The decade of the 1820s featured the 1820s Atlantic hurricane seasons. While data is not available for every storm that occurred, some parts of the coastline were populated enough to give data of hurricane occurrences. Each season was an ongoing event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation in the Atlantic basin . Most tropical cyclone formation occurs between June 1 and November 30.
| Atlantic hurricane seasons |
The Winyaw Hurricane of 1820 September 8-10. A minimal hurricane moved from Florida on September 8 northward to hit near the border of North Carolina and South Carolina on September 10. It caused only minor damage. Part of cluster of hurricanes struck Charleston area in 1804, 1811, 1813, 1820, and 1822. [1] [2]
September 26–October 1. A hurricane was sighted at Dominica on September 26 before moving west-northwest through Hispaniola, then across the southwest Atlantic to South Carolina on October 1. [3]
September 1-9. A tropical storm moved westward across the Caribbean, from Guadeloupe on September 1 to western Cuba on September 9. [4]
The Norfolk and Long Island Hurricane of 1821
The Norfolk and Long Island Hurricane was a deadly hurricane that rapidly moved up the Atlantic coast during the first few days of September. It included a hurricane landfall within the modern borders of New York City, the only recorded case of a hurricane eyewall moving directly over New York City to date. It caused 200 deaths, and is estimated to have been a Category 4 hurricane. [5] [6] [7]
It was from the 1821 Norfolk and Long Island hurricane that William C. Redfield published his first account in the American Journal of Science and presented his first evidence that hurricanes had counter-clockwise rotation of destructive winds, but also traveled at a moderate forward speed. Redfield determined this from analysis of tree fall patterns he examined post hurricane in the New England forests that were impacted from the hurricane. This also corroborated John Farrar's previously published work a few years earlier in 1819 that a hurricane was a rotating counter-clockwise vortex. Redfield determined that hurricanes formed east of the Leeward Islands and then travel westwards at a moderate speed. William Reid of the Royal Engineers built on Redfield's work by studying logs of ships affected by the Great Hurricane of 1780. [7] [8]
The Middle Gulf Hurricane of 1821 Later in September, from the 15th–17th, a strong hurricane hit Mississippi. This was a very large storm, bringing storm surge flooding from Mobile to what is now Wakulla and Taylor Counties, Florida. 11 of the 13 vessels in the harbor at Pensacola Bay were lost, causing 35 deaths. [9] [10] [11]
The Early Tropical Storm of 1822 July 7-9. A hurricane struck the central Gulf coast between July 7 and July 9. [12] [13]
A minimal hurricane was centered offshore from the Carolinas coastline in August. [14]
The Carolina Hurricane of 1822 This hurricane moved north-northwest from the Bahamas on September 25 to hit Charleston, South Carolina, on September 27. It claimed the lives of hundreds of slaves who found themselves trapped in the low-lying Santee Delta, miles from higher ground and with no shelter. It caused 300 (or more) deaths, but managed to break a drought in the Richmond area. Part of cluster of hurricanes struck Charleston area in 1804, 1811, 1813, 1820, and 1822. [15] [16] Fifteen members of the Myers family drowned after their Georgetown home was swept into the ocean. The family's sole survivor, Mordecai Myers, buried the victims, which included his parents. [17]
From October 20 to the 22, a hurricane hit Virginia, causing heavy damage and winds in the Richmond area.
An Atlantic hurricane struck the River Mersey in England on December 5 and 6, as evidenced by the gravestone of Nelson Burt (nine-year-old son of Albin R. Burt) in the churchyard of St Lawrence's Church, Stoak. [18]
A rare December hurricane moved through the eastern Caribbean Sea and eventually into Venezuela between December 13 and December 22. [19]
A tropical storm moved from Curaçao on July 8 to near Jamaica on July 10. [20]
A tropical storm moved south of Jamaica on August 2 and 3. [21]
September 11-14. A hurricane which formed in the west-central Gulf of Mexico on September 11 moved slowly northeast, striking the central Gulf coast on September 14. [22]
The Georgia Coastal Hurricane of 1824 or Hurricane San Pedro of 1824 September 7-15. A severe hurricane was sighted at Guadeloupe on September 7 and moved across the northeast Lesser Antilles. It passed very near south coast of Puerto Rico on September 9 and the southwest Atlantic to hit Florida on September 13, passing inland near Cape Florida and returning to sea near Cape Canaveral. A ship carrying the contractor and supplies for building three lighthouses in Florida was lost, possibly sunk by this storm. [23] The storm then went ashore in Georgia and South Carolina on September 14, causing 100 deaths. It washed out all bridges between Darien and Savannah, Georgia. Moving northward, it hit Savannah and South Carolina before going out to sea. Because hurricanes were somewhat frequent, residents were used to evacuating the area. Those who did not evacuate saw the destruction caused by this strong hurricane. This is likely one of the strongest hurricanes to hit Georgia in its history. [24] [25]
Between September 26 and 27, a tropical storm moved south of Jamaica. [26]
Charleston Hurricane of 1825 May 28–June 5. A tropical storm formed south of Santo Domingo on May 28. It moved across Cuba on 1 June, and while moving across Florida it caused heavy winds on June 3. When it reached the western Atlantic it rapidly strengthened, hitting Charleston, South Carolina as a hurricane on June 4-5. The storm lost strength as it began moving up the U.S. East coast and out over the northwestern Atlantic Ocean. [27] [28]
On July 6, a moderate hurricane hit Puerto Rico, destroying six villages.
Hurricane Santa Ana of 1825 July 25–August 2. On July 26, a powerful hurricane hit near Guadeloupe and continued west-northwestward to hit Puerto Rico, causing 1,300 deaths, before tracking to the west of Bermuda by August 2. The Santa Ana hurricane may have been one of the most intense cyclones to strike Puerto Rico in the last few hundred years. [29] No atmospheric pressure readings are available from Puerto Rico; however, a minimum pressure of 918 mbar (27.1 inHg ) in Guadeloupe indicates that the storm was potentially a Category 5 strength hurricane (there are no officially observed Category 5 hurricanes before 1924). [30] However, reanalysis suggests that this reading was more likely around 28.10 inHg (952 mb), as the observer registered a drop of 1.86 mb (0.055 inHg) relative to sea level. [31] See List of deadliest Atlantic hurricanes. [32]
September 28–October 3. A hurricane struck Haiti on September 28 and moved northwestward into northeast Florida by October 3. [9] [33]
During November 17 and 18, the schooner Harvest was wrecked on the North Carolina coast, probably near Nags Head, and five or more persons were killed in what may have been a late season hurricane.
A hurricane hit the Cayman Islands and western Cuba on August 27, causing 33 deaths.
August 31-September 10. A tropical storm spotted near Dominica on August 31 moved west-northwest to Jamaica before moving northward to the Grand Banks by September 10. [9] [34]
A strong hurricane devastated Orotava Valley, Tenerife, and the rest of the Canary Islands off north Africa in November. About 500 – 1,000 dead from the hurricane.
A minimal hurricane was reported near North Carolina on July 30. [35]
Tropical Storm San Jacinto of 1827 August 17-23. A hurricane struck Antigua and Puerto Rico on August 17, and moved westward to Jamaica before continuing westward to Vera Cruz, Mexico. [36]
The Great North Carolina Hurricane of 1827
August 20-27. A hurricane formed over the Windward Islands on August 18. It moved northwest through the Bahamas on the 21st, and hit Cape Hatteras on August 24. [37] It moved up the Chesapeake Bay, causing higher than normal tides, and eventually through New England by August 27. This is known as the St. Kitts Hurricane. [38] [39]
August 19. A hurricane struck Belize City on August 19, 1827, and “drove all ships on shore at Belize.” [40] It has been identified as ‘Event 5’ in Belizean sedimentary records by McCloskey and Keller. [41]
August 27-September 5. A hurricane moved through the northern Leeward islands to northwest Florida from August 27 to September 5. [9] [42]
August 29-September 8. A tropical storm moved through the southwest Atlantic between the West Indies and Bermuda from August 29 to September 8. [9] [43]
September 15-20. A hurricane moved from the northern Lesser Antilles on September 15 northward by Bermuda on September 19, where it caused a "severe gale" and sank 3 ships, before moving into the north Atlantic shipping lanes. [44] [9]
July 9-13. A tropical storm moved through the Gulf of Mexico between July 9 and 13. [45]
August 23-30. A minimal hurricane moved through South Carolina and the Outer Banks of North Carolina before moving northwest of Bermuda during the last week of August. [46] [9]
September 10. A hurricane hit the mouth of the Rio Grande, Port Isabel, Texas and Brazos Island, Texas on September 10 and those areas saw great destruction while other surrounding towns had higher than normal tides.
October 26. A hurricane hit St. Barts on October 26, possibly sinking one ship.
The Great Hurricane of 1780 was the deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record, as well as the deadliest tropical cyclone in the Western Hemisphere. An estimated 22,000 people died throughout the Lesser Antilles when the storm passed through the islands from October 10 to October 16. Specifics on the hurricane's track and strength are unknown, as the official Atlantic hurricane database only goes back to 1851.
The decade of the 1830s featured the 1830s Atlantic hurricane seasons. While data is not available for every storm that occurred, some parts of the coastline were populated enough to give data of hurricane occurrences. Each season was an ongoing event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation in the Atlantic basin. Most tropical cyclone formation occurs between June 1 and November 30.
This article encompasses the 1840–1849 Atlantic hurricane seasons. While data is not available for every storm that occurred, some parts of the coastline were populated enough to give data of hurricane occurrences. Each season was an ongoing event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation in the Atlantic basin. Most tropical cyclone formation occurs between June 1 and November 30.
The decade of the 1810s featured the 1810s Atlantic hurricane seasons. While data is not available for every storm that occurred, some parts of the coastline were populated enough to give data of hurricane occurrences. Each season was an ongoing event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation in the Atlantic basin. Most tropical cyclone formation occurs between June 1 and November 30.
The decade of the 1800s featured the 1800s Atlantic hurricane seasons. While data is not available for every storm that occurred, some parts of the coastline were populated enough to give data of hurricane occurrences. Each season was an ongoing event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation in the Atlantic basin. Most tropical cyclone formation occurs between June 1 and November 30.
This is a list of all known or suspected Atlantic hurricanes up to 1599. Although most storms likely went unrecorded, and many records have been lost, recollections of hurricane occurrences survive from some sufficiently populated coastal areas, and rarely, ships at sea that survived the tempests.
The 1780 Atlantic hurricane season ran through the summer and fall in 1780. The 1780 season was extraordinarily destructive, and was the deadliest Atlantic hurricane season in recorded history, with over 28,000 deaths. Four different hurricanes, one in June and three in October, caused at least 1,000 deaths each; this event has never been repeated, and only in the 1893 and 2005 seasons were there two such hurricanes. The season also had the deadliest Atlantic hurricane of all time, the Great Hurricane of 1780. Only one of the known storms was not a hurricane.
The Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration seeks to correct and add new information about past North Atlantic hurricanes. It was started around 2000 to update HURDAT, the official hurricane database for the Atlantic Basin, which has become outdated since its creation due to various systematic errors introduced into the database over time. This effort has involved reanalyses of ship observations from the International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS) as well as reanalyses done by other researchers over the years. It has been ongoing as of 2024.
The 1851 Atlantic hurricane season was the first Atlantic hurricane season to be included in the official Atlantic tropical cyclone record. Six known tropical cyclones occurred during the season, the earliest of which formed on June 25 and the latest of which dissipated on October 19. These dates fall within the range of most Atlantic tropical cyclone activity. None of the cyclones existed simultaneously with another. Three of the six storms only have a single point in their track known.
The 1852 Atlantic hurricane season was one of only three Atlantic hurricane seasons in which every known tropical cyclone attained hurricane status. Five tropical cyclones were reported during the season, which lasted from late August through the middle of October; these dates fall within the range of most Atlantic tropical cyclone activity, and none of the cyclones coexisted with another. Though there were officially five tropical cyclones in the season, hurricane scholar Michael Chenoweth assessed two of the cyclones as being the same storm. There may have been other unconfirmed tropical cyclones during the season, as meteorologist Christopher Landsea estimated that up to six storms were missed each year from the official database; this estimate was due to small tropical cyclone size, sparse ship reports, and relatively unpopulated coastlines.
The 1854 Atlantic hurricane season featured five known tropical cyclones, three of which made landfall in the United States. At one time, another was believed to have existed near Galveston, Texas in September, but HURDAT – the official Atlantic hurricane database – now excludes this system. The first system, Hurricane One, was initially observed on June 25. The final storm, Hurricane Five, was last observed on October 22. These dates fall within the period with the most tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic. No tropical cyclones during this season existed simultaneously. One tropical cyclone has a single known point in its track due to a sparsity of data.
The 1869 Atlantic hurricane season was the earliest season in the Atlantic hurricane database in which there were at least ten tropical cyclones. Initially there were only three known storms in the year, but additional research uncovered the additional storms. Meteorologist Christopher Landsea estimates up to six storms may remain missing from the official database for each season in this era, due to small tropical cyclone size, sparse ship reports, and relatively unpopulated coastlines. All activity occurred in a three-month period between the middle of August and early October.
The 1855 Atlantic hurricane season featured tropical cyclone landfalls in the Gulf Coast of the United States, the Greater Antilles, and Mexico, but none along the East Coast of the United States. It was inactive, with only five known tropical cyclones. Another tropical storm was believed to have existed offshore Atlantic Canada in late August and early September, but HURDAT – the official Atlantic hurricane database – now excludes this system. The first known system was initially observed on August 5, while the final known storm was last noted on September 17. These dates fall within the period with the most tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic. At one point during the season, two tropical cyclones existed simultaneously. Two of the cyclones only have a single known point in their tracks due to a sparsity of data.
The 1856 Atlantic hurricane season featured six tropical cyclones, five of which made landfall. The first system, Hurricane One, was first observed in the Gulf of Mexico on August 9. The final storm, Hurricane Six, was last observed on September 22. These dates fall within the period with the most tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic. Only two tropical cyclones during the season existed simultaneously. One of the cyclones has only a single known point in its track due to a sparsity of data. Operationally, another tropical cyclone was believed to have existed in the Wilmington, North Carolina area in September, but HURDAT – the official Atlantic hurricane database – excludes this system. Another tropical cyclone that existed over the Northeastern United States in mid-August was later added to HURDAT.
The 1857 Atlantic hurricane season was the earliest season documented by HURDAT – the official Atlantic hurricane database – to feature no major hurricanes. A total of four tropical cyclones were observed during the season, three of which strengthened into hurricanes. However, in the absence of modern satellite and other remote-sensing technologies, only storms that affected populated land areas or encountered ships at sea are known, so the actual total could be higher. An undercount bias of zero to six tropical cyclones per year between 1851 and 1885 has been estimated. Additionally, documentation by Jose Fernandez-Partagas and Henry Diaz included a fifth tropical cyclone near Port Isabel, Texas; this storm has since been removed from HURDAT as it was likely the same system as the fourth tropical cyclone.
The 1850 Atlantic hurricane season was the last season excluded from the scope of the official Atlantic hurricane database. Although meteorological records are sparse and generally incomplete, they indicate that three significant tropical cyclones affected land, each causing some degree of damage. The first system struck North Carolina on July 18, causing significant damage before battering the Mid-Atlantic states with high tides, strong winds, and heavy rainfall. Torrential rainfall caused river flooding from Baltimore to Philadelphia, particularly along the Schuylkill River, which took the lives of 20 people in various incidents. Strong winds damaged property and public facilities in and around New York City, and damaging floods extended into central and northern New England. Crops and railroad infrastructure suffered throughout the entire region.
The 1842 Atlantic hurricane season featured several maritime catastrophes in the Gulf of Mexico and along the U.S. East Coast, and produced one of the only known tropical cyclones to directly affect the Iberian Peninsula. As the season falls outside the scope of the Atlantic hurricane database, records of most storms in 1842 are scarce, and only approximate tracks are known. The first documented storm of the season battered the coast of North Carolina in mid-July, wrecking dozens of ships and destroying homes along the Outer Banks. A little over a month later, another storm impacted the same region and caused several more shipwrecks that killed at least 12 men. This storm later doused the Mid-Atlantic states with flooding rains. In early September, a powerful storm known as "Antje's Hurricane"—named after a ship that it dismasted—tracked generally westward after first being spotted over the Leeward Islands. After yielding widespread destruction across the Bahamas, the storm traversed the Florida Straits, causing severe damage in both northern Cuba and the lower Florida Keys. Many ships and their crews were lost to the storm as it crossed the Gulf of Mexico; it finally struck northern Mexico on September 8.
Terry Tucker. Beware the Hurricane! The Story of the Gyratory Tropical Storms That Have Struck Bermuda. Bermuda: Hamilton Press, 1966, p. 87–89.
