1891 Martinique hurricane

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Hurricane Three
Meteorological history
FormedAugust 18, 1891 (1891-08-18)
DissipatedAugust 25, 1891 (1891-08-26)
Category 3 major hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds125 mph (205 km/h)
Lowest pressure961 mbar (hPa); 28.38 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities>700
Damage$10 million (1891 USD)
Areas affectedLesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, The Bahamas
IBTrACSEdit this at Wikidata
Part of the 1891 Atlantic hurricane season

The 1891 Martinique hurricane, also known as Hurricane San Magín,

U.S. State of Florida and dissipated in the Gulf of Mexico
after August 25. Total damage is estimated at $10 million (1891 USD). The storm is considered to be the worst on Martinique since 1817.

Meteorological history

Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
Map key
Saffir–Simpson scale
  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
  Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
  Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
  Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
  Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
  Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
  Unknown
Storm type
triangle Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression

The equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane on the

barometric pressure.[3] After reaching a peak intensity with winds of 125 miles per hour (201 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 961 mb, the storm began to weaken, and was downgraded to the equivalence of Category 2 status early on August 20. At 1800 UTC, it tracked just to the south of Puerto Rico and, as it began to turn northward, it made landfall on the extreme eastern edge of the Dominican Republic with winds of 100 mph (160 km/h).[2] Around midnight on August 21, the cyclone passed north of Grand Turk of the Turks and Caicos Islands. During the late afternoon and into the evening hours there, frequent rain squalls occurred, and at 10:15 pm a strong gust of wind was reported. After that gust, the winds decreased in intensity, until around 12:00 am when winds picked up from the west. By 8:00 am the next morning, the wind had become south, and rain was steadily falling on the island.[3]

Back on a northwestward track, it continued to weaken, and tracked through the

Bahamas on August 22. The center of the storm was reported to have tracked directly over Crooked Island, Bahamas. Beginning on August 23, a ridge of high pressure was situated off the southeast coast of the United States. Now a Category 1 hurricane, the ridge of high pressure prevented the storm executing a recurve to the north or northeast.[3] Instead, it tracked over the Florida Peninsula as a tropical storm, making landfall near Homestead on August 24. Subsequently, it moved into the Gulf of Mexico, where it officially dissipated on August 25.[2] However, there were reports of a cyclonic disturbance in the east Gulf of Mexico until August 29.[3]

Impact

On

Fort de France, the main part of the hospital collapsed, crushing to death two artillery men. Also, a military camp in Balata was destroyed, where houses comprising the campus suffered from severe roof damage. A number of soldiers there sustained injuries from airborne wood blanks and beams.[6] All vessels at harbors were lost during the hurricane.[7]

Initially, the total number of fatalities was placed at sixty. Later, 118 were reported dead in coastal locations alone. Even after the storm, finding an exact number of casualties was difficult because all roads in and out of interior sections of the island were impassable, blocked by downed trees and large amounts of washed out soil and rock. For a final death toll, the August 1891 Monthly Weather Review states that 700 perished in the storm.[3] However, some newspapers report that the passage of the cyclone resulted in at least 1,000 deaths in Martinique.[8] Additionally, another 1,000 people sustained injuries of one form or another as a direct result of the cyclone.[6] Total damage is estimated at $10 million (1891 USD).[3]

Elsewhere, when the hurricane passed north of Grand Turk, three people drowned on the island, and there was some damage to small houses and shipping vessels.

U.S. State of Florida, it hit near Homestead as a minimal hurricane, blowing boats onshore near present-day Cutler, though due to lack of observations near the landfall location its impact in the state is largely unknown.[9][10]

See also
  • List of Atlantic hurricanes

References

  1. ^ Puerto Rico Hurricane Center. "Hurricanes and Tropical Storms In Puerto Rico from 1500 to 1899". Tripod-Lycos. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
  2. ^ a b c "Atlantic hurricane best track (HURDAT version 2)" (Database). United States National Hurricane Center. April 5, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2024. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "August 1891 Monthly Weather Review" (PDF). U.S. Weather Bureau. 1891. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  4. Newspapers.com
    .
  5. ^ "The Martinique Hurricane" (PDF). New York Times. August 22, 1891. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  6. ^ a b "Fearful work of a storm" (PDF). New York Times. August 21, 1891. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
  7. Newspaperarchive.com
    .
  8. Newspapers.com
    .
  9. ^ Taylor 1985, p. 7.
  10. ^ Chris Landsea; Craig Anderson; Noel Charles; Gil Clark; Jason Dunion; Charlie Neumann; Mark Zimmer; Jose Fernandez-Partagas; William Bredemeyer; John Gamache; Lenworth Woolcock (2006). "Documentation of Atlantic Tropical Cyclones Changes in HURDAT". NOAA. Archived from the original on 6 December 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-12.

Further reading

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