The 1872 Atlantic hurricane season was quiet, lasting from mid-summer through mid-autumn. There were five tropical cyclones, of which four attained hurricane status. However, 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 and zero to four per year between 1886 and 1910 has been estimated. Of the known 1872 cyclones, significant changes were made to the tracks of Hurricane Two and Hurricane Four in 1995 by Jose Fernandez-Partagas and Henry Diaz, who also proposed smaller changes to the known track of Hurricane Three.Partagas, J.F. and H.F. Diaz, 1995b "A Reconstruction of Historical Tropical Cyclone Frequency in the Atlantic from Documentary and other Historical Sources : 1851-1880 Part II: 1871-1880" Climate Diagnostics Center, NOAA, Boulder, CO Further analysis, in 2003, revised the track of Hurricane Five. __TOC__

Season summary

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The Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT) recognizes five tropical cyclones for the 1872 season. Four storms attained hurricane status, with winds of 75 mph (119 km/h) or greater. Only two of the systems directly impacted land. The second hurricane of the season, was the most intense, with

maximum sustained winds The maximum sustained wind associated with a tropical cyclone is a common indicator of the intensity of the storm. Within a mature tropical cyclone, it is found within the eyewall at a distance defined as the radius of maximum wind, or RMW. Unl ...

up to 100 mph (170 km/h). The first storm of the season was a tropical storm that developed in the Gulf of Mexico on July 9 and made landfall along the US Gulf coast before dissipating over Tennessee. Hurricane Two, the strongest storm of the season, traveled across the Atlantic from Cape Verde to Newfoundland between August 20 and September 1. Hurricane Three grew from a tropical storm that formed east of the Lesser Antilles. It traveled north and developed into a hurricane, but never made landfall and was last observed on September 19. Hurricane Four also never made landfall. Growing from a tropical storm first seen south-west of the Cape Verde Islands, it traveled across the Atlantic and was last seen near the Azores on October 6. The final storm of the season began as a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico on October 22. It crossed the Florida peninsula and hit South Carolina as a category 1 hurricane. It was last sighted on October 27.

Systems

Tropical Storm One

Tropical Storm One formed in the central Gulf of Mexico on July 9. Tropical Storm One struck

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and

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

before being last seen over

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

on July 13.

Hurricane Two

Hurricane Two formed near

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on August 20. Hurricane Two headed across the Atlantic but then curved north and passed near

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. Hurricane Two persisted until it was last seen near

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 September 2.

Hurricane Three

On September 9, a tropical storm was observed east of the Lesser Antilles. Over the following two days, it moved slowly north-northwestward through the islands, before reaching hurricane status on September 12. It turned more toward the north, and passed east of Bermuda on September 15. It was last observed on September 19.

Hurricane Four

A tropical storm formed on September 30 to the southwest of the Cape Verde islands. It tracked northwestward for several days, reaching hurricane status on October 3. Two days later it curved to the northeast, and the hurricane was last observed on October 6 near the Azores.

Hurricane Five

In the southern

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

, a tropical storm developed on October 22. It crossed

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

from

Cedar Key Cedar Key is a city in Levy County, Florida, United States. The population was 702 at the 2010 census. The Cedar Keys are a cluster of islands near the mainland. Most of the developed area of the city has been on Way Key since the end of the 19th ...

to Jacksonville as a 60 mph (97 km/h) tropical storm, and hit

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as a minimal hurricane. It caused 4-8 inches of rain in the

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area.

References

{{Tropical cyclone season, 1872 Atlantic hurricane seasons Articles which contain graphical timelines

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...