![]() Areas affected by the hurricane (excluding Bermuda) | |
Meteorological history | |
---|---|
Formed | October 9, 1780 |
Dissipated | October 20, 1780 |
Unknown-strength storm | |
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS) | |
Highest gusts | 200 mph (325 km/h) |
Overall effects | |
Fatalities | est. 22,000 (Deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record) |
Areas affected | Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Bermuda, possibly East Florida and some U.S. states |
[1] | |
Part of the 1780 Atlantic hurricane season |
The Great Hurricane of 1780[2][1][3] was the deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record, as well as the deadliest tropical cyclone in the Western Hemisphere. An estimated 22,000 people died throughout the Lesser Antilles when the storm passed through the islands from October 10 to October 16.[4] Specifics on the hurricane's track and strength are unknown, as the official Atlantic hurricane database only goes back to 1851.[5]
The hurricane struck Barbados likely as a Category 5 hurricane, with at least one estimate of wind gusts as high as 200 mph (320 km/h),[6] before moving past Martinique, Saint Lucia, and Sint Eustatius, and causing thousands of deaths on those islands. Coming in the midst of the American Revolution, the storm caused heavy losses to the British fleet contesting for control of the area, significantly weakening British control over the Atlantic. The hurricane later passed near Puerto Rico and over the eastern portion of Hispaniola, causing heavy damage near the coastlines. It ultimately turned to the northeast and was last observed on October 20 southeast of Atlantic Canada.
The death toll from the Great Hurricane alone exceeds that of many entire decades of Atlantic hurricanes. Estimates are significantly higher than for Hurricane Mitch, the second-deadliest Atlantic storm, for which figures are likely more precise. The hurricane was part of the disastrous 1780 Atlantic hurricane season, with two other deadly storms occurring in October.[4]