The dates given for the hurricane (according to the teletype notices) are Monday and Tuesday, August 17th and 18th. Those exact dates match with an actual Hurricane Hilda, which struck in 1964; and also coincide with the landfall of category 5 Hurricane Camille in 1969, on a Sunday-Monday.
One of the scenes of the small boat in the storm was footage from the opening of "Gilligan's Island" and the SS Minnow being tossed about on the rough seas.