The Yankee Gale was a major storm in the Gulf of St. Lawrence near

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, that began on the night of October 3, 1851 and continued for two days. It is considered the worst marine disaster in the history of the island. In addition to local ships, the storm wrecked much of the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

fishing fleet that was working in the waters, giving the gale its name. At least 74 ships were destroyed, and 150 crew were killed.

General Description

A detailed description of the gale was published by James D. Lawson in the Prince Edward Island Magazine. This account cited a favorable weather with a cloudless sky and gentle winds. Other accounts would detail how a brassy appearance was witnessed in the northwest sky on the afternoon of October 3. Long swells started moving into the Gulf of St. Lawrence from the southeast, as the wind began to pick up out of the same quarter. The wind backed to the northeast that evening, increasing to gale force. Surface pressures across the region begin to fall rapidly, with one barometer on Nova Scotia falling to 31 hPa or mb/nearly 1 inch within 23 hours. The gales continued for nearly two days, according to one of the sea captain's logs from the area. The Yankee Gale occurred less than six months after a previously devastating gale called Minot's Light Storm hit the Gulf of St. Lawrence and destroyed the lighthouse off Cohasset.

Effects

On land the cyclone had minimal effect, but out at sea the storm was significantly more damaging. Ships at sea realized a storm was approaching, and tried to sail east of

. Northeast gales blocked their progress. Ships attempted to hold position, but their sails tore away in the wind, and they drifted towards the island. Ships at anchor either sank at anchor or were capsized by other ships ramming them during the cyclone. Most of the American fishing fleet fell victim to the storm. At least 74 ships and 150 lives were lost. Today, the tombs of the Yankee Gale victims can still be found in the cemetery near the Cape Tryon lighthouse.

References

External links

Contemporary accounts of the Yankee Gale
1851 meteorology Nor'easters Natural disasters in Prince Edward Island Weather events in Canada October 1851 events 1851 natural disasters 1851 disasters in Canada {{Natural-disaster-stub