The 1846 Havana hurricane (also known as the Great Havana hurricane of 1846, San Francisco de Borja hurricane and The Great Gale of 1846) was the most intense tropical cyclone in recorded history for 78 years and the first known Category 5-strength hurricane to strike Cuba. The first indications of the formation of a disturbance were first noted on 5 October in the Caribbean Sea, but little else was known until the storm approached Cuba on 10 October. There, it brought extreme winds and the lowest known atmospheric pressure of the time – – a record which remained unbroken until the development of a later cyclone in 1924. It soon curved toward Florida, where it maintained its intensity, continuing to rapidly hasten northward along the East Coast of the United States to New England. It entered an extratropical transition while situated over New York on 13 October, producing intense Category 2-force winds and unusually little precipitation. Eventually, the gale dissipated over the Canadian Maritimes the following day as a markedly weaker storm.
In Cuba, the storm caused hundreds of deaths, capsized dozens of ships, obliterated buildings, uprooted trees, and ruined crops. Many towns were wholly destroyed or flattened and never recovered, while others disappeared entirely. Damage in the United States was considerably better-chronicled despite being less severe. In Key West, widespread destruction was noted, with 40 deaths, many vessels rendered unfit, and widespread structural damage, with several buildings swept off of their foundations and hundreds of others flattened. Few supplies arrived in the following days and relief efforts were gradual, with few resources within the town's vicinity. Along other sections of the Southeastern U.S. coast, copious rainfall and moderate winds impacted agriculture, shipping, and residences. As the storm tracked along the Middle-Atlantic coast, similar effects were reported: there, the gale inundated many areas, impeded communications, destroyed railroads and canals, and flattened structures. Despite extensive damage, only two deaths were recorded outside Cuba and Florida. Along its entire track, the hurricane caused $338,000 in losses and at least 164 deaths.
Unusual in many aspects, the 1846 Havana hurricane was the most intense of its time. Though atmospheric pressure readings in Cuba reached as low as , the meteorological historian Jose Fernandez-Partagás re-evaluated several possible pressure records, concluding that the cyclone's minimum pressure was likely closer to ; even so, it maintained the title of having the lowest recorded pressure measurement until 1924, 78 years later. Although no reliable wind measurements were available at the time, a separate study also estimated that it produced Category 5-strength winds, making it the first known storm to strike Cuba at such an intensity. As a result of the tropical cyclone's extreme intensity, ecological and geographical features were permanently altered in many areas. Sand Key, which completely submerged during the course of the hurricane, wholly re-emerged by December of that year, albeit not in its original position; meanwhile, ecological damage remained evident for decades in Key West.
Meteorological history
The hurricane's origins can be traced to the central Caribbean Sea on 5 October.Chenoweth 2006, p. 234 The following day, its passage south of Jamaica was observed,Tannehill 1938, p. 156 and soon later, the hurricane transited across the Cayman Islands, producing relatively high winds. During the late evening of 10 October, winds began to increase on the island of Cuba, culminating the following morning; while the strongest winds were originally in the storm's northeastern sector, they were later noted in its northwest. Its eye presumably passed slightly east of Havana while maintaining an atmospheric pressure of 916 mbar (27.06 inHg).Ludlum 1963, p. 151 This was accompanied by Category 5-force winds on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale,Landsea et al. 2012, p. 883 defined as 1-minute maximum sustained winds of at least . Despite the reading, a 1993 analysis by weather historian José Fernández-Partagás calculated a corrected sea-level pressure at ; even so, the value maintained the hurricane as the most intense in recorded history.Partagás 1993, p. 1 It arrived at Key West the morning of 11 October, soon after its departure from Cuba, with undiminished intensity. The storm gradually meandered toward Tampa Bay, and eventually arrived on that afternoon of 11 October, its effects persisting through the following morning.Ludlum 1963, p. 152 Winds, which initially swept northeasterly at force 4 during the early evening, veered toward the southeast and peaked at force 8 the following morning. Weather historian David Ludlum tracked the hurricane's path past Cedar Key, noting the disturbance's northeastward curve as it neared Jacksonville.Ludlum 1963, p. 153
Advancing northward over land, the once-powerful hurricane weakened, with somewhat higher atmospheric pressures and winds of less severity reported at Charleston, South Carolina. Paralleling the coast while situated inland, it hastened quickly toward the north, swiftly passing through North Carolina and arriving in the Chesapeake Bay region by 13 October. Southeasterly gusts persisted as the storm continued its northerly progression inland along the course of the East Coast of the United States. After reaching Washington, D.C., in the early morning, it arrived near New York City by sunrise, and transited across Boston during the afternoon of 13 October. The storm likely underwent an extratropical transition by the time it arrived in New York state, elongating linearly east-to-west.Ludlum 1963, p. 94 The gale's winds swept toward the southeast with a brief hiatus in the early evening. As it neared New England, it produced little precipitation yet intense gusts, which peaked at force 9-strength in the vicinity of New Bedford, Massachusetts.Ludlum 1963, p. 95 The cyclone's diameter over New England, at its largest point, reached , accompanied by Category 2-force winds.Boose et al. 2001, p. 40 The system was last sighted on the morning of 14 October, rapidly weakening as it meandered into the Canadian Maritimes.
Impact
In Cuba, the hurricane's impact was extremely severe: the storm destroyed nearly a hundred ships and likely killed hundreds of individuals across the island, and also inflicted extensive crop damage and widespread flooding. The hurricane capsized nearly all crafts docked at Havana Harbor, and of the 104 boats in the harbor prior to the storm's arrival, only 12 remained after it subsided. Between 40 and 50 other cargo vessels were impaired, with significant structural damage in the city proper also observed. Damage to houses, crops, and shipping was catastrophic throughout the island; the storm was reportedly the worst in Cuban history at the time,Schwartz 2007, p. 16 more severe even than an earlier hurricane in 1844. Waves were high enough to reach the lanterns of the Morro Castle lighthouse. While no concrete death toll was established, reports indicated the deaths of several dozen individuals during the entire course of the storm,Malcolm 2010, p. 3 while other records noted that hundreds of deaths had possibly occurred across the island.
Damage in the United States, however, was better-documented. There, the disturbance washed away the island of Sand Key and resulted in the loss of many vessels in nearby Key West harbor. Its storm surge scattered debris throughout the city and swept many structures afloat upon high waters. In all, approximately $200,000 in damage and 40 deaths were reported, representing four percent of the town's population. Elsewhere in the state, damage remained severe, with abnormal storm tides and widespread property destruction noted. Shipping and agriculture took the brunt of the storm's impact in other southeastern states; there, it produced damage similar to that inflicted by an earlier 1824 hurricane. Even farther north along the Middle-Atlantic coast, copious rainfall and intense gusts were observed, especially in the New England region. Winds uprooted trees, cracked canals, damaged railroads, and demolished factories. Rainfall totals, however, were generally low, indicative of a dry gale. In all, the hurricane caused at least 164 deaths and $338,000 (1846 USD) in damage throughout its path, although some reports indicated hundreds of additional deaths across the island of Cuba.
Caribbean Sea
Early in its development, the hurricane passed near the Cayman Islands, inundating all of Grand Cayman, with its worst effects concentrated at the localities of Savannah and Newlands, both under a storm surge. Although residential damage was minimal, many grasslands were destroyed.Williams 1992, p. 73
Celebrations coinciding with the birthday of Isabella II of Spain held in Havana, Cuba, on 10 October were disrupted by heavy rains and strong winds, indicative of the hurricane's imminent arrival that evening.Pérez 2001, p. 67 Following the storm's landfall, the most severe damage as a result of the storm was observed from eastern regions of Pinar del Río to western Matanzas. Already soaked by weeks of constant rainfall, with swollen rivers, inundated roads, and spoiled tobacco crops,Pérez 2001, p. 69 existing problems were only further exacerbated; at Paso Real de San Diego, cassava, sweet potato, and other vianda harvests were ruined. In Havana proper, waves battered ships seeking refuge in the city's harbor, grounded, driven away, capsized, and smashed, with much of their cargo, composing of cartons of sugar, bales of tobacco, and fragments of hemp, barrels, and cases strewn along the shore and sea. In all, the gale destroyed or seriously damaged 105 commercial ships, 70 sloops, pilot boats, and military craft, as well as 111 other vessels at sea;Pérez 2001, p. 70 as a result, shortages of many essential goods occurred in inland provinces. Damage in Cuban port cities was only further aggravated by the amount of debris produced by the destruction of ships, warehouses, and docks, which were in turn blown into harborside structures by powerful gusts.Pérez 2001, p. 71
Masonry buildings bore the brunt of the storm, with the recently overhauled Teatro Principal wholly obliterated, the city gas plant rendered unusable after its smokestack crumpled, and numerous churches flattened. Havana Cathedral experienced considerable damage to its roof, while the Montserrat Church was completely unroofed. The hurricane destroyed parish churches at Jesus del Monte and Guanabacoa, while several hospitals, including the Real Hospital de San Lázaro, were also demolished, with its entrance wrecked, several wards and its infirmary building damaged, and its roofs crippled. Damage was so severe that some believed that the destruction was wrought by an earthquake. Residential damage was omnipresent, with 1,275 houses razed to the ground and another 1,040 damaged in Guanabacoa alone.Pérez 2001, p. 72 The storm covered streets with planks, tiles, and other debris, uprooted and defoliated palm trees, ruined gardens, and damaged balconies.Pérez 2001, p. 73 The massive storm surge associated with the system annihilated and washed away most of the huts and houses of Batabanó, with only 20 left standing. Food and water supplies were lost, while the retreating tides left behind inches of mud and mounds of debris in their wake.Pérez 2001, p. 74