Hurricane Love (1950)

Hurricane Love was the final official tropical cyclone of the 1950 Atlantic hurricane season. Forming in the northern Gulf of Mexico on October 18, the storm initially drifted westward, but soon curved eastward into the central gulf. The storm eventually peaked with winds corresponding to Category 1 status on the modern-day Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Despite threatening the western coast of Florida and prompting various preparations, the storm deteroirated due to dry air and moved ashore harmlessly north of Cedar Key.

Meteorological history
In the wake of Hurricane King moving northward through Florida, an area of low pressure developed in the Gulf of Mexico, south of Louisiana, by October 18. This tropical storm quickly strengthened, and it attained hurricane status shortly thereafter. The storm initially moved westward, but soon swung southward into the central gulf on October 19. The storm is believed to have reached its peak intensity at around 1200 UTC, with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (150 km/h). These winds correspond to Category 1 intensity on the modern-day Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. However, Love's minimum barometric pressure is unknown.

Throughout the hurricane's track, dry air infringed on the western side of the circulation. On October 20, the storm began curving northeastward towards the coast of western Florida. As it approached land that night, however, the storm rapidly deteriorated as the dry air became entrained into the cyclone. Love lost hurricane status at 0600 UTC on October 21. The tropical storm moved ashore in the Big Bend region of Florida, north of Cedar Key. At the time, its winds were only of moderate gale force, and the storm dissipated shortly thereafter.

Impact
Certain areas began preparing for the storm along Florida's west coast. In St. Petersburg, merchants boarded up windows and City Manager Ross E. Wisdom placed all vital departments on emergency status. Hospitals set up emergency facilities in case of power failure. Some residents along the coast left their homes. Initially, the storm was forecast to strike the Tampa area, but missed to the north as it weakened. It reportedly left little damage in the sparsely populated land where it made landfall.