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Contributed by Neal Dorst

There is an undeniable drama to hurricanes; their massive scale affecting the lives of thousands, the foreshadowing of impending doom, and their ponderous pace as they approach the shore. This has made them ideal plot elements in many fictional works. Below is an admittedly partial list of some novels, plays, and movies which have used hurricanes as a major dramatic element.

• The Tempest (1611) by William Shakespeare
  Inspired by a 1609 hurricane which shipwrecked the Sea View on the island of Bermuda, in the opening act Prospero magically conjures up a sea storm to bring a ship to his island exile.

• "Wreck Of The Hesperus" (1839) By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
  Although the old Sailor "fears a hurricane" the storm in this poem is more likely a nor'easter.

• Chita : A memory of Last Island (1889) by Lafcadio Hearn
  In this novella a young Cajun girl survives the 1856 hurricane that wiped out the resort on Last Island and is raised by a Spanish fisherman on the Louisiana coast.

• Son of the Carolinas (1898) by Elizabeth Carpenter Satterthwait
  A story of a hurricane striking the Sea Islands off the Georgia coast. Noted for its use of the native dialect.

• Wed by Mighty Waves (1901) by Sue Greenleaf
  A romantic novel set against the horrors of the Galveston hurricane.

• Typhoon (1903) by Joseph Conrad
  In this short story a steamer blunders into the teeth of a typhoon in the South China Sea.

• Hurricane in Galveston (1913) directed by King Vidor
  A Galveston native, King Vidor survived the 1900 hurricane when he was six years old. His directorial debut was this one reeler when he was nineteen, recounting the horric storm. He wrote a fictional account of it entitled "Southern Storm" in the May 1935 issue of Esquire magazine, four months prior to the Labor Day hurricane. Sim Aberson brought this to our attention.

• Porgy (1925) by DuBose and Dorothy Heyward
  A novel recounting the life of a crippled street beggar in Charleston, SC. The Heywards produced it as a play in 1927, and collaborated with George and Ira Gershwin to turn it into the opera "Porgy and Bess" in 1935. A major turning point in the opera comes when a hurricane pummels Catfish Row and kills several of the characters, changing everyone's lives. A movie based on the opera was released in 1959, directed by Otto Preminger, and a televised version was produced by the BBC in 1993.

• The Cradle of the Deep (1929) by Joan Lowell
  At first published as a true life account of Lowell's 16 years aboard a copa trade ship, complete with her rescuing kittens when the ship burnt up off the coast of Australia, the book soon came under attack as almost entirely fiction, especially when the ship turned up safe and sound in Oakland. In her defense, Lowell made a 1934 movie entitled "Adventure Girl" based on her book, directed by Herman C. Raymaker, in which she hunts for Mayan treasure and battles a hurricane off the coast of Guatemala. This convinced no one. Sim Aberson also dug up this old bone of contention.

• China Seas (1935) directed by Tay Garnett
  Clark Gable stars as a ship captain plying the Hong Kong-Singapore trade, torn between Jean Harlow and Rosalind Russell. In addition to fighting off Malay pirates, he must pilot his ship through a typhoon. Twenty years later Gable would return to Hong Kong to star in "Soldier of Fortune" (1955) where he romances Susan Hayward as a typhoon rakes the city. The storm here is more of a metaphor and appears on screen like a bad squall line.

• Hurricane (1935) by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall
  The duo that wrote the "Mutiny on the Bounty" trilogy reunited to bring us this tale of a devastating typhoon in French Polynesia which alters the lives of the residents of the island of Manukura. This novel was made into a movie twice, once in 1938 starring Dorothy Lamour and Jon Hall and a remake in 1979 with Mia Farrow and Dayton Ka'ne. The first effort had a musical hit with the song "The Moon of Manukura". The 1979 remake inspired the end of Dayton Ka'ne's movie career.

  In order to capitalize on the first film's popularity, Lamour was cast in "Her Jungle Love", where a typhoon strands Ray Milland on her island, and then costarred her with Robert Preston in Paramount's "Typhoon" (not based on the Conrad story) in 1940. In 1951, Jon Hall was back with Marie Windsor in "Hurricane Island", where a shaman conjures up a hurricane as a revenge on Juan Ponce de Leon and the gang.

• Their eyes were watching God (1937) by Zora Neale Hurston
  The principle characters survive the Lake Okeechobee hurricane of 1928 only to suffer the devastating aftermath. Made into a TV movie in 2005 starring Halle Berry and Michael Ealy.

• In hazard (1938) by Richard Hughes
  Based on the travails of the Archimedes, a cargo ship caught in a hurricane in the Caribbean Sea.

• When Tomorrow Comes (1939) directed by John Stahl
  Charles Boyer, a concert pianist, and Irene Dunne, a union organizer, are trapped in a church by the storm surge of the Great New England hurricane, and must come to grips with their relationship. Won an Oscar (c) for Best Sound, no doubt for the hurricane's wind.

• Storm (1941) by George R. Stewart
  Actually this novel is not about a hurricane, but an extratropical cyclone. However, I give it an honorable mention here since it depicts a Junior Meteorologist who has a personal habit of naming storms. This helped to popularize the idea of naming hurricanes. It was made into a Disney TV movie "A Storm named Maria" in 1958, and inspired the song "They Call the Wind Maria" from 1951's Lerner and Lowe play "Paint Your Wagon".

• Key Largo (1948) by Richard Brooks Directed by John Huston
  This movie starred Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall and was loosely based on a 1939 play by Maxwell Anderson. Mobster Edward G. Robinson holds several people hostage in a Keys' hotel as a hurricane bares down on them.

• Slattery's Hurricane (1949) by Herman Wouk
  Set in post-World War 2 Miami, a man seeks redemption by flying a hurricane reconnaissance mission for a Navy buddy. The movie opened in 1949 with Richard Widmark and Veronica Lake. It proved popular enough for Wouk to serialize the script for magazine publication, and in 1951 it was released in paperback.

• The Caine Mutiny (1951) by Herman Wouk
  The climactic scene aboard the USS Caine takes places as Halsey's fleet has its fatal run-in with Typhoon Cobra. Wouk adapted his novel in 1953 into a play starring Lloyd Noland and John Hodiak and for the movies in 1954 with Humphrey Bogart and Van Johnson.

• Thunder Bay (1953) directed by Anthony Mann
  Jimmy Stewart is an engineer building an oil drilling platform off the Louisiana shore. He rides out a hurricane on his platform to see if it can stand the stress.

• Hurricane Road (1954) by Nora K. Smiley and Louise V. White
  A Novel of a Railroad that Went to Sea. Fictional account of the building of Henry Flager's railroad to Key West, and the devastating hurricane in 1906 which nearly destroyed it and the Labor Day hurricane in 1935 which did.

• Target Hurricane (1955) directed by Leigh Jason
  An episode of Science Fiction Theater starring Marshall Thompson and Ray Collins. A meteorologist is determined to discover the mysteries of a hurricane, even if he has to send a submarine to discover why it formed. Originally broadcast on Oct. 22, 1955.

• Ferry to Hong Kong (1959) directed by Lewis Gilbert
  This time it's Orson Welles as the ship captain who battles pirates and a typhoon in the South China Sea. The question remains, do pirates cause typhoons or visa versa?

• A Journey to Matecumbe (1961) by Robert Lewis Taylor
  Tells the tale of two young men traveling the post-bellum South to search for their fortunes in the Florida Keys. Along the way they dodge Klansmen and survive a hurricane. This was adapted by Disney Studios in 1976 into the film "Treasure of Matecumbe" starring Robert Foxworth and Joan Hackett.

• Hurricane Hannah (1962) narrated by Bob Cummings
  After the success of "A Storm named Maria" in 1958, The Wonderful World of Disney made another TV episode about a fictional Hurricane Hannah. They used actual footage shot of Hurricane Carla from civilian Hurricane Hunter aircraft, as well as footage of the National Hurricane Research Project and National Hurricane Center. Joel Bader reminded us to include this one.

• Wyatt's Hurricane (1966) by Desmond Bagley
  Set on a lush Caribbean island, meteorologist David Wyatt knows that Hurricane Mabel will hit despite what the forecast says. Throw in a political revolution and some romance and you've got a mid-60's suspense novel.

• Under the Eye of the Storm (1967) by John Hersey
  Two couples sail their yawl into the heart of a hurricane and into the stormy seas of their relationships. Thanks to Joel Bader for mentioning this one.

• Hurricane in the Keys (1968) by Henry Hayes Stansbury
  This self-published novel tells of a Category Five hurricane threatening the Florida Keys and the President of the United States' decision to order the seeding of the storm.

• Devil Walks on Water (1969) by John F. Murray
  A novel based on accounts of survival from the 1938 New England hurricane.

• On the Wings of the Storm (1969) by Richard Newhafer
  A heist caper set in Palm Beach as Hurricane Margo threatens. Thanks to Christine McGehee for bringing this gem to our attention.

• Marooned (1969) directed by John Sturges
  Three Apollo astronauts are trapped in their orbiting capsule when the re-entry rockets fail, so Gregory Peck (NASA) must launch David Jansen's rescue rocket in the eye of a hurricane. Lampooned by Mystery Science Theater 3000. "I love the Weather Channel."

• Hurricane Alert (1970) by Walter T. Donovan
  A Florida county Civil Defense director must battle political corruption as Hurricane Hanna looms in this 'gut grabber'.

• Hurricane Hunters (1972) by William C. Anderson
  This novel concentrates on the lives and loves of Air Force Hurricane Hunter pilots. It was adapted into a made-for-TV movie in 1974 called "Hurricane" starring Martin Milner and Frank Sutton.

• Condominium (1977) by John MacDonald
  Residents of a condo in southwest Florida are beset by unscrupulous real estate developers, faulty construction, and a Gulf hurricane. This was adapted into a 1980 TV movie starring Barbara Eden and Steve Forrest

• Cat Five (1977) by Robert P. Davis.
  As a Category Five hurricane menaces ritzy Palm Beach, hurricane researchers are torn apart by a blistering love triangle. OK, this one made me laugh.

• Storm Center (1983) by Elizabeth Verner Hamilton
  Novel based on her family's accounts of surviving the Great Hurricane of 1893 hitting Charleston, SC.

• Mother of Storms (1994) by John Barnes
  When someone sets off a series of underwater explosions it releases large quantities of methane from melting methal hydrates, which in turn triggers global warming and hyper-hurricanes. The only hope lies with an astronaut with a brain the size of a small planet, who shields the Earth from the sun until things cool down.

• Stormy Weather (1996) by Carl Hiassen
  In this novel inspired by Hurricane Andrew, people's lives in the wake of a devastating hurricane are further stressed by con men, shady contractors, and a former Lt. Governor.

• One August Day (1998) by Charlotte Morgan
  Revisits Hurricane Camille in 1969 and its impact on the lives of the people of the Gulf Coast.

• Gingerbread Man (1998) directed by Robert Altman
  A group of people in Savannah are trapped by a hurricane as an asylum escapee, Robert Duval, threatens to have his revenge on them.

• Virus (1999) directed John Bruno
  A tugboat crew seeks refuge during a typhoon onboard a Russian research ship only to find it occupied by aliens who view humanity as a virus that they try to exterminate. Stars Jamie Lee Curtis and William Baldwin in the title roles. Another gem found by Sim Aberson.

• Storm Tracker (1999) directed Harris Done
  This made-for-TV movie stars Martin Sheen as a renegade Air Force general, and Luke Perry as a University of Miami meteorology professor who gets involved in the general's project to control hurricanes.

• Second Wind (1999) by Dick Francis
  Francis takes a break from the horsey set to spin a yarn about a BBC TV meteorologist who goes on a hurricane hunting joy ride.

• Windows on Heaven (2000) by Ron Rozelle
  A novel based on accounts from the 1900 Galveston hurricane in which over 8000 people perished.

• Gale Force (2002) directed by Jim Wynorski
  The safety of contestants in a TV reality show on a tropical islands are threatened by both the producer and a Category 5 hurricane. Thanks to Sim Aberson for finding this one.

• Zero Hour (2003) by Benjamin E. Miller
  Antarctica is melting and its suddenly warm waters thereaten to spawn a super hurricane. A world famous MIT professor is consulted about his theory on hypercanes, and somethings up with those wacky penguins.

• Hurricane : Of the 1900 Galveston Hurricane (2004) by Janice A. Thompson
  An inspirational novel about the people of Galveston surviving the hurricane of 1900 and rebuilding their city.

• Hurricane 38 (2004) by Gaylord Meech
  Based on news accounts and family letters, this novel is about people trapped by the Great New England hurricane of 1938.

• Category 6: Day of Destruction (2004) Directed by Matt Dorff
  This CBS made-for-TV movie starring Thomas Gibson and Nancy McKeon was originally supposed to be about a big power blackout crippling Chicago (original title "Overload"), but after the active 2004 hurricane season, they threw in a hurricane (Cat 6 over Lake Michigan), tornadoes, and Randy Quaid as a tornado chaser. A laugh riot.

• Storm Chasers (2004) by Paul Quarrington
  A professional storm chaser flys into Dampier Cay to videograph an on-coming hurricane, where he crosses paths with various losers seeking refuge in the storm from their sorry lives.

• Whirlwind (2004) by Michael Grant Jaffe
  A North Carolina TV weatherman finds fame and fortune after he pulls a 'Dan Rather' during Hurricane Isabel, and tries to pull his life out of the toilet.

• Category Five (2005) by Philip S. Donlay
  A mystery man founds a scientific organization called Eco-Watch. When he flies its jet into a hurricane with 300 mph winds and gets trapped in the eye he must come clean about his past in order to save the day.

• 14 Hours (2005) directed by Greff Chanpion
  A made-for-TV movie based very loosely on the evacuation of patients from a Houston hospital as Tropical Storm Allison threatens to inundate the area. Sim Aberson brought this one to our attention.

• Category 7: The End of the World (2005) Directed by Dick Lowry
  CBS must've felt "Category 6" wasn't bad enough, so they made this sequel. Randy Quaid's "Tornado Tommy" is the only character brought back for the follow-up, which is ironic since his was the only main character in the original to die. Falling chunks of the mesosphere combine with urban heat islands to spawn global spanning superstorms (huh???). The best part is the ending when Gina Gershon assures the public that FEMA will be there to help them when disaster strikes.

• Invasion (2005-6) Directed by Thomas Schlamme
  The ABC television series is set in Homestead, FL following a devastating hurricane, which has released a race of alien, glow-in-the-dark squid creatures that turn Air Force Hurricane Hunters into superhuman hybrids. The series was cancelled after its initial season, with no resolution to the question, "Does global warming cause more squid people?" Thanks to Sim Aberson for reminding us to include this one.

• Der Untergang der Pamir (2006) Directed by Kaspar Heidelbach
  "The Loss of the Pamir" is a fictional account of the sinking of the German sailing ship Pamir in Hurricane Carrie in 1957. Danke Herr Docktor Aberson fur diesen Eintritt.

• Katrina's Wake (2006) Directed by Kathilynn Phillips
  A fictional account of a family trapped in their attic by the flood waters following Katrina in New Orlean's Ninth Ward. Again, thanks to Sim Aberson for pointing this one out.

• Honeymoon Hurricane (2006) by Pamela Rowan
  Several people, including a honeymoon couple, head to Sanibel Island for vacation only to be trapped there durring a hurricane.

• Hurricane (2006) by Karen Harper
  Two single parents desperately try to find their children as a hurricane swerves to menace their southwest Florida community.

• Hurricane Hannah (2006) by Sue Civil-Brown
  A female jet pilot named Hannah makes an emergency landing on a small tropical island, and must wait out the passage of Hurricane Hannah while becoming familiar with the excentric locals.

• The Mote in Andrea's Eye (2006) by David Niall Wilson
  Storm seeders battle a monster hurricane, but it disappears into the Bermuda Triangle, along with the seeding plane.

• Superstorm (2007) Directed by Julian Simpson
  A made-for-BBC movie, starring Tom Sizemore and Nicola Stephenson. In the future, global warming has spawned larger, more devastating hurricanes. Project StormShield is formed to, once again, investigate modifying hurricanes. However, someone seems determined to use their technology even if the scientists have moral quandries. Originally a three parter on the BBC, it was trimmed to two hours when rebroadcast in the US by the Discovery Channel. Thanks to Julian Heming for notifying us about this.

• Windstorm and Flood: a novel (2007) by Rosalind Brackenbury
  Set in Key West, where weather and Cuban politics mix.

• Rebel Island (2007) by Rick Riordan
  Yet another honeymoon couple are trapped on an island as a monster hurricane looms. This time they must solve a murder mystery and confront their past before the storm strikes. And you thought buying plywood before a hurricane was tough.

• Acts of Nature (2007) by Jonathon King
  A PI and his police girlfriend find their vacation at a Florida fishcamp interuppted by a hurricane, scavengers, and gunmen.

• Elevator (2008) by Angela Hunt
  A trio of women (the wife, the mistress, and the cleaning woman) are trapped in an elevator as Hurricane Felix menaces Tampa, Florida.

• Hurricane: a novel (2008) by Terry Trueman
  Based on the devastation Hurricane Mitch wrought on Honduras as seen through the eyes of a young man.

  Last Modified 7/18/2008

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