The 1890 Atlantic hurricane season was among the least active

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 ...

s on record. The first

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

of the season was initially observed on May 27 and the last storm, Hurricane Four, dissipated over

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

on November 1. These dates fall within the period with the most tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic. The first storm moved slowly north-northwestward, bringing heavy rains and extensive flooding to Cuba, which caused at least three fatalities and at least $1 million (1890

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

) in damage. It dissipated in the

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 ...

on May 29.

Tropical cyclogenesis Tropical cyclogenesis is the development and strengthening of a tropical cyclone in the atmosphere. The mechanisms through which tropical cyclogenesis occurs are distinctly different from those through which temperate cyclogenesis occurs. Tropi ...

went dormant for nearly two and a half months, until another system was observed near the

Windward Islands french: Îles du Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Windward Islands. Clockwise: Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth ...

on August 18. It traversed the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

and Gulf of Mexico, grazing the Yucatan Peninsula and making

landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

before dissipating on August 28. Impact from the storm was minimal. Of the season's four tropical cyclones, two reached hurricane status. One of these two strengthened into a

major hurricane Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

, which are Category 3 or higher on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. The strongest cyclone of the season, the third hurricane, peaked at Category 3 strength, with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (195 km/h). Rough seas produced by this storm sunk a ship in the vicinity of the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...

, drowning 10 people. The final tropical cyclone was first observed in the southwestern Caribbean Sea on October 31. Peaking as a strong Category 1 hurricane, it headed westward and made landfall in

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

, before being last noted over Central America on November 1. The storm produced only minor damage in Nicaragua. Collectively, the tropical cyclones of this season resulted in at least $1 million in damage and 14 confirmed fatalities. __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:01/05/1890 till:01/12/1890 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/05/1890 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:27/05/1890 till:29/05/1890 color:TS text:"One (TS)" from:18/08/1890 till:28/08/1890 color:TS text:"Two (TS)" from:26/08/1890 till:01/09/1890 color:C3 text:"Three (C3)" from:31/10/1890 till:01/11/1890 color:C1 text:"Four (C1)" bar:Month width:15 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/05/1890 till:01/06/1890 text:May from:01/06/1890 till:01/07/1890 text:June from:01/07/1890 till:01/08/1890 text:July from:01/08/1890 till:01/09/1890 text:August from:01/09/1890 till:01/10/1890 text:September from:01/10/1890 till:01/11/1890 text:October from:01/11/1890 till:01/12/1890 text:November TextData = pos:(570,30) text:"(From the" pos:(617,30) text:" Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale)"

Systems

Tropical Storm One

According to

HURDAT The Hurricane Databases (HURDAT), managed by the National Hurricane Center, are two separate databases that contain details on tropical cyclones, that have occurred within the Atlantic Ocean and Eastern Pacific Ocean since 1851 and 1949 respectiv ...

– North Atlantic hurricane database – a tropical depression developed on May 27, while located about south of

Isla de la Juventud Isla de la Juventud (; en, Isle of Youth) is the second-largest Cuban island (after Cuba's mainland) and the seventh-largest island in the West Indies (after mainland Cuba itself, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, and Andros Islan ...

, Cuba. The depression moved north-northwestward and did not strengthen before making landfall near

Pinar del Río Pinar del Río is the capital city of Pinar del Río Province, Cuba. With a population of 139,336 (2004) in a municipality of 190,332, it is the List of cities in Cuba, 10th-largest city in Cuba. Inhabitants of the area are called ''Pinareños'' ...

, Cuba, early the following day. It crossed Cuba without weakening and emerged into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on May 28. Later that day, the depression intensified into a tropical storm. The cyclone continued to strengthen and peaked with winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) early on May 29. It was last noted about 125 miles (200 km) west-northwest of

Dry Tortugas Dry Tortugas National Park is a national park located about west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico. The park preserves Fort Jefferson and the seven Dry Tortugas islands, the westernmost and most isolated of the Florida Keys. The archipelago's c ...

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 ...

at around 1800 UTC. The storm brought heavy rains to Cuba, with observed in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

in a 36-hour period. Flooding and mudslides caused extensive damage to several cities, including Calabazar, Chorrera, Havana,

Puentes Grandes Puentes Grandes (Spanish for "large bridges") is a neighborhood in the municipality of Playa, Havana, in Cuba The neighborhood is located near the District of Miramar and Vedado District and it has a population of 5,830. Overview The old neighb ...

San Antonio de los Baños San Antonio de los Baños is a municipality and town in the Artemisa Province of Cuba. It is located 26 km from the city of Havana, and the Ariguanabo River runs through it. It was founded in 1802. History There are 39 schools in the town, ...

, and Rincon. Several people had to be rescued. Nearly all telegraphic and railroad services were interrupted by flooding. With damage estimates in the millions of dollars, the event was described as "the most disastrous rains that had ever visited Cuba." At least 4 fatalities were confirmed after a ship capsized, while a "good number" of other persons drowned.

Tropical Storm Two

After no activity for over two months, the

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts having the fore- and mainmasts Square rig, rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) Fore-and-aft rig, rigged fore and aft. Som ...

''Aspatogan'' encountered "very heavy weather" associated with a tropical storm in the eastern Caribbean Sea on August 18. The system moved west-northwestward across the Caribbean Sea and strengthened slowly. Early on August 24, the storm attained its maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 km/h), while situated about south-southwest of

Grand Cayman Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands and the location of the territory's capital, George Town. In relation to the other two Cayman Islands, it is approximately 75 miles (121 km) southwest of Little Cayman and 90 miles ( ...

. Re-curving northwestward, it brushed the Yucatan Peninsula on August 25, shortly before entering the Gulf of Mexico. The storm again re-curved northward while located in the central Gulf of Mexico. At 1600 UTC, it made landfall near

Dulac, Louisiana Dulac is a census-designated place (CDP) in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,241 in 2020. It is part of the Houma– Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area. Geography Dulac is located at (2 ...

with winds of 60 mph (95 km/h). The system quickly weakened to a tropical depression and dissipated over northern

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 ...

on August 28.

Hurricane Three

The steamship ''Haytian'' encountered a storm equivalent in intensity to a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale, while located about east-northeast of

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 ...

on August 26. The cyclone headed northwestward and strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane early on the following day, becoming the only major hurricane of the season. Later on August 27, the storm attained its maximum sustained wind speed of 120 mph (195 km/h). The ship ''Portuense'' recorded a minimum

barometric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, 7 ...

of at 0700 UTC on August 28. However, the ship sunk in the rough seas later that day while situated about northeast of

Anegada Anegada is the northernmost of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It lies approximately north of Virgin Gorda. Anegada is the only inhabited British Virgin Island for ...

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Brit ...

, drowning ten people, including the ship's captain and nine crew members. After peak intensity, the storm began to weaken and fell to Category 2 strength on August 29. Later that day, the hurricane began re-curving northward and then accelerated northeastward on August 30. Although the storm passed well offshore 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 ...

, rough seas caused "great damage" at beaches in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. While approaching

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 1, the system weakened to a Category 1 hurricane. Late on September 1, it weakened to a tropical storm, shortly before becoming extratropical about 465 miles (750 km) east-northeast of

St. Lunaire-Griquet St. Lunaire-Griquet is a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The town is located near the northern tip of the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland. The town had a population of 603 in the Canada 2021 Census. History ...

Newfoundland and Labrador 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 ...

Hurricane Four

The steamship ''Gussie'' first encountered a hurricane with winds of 90 mph (150 km/h) early on October 31, while located about northeast of

Providencia Island Isla de Providencia, historically Old Providence, and generally known as Providencia, is a mountainous Caribbean island that is part of the Colombian department of Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina and the municipality o ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. The cyclone tracked westward and maintained its intensity as a strong Category 1 hurricane. Late on October 31, it made landfall in Nicaragua just south of

Cabo Gracias a Dios Cabo Gracias a Dios is a cape located in the middle of the east coast of Central America, within what is variously called the Mosquito Coast and La Mosquitia. It is the point where the Rio Coco flows into the Caribbean, and is the border betwee ...

. At 0000 UTC on November 1, the system weakened to a tropical storm. Six hours later, it was last noted over the

Olancho Department Olancho is the largest of all the 18 departments into which Honduras is divided. The department covers a total surface area of 24,057 km² and has an estimated 2015 population of 537,306 inhabitants. The departmental capital is Juticalpa, ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

. Impact from this system in Central America is unknown.

References

External links

Monthly Weather Review

{{DEFAULTSORT:1890 Atlantic Hurricane Season Articles which contain graphical timelines 1890 meteorology 1890 natural disasters