1871 Atlantic hurricane season

1871 Atlantic hurricane season
Season summary map
Seasonal boundaries
First system formed	June 1, 1871
Last system dissipated	October 13, 1871
Strongest storm
Name	Three
• Maximum winds	115 mph (185 km/h) (1-minute sustained)
• Lowest pressure	952 mbar (hPa; 28.11 inHg)
Seasonal statistics
Total storms	8
Hurricanes	6
Major hurricanes (Cat. 3+)	2
Total fatalities	35+
Total damage	Unknown
Atlantic hurricane seasons 1869, 1870, 1871, 1872, 1873

The 1871 Atlantic hurricane season lasted from mid-summer to late-fall. Records show that 1871 featured two tropical storms, four hurricanes and two major hurricanes (Category 3+). However, in the absence of modern satellite and other remote-sensing technologies, only storms that affected populated land areas or encountered ships at sea were recorded, so the actual total could be higher. According to a study in 2004, an undercount bias of zero to six tropical cyclones per year between 1851 and 1885 and zero to four per year between 1886 and 1910 is possible.^[1] A later study in 2008 estimated that eight or more storms may have been missed prior to 1878.^[2]

Of the known 1871 cyclones, both Hurricane Five and Hurricane Eight were first documented in 1995 by José Fernández-Partagás and Henry Díaz, who also proposed large changes to the known tracks of Hurricane Three and of Hurricane Four.^[3] Further analysis, in 2008, extended the duration of both Hurricane Three and Hurricane Seven, by one day each.^[4] A reanalysis authored by Michael Chenoweth, published in 2014, found fifteen named storms, twelve of which became hurricanes; four attained major hurricane status. However, these results have yet to be officially accepted into HURDAT.^[5]