While information for every storm that happened is not available, some parts of the coastline had enough people to give information of hurricane happenings. Each season was an event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation in the Atlantic basin. Most tropical cyclone formation occurs between June 1 and November 30.
* Landfall in Louisiana on 23 September with 15 hours of hurricane winds and an 8-foot storm surge
* Many ships lost in Louisiana
* Eight-foot storm surge caused flooding in New Orleans, leading to removal of territorial capital to Baton Rouge * Three days of flooding rains in South Carolina around 27 September.
A westward moving hurricane hit Puerto Rico on August 28. It continued through the Greater Antilles, hitting Hispaniola on the 30th and later Jamaica. It moved northwestward through the Gulf of Mexico, and hit just west of Mobile, Alabama on the 4th. Many ships were destroyed in the Mobile area, and its death toll is at least 280 deaths. This storm was famously described by Alexander Hamilton, who was living on Saint Croix at the time, and wrote a letter about it to his father.[4]
Three hurricanes hit the island group during the year, one of which is mentioned above. On St. Kitts, the damage was considerable. Many houses were flattened, and there were several fatalities and many more injuries. Total damage from the storm was estimated at 500,000 pound sterling on St. Kitts. The second storm struck just three days later.
The Maryland capitol building in Annapolis saw roof damage from a hurricane that began on September 3 and lasted about 24 hours.[7] A "stormy" northeast wind was seen in Westmoreland County Virginia, along with a "flood of rain."[6]
A hurricane hit the Outer Banks of North Carolina on August 29. It turned northeastward and left the state on the 2nd, bringing heavy wind and rain to southeastern Virginia. The hurricane stuck the eastern coast of Newfoundland on September 9, 1775. Approximately 4000 sailors, mostly from England and Ireland, were reported to have been drowned; a localized, storm surge is reported to have reached heights of between 20 and 30 feet. The hurricane, also known as the Independence Hurricane, is Canada's deadliest natural disaster, as well as the eighth deadliest hurricane in history.
Affected a Revolutionary War battle in Virginia; it caused supply ships to sink in the Chesapeake Bay area, and resulted in moderate damage to the area.
All but one warship in a Spanish fleet were sunk off the coast. When it hit New Orleans, Louisiana on the 18th, it pushed the ships in the harbor well inland, causing heavy damage. William Dunbar first theorized from this system that a hurricane revolved around a vortex in the center.
A hurricane that hit the fleet of AdmiralThomas Graves as it sailed across the North Atlantic in September 1782. It is believed to have killed some 3,500 people.
Charleston saw excessive rain and wind with the cyclone. Winds shifted from northwest to northeast as the storm passed offshore.[9] Extensive damage was seen in North Carolina. Richmond saw violent northeast gusts for 24 hours, but no damage. Norfolk and Portsmouth reported a "25 foot tide" which caused damage.[10]
Led to the "highest tide ever before known in Norfolk." It struck the lower Chesapeake Bay. Portsmouth experienced a strong northeast to northwest gale for 3 days. The storm in Virginia was noted in both the Virginia Gazette of October 1, and the New Jersey Gazette of October 1.[11] The Annual Register the next year reported that several ships had been driven ashore by the tide and the wind, with a total damage estimated at around £30,000.
San Lupo Hurricane – devastated agricultural fields. Governor Juan Dabán visited the islands affected area to inspect and help with the damages; it was the first time a governor of Puerto Rico did that after a Hurricane.[12]
Heavy rainfall accompanied the storm. According to George Washington, tides were "occasionally high" at Mount Vernon, with "high freshes." James Madison at Montpelier saw the Rapidan River overflow its banks. The center may have passed very near his location, as the winds shifted from southeast to southwest.
George Washington reported from Mount Vernon a "very high northeast wind" the previous night, which sank ships and blew down tree. A "more violent and severe a hurricane than for many years." Madison at Montpelier reports a "great wind and rain." According to the Philadelphia Independent Gazette on August 8, the storm in Norfolk began from the northeast at 5 p.m. on the 23rd, then blew a "perfect hurricane" from the south at 12:30 a.m.. The tide was lower than in 1785. Alexandria also saw the winds switch from east-northeast to south, which caused the highest known tide in the Potomac.[15]
Several Spanish ships lost; brought heavy rain through the mid-Atlantic, disrupting mail service and damaging crops. "A fleet of eighteen Spanish ships, sailing from Havana to Spain, was struck off Cape Hatteras; an undisclosed number of these ships were lost." At Annapolis, rain set it on the afternoon of the 2nd, before it escalated later in the day, when it "Blow'd a Harrican." Trees were levelled and the tide was so high that "one could not get to the Market House with out a Boat." Vessels were driven ashore by the tempest (from the diary of William Faris).
Considered a major hurricane, caused additional flooding and crop damage after the previous storm; the damage could be "Modestly estimated at a year's rent", quoted by Thomas Jefferson. The "powerful torrent" of rain in Petersburg caused creeks to rise higher than noted in the previous 70 years (North Carolina Journal). Winds were gusty at Farmville, where a "great fresh" was reported. Annapolis reported strong winds and rains on August 13th as well.
↑ 6.06.1Philip Vickers Fithian (December 1, 1978). Journal & Letters of Philip Vickers Fithian. University of Virginia Press. pp. 177, 183–184. ISBN978-0-8139-0079-7.
↑Mújica-Baker, Frank. Huracanes y Tormentas que han afectadi a Puerto Rico(PDF). Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, Agencia Estatal para el manejo de Emergencias y Administracion de Desastres. p. 9. Archived from the original(PDF) on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
