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1780 Hurricanes
Wed Nov 05, 2003
Listen in RealAudio 
In the American Revolution, not all its battles were fought between the American colonies and
England. In the Atlantic and Caribbean, England, Spain and France fought for control of the
island colonies. But in October 1780 they all faced the same enemy: hurricanes. Hi, I’m Bryan
Yeaton for The Weather Notebook.
The 1780 hurricane season was the century’s worst, and the deadliest until 1998. Eight
different storms battered the West Indies and American coasts, including four killer storms in
October. During that month, hurricanes killed more people, an estimated 27,000, than died in
battle during the entire six-year war.
The first hurricane struck western Jamaica on October 3rd and completely destroyed the
settlement of Savanna-La-Mer. It raced across Cuba and the Bahamas before entering the
shipping lanes between Cape Hatteras and Bermuda. In addition to an estimated eleven hundred
deaths, two British fleets were hit. Later that week, a second storm raked Cuba, killing
2000.
Next was the greatest killer hurricane of all time: the Great Hurricane of 1780. 22,000 may
have died between October 10th and 16th on the seas, and across the West Indies islands of
Barbados, Martinique and St. Eustatius. Both British and French naval fleets, on maneuvers in
the Antilles, sustained heavy casualties, including the 74-gun HMS Cornwall and over 100
British merchant ships.
The final hurricane of the quartet, hit the 64-ship Spanish fleet of under Admiral Solano off
the western tip of Cuba as he was preparing to attack Pensacola. It's estimated that 2000
died in this storm.
Thanks to the Weather Doctor, Keith Heidorn, for today’s story. Our show is produced with
support from Subaru of America and The National Science Foundation.
Today's Links
1780 Hurricane:
http://www.pbfoundation.com/1780huricane.html
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