1852 Atlantic hurricane season

Season summary

Every tropical cyclone of the season reached hurricane status, which are winds at or exceeding 74 mph. This has only occurred two other times, during the seasons of 1858 and 1884. All five cyclones also affected land; the strongest was the first storm, which caused severe damage and loss of life when it made landfall near the border between Mississippi and Alabama. The second storm of the season struck Puerto Rico, where it caused over 100 deaths, primarily from flooding. In the middle of September, the third storm moved across Florida with strong wind gusts and light rainfall, and a week later the fourth storm passed over or north of the Lesser and Greater Antilles. The last storm hit the Florida Panhandle, though damage was less than expected.

Timeline

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Systems

Hurricane One

| 1-min winds = 100

The Great Mobile Hurricane of 1852 was the first tropical cyclone of the year. It was first observed on August 19 about 140 mi north of Puerto Rico. It moved on a west-northwest motion before passing through the Bahamas as it attained hurricane status on August 20. After paralleling the northern coast of Cuba, the storm passed between the Dry Tortugas and Key West, Florida on August 22, and two days later it is estimated the hurricane attained peak winds of 115 mph. The storm slowed on August 25 before turning northward, and early on August 26 it made landfall near Pascagoula, Mississippi at peak strength, and the hurricane rapidly weakened to tropical storm status as it accelerated east-northeastward. On August 28 it emerged into the Atlantic Ocean from South Carolina, and after turning to the northeast, it was last observed on August 30 about 130 mi southeast of Cape Cod.

In the Florida Keys, rough waves forced several ships ashore, leaving some damaged. Strong waves created four new channels in the Chandeleur Islands, and the storm's passage also destroyed the island lighthouse; the three keepers were found three days later. Two schooners were also washed ashore along Cat Island. The hurricane produced an estimated storm tide of 12 ft in Mobile, Alabama, where strong winds damaged much of the city, leaving the majority of the houses destroyed. Trees were downed up to 30 mi inland, and coastal areas were flooded. Damage along the coastline was estimated at $1 million (1852 USD), and at least five people died. While crossing the southeastern United States, the storm brought light rainfall but moderately strong winds; in Charleston, South Carolina, the storm destroyed several bridges and crop fields.

Hurricane Two

| 1-min winds = 70

Hurricane San Lorenzo of 1852

Early on September 5, a hurricane was first observed about 65 mi southeast of Christiansted in the Danish Virgin Islands. One meteorologist assessed the hurricane as being located near Antigua on September 3. Tracking steadily west-northwestward, it quickly moved ashore near Ponce, Puerto Rico with winds estimated at 80 mph. After crossing southwestern Puerto Rico, the hurricane emerged into the Mona Passage as a tropical storm. Late on September 5 it made landfall on eastern Dominican Republic; it quickly weakened over Hispaniola, dissipating on September 6 over the northwestern portion of the island. An assessment by scholar Michael Chenoweth in 2006 indicated this storm was the same as the next hurricane, with it continuing northwestward and ultimately reaching the Gulf of Mexico. Due to not being considered the same cyclone in the official hurricane database, this hurricane and the following hurricane are listed separately. There, the passage of the storm caused severe flooding, which destroyed large quantities of crops and damaged several roads. Storm damage was heaviest between Guayanilla and Mayagüez. More than 100 people were killed in Puerto Rico, many of whom died due to flooding.

Hurricane Three

| 1-min winds = 70

A hurricane was located in the central Gulf of Mexico on September 9, potentially the same hurricane as the previous storm. It tracked generally eastward toward the coast of Florida, with its hurricane intensity estimation based on two ship reports. At about 00:00 UTC on September 12, it moved ashore near Clearwater, Florida, as a minimal hurricane, with an estimated minimum barometric central pressure of 985 mbar. Accelerating east-northeastward while crossing the state, the cyclone emerged into the Atlantic Ocean as a weakened tropical storm before regaining hurricane status on September 13. Later that day, it was last observed about 250 mi east-southeast of Cape Hatteras.

A post in Fort Meade, Florida, reported at least 0.55 in of rainfall during the storm's passage. The hurricane was considered "violent", and gusts were estimated to have reached hurricane force. Rough seas and strong easterly winds beached a vessel near St. Augustine.

Hurricane Four

| 1-min winds = 80

On September 22, a tropical storm was located about 200 mi east of Guadeloupe. With a steady west-northwest path, the storm moved across the northern Lesser Antilles on September 23, during which it intensified into a hurricane. It passed a short distance north of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic as it reached its peak intensity of 90 mph (150 km). Late on September 26 the hurricane turned northwestward, bringing it through the Turks and Caicos Islands and eastern Bahamas. Recurving north-northeastward, the cyclone moved into open waters, and was last classified as a tropical cyclone on September 30 about 390 mi east of Cape Hatteras. However, one hurricane researcher assessed the hurricane as lasting until October 3, with the cyclone turning eastward and dissipating near the Azores.

Hurricane Five

| 1-min winds = 90

A moderately strong hurricane with winds of 105 mph (165 km/h) was first spotted on October 6 east of Jamaica. Passing a short distance south of the island, the hurricane tracked northwestward and brushed the Yucatán Peninsula before turning north-northeastward into the Gulf of Mexico. Late on October 9, it made landfall a short distance east of Apalachicola, Florida, at peak winds with an estimated pressure of 965 mbar. Rapidly weakening to tropical storm status, the cyclone continued northeastward and emerged into the Atlantic Ocean from North Carolina on October 11. Later that day, it was last observed about 250 mi southeast of Cape Cod.

Heavy damage was reported in Jamaica. Upon making landfall in Florida, the hurricane produced a 7 ft storm tide, and in Georgia, hurricane-force winds extended into the southwestern portion of the state, while tropical storm force winds occurred along the coastline. In the state, moderate winds damaged trees and roofs, though the destruction was less than anticipated.

Season effects

This is a table of all of the storms that formed in the 1852 Atlantic hurricane season. It includes their duration (within the basin), names, areas affected, damages, and death totals. Deaths in parentheses are additional and indirect (an example of an indirect death would be a traffic accident), but were still related to that storm. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical, a wave, or a low, and all of the damage figures are in 1852 USD.

References

References

1. Chris Landsea. (May 1, 2007). "Counting Atlantic Tropical Cyclones Back to 1900". [[American Meteorological Society]].
2. (September 11, 1852). "Marine Intelligence from Key West". The New York Herald.
3. David M. Roth. (January 13, 2010). "Louisiana Hurricane History". Lake Charles, Louisiana National Weather Service.
4. (August 31, 1852). "From the South: The Gale in Mobile, Alabama". The New York Times.
5. (August 30, 1852). "Destructive Storm at Mobile". The Louisville Daily Courier.
6. David Ludlum. (1963). "Early American hurricanes 1492-1870". American Meteorological Society.
7. Michael Chenoweth. (2006). "A Reassessment of Historical Atlantic Basin Tropical Cyclone Activity, 1700–1855". Hurricane Research Division.
8. Chris Landsea. "Documentation of Atlantic Tropical Cyclones Changes in HURDAT". Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.
9. Orlando Pérez. (1970). "Notes on the Tropical Cyclones of Puerto Rico". National Weather Service.
10. Edward N. Rappaport. (1995). "The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1492–1996". National Hurricane Center.
11. Al Sandrik. (2003). "Chronological Listing of Tropical Cyclones affecting North Florida and Coastal Georgia 1565–1899". [[Hurricane Research Division]].
12. Ludlum, p. 161
13. Hurricane Research Division. (April 2023). "Continental United States Hurricane Impacts/Landfalls 1851-2022".