1940

5 tropical cyclones near the U.S., 19 notable earthquakes.

01

Tropical cyclones

Storms whose tracks came within 100 miles of a U.S. county.

Tropical cyclones near the U.S. in 1940

Storm	Peak	Counties ≤50 mi	States
Unnamed	Category 2	36	LA, TX
Unnamed	Category 2	51	GA, SC
Unnamed	Category 2	1	ME
Unnamed	Category 2	0	—
Unnamed	Tropical storm	16	LA, TX

02

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5 or more in the lower 48 and Hawaii, 6.5 or more in Alaska, strongest first.

Notable earthquakes of 1940

Date	Magnitude	Where	Depth, mi
Apr 15, 1940	7.0	near Attu Station, Alaska Aleutians West AK	18.6
Apr 15, 1940	7.0	near Attu Station, Alaska Aleutians West AK	18.6
May 18, 1940	6.9	Imperial Valley, California Imperial CA	3.7
Mar 27, 1940	6.6	near Adak, Alaska Aleutians West AK	31.1
Jun 16, 1940	6.4	near Honomu, Hawaii Hawaii HI	9.3
Dec 20, 1940	6.0	near Shelter Cove, California Humboldt CA	9.3
Jul 15, 1940	5.6	near Laup?hoehoe, Hawaii Hawaii HI	—
Sep 1, 1940	5.6	near Hana, Hawaii Maui HI	—
Dec 24, 1940	5.6	near Tamworth, New Hampshire Carroll NH	5.0
May 18, 1940	5.4	near Imperial, CA Imperial CA	3.7
May 17, 1940	5.3	near Joshua Tree, CA San Bernardino CA	3.7
Dec 20, 1940	5.3	near Tamworth, New Hampshire Carroll NH	6.2
May 17, 1940	5.2	near Joshua Tree, CA San Bernardino CA	3.7
May 18, 1940	5.2	near Imperial, CA Imperial CA	3.7
May 18, 1940	5.2	near Imperial, CA Imperial CA	3.7
May 18, 1940	5.2	near Imperial, CA Imperial CA	3.7
Oct 27, 1940	5.1	Olympic Peninsula, Washington Mason WA	—
Mar 10, 1940	5.0	near Alamo, Nevada Lincoln NV	9.9
Jun 4, 1940	5.0	near Pine Valley, CA San Diego CA	3.7

03

Drought

On average 19% of lower-48 counties were in severe drought in 1940. The worst month was January 1940, with 38%.

Watch it spread, month by month · Every year since 1895 on the drought page

Storm Prediction Center, National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, NOAA Storm Events Database, USGS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, NOAA nClimDiv Palmer Drought Severity Index. Damage is as reported at the time, not adjusted for inflation.