 Map of the Great Colonial Hurricane's path (reconstructed by the AOML) | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | Unknown |
| Dissipated | August 25, 1635 |
| Category 4 major hurricane | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS) | |
| Highest winds | ≥135 mph (≥215 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | ≤930 mbar (hPa); ≤27.46 inHg (estimated) |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 46+ direct |
| Injuries | Unknown |
| Damage | Unknown |
| Areas affected | Virginia, Long Island, New England, other areas? (Information scarce) |
Part of the 1635 Atlantic hurricane season | |
The Great Colonial Hurricane of 1635 was an extraordinarily powerful and devastating Atlantic hurricane that brushed Colonial Virginia and struck the New England Colonies in late August 1635. Accounts of the storm are very limited, but it was likely the most intense hurricane to hit New England since European colonization. The storm had a similar track and forward speed to that of the 1944 Great Atlantic hurricane and is the first of five known major hurricanes to have struck the modern New England region. The storm also likely produced one of the greatest storm surges in United States history, modern analysis has found.[1]