1868 Atlantic hurricane season

1868 Atlantic hurricane season
Season summary map
Seasonal boundaries
First system formedSeptember 3, 1868
Last system dissipatedOctober 17, 1868
Strongest storm
NameOne, Three, and Four
 • Maximum winds105 mph (165 km/h)
(1-minute sustained)
Seasonal statistics
Total depressions4
Total storms4
Hurricanes3
Total fatalities2
Total damage$5,000 (1868 USD)
Atlantic hurricane seasons
1866, 1867, 1868, 1869, 1870

The 1868 Atlantic hurricane season was among the quietest on record, with only four tropical cyclones recorded.[1] Initially, there were no known storms during the season, although a re-analysis confirmed the activity.[2] All tropical activity occurred within a 45‑day span. There may have been other unconfirmed tropical cyclones during the season. Meteorologist Christopher Landsea estimates up to six storms were missed from the official database, due to small tropical cyclone size, sparse ship reports, and relatively unpopulated coastlines.[3]

Only one of the storms, the second, made landfall, doing so near Apalachicola, Florida. It produced heavy rainfall and gusty winds across the Southeastern United States, although there was no severe damage associated with the storm. The first hurricane killed two people when a ship passed through its winds for 14 hours. The third hurricane, located in the western Caribbean Sea, did not affect land, although two ships experienced its strong winds. The final hurricane lasted three days across the western Atlantic, forcing one ship to halt its voyage due to storm damage.

  1. ^ "Atlantic hurricane best track (HURDAT version 2)" (Database). United States National Hurricane Center. April 5, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2024. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference year was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Chris Landsea (2007-05-01). "Counting Atlantic Tropical Cyclones Back to 1900" (PDF). Eos. 88 (18). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: 197–208. Bibcode:2007EOSTr..88..197L. doi:10.1029/2007EO180001. S2CID 128942012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 January 2011. Retrieved 2011-01-18.