1867 San Narciso hurricane
_(14596888807)_(cropped).jpg) Wrecks in the Harbor of Saint Thomas | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | October 27, 1867 |
| Dissipated | October 31, 1867 |
| Category 3 major hurricane | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS) | |
| Highest winds | 125 mph (205 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 952 mbar (hPa); 28.11 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | >811 |
| Damage | $1 million (1867 USD) |
| Areas affected | Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 1867 Atlantic hurricane season | |
The San Narciso Hurricane was a extremely deadly and record breaking Atlantic hurricane that caused devastation to the British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. After forming abnormally late for a Lesser Antilles hurricane, it went to be the costliest and deadliest storm of the 1867 Atlantic hurricane season. It's also the only hurricane on the official database to strike Puerto Rico after September,[note 1] doing so over a month later then its runner-up.[1] It's also the only known hurricane to strike the territory from the northwest.[2]
The storm is infamous for striking just 20 days prior to the devastating 1867 Virgin Islands earthquake and tsunami in the same region.
In a 2014 analysis, climate historian Michael Chenoweth suggested that the storm reached Category 4 intensity.[3] In total, it caused at least 811 deaths in Saint Thomas (Danish West Indies) and Captaincy General of Puerto Rico and around $1 million (1867 USD) in damage.
Meteorological history
[edit]
Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
Unknown
Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depressionOn October 27, the storm developed northeast of the Lesser Antilles usually late into the season,[2] in which the mail steamer Principe Alfonso skillfully avoided the storm. This tropical storm continued westward before intensifying to a hurricane the next day. It then reached category 3 status on October 29, before striking Sombrero, Anguilla near or at peak intensity. After 8 am local, a barometric pressure of 28.65 inches of mercury (97.0 kPa) accompanied by a half-hour calm occurred. The wind then shifted to a violent easterly until 11 am and then diminished through 1 pm. The hurricane reached its peak intensity of 125 miles per hour (201 km/h) at 1200 UTC near the island.
From 1:30 pm to 2:00 pm local, the eye passed over Sankt Thomas, Danish West Indies.[4]
The hurricane made landfall on Puerto Rico late during October 29; less than 3 days from November. Despite its small size, it ranks among the most intense hurricanes recorded on the island. It passed near the city of Fajardo between 5 pm and 6 pm local, and later passed near Caguas. People sensed tremors in the towns of Humacao, Luquillo, and Peñuelas. The storm affected every towns on the island of Puerto Rico.[4] It then struck the island of Hispaniola as a hurricane, to then dissipated over the high mountains on the 30th.
Impact
[edit]
The hurricane caused at least 811 deaths in total. 600 occurred in Saint Thomas (Danish West Indies - now Saint Thomas, the United States Virgin Islands) and 211 on Puerto Rico. On Tortola (British Virgin Islands), the storm reached its peak fury from noon to 2 pm and blew down one-third of the "miserable tenements." Deaths numbered 22 at Road Town, 2 on Peter Island, and 2 on Westland (now Soper's Hole).
On Saint Thomas, the hurricane drove ashore or otherwise wrecked 80 ships[6] including the RMS Rhone where a barometric pressure reading of 965 mbar (28.5 inHg) & winds of 74 miles per hour (119 km/h) occurred. Roughly 600 people drowned.[4]
It caused 211 deaths in Puerto Rico, and the damages were calculated at 13 million Spanish escudos.[4] The hurricane ruined agriculture of the island of Puerto Rico, causing a great economic crisis.[7] The hurricane and various other factors contributed to the discontent on the island that erupted into the Grito de Lares of 1868.[7]
It almost destroyed the city of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Dominican Republic, where 200 persons died on that day.[citation needed]
Name
[edit]The hurricane was given the name of the date it struck Puerto Rico, which occurred on October 29 - the memorial day of Saint Narcissus of Jerusalem. This was a common practice prior to the introduction of standardized hurricane names in 1950. Other examples are the 1825 Santa Ana hurricane that made landfall on the Roman Catholic day of honor to Saint Anne, & the much similar 1932 San Ciprián hurricane that occurred on the feast day of Saint Cyprian.[8]
See also
[edit]
- List of Atlantic hurricanes
- List of Puerto Rico hurricanes
- 1867 Virgin Islands earthquake and tsunami – Devastating event that struck the same region 20 days later
- 1932 San Ciprián hurricane – A near identical hurricane and runner-up in many of the storm's climatology record.
- Hurricane Maria – A more recent and intense hurricane that caused a humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico.
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Hurricanes and Tropical Storms in Puerto Rico from 1500 to 1899". Retrieved 1 May 2023.
- ^ a b "Atlantic hurricane best track (HURDAT version 2)" (Database). United States National Hurricane Center. April 5, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Landsea, Chris (April 2022). "The revised Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT2) - Chris Landsea – April 2022" (PDF). Hurricane Research Division – NOAA/AOML. Miami: Hurricane Research Division – via Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.
- ^ Chenoweth, Michael (December 2014). "A New Compilation of North Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1851–98". Journal of Climate. 27 (12). American Meteorological Society. Bibcode:2014JCli...27.8674C. doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-13-00771.1. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Mújica-Baker, Frank. Huracanes y tormentas que han afectado a Puerto Rico (PDF). Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, Agencia Estatal para el Manejo de Emergencias y Administración de Desastres. pp. 9–10. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
- ^ Martelli, Joan (2017). The Law of Storms. pp. 82–120.
- ^ Marshall, Logan (1912). Sinking of the Titanic and Great Disasters of the Sea.
- ^ a b "Tierra huracanada". July 4, 2007. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
- ^ Beverly, James R. (July 1, 1933). "Thirty-Third Annual Report of the Governor of Puerto Rico 1933 (Excerpts)". Puerto Rico in the Great Depression. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Government of Puerto Rico. Hurricane of 1932. Archived from the original on July 7, 2001. Retrieved April 8, 2020 – via Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute.
