1842 Atlantic hurricane season

The 1842 Atlantic hurricane season featured several maritime catastrophes in the

Attempts to catalog Atlantic hurricanes in the first half of the 19th century began as early as 1855, when Andrés Poey compiled information on just over 400 tropical cyclones from 1493 to 1855.[1] Poey's work serves as the basis for much of what is currently known about historical Atlantic tropical cyclones.^[2] He identified four distinct tropical systems that developed in 1842 (six events are listed, though two concern the same storm), plus another in November that was later deemed extratropical in nature.^[3] In his 1963 book, Early American Hurricanes, 1492–1870, weather researcher David M. Ludlum discussed, in greater detail, six significant tropical cyclones that impacted the United States in 1842.^[4] As the season falls outside the scope of the Atlantic hurricane database (1851 onward) and its associated reanalysis project,^[5] records are regarded as incomplete.

Storms

July

The first documented hurricane of 1842 severely affected coastal

Based on an August 2 diary entry describing heavy rainfall and gusty northeasterly winds at Fort George Island, a tropical storm is believed to have made landfall just south of there.^[10] In southeastern Georgia, the storm negatively affected the cotton crop that was already suffering from persistent drought conditions.^[11]

Another damaging tropical cyclone, "hardly less severe" and reportedly of a much longer duration than the July hurricane,

The lower Florida Keys were battered; "half of Sand Key was blown away", including the lightkeeper's house,^[16] and extensive damage to buildings and vegetation was reported on Key West.^[22] However, the offshore wind apparently allowed Key West to escape with relatively light shipping losses. The storm subsequently followed a path due westward across the Gulf of Mexico.^[17] Along the hurricane's course, many vessels—such as the brig Chili, en route to Havana—were lost with their crews.^[23][24] By September 8, the cyclone had made landfall along the coast of Tamaulipas in Mexico, and the eye passed directly over Ciudad Victoria as evidenced by a brief, five-minute lull. Heavy rain swept across southern Texas as the cyclone dissipated over mountainous terrain.^[16]

On the night of September 17–18, a new tropical storm in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico affected Galveston, Texas. Northerly winds drove water from Galveston Bay over the island to a depth of up to 4 ft (1.2 m).^[25] The storm surge destroyed several structures and washed ashore small boats, while strong winds heavily damaged two churches.^[16] Many families were forced to evacuate their homes in the middle of the night by wading through floodwaters to reach higher ground.^[26] Estimates of total monetary damage ranged from $10,000 to as high as $50,000.^[16][26] Though no people lost their lives, 40 cattle were killed in a building collapse.^[25]

Several days later, the

The most destructive storm of the season can be traced back to near Saint Thomas at the end of September.^[4] By the beginning of October, it had tracked into the extreme southern Bay of Campeche. For several days, the strengthening storm battered ships as it turned northeastward through the Gulf of Mexico, with numerous vessels lost and many more damaged.^[27][28] The steamship Merchant began taking on water on October 3, and the next day she broke up after running aground several hundred yards offshore. All but 8 of the 72 passengers were rescued on October 5.^[29][30] The brig Cuba and about 14 passengers were lost off Key West.^[31] During this period, many birds died over open waters after becoming trapped in the circulation of the slow-moving hurricane.^[27] The system delivered a glancing blow to Galveston, where the storm surge flooded streets and a few buildings were blown down.^[25]

The storm buffeted Florida for an extended period from October 4 through 6,^[27] and moved ashore just north of Cedar Key as the equivalent of a major hurricane on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson scale. The minimum central pressure at the time of landfall has been estimated at 955 mb (28.2 inHg).^[10][32] "Extreme" winds in the northern side of the hurricane proved devastating along the Florida Panhandle. In Apalachicola, a lighthouse and keeper's house were destroyed, and a multitude of homes were unroofed. Several people in the area drowned in storm surge flooding. In Tallahassee, the storm wrought $500,000 in losses in the form of widespread structural damage. Thousands of trees were blown down throughout the region,^[27] and a significant portion of the cotton crop was lost. Two slaves on a plantation near Tallahassee were injured, one of them severely.^[33] To the south of the storm center, Cedar Key faced exceptionally high tides that swept entire homes away and threatened to submerge the island.^[27][34] Several ships were wrecked along the coast of Florida.^[34]

The hurricane continued northeastward across northern Florida before emerging into the Atlantic between

Late October

In late October, a highly unusual tropical cyclone formed in the far eastern Atlantic, first detected to the southwest of Madeira on October 24.^[4] On October 26, a ship near Madeira recorded a barometric pressure of 965 mb (28.5 inHg), suggesting a hurricane of Category 2 intensity.^[40] The hurricane passed just north of Madeira on October 27, producing heavy damage in Funchal. After brushing the northwestern coast of Morocco on the night of October 28–29,^[41] the hurricane moved ashore over southwestern Spain and likely became extratropical shortly thereafter. As a result of the extratropical transition, damaging winds extended far from the storm center and affected much of inland Spain.^[42] Dozens of ships, including three belonging to the Spanish Navy, were lost or severely damaged in the storm. Two bridges were washed away in Cádiz and homes were destroyed in Seville.^[41][43] Hurricane-force winds reached as far inland as Madrid, and thousands of trees were uprooted in the province of Badajoz.^[44] This storm serves as an important historical analogue for Hurricane Vince, which followed a similar course in October 2005.^[45]

Around the same time, a separate tropical cyclone formed in the western Atlantic. It moved from off the coast of Florida to near Bermuda between October 24 and November 1,

• Lists of hurricanes by area:
  • Bermuda
  • Europe
  • Florida
  • North Carolina
  • Texas
• 1840s Atlantic hurricane seasons

References

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