Great hurricane of 1780

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Great Hurricane of 1780
Areas affected by the hurricane (but not showing Bermuda)
FormedOctober 9, 1780
DissipatedOctober 20, 1780
Highest windsGusts: 200 mph (320 km/h)
Fatalities22,000+ direct
Areas affectedLesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Bermuda, possibly Florida and other US states
Part of the 1780 Atlantic hurricane season

The Great Hurricane of 1780 was the deadliest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. It killed more than 22,000 people when it passed through the Caribbean.[1][2] There is not much known about the storm, because it happened before people took official records of hurricanes.[3]

The hurricane hit Barbados with winds possibly over 200 mph (320 km/h). It then moved past Martinique, Saint Lucia, and Saint Eustatius. Thousands of deaths were reported on each island. In the middle of the American Revolution, the storm caused heavy losses to British and French fleets.

The hurricane later passed near Puerto Rico and tracked over the eastern portion of the Dominican Republic. It eventually turned to the northeast, and was last seen on October 20 to the southeast of Newfoundland.

The hurricane was part of the very bad 1780 Atlantic hurricane season, with two other deadly storms during the same month.[1] The Great Hurricane killed more than twice as many people as Hurricane Mitch did (Hurricane Mitch was the second deadliest hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean).

References[change | change source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Edward N. Rappaport, Jose Fernandez-Partagas, and Jack Beven (1997). "The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1492-1996". NOAA. Retrieved 2007-01-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. "Most Deadly Western Hemisphere Hurricanes on Record". National Climatic Data Center. 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  3. Hurricane Research Division (2006). "Re-Analysis Project". NOAA. Retrieved 2007-04-30.