 Speaker 1: up the East Coast was actually in the Gulf. Friday afternoon, 264 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:13,439 Speaker 1: the phones in Isaac's third floor office rang almost constantly. 265 00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:17,280 Speaker 1: Ship captains, the harbor master, and business men stopped by 266 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:20,680 Speaker 1: with concerns about the high swells of water crashing on shore. 267 00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:24,399 Speaker 1: The waves had turned an angry green, and the sky 268 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:28,560 Speaker 1: a brooding shade of gray. Strong winds whipped the storm 269 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:34,920 Speaker 1: warning flags. Concerned, Isaac telegraphed More, who insisted that while 270 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:37,679 Speaker 1: he might have been wrong about the storm's path, it 271 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:42,200 Speaker 1: was not a hurricane. Throughout the day, Isaac and Joseph 272 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:46,320 Speaker 1: fended off worried citizens and phone calls. Every few hours, 273 00:18:46,359 --> 00:18:49,560 Speaker 1: they took more readings from the rooftop d C had 274 00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:52,560 Speaker 1: said they could expect some wind and heavy rains that evening. 275 00:18:53,080 --> 00:18:58,080 Speaker 1: Nothing unusual, Isaac determined. Summer storms flooded the streets on occasion. 276 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:02,960 Speaker 1: By nightfall, the temperature dropped, giving much needed relief from 277 00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:06,920 Speaker 1: the oppressive heat. The last weather report Isaac received showed 278 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:11,520 Speaker 1: the storm southwest of New Orleans and moving due west. Again, 279 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:17,120 Speaker 1: not a hurricane, the Washington Bureau assured him. At midnight, 280 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:20,960 Speaker 1: Isaac created a map charting the storm's course. He concluded 281 00:19:21,119 --> 00:19:24,080 Speaker 1: that the storm would make a direct hit on Galveston, 282 00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:27,800 Speaker 1: had survived direct hits from severe storms before, he thought. 283 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:32,000 Speaker 1: Despite his misgivings, he decided that Washington knew the storm 284 00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:35,439 Speaker 1: better than he did. He left for home in a 285 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:39,080 Speaker 1: few hours sleep, but it was the brief calm before 286 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:51,359 Speaker 1: the storm. At four in the morning, Isaac woke His wife, 287 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:55,439 Speaker 1: heavily pregnant with their fifth child, slept beside him. The 288 00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:58,600 Speaker 1: sound of the house, a sturdy home sitting on stilts, 289 00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:04,280 Speaker 1: groaned and creep with the ever increasing wind outside. Feeling uneasy, 290 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:09,280 Speaker 1: he got up, dressed and headed downstairs. Joseph was also awake. 291 00:20:10,119 --> 00:20:14,120 Speaker 1: They stood on the balcony looking over the slate shingle rooftops, 292 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:17,960 Speaker 1: each taking in the wind, which had become almost chilly. 293 00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:23,080 Speaker 1: I have the sense of impending doom, Joseph said, although 294 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:27,679 Speaker 1: he couldn't quite figure out why. Isaac did too. He 295 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:30,520 Speaker 1: went to the weather station early first heading down by 296 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:33,480 Speaker 1: the bay and then along the beach, warning residents that 297 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:37,440 Speaker 1: they might see heavy flooding and to seek shelter. Isaac 298 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:40,760 Speaker 1: also suggested that merchants should remove items from the floors 299 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:45,480 Speaker 1: of their shops just in case. Meanwhile, Joseph took the 300 00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:48,520 Speaker 1: map his brother had drawn to the closest Western Union office. 301 00:20:49,119 --> 00:20:53,760 Speaker 1: The clerk shook his head lines are down. He slogged 302 00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:56,680 Speaker 1: through the flooded streets to the next telegraph office, only 303 00:20:56,760 --> 00:20:59,879 Speaker 1: to find that their lines were also down. He were 304 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:02,440 Speaker 1: remembered the phone at the office. While he couldn't send 305 00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:06,440 Speaker 1: the drawing, he could at least make a call. Still 306 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:09,520 Speaker 1: soggy from the floods, Joseph rang the operator and asked 307 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:12,800 Speaker 1: for a connection to Houston. She refused, stated that there 308 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:16,600 Speaker 1: were too many other calls ahead of him. Eventually, after 309 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:19,240 Speaker 1: speaking with the manager and convincing him of the emergency, 310 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:23,960 Speaker 1: the operator put the call through. Throughout the morning, the 311 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:27,200 Speaker 1: brothers repeated More's weather report of heavy rains and strong 312 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:30,520 Speaker 1: winds to worried citizens, telling them not to worry that 313 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:33,880 Speaker 1: Washington was assuring them that the following day would be 314 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:39,359 Speaker 1: clear and sunny. By three, the flooding had become the 315 00:21:39,359 --> 00:21:43,359 Speaker 1: worst anyone had ever seen. Isaac made another call to 316 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:46,520 Speaker 1: the Houston Western Union, requesting that they forward the report 317 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:50,080 Speaker 1: directly to more in d C. He stated that the 318 00:21:50,119 --> 00:21:53,159 Speaker 1: local telegraph lines were still down, the gulf was rising, 319 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:56,280 Speaker 1: and that most of the streets were under water. The 320 00:21:56,320 --> 00:22:00,000 Speaker 1: barometric pressure had dropped below twenty nine inches. He would 321 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:03,800 Speaker 1: be able to send another report anytime soon. The people 322 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:08,560 Speaker 1: of Galfston were on their own. By six thirty that evening, 323 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:11,720 Speaker 1: Isaac waded through waste deep water to get to his house. 324 00:22:12,320 --> 00:22:14,840 Speaker 1: He walked in to see forty people had gathered for 325 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:19,160 Speaker 1: shelter from the rising waters. At seven pm, Isaac stood 326 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:22,040 Speaker 1: at the front door, watching debris begin to fly through 327 00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:25,639 Speaker 1: the air. The water, now ten ft above the ground, 328 00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:29,880 Speaker 1: suddenly swelled to fifteen feet. Within mere seconds, debris began 329 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:33,880 Speaker 1: to pile up in the water. At eight pm, houses 330 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:36,679 Speaker 1: that had washed away from their foundations slammed into the 331 00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:42,399 Speaker 1: stilts securing his home. Inside, people huddled together terrified. Slate 332 00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:46,440 Speaker 1: roofs designed to handle rougher winds sailed through the air outside. 333 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:50,919 Speaker 1: Joseph suggested they leave and try to evacuate while they 334 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:53,760 Speaker 1: still could. Isaac said they should stay it was too 335 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:57,600 Speaker 1: late to evacuate, and the debris would surely kill them. 336 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:00,359 Speaker 1: A half hour later, the client residents could no longer 337 00:23:00,359 --> 00:23:03,480 Speaker 1: with stand the battering ram of houses against the stilts. 338 00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:07,440 Speaker 1: The stilts broke, plummeting the house into the raging water, 339 00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:12,960 Speaker 1: tearing the home apart. Nearly twenty people, including Isaac's pregnant wife, 340 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:15,959 Speaker 1: were swept under water and carried away in what seemed 341 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,400 Speaker 1: a fraction of a second. The water pulled Isaac under 342 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:22,439 Speaker 1: as well, though he clung tightly to his eldest child. 343 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:27,119 Speaker 1: Joseph managed to grab Isaac's other three children, and they 344 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:29,800 Speaker 1: struggled to pull themselves from the water onto the floating 345 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:33,240 Speaker 1: debris that had once been part of their home. Two 346 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:35,880 Speaker 1: more children bobbed to the surface, and the men snatched 347 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:40,080 Speaker 1: them from the turbulent water. Roofing and other debris flew 348 00:23:40,119 --> 00:23:44,639 Speaker 1: through the air, killing people adrift on the flopsam Seeing 349 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:47,879 Speaker 1: the gore and carnage, the brothers fished out planks of 350 00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:51,119 Speaker 1: wood from the water to use as shields. For hours 351 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:54,440 Speaker 1: they drifted. The water was so high that at first 352 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:58,399 Speaker 1: Isaac worried that had been carried out to sea. Fortunately, 353 00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:03,240 Speaker 1: around midnight, they collided with more secure structures. The group 354 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:06,800 Speaker 1: scrambled over the wreckage. Tree branches slammed into people as 355 00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:11,280 Speaker 1: they've tried to reach safety. Finally, Isaac, Joseph, and the 356 00:24:11,359 --> 00:24:17,600 Speaker 1: children found shelter in a residence of By daybreak on Sunday, 357 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:21,359 Speaker 1: September nine, the brothers crawled from the wreckage. Taking in 358 00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:27,080 Speaker 1: the destruction, They saw nothing but death and devastation. Galveston 359 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:32,800 Speaker 1: was gone. Nearly half the homes were missing, the rest damaged. 360 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:35,480 Speaker 1: On what used to be eight the ninth streets, not 361 00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:39,359 Speaker 1: a single home stood. Isaac had no idea what had 362 00:24:39,359 --> 00:24:43,800 Speaker 1: happened to the twenty people known to live there. Trees 363 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:46,480 Speaker 1: had snapped in half or had been sheared off by 364 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:50,960 Speaker 1: the airborne slate roofs. In the days that followed, Isaac 365 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:53,679 Speaker 1: made multiple trips to the hospital in search of his wife. 366 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:58,280 Speaker 1: They suggested he checked the morgue, not the one in 367 00:24:58,280 --> 00:25:01,880 Speaker 1: the hospital nor the local funeral home. The death toll 368 00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:04,480 Speaker 1: had been so great that a temporary morgue had been 369 00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:11,480 Speaker 1: set up at a nearby warehouse. They're the loss was unimaginable. Corpses, 370 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:14,840 Speaker 1: some puffy and bloated from the water, lay in rows. 371 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:18,919 Speaker 1: Survivors walked up and down the aisles searching for loved ones. 372 00:25:19,640 --> 00:25:22,280 Speaker 1: Many of the dead had been covered in sheets and blankets. 373 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:26,119 Speaker 1: People carefully lifted the edges, looking to see if anyone 374 00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:31,520 Speaker 1: underneath might be family, if they were still recognizable. Like 375 00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:35,240 Speaker 1: many others who wandered through the aisles desperately searching for 376 00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:39,640 Speaker 1: their loved ones, Isaac never found Cora. She and their 377 00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:45,760 Speaker 1: unborn child were one of the many casualties. Authorities estimated 378 00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:48,840 Speaker 1: that eight thousand people died in the storm, but the 379 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:51,160 Speaker 1: death toll might have been as high as twelve thousand 380 00:25:51,359 --> 00:25:55,919 Speaker 1: due to the influx of tourists. The hurricane, what we 381 00:25:56,200 --> 00:25:59,399 Speaker 1: now know to be a Category four storm, hit the 382 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:02,520 Speaker 1: unsuspecting city. Was sustained winds of a hundred and thirty 383 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:06,720 Speaker 1: miles per hour and storm surges over fifteen feet. Though 384 00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:10,240 Speaker 1: the city rebuilt, raising buildings and constructing a sea wall, 385 00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:13,760 Speaker 1: it never regained the dominant shipping status it once held, 386 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:18,760 Speaker 1: giving that honor to Houston. The Galveston hurricane remains the 387 00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:23,000 Speaker 1: deadliest natural disaster in the United States and still holds 388 00:26:23,119 --> 00:26:26,399 Speaker 1: the grim record the largest death toll of American lives 389 00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:30,639 Speaker 1: in a single day, and because of it, the Weather 390 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:35,480 Speaker 1: Bureau learned a lesson that cost thousands their lives. Hurricanes 391 00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:50,080 Speaker 1: don't care about politics. Willis Moore stood by his predictions, 392 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:54,320 Speaker 1: despite the tremendous death toll, the huge number of resulting 393 00:26:54,359 --> 00:26:58,440 Speaker 1: houseless and damage that exceeded seven hundred million dollars in 394 00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:03,240 Speaker 1: today's money, He refused to admit his mistake. The weather 395 00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:04,920 Speaker 1: report he had given Isaac for the day of the 396 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:08,880 Speaker 1: hurricane had been for heavy rain and wind, technically accurate, 397 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:11,439 Speaker 1: but without the crucial details like the use of the 398 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:15,680 Speaker 1: word hurricane. For the following day, he said the forecast 399 00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:21,399 Speaker 1: would be fair, fresh and possible brisk northerly winds. Most 400 00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:25,040 Speaker 1: lives could have been saved. The Washington Bureau had reports 401 00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:28,480 Speaker 1: ahead of time showing the storm hadn't curved backward as predicted. 402 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:31,719 Speaker 1: The East coast had updated more with that much. New 403 00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:33,800 Speaker 1: Orleans had noted the path of the storm as well. 404 00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:39,560 Speaker 1: On September six, d Captain Halsey of the ship Louisiana 405 00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:42,960 Speaker 1: reported winds exceeding a hundred miles per hour and said 406 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:46,639 Speaker 1: the storm was gaining strength as it continued westward. Though 407 00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:50,280 Speaker 1: the Washington Weather Bureau knew this, they emphatically insisted it 408 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:54,880 Speaker 1: wasn't a hurricane and wouldn't hit Texas. When More predicted 409 00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:58,320 Speaker 1: the storm would loop back and cross central Florida, Cuban 410 00:27:58,359 --> 00:28:01,639 Speaker 1: forecasters disagreed and warned the Weather Bureau that the storm 411 00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:05,639 Speaker 1: would make a direct hit on the Texas coastline. The 412 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:08,840 Speaker 1: Cuban forecasters had been right about predicting not only the 413 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:13,000 Speaker 1: hurricane itself, but the path. Moore's failure to listen to 414 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:16,960 Speaker 1: the Cuban weather forecasters or acknowledge their expertise prevented him 415 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:21,760 Speaker 1: from properly warning Galveston. It had, indeed all come down 416 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:27,679 Speaker 1: to politics. Willis Moore was never reprimanded and continued to 417 00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:32,080 Speaker 1: serve as the director until nineteen. The Bureau did reopen 418 00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:35,200 Speaker 1: some of the communication channels after the hurricane, though More 419 00:28:35,359 --> 00:28:39,040 Speaker 1: contended that the long range projections that the Cuban meteorologists 420 00:28:39,200 --> 00:28:44,520 Speaker 1: used were still quackery. Sadly, science when it comes to 421 00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:49,640 Speaker 1: hurricanes didn't progress until nineteen, and it wasn't until ninety 422 00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:53,880 Speaker 1: eight before forecasts could include words like tornado, continuing to 423 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:59,080 Speaker 1: leave people without warning. When Hurricane Katrina leveled New Orleans 424 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:02,120 Speaker 1: in two thousand five, the damage wasn't from lack of 425 00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:06,400 Speaker 1: warning or word usage or accuracy in the prediction. In fact, 426 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:09,920 Speaker 1: thanks to lessons learned through tragedies like Galveston, the worst 427 00:29:09,960 --> 00:29:14,040 Speaker 1: case scenario was avoided. But major storms today present a 428 00:29:14,040 --> 00:29:17,320 Speaker 1: new danger. Our cities are so much more populated than 429 00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:20,080 Speaker 1: they were over a century ago, and getting people out 430 00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:22,760 Speaker 1: of them ahead of natural disasters is a major challenge. 431 00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:26,920 Speaker 1: And even with an emergency plan and early warning, some 432 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:30,280 Speaker 1: people refuse to leave, or they wait until the storm arrives. 433 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:35,480 Speaker 1: We'll keep learning and getting better at what we do, 434 00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:38,680 Speaker 1: but none of that will eradicate the biggest danger that 435 00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:42,000 Speaker 1: we face, because the enemy will follow us wherever we go. 436 00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:51,680 Speaker 1: Our most deadly flaw human error. There's more to this story. 437 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:54,560 Speaker 1: Stick around after this brief sponsor break to hear all 438 00:29:54,600 --> 00:30:03,320 Speaker 1: about it. The Cold War was fought in the skies. 439 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:07,800 Speaker 1: During the nineteen sixties, U. S. Intelligence deployed a vast 440 00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:11,840 Speaker 1: network of satellites designed to spy on potential Russian, Chinese, 441 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:16,600 Speaker 1: and Cuban missile sites. After snapping photos, the parachute outfitted 442 00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:20,520 Speaker 1: film canisters were ejected and later collected by cargo planes. 443 00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:24,240 Speaker 1: It was a costly endeavor, and the last thing officials 444 00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:28,200 Speaker 1: wanted was for canisters to end up in storms. Highly 445 00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:31,800 Speaker 1: sophisticated weather satellites were used to make sure that didn't happen. 446 00:30:32,600 --> 00:30:36,360 Speaker 1: Of course, being classified, few people even within the military, 447 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:41,280 Speaker 1: knew of their existence. On July twenty one of nineteen 448 00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:45,720 Speaker 1: sixty nine, Air Force meteorologist Hank Brandley noted a major 449 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:49,360 Speaker 1: tropical storm forming over part of the Pacific Ocean. The 450 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:52,880 Speaker 1: trajectory concerned him not because the storm may or may 451 00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:56,280 Speaker 1: not have become a hurricane, but because Apollo eleven was 452 00:30:56,360 --> 00:30:59,640 Speaker 1: just three days from a planned splashed down right in 453 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:03,560 Speaker 1: the story arms path. The crew who planned on parachuting 454 00:31:03,560 --> 00:31:06,880 Speaker 1: into the ocean could be killed. The parachutes were no 455 00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:11,080 Speaker 1: match for the severe winds and down drafts. Brandley had 456 00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:14,280 Speaker 1: a problem. Now he was one of the few who 457 00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:17,240 Speaker 1: not only knew about the satellite's existence, but it was 458 00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:20,720 Speaker 1: his job to monitor the data. He stared at the photos, 459 00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:23,480 Speaker 1: realizing he had to do something, but he wasn't allowed 460 00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:25,400 Speaker 1: to talk about it to anyone who didn't have the 461 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:31,000 Speaker 1: proper clearance. Finally, he located Williard Houston, the man tasked 462 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:33,400 Speaker 1: with weather forecasts for the fleet of ships being sent 463 00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:38,320 Speaker 1: to recover Apollo eleven. Both men had clearance and were 464 00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:42,240 Speaker 1: stationed at Pearl Harbor. After reviewing the photos, Houston took 465 00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:45,880 Speaker 1: the issue up with Rear Admiral Donald Davis. There was 466 00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:48,760 Speaker 1: a catch, though, the Admiral, even though he was in 467 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:51,800 Speaker 1: charge of the ship heading to the Apollo eleven recovery area, 468 00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:56,760 Speaker 1: didn't have clearance to see the spy satellite photos. In short, 469 00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:00,560 Speaker 1: Houston had to be creative and convincing with out telling 470 00:32:00,640 --> 00:32:03,520 Speaker 1: Davis where he had gotten the information or mentioning those 471 00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:07,800 Speaker 1: satellite photos. The satellites weren't even supposed to exist, after all. 472 00:32:08,840 --> 00:32:11,360 Speaker 1: All he could tell the Admiral was that Neil Armstrong, 473 00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:15,080 Speaker 1: Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin would die upon impact if 474 00:32:15,080 --> 00:32:19,440 Speaker 1: they splashed down in the original drop zone. Davis took 475 00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:22,840 Speaker 1: Houston at his word, though, if the meteorologist was wrong, 476 00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:26,800 Speaker 1: his career was over. After advising NASA of the new 477 00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:31,160 Speaker 1: recovery location, he changed the aircraft carrier USS Hornets course 478 00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:34,880 Speaker 1: and headed some two hundred and fifteen nautical miles northeast 479 00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:39,000 Speaker 1: of their current location. The new location altered the Apollo's 480 00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:42,960 Speaker 1: flight plan, changing a bunch of computer sequences NASA hadn't 481 00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:47,960 Speaker 1: planned on changing. Meanwhile, the Admiral sent reconnaissance aircraft to 482 00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:51,680 Speaker 1: verify a storm was brewing in the original drop area. 483 00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:55,320 Speaker 1: They reported back, Yes, there was indeed a major storm 484 00:32:55,320 --> 00:32:59,200 Speaker 1: in the Pacific Ocean south of Hawaii. The rest, as 485 00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:02,800 Speaker 1: they say, is history. President Nixon and the other members 486 00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:05,040 Speaker 1: of the presidential Party were flown to the U. S. S. 487 00:33:05,160 --> 00:33:08,680 Speaker 1: Arlington on the day of the recovery. Marine one took 488 00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:12,680 Speaker 1: them to the Hornet. The craft and crew safely splashed 489 00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:16,200 Speaker 1: down at the new location. Once the crew boarded the Hornet, 490 00:33:16,280 --> 00:33:19,160 Speaker 1: President Nixon told them, this is the greatest week in 491 00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:23,000 Speaker 1: the history of the world since creation. Had it not 492 00:33:23,080 --> 00:33:25,600 Speaker 1: been for the quick actions of Brandley and Davis, though, 493 00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:28,760 Speaker 1: the legendary story of the Apollo eleven mission would have 494 00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:35,360 Speaker 1: ended in disaster, all thanks to the most unlikely of heroes, meteorologists. 495 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:47,800 Speaker 1: American Shadows is hosted by Lauren Vogelbaum. This episode was 496 00:33:47,840 --> 00:33:51,960 Speaker 1: written by Michelle Muto, researched by Ali Steed, and produced 497 00:33:51,960 --> 00:33:56,240 Speaker 1: by Miranda Hawkins and Trevor Young, with executive producers Aaron Makeey, 498 00:33:56,600 --> 00:34:00,160 Speaker 1: Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. To learn more about out 499 00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:03,480 Speaker 1: the show, visit griman mild dot com. From more podcasts 500 00:34:03,520 --> 00:34:07,320 Speaker 1: from I heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 501 00:34:07,640 --> 00:34:09,399 Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts.