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October Gale of 1878
Category 2 hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Reconstructed surface weather analysis of the hurricane over Maryland
FormedOctober 18, 1878 (1878-10-18)
DissipatedOctober 23, 1878 (1878-10-24)
Highest winds1-minute sustained: 105 mph (165 km/h)
Lowest pressure963 mbar (hPa); 28.44 inHg
Fatalities71
Damage$2 million (1878 USD)
Areas affected
Part of the 1878 Atlantic hurricane season

Meteorological history[edit]

Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
Map key
Saffir–Simpson scale
  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  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
Storm type
triangle Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression

The eleventh known tropical cyclone of the 1878 season has unclear origins, though it probably existed as an area of disturbed weather in the southwestern Caribbean Sea by October 16. A cold front sweeping across the Gulf of Mexico drew the disturbance slowly northward,[1] and observers in Havana, Cuba, first noted cirrus outflow from the organizing low-pressure area on October 17.[2] The system is believed to have developed into a tropical storm around 00:00 UTC on October 18, roughly 125 mi (200 km) southwest of the Jamaican coastline.[3] As the frontal system to its west stalled,[1] the tropical storm drifted northwestward while gradually intensifying, and it achieved hurricane intensity about two days after formation. Curving more toward the north, the cyclone made its first landfall in the modern-day Mayabeque Province of Cuba on the night of October 20–21.[3] Based on the degree of observed wind damage, the hurricane is estimated to have struck the island at Category 2 intensity on the Saffir–Simpson scale, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (165 km/h).[4] The hurricane weakened slightly while crossing Cuba and emerged into the Straits of Florida about midway between Havana and Matanzas.[2]

On October 21, the hurricane accelerated north-northeastward in response to strengthening southerly flow associated with an extratropical cyclone over the Mississippi Valley. At the same time, a coastal frontal boundary developed in advance of the cyclone over the Southeastern U.S., serving as the focus for a swath of heavy precipitation.[1] The hurricane's eye passed about 40 mi (64 km) east of Florida's Gold Coast on the evening of October 21.[5] A trough of low pressure extending south from the Great Lakes created a "path of least resistance" between two high-pressure areas—one retreating northeastward from North Carolina to the Canadian Maritimes, and another strengthening over the Western United States. This enabled the hurricane's forward motion to further increase.[6][7] While quickly approaching North Carolina at 30 mph (50 km/h), the hurricane restrengthened to Category 2 status and matched its initial peak winds.[5] At 04:00 UTC on October 23, the cyclone moved ashore between Wilmington and Cape Fear with an estimated central barometric pressure of 963 mb (28.44 inHg), extrapolated from the lowest observed pressure of 974.6 mbar (28.78 inHg) as recorded by a ship in the northern Chesapeake Bay.[1] The system had been classified as a major hurricane in older Atlantic hurricane chronologies, though more recent reanalysis efforts have revealed that it remained below the Category 3 threshold.[2]

The cyclone proceeded inland over eastern North Carolina and into the Mid-Atlantic states, passing just east of Richmond, Virginia; around 12:00 UTC on October 23, it was centered near Washington, D.C., as a Category 1 hurricane.[3] Its fast forward movement contributed to powerful winds even after time over land.[4] After crossing eastern Pennsylvania and entering New York, the system interacted with a frontal system late on October 23 and became extratropical near Albany.[1] It became embedded within the prevailing westerlies and curved eastward, following the triple point of the occluded dominant low-pressure area.[1][7] Early on October 24, it exited eastern New England north of Boston, Massachusetts, into the northern Atlantic. The extratropical remnants of the hurricane continued southeastward over open water and were last observed on October 25,[3] when a cargo ship four days out of New York encountered severe gales and was forced to return to port.[2] The hurricane's passage is credited with ushering in a sufficiently cold air mass in its wake to end a deadly yellow fever epidemic along the Gulf Coast.[5] Unlike many early tropical cyclones, whose tracks are only partially known, this storm's listing in the Atlantic hurricane database is believed to accurately represent its entire lifespan from genesis to dissipation.[4] Its course has frequently been compared to that of Hurricane Hazel in 1954.[1][8]

Impact[edit]

Caribbean[edit]

In its formative stages, the tropical storm dropped 1.40 in (36 mm) of rainfall in Kingston, Jamaica, on October 19; inclement weather, including rainshowers and northeasterly winds, were reported in Havana around the same time. Later, on October 21, hurricane conditions swept across Cuba from Cienfuegos to Havana, with heavy rains falling over most of the island. Three schooners sank at Havana and the storm wrought "considerable damage and loss of life".[2] Buildings in particular were severely affected.[2] However, reports from Cuba were scarce, so few details of the destruction were published.[1]

United States[edit]

Approximate extent of hurricane- and tropical storm-force winds as analyzed by the Weather Prediction Center

In advance of the hurricane, the United States Army Signal Corps issue its first cautionary signal for Key West, Florida, early on October 20. Signals were issued incrementally for most of the East Coast and parts of the Great Lakes as the system progressed north, and the final signals were posted for coastal Maine on October 23.[1]

The storm brought hurricane conditions to at least six states, some of which are rarely affected by such strong systems; it still stands as the only tropical cyclone on record to produce hurricane-force winds in Pennsylvania, and one of only two in both Maryland and Delaware.[9] Tropical storm-force winds extended over a much broader area to include the northern Appalachians and eastern Great Lakes region.[1] Along the East Coast, the storm sank or totally wrecked about 30 steamships and schooners and damaged many more to some degree, while "countless" small craft were destroyed.[7]

Florida[edit]

The Florida Keys began to experience the storm's outer fringes on October 19.[2] Winds in Key West peaked at 54 mph (87 km/h) from the northeast early on October 21, and the island received 4.83 in (123 mm) of rainfall in total. Gusty winds extended as far west as Punta Rassa on Florida's Gulf Coast. Because gales were observed so far west of the hurricane's center, it is likely that hurricane-force winds affected the Gold Coast as the eye passed just offshore.[1] Although the effects in Florida were generally light, shipping interests suffered extensively; at least 12 vessels were driven aground along the state's eastern coast.[5] In one case, the schooner Lizzie L. Smith grounded out south of Ponce de Leon Inlet, then known as Mosquito Inlet, and was deemed a total loss. To the north, the Spanish brig Salvador was dismasted by strong winds.[10] The steamship Nueva Barcelona was damaged off St. Augustine.[1]

Georgia and the Carolinas[edit]

As the storm passed offshore on the night of October 22–23, Savannah, Georgia, experienced light rainfall and winds just below gale-force. Squally conditions also affected Charleston, South Carolina, and a ship off the state's coast was abandoned.[1]

The Outer Banks of North Carolina bore the brunt of the hurricane's impact. Cape Lookout recorded maximum winds of 100 mph (160 km/h) and 4.06 in (103 mm) of rain, and the pressure fell to 983.3 mb (29.04 inHg). To the west of the cyclone's center, in Wilmington, winds peaked at just 36 mph (58 km/h). Farther north, Kitty Hawk recorded winds as high as 88 mph (142 km/h) before the anemometer was destroyed.[1] The hurricane struck a sparsely populated section of North Carolina, so damage reports on land were scant, but ships along the coast suffered extensively.[11] The iron-hulled passenger and cargo steamship City of Houston was abandoned off Frying Pan Shoals, with all 70 passengers and crewmembers safely rescued,[12] and sank in about 90 ft (27 m) of water. The wreck is now a popular scuba diving destination, one of the oldest regularly dived shipwreck sites in the state's waters.[11][13] Another steamship, the General Barnes, foundered off Cape Hatteras after all occupants were rescued.[12] The captain of the schooner Magnolia drowned when the ship wrecked in the Albemarle Sound, the first officer of the Mary A. Hood was washed overboard near Cape Hatteras, and two men were swept off the deck of the Wyoming. Several other ships ran aground in the gale.[1]

Mid-Atlantic[edit]

The hurricane maintained much of its force over Virginia, generating winds up to 84 mph (135 km/h) at Cape Henry, just to the north of Virginia Beach. Significant property damage took place around Norfolk, where churches were unroofed, houses under construction were demolished, outhouses were toppled, and numerous oyster boats were swamped. One sawmill was destroyed and another lost a significant stock of logs.[14]

Along the coast, many United States Life-Saving Service stations were damaged or destroyed. Crew members at a life-saving station in False Cape reported being unable to stand against the powerful gusts.[1] Parts of the Virginia Barrier Islands, including Cobb and Smith islands, were completely submerged by the storm surge which was the highest in 27 years. All livestock on the islands were swept out to sea.[7]

Farther inland, Richmond experienced its worst storm in years as the winds toppled trees, fences, and telegraph wires.[1]

Along the Potomac River, a passenger of the schooner Brewster drowned near Nanjemoy, Maryland.[1] While en route from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Norfolk, Virginia, the steamship Everman lost a crew member overboard and suffered damaged cargo.[15]

Conditions on the Chesapeake Bay were most extreme in the narrow stretch between Barren Island and the mouth of the Patuxent River in Maryland.

New England[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Citations
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Roth, David M. and Cobb, Hugh D. (May 27, 2000). "Re-analysis of the Gale of '78 – Storm 9 of the 1878 Hurricane Season". Weather Prediction Center. Retrieved May 30, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Partagás, José Fernández (1995). "A Reconstruction of Historical Tropical Cyclone Frequency in the Atlantic from Documentary and other Historical Sources: Year 1878" (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. pp. 39–40. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d Hurricane Research Division (June 16, 2016). "Atlantic hurricane best track (HURDAT version 2)". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Hurricane Research Division (May 2015). "Documentation of Atlantic Tropical Cyclones Changes in HURDAT". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d Barnes (2012), pp. 70–71
  6. ^ Ramsey and Reilly, pp. 9, 57
  7. ^ a b c d Hoover, Robert A. (August 1957). "The Middle Atlantic Coast Hurricane of October 1878". Weatherwise. Vol. 10, no. 4. Taylor & Francis. pp. 126–127. doi:10.1080/00431672.1957.9940961. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  8. ^ Dunn and Miller, p. 310
  9. ^ Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (April 2017). "Continental United States Hurricane Impacts/Landfalls, 1851–2016". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  10. ^ Singer, p. 177
  11. ^ a b Armstrong, Tim (October 8, 2014). "Top 20 Storms in Wilmington, North Carolina's History". National Weather Service Wilmington, North Carolina. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  12. ^ a b "Two more steamers gone". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 26, 1878. p. 1. Retrieved May 30, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  13. ^ "Scuba Diving in the Graveyard of the Atlantic". VisitNC. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  14. ^ Ramsey and Reilly, pp. 14–17
  15. ^ "The great storm". Boston Post. October 25, 1878. p. 2. Retrieved June 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
Sources


Category:1870s Atlantic hurricane seasons Category:Category 2 Atlantic hurricanes Category:Hurricanes in Florida Category:Hurricanes in Delaware Category:Hurricanes in New Jersey Category:Hurricanes in North Carolina Category:Hurricanes in Virginia Category:Hurricanes in New York (state) Category:Hurricanes in New England Category:1878 meteorology Category:1878 natural disasters Category:1878 in the United States

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