Martinique hurricane of 1891

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Hurricane three
Category 3 hurricane ( SSHWS )
Emergence 1891-08-18
resolution 1891-08-25
Peak wind
speed
125  mph (205  km / h ) (sustained for 1 minute)
Lowest air pressure 961  mbar ( hPa ; 28.4  inHg )
dead > 700
Property damage $ 10 million (1891)
Affected
areas 		Lesser Antilles , Puerto Rico , Bahamas
Season overview:
Atlantic hurricane season 1891

The Martinique Hurricane of 1891 , also known as Hurricane San Magín , was an intense major hurricane that hit the island of Martinique . It caused severe damage on the island, leaving more than 700 dead and at least 1,000 injured. This was the third hurricane and the only major hurricane of the 1891 Atlantic hurricane season . The tropical cyclone was first sighted east of the Lesser Antilles on August 18th . Then the storm crossed the east of the Dominican Republic as it followed a northwesterly course on August 19-20. It crossed the Mona Passage on August 20 and the storm crossed the Bahamas on August 22-23 . Eventually, the storm crossed the US state of Florida before breaking up in the Gulf of Mexico after August 25 . The total property damage was put at 10 million US dollars (in prices from 1891).

Storm course

Train

Equivalent to Category 2 of the much later created Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale with wind speeds of 170 km / h, the hurricane was sighted for the first time on August 18, 1891 at 12 noon UTC about 160 km east of Barbados . The storm moved at a forward speed of around 30 km / h to the northwest and six hours later reached wind speeds that today correspond to category three and are thus understood as a severe hurricane. That night, the hurricane passed over Martinique, which took the cyclone four hours. It has been reported that numerous residents of the island suffered from deafness during the passage of the storm, which is believed to be the result of a drastic drop in barometric pressure . After the hurricane reached its greatest intensity with wind speeds of 200 km / h and a minimum central air pressure of 961 mb, the weakening began. Early on August 20, it was still a Category 2 hurricane by today's standards, which passed Puerto Rico directly south at around 6 p.m. and then, as it turned north, on the far eastern edge of the Dominican Republic with winds of 160 km / h across the country. Around midnight on August 21, the cyclone just passed Grand Turk Island in the Turks and Caicos Islands . There were frequent downpours in the late afternoon and evening hours and a strong gust of wind was recorded at 10:15 p.m. After this gust the wind decreased; then the winds picked up again around midnight, but from a westerly direction. Constant rain was observed on the island around eight in the morning, and the wind was now coming from the south.

Back on a northwest course, the hurricane continued to weaken as it migrated through the Bahamas on August 22nd. It was reported that the storm center was moving right over Crooked Island . Beginning August 23, a high pressure ridge lay off the south east coast of the United States . The hurricane, now in category one, was prevented by this high pressure ridge from turning north or northeast. Instead, it was directed west, crossed the Florida Peninsula as a tropical storm after making landfall at Homestead on August 24, and reached the Gulf of Mexico, where it disintegrated on August 25, according to official records. However, there are reports of a cyclonic disturbance in the eastern Gulf of Mexico up to August 29, 1891.

Effects

In Martinique, the hurricane hit mainly the eastern side of the island. Frequent lightning strikes were observed during the passage. Homes, crops and trees across the island have been damaged. In particular, the loss of coffee , sugar and cotton crops had a major impact on the island's economy. In Ducos, only four houses were reported to have weathered the storm, and in St. Pierre at least 34 people lost their lives to the effects of the hurricane. in Fort de France the main wing of the hospital collapsed and killed two artillery soldiers. A military camp was destroyed in Balata and the houses there suffered serious roof damage. A number of soldiers were injured from flying wooden planks and beams. All ships in the port were wrecked or sunk during the hurricane.

The total number of casualties was initially put at 60, and later it was said that only 118 deaths were counted in the coastal towns, but shortly after the storm it was difficult to get information from inland because many roads were damaged by the effects of the storm - mostly fallen trees, washed away soil and rockslides - had become impassable. The August 1891 Monthly Weather Review finally stated that 700 people had perished in the storm. However, some newspapers stated that the hurricane passage in Martinique cost at least 1,000 lives. In addition, at least 1,000 other people were injured in one form or another as a direct result of the cyclone. Property damage was estimated at $ 10 million (in 1891 prices; around $ 289 million in current prices).

As the storm passed Grand Turk Island north, three residents of the island drowned; there was also damage to smaller houses and ships. The storm hit the US state of Florida near Homestead as a minimal hurricane; however, the lack of observations from this area means that its effects on the state are unknown.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Puerto Rico Hurricane Center: Hurricanes and Tropical Storms In Puerto Rico from 1500 to 1899 ( English ) Tripod-Lycos. Retrieved April 25, 2012.
  2. ^ A b c Hurricane Research Division : Best Track of Atlantic tropical cyclones (1851–2007) ( English ) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2008. Retrieved June 13, 2008.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h August 1891 Monthly Weather Review ( English , PDF; 6.0 MB) US Weather Bureau. 1891. Retrieved April 25, 2012.
  4. ↑ Associated Press: Martinique's dead: The List Running Into The Hundreds (English) , The Chillicothe Constitution. Retrieved July 16, 2008. 
  5. ^ The Martinique Hurricane (PDF), New York Times. August 22, 1891. Retrieved April 25, 2012. 
  6. ↑ a b Fearful work of a storm (English) (PDF), New York Times. August 21, 1891. Retrieved April 25, 2012. 
  7. ↑ Associated Press: Swept by a cyclone (English) , The Daily Gazette And Bulletin. 
  8. ↑ Associated Press news Brevities (English) , The Chillicothe Constitution. 
  9. ↑ Chris Landsea, Craig Anderson, Noel Charles, Gil Clark, Jason Dunion, Charlie Neumann, Mark Zimmer, Jose Fernandez-Partagas, William Bredemeyer, John Gamache and Lenworth Woolcock: Documentation of Atlantic Tropical Cyclones Changes in HURDAT ( English ) NOAA. 2006. Retrieved April 25, 2012.

literature

  • David Watts: Long-term environmental influences on development in islands of the Lesser Antilles . In: Scottish Geographical Journal . 109, No. 3, 1993, pp. 133-141. doi : 10.1080 / 00369229318736893 .