The 1850 Atlantic hurricane season was the last season excluded from the scope of the official Atlantic hurricane database. Although meteorological records are sparse and generally incomplete, they indicate that three significant tropical cyclones affected land, each causing some degree of damage. The first system struck North Carolina on July 18, causing significant damage before battering the Mid-Atlantic states with high tides, strong winds, and heavy rainfall. Torrential rainfall caused river flooding from Baltimore to Philadelphia, particularly along the Schuylkill River, which took the lives of 20 people in various incidents. Strong winds damaged property and public facilities in and around New York City, and damaging floods extended into central and northern New England. Crops and railroad infrastructure suffered throughout the entire region.
On August 22, a strong hurricane impacted Havana, Cuba, destroying fruit trees and disrupting shipping, before making landfall on the Florida Panhandle with an enormous storm surge. Coastal flooding was severe around Apalachicola, and as the storm moved inland, it generated destructive winds across the Southeastern United States. Abundant precipitation fell from Georgia through Virginia, causing extensive flooding; one river swelled over 20 feet (6.1 m) above its normal height. The storm blew down crops and trees along its course, and toppled a large railroad bridge near Halifax, North Carolina. Offshore, a pilot boat collided with a larger ship in the rough seas and sank. Considered the worst storm in nearly 30 years in the tidewater region of Virginia, the cyclone briefly reentered the Atlantic off New Jersey before making landfall over New England. Strong winds and moderate to heavy rains plagued much of New England on August 24 and 25.
On September 7 and 8, a hurricane brushed the coastline from New York to Cape Cod with gusty winds and appreciable rainfall, and left many ships in distress. The system later struck Atlantic Canada, likely causing "great loss of property and lives",[1] though damage reports were limited. Fragmented records exist of other hurricanes, including two which remained over open seas in early September and the middle of October.
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