The 1866 Atlantic hurricane season was originally one of only four
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 in which every known tropical cyclone attained hurricane status, along with
1852
Events
January–March
* January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic.
* January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come tog ...
,
1858
Events
January–March
* January –
**Benito Juárez (1806–1872) becomes Liberal President of Mexico. At the same time, conservatives install Félix María Zuloaga (1813–1898) as president.
**William I of Prussia becomes regent f ...
, and
1884
Events
January–March
* January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London.
* January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Princess Ida'' premières at the Savoy Theatre, London.
* January 18 – Dr. William Price atte ...
. Initially, there were three known storms during the season, but a re-analysis confirmed the increased activity. There were also two other systems that were included as tropical cyclones at one time, although both were considered to have been other storms already in the database. All tropical activity occurred between the middle of July and the end of October. There may have been additional unconfirmed tropical cyclones during the season. Meteorologist
Christopher Landsea
Christopher William "Chris" Landsea is an American meteorologist, formerly a research meteorologist with the Hurricane Research Division of the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory at NOAA, and now the Science and Operations Offic ...
estimates that up to six storms were missed from the official database, due to small tropical cyclone size, sparse ship reports, and relatively unpopulated coastlines.
Every storm but the fourth hurricane affected land during the season. The first hurricane hit Matagorda, Texas in July, the only one of the season to hit the United States as a hurricane. A month later a hurricane made two landfalls in Mexico. The third hurricane of the season formed near Bermuda and was last observed along the southern coast 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 ...
. A few weeks later another storm executed a similar track, although it struck Newfoundland as a hurricane and caused damage. The most notable storm of the season was the Great Nassau Hurricane, which killed at least 383 people in the Turks and Caicos, Bahamas, and the western Atlantic Ocean. It attained winds of 140 mph (220 km/h), which is a Category 4 on the modern-day Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. The final hurricane developed over the Bahamas and later struck New Jersey, producing strong winds and high tides across New England.
The first hurricane of the season was observed on July 11, when a schooner encountered heavy seas to the south of the
Florida Panhandle
The Florida Panhandle (also West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida; it is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long and wide, lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia (U. ...
. As the hurricane moved westward, it remained a short distance off the
Gulf Coast of the United States
The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississ ...
, bringing strong winds to New Orleans on July 12. High tides surrounded the lighthouse at
Timbalier Bay Timbalier Bay is a bay in southeastern Louisiana in the United States.
The bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico and lies near New Orleans along the southwestern coast of Lafouche Parish. Timbalier Island lies between Barataria Bay and the Gul ...
for about 24 hours, prompting the lighthouse keeper to resign from loneliness and from fear of the weather.
On July 15, the hurricane moved ashore near
Matagorda Bay
Matagorda Bay () is a large Gulf of Mexico bay on the Texas coast, lying in Calhoun and Matagorda counties and located approximately northeast of Corpus Christi, east-southeast of San Antonio, south-southwest of Houston, and south-southeast ...
inHg
Inch of mercury (inHg and ″Hg) is a non- SI unit of measurement for pressure. It is used for barometric pressure in weather reports, refrigeration and aviation in the United States.
It is the pressure exerted by a column of mercury in heigh ...
). The hurricane's strong winds broke all of the boats from their moorings in the Matagorda harbor. Four ships were either lost or wrecked, and one schooner was washed ashore. The storm dissipated early on July 16 after progressing further inland.
Hurricane Two
On August 13, a ship encountered a severe hurricane in the eastern Caribbean Sea. Based on observations, it is estimated the hurricane attained winds of 105 mph (165 km/h). There were no reports for several days, although based on continuity it is estimated the storm passed south of Jamaica on August 15. The following day, the hurricane struck the eastern Yucatán Peninsula, washing seven boats ashore. It is estimated to have weakened to a tropical storm while moving over land, although the system re-intensified into a hurricane in the
Bay of Campeche
The Bay of Campeche ( es, Bahía de Campeche), or Campeche Sound, is a bight (geography), bight in the southern area of the Gulf of Mexico, forming the north side of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. It is surrounded on three sides by the Mexico, Mexic ...
. It made its second and final landfall near Veracruz before dissipating on August 18.
Hurricane Three
The third hurricane of the season was first encountered on September 4 by a ship north of Bermuda; the vessel sustained damage to its foretopmast. The storm affected another ship later that day, leaving similar heavy damage. Tracking generally northeastward, the hurricane was last observed on September 7 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 ...
.
Hurricane Four
On September 18 and for two days subsequently, a barque sailed through a hurricane near the
islands. The vessel was en route from New York to Shanghai, but due to a leak from the storm it had to return to New York for repairs. Aside from a single reported location, the track of the hurricane is unknown. Winds were estimated around .
Hurricane Five
A ship named "Honduras" observed the fifth hurricane of the season on September 22 to the south-southeast of Nova Scotia. The ship lost its masts and sails from the storm, and based on the observations the winds were estimated around 105 mph (165 km/h). Additional ship reports indicated the hurricane maintained a northeast track toward Newfoundland. Late on September 23, the hurricane made landfall in south-central Newfoundland, although it quickly weakened to tropical storm intensity. The winds spread across much of the island, severing the telegraphs in and around St. John's. Late on September 24, the storm was last observed to the north of the island. Around August 14, the emigrant bark Laura left Bremen en route to Baltimore, Maryland. According to a contemporary account in the ''Baltimore Sun'', "She reports having encountered a hurricane on the 22d September, shipping a tremendous sea, which washed overboard seven passengers and one of the crew, besides slightly injuring fifty others."
Hurricane Six
The Great Nassau Hurricane of 1866 or The Great Bahamas Hurricane of 1866 was the sixth hurricane of the season and was also the longest-lasting. The brig ''Jarien'' encountered the hurricane on September 24 to the west-southwest of the Cape Verde islands. The track is unknown for the following five days, until another ship reported a hurricane about 20 miles (32 km) north of Anegada in the British Virgin Islands. The hurricane affected the
, washing several ships ashore and destroying a pier in St. Thomas. On September 30 through the following day, the cyclone moved through the Turks and Caicos Islands, becoming what was considered "one of the most terrific hurricanes ever known". About 75% of the population was left homeless and moneyless.
After affecting the Turks and Caicos Islands, the hurricane passed through the Bahamas. The
eye
Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...
crossed over
Nassau
Nassau may refer to:
Places Bahamas
*Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence
Canada
*Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792
*Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...
inHg
Inch of mercury (inHg and ″Hg) is a non- SI unit of measurement for pressure. It is used for barometric pressure in weather reports, refrigeration and aviation in the United States.
It is the pressure exerted by a column of mercury in heigh ...
) was reported. Based on this observation, the hurricane is estimated to have had sustained winds of 140 mph (220 km/h). The hurricane struck without warning in the Bahamas, either washing ashore or sinking every ship but one in Nassau. In addition, strong winds downed trees and destroyed roofs. Every building in Nassau was damaged or destroyed. After moving through the islands, the hurricane curved northeastward, affecting dozens of other ships and wrecking four. On October 4, it passed north of Bermuda, where it produced Force 11 winds on the
Beaufort scale
The Beaufort scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort wind force scale.
History
The scale was devised in 1805 by the Irish hydrographer Francis Beaufort ...
. The hurricane was last observed on October 5 to the southeast of
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (french: provinces de l'Atlantique), is the region of Eastern Canada comprising the provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec. The four provinces are New Brunswick, Newfoundlan ...
. Along its path through the Turks and Caicos, the Bahamas, and the western Atlantic, the hurricane killed at least 383 people, making it among the 100 deadliest Atlantic hurricanes.
Tropical Storm Seven
The final storm of the season was first observed on October 28 over the Bahamas, and may have been a hybrid or subtropical cyclone. It moved north-northwestward through the island chain, followed by a turn to the north-northeast over the western Atlantic. Several ships encountered the tropical storm, and one lost their supply of molasses. On October 30, the cyclone, at the time transitioning to extratropical, struck on the southern end of Long Beach Island with winds of 70 mph (110 km/h). As it moved through the northeastern United States, the storm dropped heavy rainfall, causing flooding near
Jersey City
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Hoboken, New Jersey. In Brooklyn, the storm moved the rail cars off their tracks, while in Providence, Rhode Island the winds destroyed three buildings and wrecked the roofs of two others. Further northeast, the storm disrupted shipping and cut telegraph lines, although no fatalities were reported. The post-tropical storm was last observed over Vermont late on October 30.
See also
*
Atlantic hurricane
An Atlantic hurricane, also known as tropical storm or simply hurricane, is a tropical cyclone that forms in the Atlantic Ocean, primarily between the months of June and November. A hurricane differs from a cyclone or typhoon only on the basis of ...
Tropical cyclone observation
Tropical cyclone observation has been carried out over the past couple of centuries in various ways. The passage of typhoons, hurricanes, as well as other tropical cyclones have been detected by word of mouth from sailors recently coming to port ...