1850-1859 Atlantic hurricane seasons
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The decade of the 1850s featured the 1850-1859 Atlantic hurricane seasons. While data is not available for every storm that occurred, some parts of the coastline were populated enough to give data of hurricane occurrences. Each season was an ongoing event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation in the Atlantic basin. Most tropical cyclone formation occurs between June 1 and November 30.
[edit] 1850 Atlantic hurricane season
The first of three hurricanes to affect the upper Eastern Seaboard moved into North Carolina on July 18. As it moved north, Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay took a beating as high waves and tides flooded the coast. It moved almost due north into central New York state.
The second hurricane hit North Carolina on August 24, sinking one ship.
A powerful Gulf hurricane struck Apalachicola on the same day as the previous hurricane, causing a great storm surge over the northeast Gulf coast. As the system moved north, enormous amounts of rain fell from Georgia northward to Virginia. Major flooding occurred along numerous rivers. The Dan rose to a level twenty feet above normal. The cyclone continued northeast, causing damage in its wake through New England.
[edit] 1851 Atlantic hurricane season
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The first storm of the season was first detected as a hurricane on June 25 in the Gulf of Mexico. It made landfall as a weak hurricane around Corpus Christi, Texas, and continued into southern Texas as a tropical storm. It dissipated over central Texas on June 28, after causing minor damage near the coast.
Another system was first detected several hundred miles east of the Lesser Antilles, probably by ship reports, on August 16. It strengthened into a hurricane a day later and made landfall in the Lesser Antilles on the 18th. It then swept through nearly all of the Caribbean islands, including Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Cuba, and Jamaica, causing "many deaths". The hurricane entered the Gulf of Mexico on the 21st and hit Florida on August 23 as a major hurricane. It weakened into a tropical storm on August 24 and swept through the eastern United States before finally dissipating on August 27 near Newfoundland, Canada. Due to its position, the storm was well-reported throughout its lifetime.
A tropical storm was first detected north of the Bahamas on October 16. It continued northward and reached a peak intensity of 70 mph. But it weakened to a 60 mph-storm before it made landfall in Rhode Island on the 19th. Later that day it dissipated on the border between Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
[edit] 1852 Atlantic hurricane season
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A hurricane was first detected near the Bahamas on August 19 as a tropical storm. It became a hurricane on August 20 and passed through the Bahamas. Its center passed between southern Florida and northern Cuba on August 22, and became a major hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico on the 24th before hitting southeastern Mississippi on the 25th. It turned east and, as a tropical storm, crossed the southern U.S. It reached the Atlantic again on the 28th, and was last seen on the 30th, 100 miles east of Cape Cod. According to a newspaper, it caused "many casualties".
Puerto Rico was hit by a minimal hurricane on September 5. It weakened to a tropical storm, and hit Dominican Republic the next day, dissipating over the island that day. The hurricane caused around 100 deaths.
On October 6 a hurricane was first seen in the Western Caribbean. It moved northwestward, then northeastward, hitting the Florida Panhandle on the 10th. It turned northeastward, last being seen on the 11th. The hurricane flooded northwestern Florida, with some towns underwater for days.
[edit] 1853 Atlantic hurricane season
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A powerful, long-tracking Cape Verde-type hurricane that reached Category 4 intensity moved through the open Atlantic during the 2nd week of September, causing 40 deaths due to ships sinking. The storm recurved, never threatening any major land masses while moving well north of the Caribbean Islands and well east of the Bahamas. At its peak it was estimated at 150 mph, with a minimum central pressure of 924 mbar [1].
Other storms of the season include a tropical storm that passed near Bermuda before looping and strengthening to a peak intensity of Category 1 hurricane status that never threatened land, and a hurricane off the coast of Florida that brushed past Georgia as a strong Category 2 storm before weakening and turning out to sea.
[edit] 1854 Atlantic hurricane season
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A major hurricane was observed over the Bahamas on September 7. It moved northwestward, making landfall near Savannah, Georgia as a strong hurricane, estimated at Category 3 intensity. It continued through the Carolinas, moving off the coast of Virginia on the 10th. It restrengthened to a Category 2 hurricane, but dissipated on the 12th. It caused 26 deaths.
Another hurricane was observed in September, moving through the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane. It moved inland near Galveston, Texas, causing 2 deaths from nearly 6 inches of rainfall, as well as $20,000 in damage.
[edit] 1855 Atlantic hurricane season
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A minimal hurricane was observed in the central Gulf of Mexico during the middle of September. It rapidly strengthened to a 130 mph (210 km/h) hurricane before striking southeast Louisiana on September 16. It dissipated over Mississippi on the 17th.
[edit] 1856 Atlantic hurricane season
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- Main article: 1856 Last Island Hurricane
A Category 4 hurricane hit the island resort town of Last Island, Louisiana, causing at least 200 deaths, and perhaps as many as 400.
A tropical storm existed on August 19, moving into North Carolina that night. It went out to sea the next day, after causing heavy rain over the area. This is known as the Charter Oak Storm.
A hurricane existed north of Hispanola on August 25. It moved westward, striking the north coast of Cuba before heading northward to a Florida landfall. It crossed the southeast U.S. and went out to sea.
[edit] 1857 Atlantic hurricane season
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A tropical storm was first observed north-northeast of the Dominican Republic on September 9. It moved northwestward, strengthening to a hurricane on the 10th and a Category 2 on the 12th, passing over the Outer Banks on the 13th. It weakened and went out to sea on the 14th. It caused 424 deaths, all from the ship named the SS Central America which sank during the storm. Also on the ship was 30,000 pounds of gold, which contributed to the Panic of 1857.
[edit] 1858 Atlantic hurricane season
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A tropical storm forming over the Gulf of Mexico moved across Florida and strengthened to a Category 2 hurricane. It rapidly moved northeastward, hitting New England as a Category 1 hurricane on September 16 and causing heavy rain.
[edit] 1859 Atlantic hurricane season
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A minimal hurricane hit near Mobile, Alabama on September 16. A tropical storm also made landfall in south Florida on October 17.
