Isaac Monroe Cline

The main character of the book and the title's namesake, Isaac is the head meteorologist of the Galveston, TX area. He lives in the Galveston area with his pregnant wife Cora and his three daughters: Allie May, Rosemary and Esther Bellew. He is thirty-eight years old at the time of the hurricane and works with his brother Joseph, who is twenty-nine at the time of the storm. Together, they research and report weather actions in the Galveston area to help predict the local weather patterns.

Isaac is a strong example of the era. It is September 7, 1900 and the "can-do" spirit of the Turn of the Century men have influenced Isaac, and his behavior and thoughts mimic those of his contemporaries. The field of meteorology is new and growing; the prevailing thoughts of the time state that the advanced technology of the new century will be able...