1867 San Narciso hurricane

San Narciso hurricane
Wrecks in the Harbor of Saint Thomas
Meteorological history
FormedOctober 27, 1867 (1867-10-27)
DissipatedOctober 31, 1867 (1867-11-01)
Category 3 major hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds125 mph (205 km/h)
Lowest pressure952 mbar (hPa); 28.11 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities>811
Damage$1 million (1867 USD)
Areas affectedVirgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola
IBTrACS

Part of the 1867 Atlantic hurricane season

The San Narciso Hurricane was an record-breaking, extremely deadly Atlantic hurricane that caused devastation to the British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico in 1867. Forming abnormally late for a Lesser Antilles hurricane, it went on to be the costliest and deadliest storm of the 1867 Atlantic hurricane season. It is the only hurricane in the official database to have struck Puerto Rico after September, doing so over a month later than the next latest hurricane. It is also the only hurricane known to have struck the territory from the northwest.

The storm is infamous for striking just 20 days prior to the devastating 1867 Virgin Islands earthquake and tsunami in the same region.

In a 2014 analysis, climate historian Michael Chenoweth suggested that the storm reached Category 4 intensity. In total, it caused at least 811 deaths in Saint Thomas (Danish West Indies) and Captaincy General of Puerto Rico and around $1 million (1867 USD) in damage.