History of hurricanes in the Caribbean

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Since 1495, the islands of the Caribbean have experienced ample hurricane activity; either being directly hit or significantly brushed.

[edit] List of Caribbean hurricanes

The following is a history of hurricane activity in the Caribbean:

1495 - Christopher Columbus encounters a hurricane near Hispaniola. He reported that “Nothing but the service of God or the Monarchy” would he permit himself exposure to such a storm again.
July 1515 - a powerful hurricane caused the death of many Indians in Puerto Rico.
October 4, 1526 - Hurricane hits Puerto Rico causing extreme damage.
October 4, 1527 - Hurricane causes substantial damage in Puerto Rico.
July 26, August 23, August 31, 1530 - These three powerful storms within 6 weeks blew down half the houses in San Juan, Puerto Rico and unroofed the remainder. Many cattle drowned.
July & August, 1537 - three hurricanes within two months kill many Indigenous and African slaves in Puerto Rico. A great number of cattle drowned.
August 24, 1568 - Hurricane strikes Puerto Rico.
September 21, 1575 - Hurricane known as San Mateo I causes severe devastation in Puerto Rico.
September 12, 1615 - The most severe hurricane to affect Puerto Rico in 40 years. (This suggests that other tropical storms may have occurred between 1575 and 1615).
September 12, 1738 - Hurricane roars into Puerto Rico causing extensive damage.
August, 1740 - Hurricane makes landfall in Puerto Rico. Exact date unknown.
August 18, 1751 - Hurricane severely affects Puerto Rico. Many deaths.
August 7, 1767 - Hurricane destroys many plantations in Puerto Rico. Many livestock drown.
August 28, 1772 - Hurricane affects Puerto Rico. Extent of damage unknown.
1776 - Hurricane hits Martinique killing 6,000 people.
1780 - The Great Hurricane of 1780 hits the Caribbean killing 22,000 and destroying French and British fleets. To date this is the deadliest storm reported in history. Passed over southwestern corner of Puerto Rico in a SE to NW direction.
September 25, 1785 - Violent hurricane lashes Puerto Rico.
August 15, 1788 - Hurricane seriously affects Puerto Rico.
September 21, 1804 - Hurricane known as San Mateo II devastates Puerto Rico. This hurricane would linger on in people's minds for many generations after as one of the most violent hurricanes to ever make landfall in Puerto Rico. Many deaths were attributed to this storm.
August 17-19, 1807 - Hurricane traverses Puerto Rico slowly across 50 hours. Many people and livestock drown.
July 23, August 21, 1812 - Two hurricanes greatly impact Puerto Rico one after the other. Severe damage occurs. Much flooding.
July 23, 1813 - Hurricane crosses Puerto Rico.
July 22-23, 1814 - Hurricane affects Puerto Rico.
1816 - a severe hurricane slams into Puerto Rico. Exact date unknown.
September 22, 1818 - Hurricane severely impacts Puerto Rico.
September 22, 1819 - a destructive hurricane hits the Virgin Islands and causes severe damage in Puerto Rico.
July 26-27, 1825 - Hurricane Santa Ana roars through the Caribbean. Puerto Rico is devastated with pounding winds. A very violent and very destructive storm.
August 18-19, 1827 - Very destructive hurricane crosses Puerto Rico in a SE to NW direction.
August 28, 1827- Hurricane affected Virgin Islands severely, especially St. Thomas.
August 11-12,1830 - Severe hurricane affected St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
August 13, 1835 - Hurricane crossed Puerto Rico in an ESE to WNW direction.
July 31, 1837 - Hurricane severely affected St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
August 2-3, 1837 - a violent hurricane, known as "Los Angeles" (The Angels"), struck St. Thomas and skirted the northeastern coast of Puerto Rico in an ESE to WNW direction.
1837 - Racer's Storm, named for the British war ship that encountered it in the Caribbean, formed near Jamaica and was one of the most deadliest storms of the 19th century
September 16, 1840 - Hurricane severely affected Puerto Rico.
September 12-13, 1846 - Hurricane passed by northeastern corner of Puerto Rico in a SE to NW direction.
August 18-19, 1851 - a violent hurricane, known as "Santa Elena",(also known as "San Agapito") skirted the south coast and crossed the southwestern corner of Puerto Rico in an ESE to WNW direction.
September 1852 - Hurricane affected Puerto Rico; exact date unknown.
October 29, 1867 - the most violent hurricane in many parts of Puerto Rico, known as "San Narcisco". Accounts indicate it was a storm of small diameter and rapid movement. Also affected St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. 1,000 lives were lost.
September 13, 1876 - Hurricane San Felipe, also known as San Felipe I, tears through St. Thomas and the southern coast of Puerto Rico.
September 9, 1883 - 105 mph winds hit east killing 106.
1889, September 3 A very destructive hurricane in St. Thomas. It passed east of the U.S. Virgin Islands in a SE to NW direction.
August 19-20, 1891 - Hurricane crossed eastern Puerto Rico in a SE to NW direction.
August 24, 1891 - crosses Puerto Rico with winds measuring around 95 mph from the ESE.
August 16-17, 1893 - Hurricane passed Puerto Rico in an ESE to WNW direction.
August 31- September 1, 1896 - Hurricane crossed southwestern corner of Puerto Rico in a SE to NW direction.
September 21-22, 1898 - Tropical Storm crossed northeastern Puerto Rico in an ESE to WNW direction.
August 8, 1899 - an intense, devastating cyclone with sustained winds between 110-125 mph cuts directly across Puerto Rico in a SE to NW direction. The storm was known as Hurricane San Ciriaco in Latin America and the "Great Puerto Rican Hurricane of 1899" in Anglo America. It rained for 31 days straight. The loss of life and property damage were immense. Over 3,400 people died in the floods and thousands were left without shelter, food, or work. The aftermath of this hurricane had tremendous repercussions for Puerto Rico as the United States saw this opportunity to buy the devastated farmlands at embarrassingly-low prices. This hurricane triggered a re-gentrification of the native populations to plantations in Hawaii and sweatshops in New York. Disease and poverty became rampant. Puerto Ricans, who once owned 93% of all arable land, now lost it to the absentee-owned sugar corporations who would hire the same destitute Puerto Ricans to work for very low wages on lands that once belonged to them. This was a major shifting political event in the U.S. takeover of the once-Spanish colonial island.

August 30-September 10, 1900 - Tropical storm of Cape Verde origin skirted the south coast of Puerto Rico in an E to W direction. It would go on to cross Hispaniola and Cuba as a tropical storm, but when it emerged in the Gulf of Mexico just SW of the Florida Keys, the intensification would begin. This powerful hurricane would go on to completely devastate the U.S. city of Galveston, Texas. Upon landfall (September 8-9) 8,000-10,000 persons were drowned when the city became inundated by the sudden, unexpected 20-foot storm surges.

October 24-26, 1900 - Tropical storm crossed southwestern corner of Puerto Rico in a SE to NW direction.
July 6-8, 1901 - Hurricane crossed southwestern Puerto Rico in a SE to NW direction.
September 11-13, 1901 - Tropical storm skirted north coast of Puerto Rico in a SE to NW direction.
October 8-10, 1901 - Tropical storm crossed northeastern corner of Puerto Rico in a SE to NW direction.
July 19-20, 1903 - Tropical storm crossed Puerto Rico in an ESE to WNW direction.
September 9-10, 1908 - Hurricane passed off north coast of Puerto Rico in an E to W direction.
September 26-27, 1908 Tropical storm passed off south coast of Puerto Rico in an E to W direction.
October 1, 1908 - 80 mph winds from the SSE
November 12-13, 1909 - Tropical storm passed off northwestern corner of Puerto Rico in a WSW to ENE direction.
August 24-25, 1910 - Tropical storm passed off south coast of Puerto Rico in an E to W direction.
September 6-7, 1910 - Hurricane skirted south coast of Puerto Rico in an E to W direction.
August 10-12, 1915 - Hurricane skirted south coasts of St. Croix , U.S.V.I. and Puerto Rico in an E to W direction.
July 12-14, 1916 - Tropical storm passed through Virgin Islands in a SE to NW direction.
1919 - Hurricane strikes Cuba killing 600-900 before dissipating after hitting Texas
September 13, 1928 - The San Felipe Segundo Hurricane, as it was known in Latin America, was also known to Anglo Americans as the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane. On September 13 the storm struck Puerto Rico directly as a Category 5 hurricane, packing winds of 160 mph (255 km/h). Here it killed between 1,000 and 2,000 people (officially the death toll was recorded as 312) and caused USD $50 million (1928 dollars) in property damage. Next, it passed over the Bahamas where it claimed another 18 lives. Some sources list the death toll throughout the Caribbean as 1,575.
September 1930 -Hurricane hits the Dominican Republic killing thousands, leaving Santo Domingo almost totally destroyed.
August 17, 1931 - Tropical storm crossed Puerto Rico in a SE to NW direction.
September 10-11, 1931 - Violent hurricane known as "San Nicolas", passed through Virgin Islands and skirted north coast of Puerto Rico in an E to W direction causing destruction along a strip 10 to 12 miles wide.
September 26-27, 1932 - Destructive hurricane, known as San Ciprian, passed through Virgin Islands and across Puerto Rico in an E to W direction.
July 25-26, 1933 Tropical storm passed just northeast of Virgin Islands in an ESE to WNW direction.
September 27-28, 1933 - Tropical storm passed within 1o latitude south of Puerto Rico in an E to W direction.
August 21-22, 1934 -Tropical storm passed within 2º latitude south of Puerto Rico in an E to W direction.
September 18, 1934 - Tropical storm passed within 2º latitude northeast of Virgin Islands in a SE to NW direction.
August 24-25, 1937 - Tropical storm passed within 2º latitude northeast of Virgin Islands in an ESE to WNW direction.
August 8, 1938- Tropical storm passed through Virgin Islands and skirted north coast of Puerto Rico in an E to W direction.
August 7, 1939 - Tropical storm apparently developed about 1º latitude northeast of St. Thomas in the U.S.V.I. and moved northwestward.
August 5, 1940 - Tropical storm passed just north of St. Thomas in the U.S.V.I. in an ESE to WNW direction.
November 4, 1942 Tropical storm apparently developed just off southeastern Puerto Rico and crossed the northeastern part of the island in an ESE to WNW direction.
August 13-14, 1943 - Tropical storm passed just northeast of St. Thomas in the U.S.V.I. in an ESE to WNW direction.
October 14, 1943 Hurricane passed between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico in a S to N direction.
July 12-13, 1944 - Tropical storm apparently developed just off the northwest corner of Puerto Rico and moved northwestward.
August 3, 1945 - Tropical storm passed within 1º latitude of the southwestern corner of Puerto Rico in an ESE to WNW direction.
September 12-13, 1945 - Hurricane passed within 2º latitude north of the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico in an ESE to WNW direction.
October 16-17, 1947 - Tropical storm passed just northeast of St. Thomas in the U.S.V.I. in a SE to NW direction.
September 2-3, 1949 - Tropical storm developed between Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and moved northwest, reaching hurricane intensity and changing course to northward after passing 20º N latitude on the 3rd day.
August 23, 1950 Tropical storm passed over the southwest corner of Puerto Rico in an ESE to WNW direction.
October 20, 1952 - Hurricane Fox hits from the SW with 150 mph winds killing 600.
September 14, 1953 - Tropical storm Edna passed within 1º latitude northeast of the Virgin Islands in a SE to NW direction.
August 30-31, 1954 - Tropical storm Dolly formed just off the northwestern corner of Puerto Rico and moved off in NNW direction.
January 3, 1955 - Hurricane Alice passed within 1º latitude southeast of St. Croix in the U.S.V.I. in an ENE to WSW direction.
September 11-12, 1955 - Tropical storm Hilda passed within 1º latitude north of St. Thomas in the U.S.V.I. in an ESE to WNW direction reaching hurricane intensity on the 12th.
August 11-12, 1956 Hurricane Santa Clara (also known as Betsy) crossed Puerto Rico in a SE to NW direction.
September 13-14, 1958 - Tropical Storm Gerda passed about 1º latitude from southwestern corner of Puerto Rico in an ESE to WNW direction.
October 6, 1958 - Hurricane Janice hits with 90 mph wind
August 18-19, 1959 - Tropical Storm Edith passed within 1º latitude south of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands from an E to W direction.
September 4-6, 1960 - Hurricane Donna passed within 1º latitude from St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
October 2-3, 1961 - Hurricane Frances passed within 1º latitude from the southwestern corner of Puerto Rico in a SE to NW direction.
September 26-27, 1963 - Hurricane Edith headed due N toward the southwestern tip of Puerto Rico and then turned due W just before making land.
August 22-23, 1964 - Hurricane Cleo passed within 2º latitude south of Puerto Rico from an E to W direction.
September 4, 1965 - Hurricane Betsy hits the North end of the Bahamas as a category 3 with gusts to 126 mph, stalling over Nassau doing considerable damage
August 26, 1966 - Hurricane Faith passed about 1º latitude northeast of the Virgin Islands in an E-SE to W-NW direction.
September 28, 1966 - Hurricane Inez passed about 1º latitude south of Puerto Rico and St. Croix in an E to W direction.
October 2, 1966 - Hurricane Inez hits Bahamas with 85 mph winds
September 9-10, 1967 - Hurricane Beulah passed within 1º southwest of southwestern corner of Puerto Rico in a SE to NW direction.
September 3-4, 1973 - Tropical Storm Christine weakened into a tropical depression before passing over the northern U.S. Virgin Islands and just northeast of the NE tip of Puerto Rico. It dissipated shortly afterwards.
August 29-30, 1974 - Tropical Depression developed into Tropical Storm Carmen as it passed about 1o south of Puerto Rico in an E to W direction.
September 15, 1975 - Tropical Depression developed into Tropical Storm Eloise just as it reached within 1o north of the northeastern tip of Puerto Rico as it passed in an E to W direction.
July 17-18, 1979 - Tropical Storm Claudette passed over northern U.S. Virgin Islands and weakened to a Tropical Depression just as it hit the northeast coast of Puerto Rico. It then traveled right along the northern coastline of Puerto Rico in an E to W direction.
September 2, 1979 - Hurricane David hits Dominica and skirts by Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands with Category 4 storms before making landfall in the Dominican Republic as a powerful Category 5 storm with gusts up to 165 mph, reportedly wiping out jungles and entire neighborhoods.
September 3-4, 1979 - Tropical Storm Frederic passed over St. Croix and then traveled right along the southern coast of Puerto Rico in an E to W direction.
September 4, 1981 - Tropical Storm Floyd passed within 1º latitude of northern U.S. Virgin Islands in a SE to NW direction.
September 8, 1981 - Tropical Storm Gert passed just near St. Croix and then over the northeast corner of Puerto Rico in a SE to NW direction.
November 6-7, 1984 - Tropical Storm Klaus passed just between Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in a SW to NE direction.
September 22, 1987 - Hurricane Emily passed almost 2º latitude southwest of Puerto Rico in a SE to NW direction.
September 10, 1988 - Tropical Storm Gilbert turned into Hurricane Gilbert as it passed about 2º latitude south of Puerto Rico in a SE to NW direction.
1989, August 3-4 Hurricane Dean passed almost 2º northeast of Puerto Rico in a SE to NW direction.
September 17-18, 1989 - Hurricane Hugo passed over St Croix...then Vieques and Culebra and the northeast corner of Puerto Rico in a SE to NW direction.
October 7, 1990 - Tropical Storm Klaus passed just northwest of northern U.S. Virgin Islands in an E-SE to W-NW direction.
August 16, 1993 - Tropical Storm Cindy passed almost 2o southwest of Puerto Rico in a SE to NW direction.
September 5-6, 1995 - Hurricane Luis passed just north of U.S. Virgin Islands in a SE to NW direction.
September 15-16, 1995 - Hurricane Marilyn passed over St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands in a SE to NW direction.
October 23-24, 1995 - As Tropical Storm Sebastien passed within 1º latitude southeast of U.S. Virgin Islands it weakened to a tropical depression and then dissipated just SE of Puerto Rico as it moved in a NE to SW direction.
July 8-9, 1996 - Hurricane Bertha passed just northeast of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in a SE to NW direction.
September 9-10, 1996 - Hurricane Hortense passed over the southwest corner of Puerto Rico in a SE to NW direction.
October 18, 1996 - Hurricane Lili hits Cuba, moves through the Florida Straits and heads toward the Bahamas with sustained winds at 90 mph
September 5-8, 1997 - Hurricane Erika passed about 2o latitude northeast of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in a SE to NW direction.
September 21-22, 1998 - Hurricane Georges passed over St Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands and then entered Puerto Rico near Humacao and traveled through the interior of the island exiting just south of Mayaguez in Cabo Rojo. The hurricane traveled mainly in an E to W direction.

October 20-21, 1999 - Tropical Storm Jose passed within 1º latitude to the northeast of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in an E-SE to W-NW direction and then turned N-NE once in the Atlantic to the north of our local islands. For storm report click here.
November 16-18, 1999 - Hurricane Lenny passed within 1o latitude to the south of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in a W to E direction and then eventually turned E-NE over the northern Leeward Islands and into the Atlantic. For storm report click here.
August 21-23,2000 - Hurricane Debby passed just north of St Thomas and within 1º latitude to the northeast of Puerto Rico in an E-SE to W-NW direction.
August 22-23, 2001 - Tropical Storm Dean formed from a tropical wave over the Virgin Islands on August 22nd and a Hurricane Hunter plane indicated winds near hurricane force later that day. The system encountered an unfavorable environment the next day north of Puerto Rico and weakened to a tropical wave. Winds to tropical storm force were reported in the U.S. Virgin Islands and there was an estimated $2 million in damage due to flooding in Puerto Rico.
November 5, 2001 - Hurricane Michelle hits the Bahamas with 80 mph winds moving quickly to the NE some gusts to 100 mph
September 3-5, 2004 - Hurricane Frances lingers over the Bahamas as a category 4 causing significant vegetative and structural damage
2004 - Hurricane Jeanne formed near the Leeward Islands and passed over near St. Croix. It crossed Puerto Rico as a very strong tropical storm and reached hurricane strength just before making landfall over the Dominican Republic as a Category One. It proceeded to move over Haiti causing mudslides that left 3,000 dead.