Author Topic: Great Hurricane of 1780  (Read 5766 times)

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Offline Ptarmigan

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Great Hurricane of 1780
« on: January 20, 2008, 05:58:06 PM »
In early October, a dry and hot air clashes with warm and moist air over Africa, which thunderstorms form. The thunderstorm moves over Atlantic Ocean. The thunderstorm is over warm water, which allows it to organize. The cluster of thunderstorm becomes a tropical depression, that later on tropical storm. The tropical storm undergoes rapid development and becomes a hurricane. The hurricane grows and gets larger. It becomes a major hurricane right before it makes landfall on Barbados on October 9th. It is a monster hurricane, likely had winds between 160 to 200 mph with gusts as high as 250 mph. Hurricane force winds extended as far as 150 miles from the eye. Once it passes Barbados, it makes landfall Martinique, Saint Lucia, and Sint Eustatius between October 10 to 12. The hurricane continues onto Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic on October 13 to 14. Afterwards, the hurricane moves north into the Atlantic. It is reported that Florida had high tides and strong winds. The hurricane zips towards Newfoundland Canada as an extratropical system.

The hurricane claimed at least 22,000 lives. The hurricane wind was so strong that one cannot hear their own voice, which would suggest it was a strong hurricane of winds of 200 mph. Tree bark were ripped off of trees. 4,500 people died in Barbados and many ships and houses were destroyed. The island of Martinique had storm surge as high as 25 feet. A large French fleet used in the American Revolution War were washed by the monster waves, claiming about 4,000 lives. 9,000 people died in Martinique alone. Monster storm surge flooded Sint Eustatius, which claimed a further 4,000 to 5,000 lives. To make matters worse, there was an earthqauke which during the hurricane. The earthquake helped weaken structures, in which the hurricane destroyed the building. The hurricane severely damaged Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic.

The hurricane likely had an impact on the American Revolution. Many ships were lost in the Caribbean due to the hurricane. In addition, many soldiers were killed in the hurricane. Also, 1780 was a deadly year. There were two other hurricanes in October, one hit Jamaica and Cuba, claiming over 1,100 lives on October 5. The other hurricane hit the eastern part of Gulf of Mexico, claiming 2,000 lives between October 17 to 21. 25,000 people died in October of 1780. In fact 1780 was one of the few years that had more than one hurricane claim more than 1,000 lives, 1893 and 2005. The Great Hurricane of 1780 remains the deadliest Atlantic hurricane. It claimed more lives than Hurricane Mitch and Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900.

NHC-The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1492-1996
Wikipedia-1780-1789 Atlantic hurricane seasons
NWS-San Juan-Notes on the Tropical Cyclones of Puerto Rico
NOAA-A Re-assessment of Historical Atlantic Basin Tropical Cyclone Activity, 1700-1855
NOAA-Chronological Listing of Tropical Cyclones affecting North Florida and Coastal Georgia 1565-1899
NEMO remembers the great hurricane of 1780
Science Daily-Great Hurricane of 1780
Wikipedia-Great Hurricane of 1780
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Offline Lord Undies

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Re: Great Hurricane of 1780
« Reply #1 on: January 20, 2008, 06:07:03 PM »
Those people didn't know how lucky they were.  They didn't have stupid TV reporters standing out in the middle of it telling everyone how dangerous it was. 

There are no known statistics to tell us how many people commit suicide during hurricane season due to watching TV reporters.  Some say the number is high.

Offline Ptarmigan

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Re: Great Hurricane of 1780
« Reply #2 on: January 20, 2008, 06:08:40 PM »
Those people didn't know how lucky they were.  They didn't have stupid TV reporters standing out in the middle of it telling everyone how dangerous it was. 

There are no known statistics to tell us how many people commit suicide during hurricane season due to watching TV reporters.  Some say the number is high.

They didn't have TV back than. Think about something like this happening today. Also, information took time to travel and spread.
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Offline franksolich

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Re: Great Hurricane of 1780
« Reply #3 on: January 20, 2008, 06:22:56 PM »
I dunno.

The hurricane that struck New England in 1938 or 1939 (I forget which; it was extensively covered by Life magazine) was pretty disastrous, and even though weather forecasting and communications were more advanced (radio), it appeared to be pretty much a shock when it appeared out of nowhere, striking Long Island, and then points north and east.

Nobody seemed to know it was coming, until it was already there.
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Offline Ptarmigan

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Re: Great Hurricane of 1780
« Reply #4 on: January 20, 2008, 06:27:12 PM »
I dunno.

The hurricane that struck New England in 1938 or 1939 (I forget which; it was extensively covered by Life magazine) was pretty disastrous, and even though weather forecasting and communications were more advanced (radio), it appeared to be pretty much a shock when it appeared out of nowhere, striking Long Island, and then points north and east.

Nobody seemed to know it was coming, until it was already there.

The 1938 New England Hurricane was a Category 5 at one point. It was a quite a large hurricane that moved really fast as it hit New England.
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Offline Lord Undies

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Re: Great Hurricane of 1780
« Reply #5 on: January 20, 2008, 06:44:31 PM »
The 1930's was a wicked time in hurricane history.  1935 saw a storm hit the eastern seaboard, too.  Paris Island was extensively damaged in that storm. 

It must be because the 1930's was a very hot decade.  It still holds the record for being the hottest.  Al Gore, eat your heart out.   

Offline Ptarmigan

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Re: Great Hurricane of 1780
« Reply #6 on: January 20, 2008, 08:10:36 PM »
The 1930's was a wicked time in hurricane history.  1935 saw a storm hit the eastern seaboard, too.  Paris Island was extensively damaged in that storm. 

It must be because the 1930's was a very hot decade.  It still holds the record for being the hottest.  Al Gore, eat your heart out.   

1930s was part of an active cycle from 1926 to 1969. Active cycle means more hurricane and major hurricanes forming, not the number of tropical storms forming. 1930s was warm that time.
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Offline NHSparky

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Re: Great Hurricane of 1780
« Reply #7 on: January 21, 2008, 05:33:05 AM »
And yet we didn't give those folks $250K per resident to "recover".

Go figure.
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Offline redwhit

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Re: Great Hurricane of 1780
« Reply #8 on: January 21, 2008, 08:18:07 AM »
I dunno.

The hurricane that struck New England in 1938 or 1939 (I forget which; it was extensively covered by Life magazine) was pretty disastrous, and even though weather forecasting and communications were more advanced (radio), it appeared to be pretty much a shock when it appeared out of nowhere, striking Long Island, and then points north and east.

Nobody seemed to know it was coming, until it was already there.
And it's a perfect example of how technology can give and take away.  As the storm started to move north, ships were advised to hold in port for a bit.  Without sattelites, it was reports from these ships that were required to position the storm.  Most meteorologists expected the storm to veer east but it came back to the coast unexpectedly.  Not one radio transmission could help if there were no eyes on the storm.  There is only so much technology can do to replace humans - a good life lesson.

Offline Chris_

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Re: Great Hurricane of 1780
« Reply #9 on: January 21, 2008, 11:54:55 AM »
In early October, a dry and hot air clashes with warm and moist air over Africa, which thunderstorms form. The thunderstorm moves over Atlantic Ocean. The thunderstorm is over warm water, which allows it to organize. The cluster of thunderstorm becomes a tropical depression, that later on tropical storm. The tropical storm undergoes rapid development and becomes a hurricane. The hurricane grows and gets larger. It becomes a major hurricane right before it makes landfall on Barbados on October 9th. It is a monster hurricane, likely had winds between 160 to 200 mph with gusts as high as 250 mph. Hurricane force winds extended as far as 150 miles from the eye. Once it passes Barbados, it makes landfall Martinique, Saint Lucia, and Sint Eustatius between October 10 to 12. The hurricane continues onto Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic on October 13 to 14. Afterwards, the hurricane moves north into the Atlantic. It is reported that Florida had high tides and strong winds. The hurricane zips towards Newfoundland Canada as an extratropical system.

The hurricane claimed at least 22,000 lives. The hurricane wind was so strong that one cannot hear their own voice, which would suggest it was a strong hurricane of winds of 200 mph. Tree bark were ripped off of trees. 4,500 people died in Barbados and many ships and houses were destroyed. The island of Martinique had storm surge as high as 25 feet. A large French fleet used in the American Revolution War were washed by the monster waves, claiming about 4,000 lives. 9,000 people died in Martinique alone. Monster storm surge flooded Sint Eustatius, which claimed a further 4,000 to 5,000 lives. To make matters worse, there was an earthqauke which during the hurricane. The earthquake helped weaken structures, in which the hurricane destroyed the building. The hurricane severely damaged Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic.

The hurricane likely had an impact on the American Revolution. Many ships were lost in the Caribbean due to the hurricane. In addition, many soldiers were killed in the hurricane. Also, 1780 was a deadly year. There were two other hurricanes in October, one hit Jamaica and Cuba, claiming over 1,100 lives on October 5. The other hurricane hit the eastern part of Gulf of Mexico, claiming 2,000 lives between October 17 to 21. 25,000 people died in October of 1780. In fact 1780 was one of the few years that had more than one hurricane claim more than 1,000 lives, 1893 and 2005. The Great Hurricane of 1780 remains the deadliest Atlantic hurricane. It claimed more lives than Hurricane Mitch and Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900.

NHC-The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1492-1996
Wikipedia-1780-1789 Atlantic hurricane seasons
NWS-San Juan-Notes on the Tropical Cyclones of Puerto Rico
NOAA-A Re-assessment of Historical Atlantic Basin Tropical Cyclone Activity, 1700-1855
NOAA-Chronological Listing of Tropical Cyclones affecting North Florida and Coastal Georgia 1565-1899
NEMO remembers the great hurricane of 1780
Science Daily-Great Hurricane of 1780
Wikipedia-Great Hurricane of 1780
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Offline Ptarmigan

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Re: Great Hurricane of 1780
« Reply #10 on: January 21, 2008, 02:28:08 PM »

And it's a perfect example of how technology can give and take away.  As the storm started to move north, ships were advised to hold in port for a bit.  Without sattelites, it was reports from these ships that were required to position the storm.  Most meteorologists expected the storm to veer east but it came back to the coast unexpectedly.  Not one radio transmission could help if there were no eyes on the storm.  There is only so much technology can do to replace humans - a good life lesson.

Technology will never replace humans for sure. Hurricanes don't care about prediction. They have a mind of their own.
Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.
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Allow enemies their space to hate; they will destroy themselves in the process.
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Offline Ptarmigan

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Re: Great Hurricane of 1780
« Reply #11 on: January 21, 2008, 02:30:57 PM »

"It's Bush's fault" [/DUmp mode]


I think the 1780s was a warm period. It shows that warm and cool periods happen. Getting tired of hearing about Global Warming. I think the hurricane had a central pressure of <880 mb, perhaps even as low as 860 because it had winds of 200 mph and was a large hurricane that produced high storm surge.
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Offline Ptarmigan

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Re: Great Hurricane of 1780
« Reply #12 on: January 21, 2008, 02:32:00 PM »
And yet we didn't give those folks $250K per resident to "recover".

Go figure.

If people want to rebuild. Fine, I can care less about it. Now, when the government gives them money to rebuild, I have problems with it.
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Allow enemies their space to hate; they will destroy themselves in the process.
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Offline redwhit

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Re: Great Hurricane of 1780
« Reply #13 on: January 21, 2008, 02:47:53 PM »

"It's Bush's fault" [/DUmp mode]


I think the 1780s was a warm period. It shows that warm and cool periods happen. Getting tired of hearing about Global Warming. I think the hurricane had a central pressure of <880 mb, perhaps even as low as 860 because it had winds of 200 mph and was a large hurricane that produced high storm surge.

Actually, the 1780s was still in the grip of the last Little Ice Age but it may have been on a warmer trend than, say, the 1730s.  It's really tough trying to figure out exactly what happened - even in the last half of the 18th century because observational science was still so new and usually practiced by the wealthier as a hobby.  Even their observations tend to be of the "well, it's been rainier than I can remember..." sort.  While I'm sure it was, entries like that make me want to tear my rapidly thinning hair out and scream.  Give me a number, any number, some comparison to something I can quantify.  The best are those that compare rainfall to Noah's time. :banghead:

Offline Ptarmigan

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Re: Great Hurricane of 1780
« Reply #14 on: January 21, 2008, 02:53:48 PM »

Actually, the 1780s was still in the grip of the last Little Ice Age but it may have been on a warmer trend than, say, the 1730s.  It's really tough trying to figure out exactly what happened - even in the last half of the 18th century because observational science was still so new and usually practiced by the wealthier as a hobby.  Even their observations tend to be of the "well, it's been rainier than I can remember..." sort.  While I'm sure it was, entries like that make me want to tear my rapidly thinning hair out and scream.  Give me a number, any number, some comparison to something I can quantify.  The best are those that compare rainfall to Noah's time. :banghead:

Actually you are right. Warm water and climate is not the only factor for hurricanes. A hurricane can be really strong over water that is 82 degrees because it also has to do with cloud tops. The colder and higher they are, the more intense they can get. That would explain why Hurricane Wilma was really strong in October. It had high and cold cloud tops.





Physical basis of limit calculations
« Last Edit: January 21, 2008, 02:59:20 PM by EbolaZaire »
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Offline redwhit

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Re: Great Hurricane of 1780
« Reply #15 on: January 21, 2008, 03:31:10 PM »


Actually you are right. Warm water and climate is not the only factor for hurricanes. A hurricane can be really strong over water that is 82 degrees because it also has to do with cloud tops. The colder and higher they are, the more intense they can get. That would explain why Hurricane Wilma was really strong in October. It had high and cold cloud tops.

Cool!  I didn't know that about the cloud tops.  Those graphs you posted, I'm sure they mean something important and relevant, I just thought the colors were pretty. :o