Labor Day Hurricane clobbered Keys 79 years ago

I've driven through the Florida Keys and they're beautiful islands, but I'm glad I don't live there.

One reason is their vulnerability to cyclones like the "Labor Day Hurricane," which made landfall near Long Key on Sept. 2, 1935, with top sustained winds near 185 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

It's the most intense hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. since 1851, according to the weather service.

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Here are some other facts about the extreme storm, thanks to weather service offices in Melbourne and Key West, the Southern Region Headquarters and the National Hurricane Center:

- It killed 408 people, mainly World War I veterans working in the area, making it the eighth deadliest hurricane since 1851.

- It's one of three storms to make landfall as a category 5 hurricane in the U.S. and the third most intense storm in the Atlantic basin. Only Hurricane Wilma in 2005 and Hurricane Gilbert in 1988 were more intense.

- It generated a 20-foot storm surge and caused widespread destruction. It washed away about 40 miles of railroad track, which was never rebuilt but became part of Route 1 through the Keys.

Meanwhile, the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is just eight days away, and Tropical Storm Dolly is expected to hit Mexico, according to the weather service.