Atlantic hurricane seasons 1492–1600
The years 1492 through 1600 represented the hurricane seasons 1492–1600 . While data is not available for every storm that has occurred, some parts of the coastline were populated enough to record data on individual hurricane events. Each season was an ongoing event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclones in the Atlantic basin. Most tropical cyclones form between June 1st and November 30th.
Data prior to the arrival of Europeans in 1492 are not available because written records of such weather events did not exist in the pre-Columbian era and the records that may have existed are long lost. Nonetheless, studies of sedimentary deposits in Florida have revealed that severe hurricanes hit the region thousands of years ago. Even data from the early years of the Colombian era are in doubt because the distinction between a tropical cyclone and an extra-tropical complex was not made by the scientists and sailors of the Renaissance . In addition, the European conquest and colonization of the region, which was affected by hurricanes, did not begin before the middle of the 16th century and thus the coast was too sparsely populated to be completely under historical observation.
Storms
year | place | date | Deaths | Damage / remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|
1494 | Hispaniola | June 16 | nv | Possible hurricane; could be the first hurricane in the western hemisphere to be observed and recorded by Europeans. |
1495 | West Indies | nv | nv | 3 ships sunk, earliest definitive report of a hurricane, came from Christopher Columbus ; "Nothing but the service of God and the greatness of the monarchy would put me in such danger" |
1500 | Bahamas | July | nv | 2 ships destroyed |
1502 | Hispaniola | July 1 | nv | 20 ships, all killed on board |
1502 | in the sea, Hispaniola, today's Dominican Republic | July 11th | 500 | nv |
1502 | Honduras | 16th September | nv | 1 ship sunk, all on board killed |
1504 | North coast of Colombia | nv | 175 | nv |
1508 | Hispaniola (today's Dominican Republic) | 12. August | nv | Killed the entire population of Buenaventura |
1509 | Santo Domingo | 29th of July | nv | Moderate damage |
1515 | Puerto Rico | July | Death of many Indians | nv |
1519 | Jamaica | nv | nv | Ship sunk, 18 sailors survived |
1523 | Florida west coast | nv | nv | Two ships and their crew missing |
1524 | Cuba | October | 73 | nv |
1525 | West cuba | end of October | 73 | nv |
1526 | Wilmington , North Carolina | June | nv | 1 Spanish ship missing |
1527 | West cuba | October | 70 | Individual floods |
1527 | near the mouth of the Mississippi | 23rd October | unknown | possibly connected with previous storm; Boats thrown into the air like wood under Panifo de Narvaez |
1527 | Upper Texas Coast | November | 200 | One of only two hurricanes hit Texas in November, merchant fleet destroyed |
1530 | Puerto Rico | August 31 | "Countless deaths from drowning" | nv |
1533 | Puerto Rico | nv | many slaves killed | Possibly 3 hurricanes |
1537 | Puerto Rico | nv | many drowned slaves | nv |
1537 | Northwest cuba | nv | nv | Two ships missing |
1545 | Dominican Republic | 20th of August | Lots | nv |
1545 | Mexico | nv | nv | Missing a ship |
1550 | Florida Keys | nv | nv | A ship missing near Havana |
1551 | Gulf of Honduras | nv | Lots | One ship sunk, all drowned |
1553 | West florida | nv | 700 | nv |
1553 | Texas | nv | Many drowned | Sixteen ships missing |
1554 | Cuba | November | nv | A ship sunk |
1554 | South texas | nv | nv | Three ships missing |
1559 | West florida | 20th of August | 500 | nv |
1565 | In the sea off east Florida | September 22 | nv | French ships missing at sea |
1566 | East florida | 13.september | nv | nv |
1566 | In the sea off east Florida | September 24th | nv | nv |
1566 | Gulf of Mexico | nv | 5+ | Four ships destroyed |
1567 | Near Dominica | nv | nv | Six ships destroyed |
1571 | St. Augustine , Florida | nv | nv | Strong tide, two ships missing |
1579 | Atlantic Ocean | nv | nv | The 600 ton ship Almiraten of the Spanish Armada sank |
1586 | Roanoke | June 23rd - June 26th | nv | First of many storms to hit the first colonial settlement |
1586 | Bahamas | nv | nv | Nine ships missing, possibly related to upper storm |
1588 | Roanoke | nv | 116 | Third of four hurricanes to hit the area in five years. |
1589 | Bahamas | the 9th of September | nv | four ships sunk |
1590 | Gulf of Mexico | "Early 1590" | 1000 | nv |
1591 | Atlantic Ocean | August 10 | 501 | Waves and rain, twenty ships missing |
1594 | Caribbean | nv | nv | missing a ship |
1600 | At sea Mexico | 12th September | 60 | nv |
1600 | At sea Mexico | September 26th | 150-250 | nv |