First system formed May 16, 1889 Name Six Hurricanes 6 | Last system dissipated October 7, 1889 Total storms 9 Total fatalities 40 | |
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The 1889 Atlantic hurricane season ran through the summer and the first half of fall in 1889. In the 1889 Atlantic season there were three tropical storms and six hurricanes. However, due to scarce technology and the fact that only storms that affected populated land or ships were recorded, the actual total could be higher.
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Hurricane One
A tropical storm formed on May 16, north of the British Virgin Islands. It strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane, over 400 miles from the coast of Georgia, on May 20. It reached a maximum wind speed of 80 mph/130kph that evening then curved away from the mainland and dissipated on May 21. This hurricane did not affect land, but was the first May hurricane on record in the Atlantic basin, and remains one of only four such systems known today.
Hurricane Two
A tropical storm formed near Cuba on June 15. Later that day it grazed western Cuba as a minimal hurricane, with a maximum wind speed of 75 mph/120kph. The storm weakened and made landfall in Florida as a tropical storm on June 17. It then paralleled the Georgia and North and South Carolina coasts before dissipating on June 20 in the open Atlantic.
Hurricane Three
On August 19 Hurricane three formed southwest of Haiti and battered the Caribbean with heavy rains and a 5 ft storm surge.Hurricane three was pushed away from the south by a high pressure system and strengthened to a category 1 hurricane west of Virginia. The storm took a course 70 miles away from New England and dissipated on August 28. The remains traveled to New York and Maine and soaked the area.
Hurricane Four
A hurricane formed on September 1 east of Barbados. It moved northwestward, becoming a 100 mph storm while crossing Puerto Rico. From September 9 to the 12th it caused flooding and storm surge to the mid Atlantic as it stalled off the coast, causing 40 deaths.
Hurricane Five
A tropical storm formed on September 2 in the mid-Atlantic. The storm travelled to the northwest and increased in strength, reaching wind speeds of 60 mph/95kph by September 4. The storm continued at that intensity on the same track for a further two days. The storm became a category 1 hurricane on September 7 and began curving eastward. Five caused the deaths of four people on a ship on September 8. The storm continued as a hurricane travelling over open ocean until September 10 and dissipated the following day. Hurricane five reached its maximum intensity over the north Atlantic at 70 knots.
Hurricane Six
On September 12, a tropical storm formed over the northern Lesser Antilles. It moved westward across the northern Caribbean, and on the 18th, hit the eastern Yucatán Peninsula as a Category 2 hurricane. After weakening over land, it turned northward, where it again strengthened to a Category 2. While moving northeastward over the Gulf of Mexico, it weakened, and hit near Pensacola, Florida on the 23rd. Its minimal intensity at its U.S. landfall resulted in little damage, but Yucatán fared a little worse. No damage was severe.
Tropical Storm Seven
This storm formed near the Cape Verde islands and wiggled its way to the open Atlantic where the cold water and wind shear made the storm dissipate on September 19. This system had winds of 50 knots.
Tropical Storm Eight
This storm never touched land and took a sharp turn from land and dissipated on October 6. The system was a borderline hurricane at 60 knots.
Tropical Storm Nine
A tropical storm formed south of Cuba on October 5 and then made landfall in both Cuba and Florida. It transitioned into an extratropical cyclone on October 7 just before making landfall in Nova Scotia.