1869 Atlantic hurricane season

1869 Atlantic hurricane season
Season summary map
Seasonal boundaries
First system formed	August 12, 1869
Last system dissipated	October 5, 1869
Strongest storm
Name	Six
• Maximum winds	115 mph (185 km/h) (1-minute sustained)
• Lowest pressure	950 mbar (hPa; 28.05 inHg)
Seasonal statistics
Total storms	10
Hurricanes	7
Major hurricanes (Cat. 3+)	1
Total fatalities	49
Total damage	$50,000 (1869 USD)
Atlantic hurricane seasons 1867, 1868, 1869, 1870, 1871

The 1869 Atlantic hurricane season was the earliest season in the Atlantic hurricane database in which there were at least ten tropical cyclones.^[1] Initially there were only three known storms in the year, but additional research uncovered the additional storms.^[2] Meteorologist Christopher Landsea estimates up to six storms may remain missing from the official database for each season in this era, due to small tropical cyclone size, sparse ship reports, and relatively unpopulated coastlines.^[3] All activity occurred in a three-month period between the middle of August and early October.

Out of the ten tropical storms, seven reached hurricane intensity, of which four made landfall on the United States. The strongest hurricane was a Category 3 on the modern-day Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale which struck New England at that intensity, one of four storms to do so. It left heavy damage, killing at least twelve people. The most notable hurricane of the season was the Saxby Gale, which was predicted nearly a year in advance. The hurricane was one of six to produce hurricane-force winds in Maine, where it left heavy damage and flooding. The Saxby Gale left 37 deaths along its path, with its destruction greatest along the Bay of Fundy; there, the hurricane produced a 70.9 ft (21.6 m) high tide near the head of the bay.