1780 Atlantic hurricane season

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1780 Atlantic hurricane season
Seasonal boundaries
First system formed≤June 13, 1780
Last system dissipated≥Nov. 17, 1780
Strongest storm
NameThe Great Hurricane
 • Maximum winds200 mph (325 km/h)
Seasonal statistics
Total storms≥ 8
Hurricanes7
Major hurricanes
(
1782

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 of all time, the Great Hurricane of 1780
. Only one of the known storms was not a hurricane.

Landfalling storms affected the Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Cuba, Bermuda, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, and the New England
states.

Context

This destructive season should be seen against a backdrop of the

hostilities in the Caribbean by the fleets of Spain, France and the Dutch Republic operating against British fleets with the concomitant greater risk of loss of life due to increased exposure of warships and transports to hazardous weather conditions. This critical coincidence is at least partially responsible for the unprecedented losses of life inflicted, especially in the three fierce hurricanes that struck in quick succession during October.[4]

Systems

San Antonio Hurricane

The San Antonio Hurricane

List of deadliest Atlantic hurricanes.[4][6]

Louisiana Hurricane

New Orleans experienced a powerful hurricane on August 24, with winds gusting over 160 mph. The hurricane completely destroyed 39 of the 43 buildings on Grand Isle, Louisiana. The eye then passed over New Orleans and severely damaged structures in what is now known as the French Quarter. The hurricane also caused harvest-ruining crop damage, severe flooding, and tornadoes across southeast Louisiana. It is believed that the hurricane killed around 25 people.[6]

St. Kitts Tropical Storm

On August 25,

St. Kitts in the Leeward Islands was struck by a storm.[4]

Savanna-la-Mar Hurricane

A strong storm formed in the southern Caribbean Sea on October 1. Shortly after, it sank the British transport ship Monarch with all hands, including several hundred Spanish prisoners. The hurricane began to move northwest towards Jamaica, where it destroyed the port of

Lucea, 400 people perished and all but two structures were destroyed; 360 people were killed in the nearby town of Montego Bay. The hurricane would later sink the British frigate Phoenix, killing 200 crew members, and ships-of-the-line Victor, Barbadoes, and Scarborough among others. It continued its direction, and made landfall in Cuba on October 4, followed by a pass over the Bahamas.[6] The storm is believed to have caused 3,000 deaths.[1][2]

The Great Hurricane

Main article: Great Hurricane of 1780

The second hurricane of October 1780 formed before or on October 10. It is still referred to as "The Great Hurricane" or "Great Hurricane of the Antilles" in some places, but its official name is "San Calixto Hurricane." The hurricane devastated the island of

deadliest hurricane in the Atlantic. The high number of fatalities is due in part to "the presence of the powerful fleets of Britain and France, both maneuvering on nearby islands to strike blows at each other's rich possessions in the Antilles."[4] The storm dissipated on or after October 18.[1]

Solano's Hurricane

José Solano (1726–1806)

A powerful hurricane in the Eastern

Bernardo de Gálvez, and 2,000 died.[8] The slow-moving hurricane, known to history as "Solano's hurricane", was first noted near Jamaica on October 15. Progressing northwestwards it likely crossed the western end of Cuba, before shifting northeastwards to Apalachee Bay. It struck Solano's fleet on October 20. The hurricane's dissipation is disputed as some claim it dissipated somewhere over the southeastern United States around October 22,[1] while others claim that it crossed the U.S. and finally dissipated over the North Atlantic on October 26.[9]

Lesser Antilles Hurricane

In late October, a tropical cyclone struck

St. Lucia on October 23.[4][6]

New England Hurricane

Around November 17, a tropical cyclone moved up the east coast of the United States disrupting the British blockade of the New England states. It is unknown whether this storm was fully tropical.[6]

See also


References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-514941-8
    .
  2. ^ a b US National Weather Service, National Hurricane Center, The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1492-1996, retrieved 17 March 2009
  3. ^ Blake, Eric; Rappaport, Edward; Landsea, Christopher (April 15, 2007). The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Tropical Cyclones from 1851 to 2006 (And Other Frequently Requested Hurricane Facts) (PDF) (Report). National Hurricane Center Miami. National Hurricane Center. p. 9. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e Ludlum, David M. (1963). Early American Hurricanes, 1492–1870. Boston: American Meteorological Society. p. 66.
  5. ^ a b Mújica-Baker, Frank. Huracanes y Tormentas que han afectadi a Puerto Rico (PDF). Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, Agencia Estatal para el manejo de Emergencias y Administracion de Desastres. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  6. ^ a b c d e Sheets, Bob; Williams, Jack (2001). Hurricane Watch Forecasting the Deadliest Storms on Earth. New York: Vintage Books. p. 19.
  7. ^ Ghosh, Palash (August 24, 2011). "1780: The Deadliest Atlantic Hurricane Season Ever". International Business Times. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  8. ^ Ludlum, David M. (1963). Early American Hurricanes, 1492–1870. Boston: American Meteorological Society. pp. 72–73.
  9. S2CID 154932650
    .
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