1881 Atlantic hurricane season

The 1881 Atlantic hurricane season ran through the summer and early fall of 1881. This is the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. In the 1881 Atlantic season there were three tropical storms and four hurricanes, none of which became 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. 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 has been estimated. Of the known 1881 cyclones, Hurricane Three and Tropical Storm Seven were both first documented in 1996 by Jose Fernandez-Partagas and Henry Diaz. They also proposed changes to the known tracks of Hurricane Four and Hurricane Five.

Season Summary
The Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT) recognizes seven tropical cyclones for the 1881 season. In the 1881 Atlantic season there were three tropical storms, two Category 1 hurricanes and two Category 2 hurricanes. Five of these storms were active in August and two in September. No major hurricanes, Category 3 or greater, are known for this year. Tropical Storm One impacted Mississippi in the first week of August. Later that month, Tropical Storm Two hit Corpus Christi, Texas. At the same time in mid-August, Hurricane Three, a Category 1 hurricane was active in the tropical Atlantic without making a landfall anywhere. A tropical storm developed into Hurricane Four, a Category 1 hurricane, on August 19 north-east of the Bahamas. It became extratropical on August 21. Hurricane Five was the most destructive storm of 1881. It impacted the Georgia coast on August 27 as a Category 2 hurricane and was responsible for a large loss of life. Hurricane Six was a Category 2 hurricane that uprooted trees and demolished several buildings across North Carolina and Virginia in September. The last storm of the year was Tropical Storm Seven. It was active between September 18 and September 24, to the northwest of Bermuda, without making landfall.

Tropical Storm One
Observations suggest the presence of a tropical storm over the southern Gulf of Mexico on August 1. The storm moved generally north-northwestward across the Gulf of Mexico before striking Dauphin Island, Alabama, and then near the Alabama-Mississippi state line on August 3 with winds of 60 mph (95 km/h). An assessment of the storm by the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project estimated that it weakened to a tropical depression early the following day, shortly before dissipating over east-central Mississippi.

Heavy rains fell along the Gulf Coast of the United States, including up to 15.8 in from August 2 to August 5 in Pensacola, Florida. Floodwaters reached 3 ft above ground in the nearby community of Millview, forcing residents to evacuate. The storm also beached a few fishing smacks and the schooner Ella, which was loaded with a cargo of lumber.

Tropical Storm Two
A tropical storm hit Corpus Christi, Texas in the middle of August, but caused no reported deaths. Signals were blown down at the harbor, and one boat was lost. Climate researcher Michael Chenoweth could not confirm the existence of this system as a tropical cyclone, noting "No storm in Texas press accounts" and that Gordon E. Dunn and Banner I. Miller's 1960 reanalysis misdated a hurricane in 1880.

Hurricane Three
From August 11 to August 16, a Category 1 hurricane existed in the tropical Atlantic before turning northward and weakening. It continued northward as a tropical storm throughout August 17 and 18.

Hurricane Four
A tropical storm developed on August 16 off the eastern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. It tracked northeastward throughout its lifetime, passing through Cuba, the Florida Keys, and the Bahamas before becoming a hurricane on August 19. It weakened to a tropical storm on August 21 and became extratropical the same day.

Hurricane Five
The Georgia Hurricane of 1881

The Atlantic hurricane best track begins the path for this storm just east of the Lesser Antilles on August 21, one day before the cyclone passed north of the islands. Moving northwestward, the system intensified, reaching hurricane status early on August 24. The hurricane passed northeast of the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas two days later and strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane on the present-day Saffir–Simpson scale, peaking with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (165 km/h). After moving north-northwestward late on August 26 and early the next day, the storm then turned west-northwestward. Around 02:00 UTC on August 28, the hurricane made landfall in Georgia between St. Simons Island and Savannah, likely at the same intensity. Upon the cyclone moving ashore, the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project estimated that it had a barometric pressure of 970 mbar. Thereafter, the storm briefly moved westward and quickly weakened to a tropical storm within 10 hours of moving inland. By early on August 29, the system turned northwestward and weakened to a tropical depression later that day, before dissipating near the Arkansas-Mississippi state line.

Between August 26 and August 27, the ship Sandusky encountered the storm, with the loss of all but two people, while most of the crew of the Hannah M. Lallis also drowned. Landfall coincided with high tide and proved very destructive as several barrier islands were completely submerged by storm surge. In Savannah, Georgia, few structures escaped damage, with the Monthly Weather Review noting that "nearly every house received a copious supply of salt water." in the Bohanville section of the city. A number of streets were blocked, especially by large trees and the remnants of tin roofs. Property damage in the city reached about $1.5 million. Approximately 100 ships capsized in the vicinity of Savannah. A barometric recorded a pressure of 984.76 mbar (29.08 inHg), while a wind speed of 80 mph (130 km/h) was observed before the anemometer was destroyed. At least 335 people died in Savannah alone. Tybee Island was also among the localities severely impacted. There, the storm demolished rows of cottages and even some of the sturdiest homes. Additionally, South Carolina experienced extensive coastal flooding. In Charleston, several feet of water submerged areas east of East Bay Street and inundated many properties in the southwest sections of city. Substantial damage to businesses, fences, roofs, telegraph wires, and trees were also reported. Damage in the city ranged from $200,000 to $300,000. Overall, the storm caused an estimated 700 fatalities, making the hurricane among the deadliest to strike the United States.

Hurricane Six
The Anne J. Palmer first encountered this storm on September 7 before capsizing in rough seas that day. Thus, the track for this cyclone begins at that time to the northeast of the Turks and Caicos Islands as a Category 1 hurricane. Moving northeastward, the storm intensified slightly, becoming a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 105 mph (165 km/h) early on September 9, several hours prior to making landfall in present-day Oak Island, North Carolina. The Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project estimated that upon landfall, the storm had a barometric pressure of 975 mbar. Rapidly weakening to a tropical storm by early on September 10, the cyclone then turned northeastward, passing close to Wilmington–Wrightsville Beach area and later near Norfolk, Virginia, before re-emerging into the Atlantic that day. The cyclone was last noted only 50 mi offshore Massachusetts on September 11.

An unknown number of deaths occurred when the Anne J. Palmer capsized, with only one person surviving. In North Carolina, the storm uprooted trees and demolished buildings at both Smithville (present-day Southport) and Wilmington. An anemometer at Wilmington indicate sustained windspeeds of 90 mph (150 km/h) before it was destroyed. At least 600 bushels of peanuts suffered damage after a warehouse lost its roof. Wilmington also entirely lost communications outside the city after winds toppled many telephone and telegraph wires. Damage in North Carolina totaled approximately $100,000. The hurricane weakened to a tropical storm over land, bringing heavy, yet beneficial, precipitation to other states, including the first rainfall in Washington, D.C. in 33 days.

Tropical Storm Seven
A tropical storm was first seen on September 18 to the northwest of Bermuda. It tracked to the northeast, reaching a peak of 70 mph (113 km/h) on the 19th while southeast of the Canadian Maritimes. It weakened over the north Atlantic, becoming extratropical on the 22nd and finally dissipating by September 24.