The 1864 Atlantic hurricane season was the third consecutive

Atlantic hurricane season The Atlantic hurricane season is the period in a year from June through November when tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic Ocean, referred to in North American countries as hurricanes, tropical storms, or tropical depressions. In addition ...

with no hurricane landfall in the United States – the longest period on record. Of the five known 1864 cyclones, four were first documented in 1995 by Jose Fernandez-Partagas and Henry Diaz. In the absence of modern satellite and other remote-sensing technologies, only storms that affected populated land areas or encountered ships at sea were recorded, 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. The first system was initially observed offshore the Southeastern United States on July 16. It peaked as a Category 1 hurricane on the modern day Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. Moving rapidly northeastward, the storm was last noted well east of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

on July 18. The next system was observed in the south-central Gulf of Mexico on July 25. Because the cyclone was not tracked further, only a single-point storm path exists. After tropical cyclogenesis was dormant for over a month, another hurricane was spotted on August 26 to the east of the Lesser Antilles. Early on the following day, the hurricane crossed the islands between

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...

and Martinique. After traversing the Caribbean Sea, the storm made landfall in Belize late on August 31, before dissipating the next day. Offshore Belize, several ships encountered the storm. Along the coast, storm surge flooded some areas. The fourth tropical storm was observed off the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...

between September 5 and September 9. A number of ships sailing in the vicinity of the storm encountered heavy gales. The fifth and final known tropical cyclone was also tracked offshore the East Coast of the United States. Similarly, many vessels experienced rough seas and severe thunderstorms. __TOC__

Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:200 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:20 left:20 Legend = columns:3 left:30 top:58 columnwidth:270 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/07/1864 till:01/11/1864 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/07/1864 Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.88) id:GP value:red id:TD value:rgb(0.38,0.73,1) legend:Tropical_Depression_=_≤38_mph_(≤62_km/h) id:TS value:rgb(0,0.98,0.96) legend:Tropical_Storm_=_39–73_mph_(63–117_km/h) id:C1 value:rgb(1,1,0.80) legend:Category_1_=_74–95_mph_(118–153_km/h) id:C2 value:rgb(1,0.91,0.46) legend:Category_2_=_96–110_mph_(154–177_km/h) id:C3 value:rgb(1,0.76,0.25) legend:Category_3_=_111–129_mph_(178–208_km/h) id:C4 value:rgb(1,0.56,0.13) legend:Category_4_=_130–156_mph_(209–251_km/h) id:C5 value:rgb(1,0.38,0.38) legend:Category_5_=_≥157_mph_(≥252_km/h) Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Hurricane bar:Month PlotData= barset:Hurricane width:10 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till from:16/07/1864 till:18/07/1864 color:C1 text:"One (C1)" from:25/07/1864 till:25/07/1864 color:TS text:"Two (TS)" from:26/08/1864 till:01/09/1864 color:C1 text:"Three (C1)" from:05/09/1864 till:08/09/1864 color:TS text:"Four (TS)" from:22/10/1864 till:24/10/1864 color:C1 text:"Five (C1)" bar:Month width:15 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/07/1864 till:01/08/1864 text:July from:01/08/1864 till:01/09/1864 text:August from:01/09/1864 till:01/10/1864 text:September from:01/10/1864 till:01/11/1864 text:October TextData = pos:(570,30) text:"(From the" pos:(617,30) text:" Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale)"

Systems

Hurricane One

This storm was first observed by the brig ''Hattie Eaton'' on July 16, while located a few hundred miles offshore the Carolinas. The ''Hattie Eaton'' reported sustained winds of 80 mph (130 km/h) – equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane on the modern day Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. Early on July 18, the hurricane weakened to a tropical storm. Several hours later, the storm was last noted by ship ''Energy'', while located about east of Cape Race,

Tropical Storm Two

This storm is known from a single ship report. On July 25, the bark ''Daniel'' bound for New York from Matamoros, Tamaulipas encountered a tropical storm off the Alacran reef, north of the Yucatan Peninsula. The vessel spent several hours in the cyclone and was also struck by lightning.

Hurricane Three

A hurricane was first observed well east of the Lesser Antilles on August 26. The storm moved westward and brought severe weather to Martinique, including hurricane-force winds. Throughout its trek across the Caribbean Sea, the system maintained winds of 80 mph (130 km/h). Late on August 31, the hurricane made landfall in Belize District of Belize. Off the coast, several ships were damaged or sunk. The brig ''Antonio'', the ''Hannah'', and the bark ''Berkshire'' were among the ships that capsized. On land, tides up to above normal caused coastal flooding in Belize. This storm has been paleotempestologically traced in sediment near

Gales Point Gales Point is a village in Belize District in the nation of Belize, Central America. The village is on a peninsula in the Southern Lagoon In 2000, Gales Point had a population of about 500 people, most of whom subsist on fishing and farming. M ...

. The system steadily weakened over land.

Tropical Storm Four

Based on reports from several ships, a tropical storm is known to have existed off the

between September 5 and September 8. A number of ships approaching

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

on September 5 reported an easterly gale. Vessels off Hatteras and Barnegat endured the storm through September 8.

Hurricane Five

The final tropical cyclone of the season was observed by the ''Santa Martha'' early on October 22, while located about 355 mi (570 km) east-northeast of the

Abaco Islands Abaco is a variant Italian form of the Biblical name "Habakkuk" (but normally Abacùc or Abacucco). Abaco may refer to: People *Evaristo Felice Dall'Abaco (1675–1742), Italian composer and violinist *Joseph Abaco (1710–1805), Belgian compose ...

. Based on reports from several ships, it quickly moved northward and intensified into a Category 1 hurricane by midday on October 23. Around that time, the hurricane peaked with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 km/h). The storm moved rapidly east-northeastward and was last noted about south-southwest of Sable Island late on October 24.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1864 Atlantic Hurricane Seasons Atlantic hurricane seasons Articles which contain graphical timelines 1864 natural disasters 1864 meteorology