The 1888 Atlantic hurricane season was significantly less active compared to the previous season but still featured several landfalls in the United States. Overall, the season had nine tropical cyclones, six of which intensified into hurricanes, while two of those became major hurricanes. However, in the absence of modern satellites and other remote-sensing technologies, only storms that affected populated land areas or encountered ships at sea are known, so the actual total could be higher. 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. The first system was initially detected over the northwestern Gulf of Mexico on June 16, while the ninth and final storm transitioned into an extratropical cyclone offshore North Carolina on November 25.
Neither meteorologists José Fernández-Partagás and Henry F. Diaz in 1996 nor the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project in the early 21st century added or removed any previously undocumented storms from the official hurricane database (HURDAT). However, both modified the tracks of several cyclones. More recently, a 2014 reanalysis study by climate researcher Michael Chenoweth recommended the removal of the second storm and the addition of six cyclones not currently listed in HURDAT, but these proposals have not yet been approved.
The most intense tropical cyclone of the season, the third system, peaked as a Category 3 hurricane on the present-day Saffir–Simpson scale with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (205 km/h) in August. Striking the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana at hurricane intensity, the cyclone caused damage throughout its path and 12 deaths. The next system, also a Category 3 hurricane, crossed the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas, and Cuba before making two landfalls in Mexico in early September, inflicting more than $1 million (1888 USD) in damage and 921 fatalities, mostly in Cuba. Later, the season's seventh system drowned nine people at Cedar Key, Florida, and the ninth and final storm resulted in sixteen deaths, fifteen due to maritime incidents. Overall, the cyclones of the 1888 season collectively caused more than $1 million in damage and killed 958 people. __TOC__
Seasonal summary
The Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT) officially recognizes that nine tropical cyclones formed during the 1888 season, six of which strengthened into hurricanes, while two of those intensified into major hurricanes. Neither meteorologists José Fernández-Partagás and Henry F. Diaz in 1996 nor the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project in the early 21st century added or removed any previously undocumented storms from HURDAT, though both modified the tracks of several cyclones. However, a more recent reanalysis by climate researcher Michael Chenoweth, published in 2014, adds six storms and removes one – the second system – for a net gain of five cyclones, although these proposed changes have yet to be approved for inclusion to HURDAT. Chenoweth's study utilizes a more extensive collection of newspapers and ship logs, as well as late 19th century weather maps for the first time, in comparison to previous reanalysis projects.
Tropical cyclogenesis began by June 16, when a tropical storm was detected over the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Striking Texas as a hurricane on June 17, the system dissipated on the following day. The next storm, which existed in early July, also made landfall in Texas. More than a month passed before the next known cyclone developed east of the Turks and Caicos Islands on August 14. Peaking with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (205 km/h) and a minimum atmospheric pressure of , the storm made landfall in the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana at hurricane intensity and moved across the Eastern United States before becoming extratropical offshore New England on August 22. A storm that later peaked with an equal maximum sustained wind formed on August 31 and struck the Turks and Caicos Island, the Bahamas, Cuba, and Mexico at hurricane intensity in early September. Two cyclones developed in September, both of which struck Florida, while the second of the two, the season's sixth storm, made landfall in Massachusetts as a hurricane and Maine as a tropical storm. October featured one storm, a Category 2 hurricane that struck Florida and North Carolina. In November, two systems developed, the second of which, the ninth storm, transitioned into an extratropical cyclone offshore North Carolina on November 25, ending seasonal activity. Overall, the cyclones of the 1888 season collectively caused over $1 million in damage and 958 fatalities.
The season's activity was reflected with an accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) rating of 85, significantly lower than the previous two seasons but the fifth highest of the decade. ACE is a metric used to express the energy used by a tropical cyclone during its lifetime. Therefore, a storm with a longer duration will have higher values of ACE. It is only calculated at six-hour increments in which specific tropical and subtropical systems are either at or above sustained wind speeds of , which is the threshold for tropical storm intensity. Thus, tropical depressions are not included here.
Systems
Hurricane One
The first cyclone of the season existed by 00:00 UTC on June 16 in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, based on Brownsville, Texas, recording sustained winds of . Due to sparse observations, the system may have developed prior to this time, but was not detected. Centered about southeast of Galveston Island on July 16, the cyclone moved west-northwestward and quickly strengthened, becoming a hurricane several hours later. It peaked with sustained winds of 80 mph (130 km/h) early on June 17, and made landfall southwest of Bay City, Texas, over the eastern end of East Matagorda Bay around 06:00 UTC. Turning to the northwest after landfall, it quickly degenerated into a tropical storm, gradually turning northward over time. The cyclone weakened into a tropical depression around 06:00 UTC, and lost its status as a cyclone just 12 hours later near Waco. Climate researcher Michael Chenoweth proposed that this storm approached Texas on a north-northwestward course and made landfall as a tropical storm, without ever attaining hurricane status.
In Texas, the cyclone produced heavy rain, peaking at over a 16-hour period at Galveston. The highest measured winds reached in the city. Along the coast of Texas, the lowest measured pressure was at Corpus Christi, about southwest of the landfall location. The Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project estimated that the minimum central pressure in the storm was likely close to at the time of landfall. Operationally, the U.S. Signal Corps—predecessor to the U.S. Weather Bureau (now the National Weather Service)—did not classify the system as an area of low pressure, and as such, it did not appear in the June 1888 track map of cyclones in the Monthly Weather Review, the official publication of the Signal Corps. However, as early as June 17, The New York Times noted that a moderate storm was apparently approaching Texas.
Tropical Storm Two
Based on a 1993 reanalysis led by meteorologist C. J. Neumann, the second tropical storm of the season originated about east of the mouth of the Rio Grande, on the Texas–Mexico border. It moved north-northwest, attaining its peak intensity of 60 mph (95 km/h) by 00:00 UTC on July 5. About 16 hours later, the moderate tropical storm made landfall at that intensity just east of Bay City—impacting the same region as the previous storm. The cyclone turned north and north-northeast after striking land, slowly weakening as it did so. By 12:00 UTC on July 6, the cyclone was last positioned over northwestern Cherokee County, Texas. Chenoweth proposed the removal of this storm from HURDAT, finding "No evidence in land-based reports or from ships".
In Texas, the storm produced peak winds of in Galveston, and the lowest measured pressure was in the city. Like the preceding storm, the cyclone produced heavy rain over parts of Texas, especially in the Palestine area in Anderson County. In this area, a shower of pebbles, each ranging from in diameter and irregularly shaped, was reported to have occurred, possibly due to a tornado or waterspout that touched down at an unknown distance from Palestine.
Hurricane Three
This system was first detected by 12:00 UTC on August 14, while centered about 100 mi (155 km) north-northeast of Grand Turk Island. Moving west-northwestward, the storm intensified into a hurricane about 24 hours later. It made landfall on Cat Island in The Bahamas and then Andros Island on August 16. As it approached southeast Florida, the storm strengthened into the equivalence of a Category 3 major hurricane, peaking with winds of 125 mph (205 km/h) and a barometric pressure of by 12:00 UTC on August 16. Around 19:00 UTC, it made landfall close to present-day Miami Beach at peak intensity; its estimated winds were derivative of observable storm surge heights near the point of landfall. The cyclone weakened over land and emerged into the Gulf of Mexico near Cayo Costa on August 17 as a Category 1 hurricane. However, the hurricane quickly re-intensified into a Category 2 hurricane early on August 18 as it turned westward. Curving northwestward and then north-northwestward, the cyclone struck near Cocodrie, Louisiana, with winds of 110 mph (175 km/h) around 16:00 UTC on August 19. The hurricane turned northward after moving inland and weakened to a tropical storm late on August 20, over Mississippi before curving to the northeast. After passing over New England, the storm became extratropical by 12:00 UTC on August 22, while the remnants crossed Atlantic Canada prior to dissipating over the Labrador Sea on August 24. Chenoweth proposed few significant changes to this storm, other than more dramatic weakening over the interior of the United States; however, he downgraded it to Category 1 at landfall on South Florida, owing to a lack of reliable firsthand data sources.