User:CapeVerdeWave/1878 Kissimmee hurricane

The 1878 Kissimmee hurricane was a slow-moving Atlantic hurricane that was the most severe to impact the island of Trinidad since 1838. It caused significant damage to portions of Hispaniola and Florida, primarily via storm surge and rainfall-induced flooding, and was regarded as the most outstanding Atlantic tropical cyclone in the month of September, 1878. The fifth tropical storm and fourth hurricane of the 1878 Atlantic hurricane season, it developed over the western tropical Atlantic north of South America; well developed at the time, it likely originated farther east but went undetected. Quickly strengthening into a hurricane, it passed over the Windward Islands, extensively damaging... For several days the storm delivered copious rainfall to Florida, as it moved erratically over or near much of that state.

Meteorological history
A tropical storm of moderate intensity was first noted on September 1 about 200 miles (320 km) north-northeast of Paramaribo, Dutch Surinam. The storm may have formed much farther east, south of the Cape Verde islands, between 6° and 10°N, but insufficient data exist to confirm this, so independent reanalyses failed to detect genesis earlier. Bearing 60-mph (95-km/h) winds, the storm headed west-northwest, quickly gaining hurricane status within a day. At 06:00 UTC on September 2, the eye of the storm passed between Tobago and Trinidad, accompanied by maximum sustained winds of 80–90 mph (130–150 km/h). As it did so, it gradually veered northwestward, a heading it maintained over the eastern Caribbean for two days. Maintaining force, the storm made two consecutive landfalls on Hispaniola early on September 4: over present-day Jaragua National Park, Dominican Republic, then near Belle-Anse, Haiti, at a slightly lower intensity. A study by Michael Chenoweth in 2014, however, concluded that the storm never hit the Dominican Republic and grazed the southwestern edge of the Tiburon Peninsula instead. (As of 2024, HURDAT has not adopted the results of the study.)

The hurricane lost some potency over western Haiti, reemerging over water near Gressier. Bypassing Port-au-Prince Bay, it briefly degenerated into a tropical storm over Gonâve Island. It quickly recovered, however, over the Windward Passage, and reached a secondary peak of 80 mph (130 km/h) before striking eastern Cuba on September 5. Interaction with land failed to weaken the storm appreciably; for a few days the system, now heading west-northwestward, slowed and meandered along the northern coast of Cuba, maintaining winds of 60 mph (95 km/h). Early on September 7 the storm, traversing the Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago, turned sharply northward, toward the Straits of Florida. At 21:00 UTC that day it struck the Florida Keys with winds of 70 mph (110 km/h), and five hours later hit South Florida. Spending a day over land, the storm abruptly shifted course, heading west-northwestward once more, and entered the eastern Gulf of Mexico between Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor early on September 9. Rapidly intensifying over water, the storm attained winds of 105 mph (165 km/h)—the highest in its lifespan—and suddenly reversed course, moving inland near present-day Pine Island, north of Bayport, at 11:00 UTC on September 10. Its track on September 9–10 was corroborated by data from three weather stations; however, older analysis and Chenoweth's study kept it no farther west than Punta Gorda. Atmospheric pressure at landfall was estimated to be 970 mb, based on a later report of 29.09 inHg taken in the eye at St. Augustine.

At the time, the storm's trek across Florida was regarded as atypical, as its effects lasted for up to four days. As a result, "extreme rainfalls" were reported. The center tracked northeastward across North Florida, entering the western Atlantic Ocean on September 11. Having weakened to a strong tropical storm, the cyclone soon became a hurricane again while curving sharply north-northeastward, and attained winds of 90 mph (150 km/h). At 12:00 UTC the next day, it made its final landfall near Edisto Island, South Carolina, at the same intensity. Accelerating inland, the storm steadily lost strength, becoming extratropical over eastern West Virginia on the morning of September 13. The remnants of the storm reached southernmost Ontario late that day, at which point they lost identity.

Preparations, impact, and aftermath
As the storm passed near Trinidad, the island registered a minimum pressure of 29.05 inHg, accompanied by veering winds. An hour-long lull was reported as the eye passed close to the island. Effects on land were severe: all watercraft in the harbor were mangled, infrastructure and housing destroyed, and entire plantations "swept away". Up to 7 in of rainfall swamped the island, and eyewitnesses reported tremors during the storm. The impacts of the hurricane on the island were the worst in 40 years. In Hispaniola the storm struck with great fanfare, doing severe damage. Structures were wrecked at Port-au-Prince, and high seas badly damaged infrastructure at Jacmel, along with the cocoa and coffee crops. Fierce winds swept Les Cayes, called Aux Cayes then, destroying 434 homes. An unknown number of dead and wounded were reported there. Almost all houses at Cavaillon and Aquin were blown down, resulting in great loss of life. High seas virtually leveled Jérémie and Saint-Louis-du-Sud, along with Grand'Anse.

Hurricane-force winds of "remarkable velocity" were reported during landfall in Cuba. At Santiago de Cuba, an observer registered a barometric minimum of 29.49 inHg. Between Colón and Cárdenas the storm inundated 60 plantations. Across parts of western Cuba flooding was the most destructive on record.

Crops and several homes were blown down on Bimini. Key West was flooded to a depth of 1 ft.

In Central Florida, the cyclone, dubbed "the great hurricane", flooded the area near Fort Basinger, including the Kissimmee River valley, in present-day Okeechobee County. The river itself overflowed its banks several miles, rendering all travel impossible but by boat. A denizen of Fort Myers recalled that men from Fort Basinger traveled "in a straight line" 30 mi by boat between both points over a minimum depth of 5 ft. They were unable to distinguish Fisheating Creek from surrounding floodwater. Even the highest grazing lands, covered by saw palmetto and populated by cattle, were underwater, though some cattle survived standing partially submerged. 19 of 20 houses on the bank abutting Fort Myers were flooded, the exception being sited on 6 ft stilts. Water reached the floor of the highest house, and the others were inundated up to the peaks of their roofs. Farther inland, "above" Fort Myers, similar effects on homes 6 to 8 ft above the Caloosahatchee River were reported. 60 mi/h winds buffeted Sarasota intermittently for five days.

Upon reaching the western Atlantic, the storm caused several ships to be wrecked along the northeast coast of Florida, between Cape Canaveral and Amelia Island. At Butler Island, Georgia, the storm ruined the local rice crop and caused the highest tides locally since a major hurricane almost exactly 24 years earlier.

In Ontario, where it had been raining since September 10, flooding claimed at least four lives. In the United States the hurricane caused at least nine deaths, and some sources suggested "hundreds" of deaths in the Caribbean.

===Tornado outbreak===

Prior to 1990, there is a likely undercount of tornadoes, particularly E/F0–1, with reports of weaker tornadoes becoming more common as population increased. A sharp increase in the annual average E/F0–1 count by approximately 200 tornadoes was noted upon the implementation of NEXRAD Doppler weather radar in 1990–1991. 1974 marked the first year where significant tornado (E/F2+) counts became homogenous with contemporary values, attributed to the consistent implementation of Fujita scale assessments.