1887 Atlantic hurricane season
The 1887 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record at the time in terms of number of known tropical storms formed, with 19. This total has since been equaled or surpassed multiple times. The 1887 season featured five off-season storms, with tropical activity occurring as early as May, and as late as December. It is also worthy of note that the volume of recorded activity was documented largely without the benefit of modern technology. Tropical cyclones during this era that did not approach populated areas or shipping lanes, especially if they were relatively weak and of short duration, may have remained undetected. Because technologies such as satellite monitoring were not available until the 1960s, historical data on tropical cyclones from this period may not be comprehensive. An undercount bias of zero to six tropical cyclones per year between 1851 and 1885 and zero to four per year between 1886 and 1910 has been estimated. Of the known 1887 cyclones, Tropical Storm One and Tropical Storm Three were first documented in 1996 by Jose Fernandez-Partagas and Henry Diaz. They also proposed large alterations to the known tracks of several of the other 1887 storms. Later re-analysis led to the known duration of Hurricane Six, and also that of Hurricane Fifteen, being increased.
1887 Atlantic hurricane season | |
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Season summary map | |
Seasonal boundaries | |
First system formed | May 15, 1887 |
Last system dissipated | December 12, 1887 |
Strongest storm | |
Name | Seven |
• Maximum winds | 125 mph (205 km/h) (1-minute sustained) |
• Lowest pressure | 946 mbar (hPa; 27.94 inHg) |
Seasonal statistics | |
Total depressions | 19 |
Total storms | 19 |
Hurricanes | 11 |
Major hurricanes (Cat. 3+) | 2 |
Total fatalities | 2+ total |
Total damage | Unknown |
Eleven of the season's nineteen known storms attained hurricane status. However, only two of these storms became major hurricanes, with sustained winds of over 111 mph (179 km/h); the strongest reached peak winds of 125 mph (205 km/h), with a minimum barometric pressure of 946 mbar (27.9 inHg) off the East Coast of the United States in late August. Only a few of the storms during the 1887 season did not impact land, but there was a low number of deaths.