1863 Atlantic hurricane season

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1863 Atlantic hurricane season: a short, easy-to-understand guide

The 1863 season lasted from May to September and included nine officially recorded tropical storms, five of which became hurricanes. There were no major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher) on record. Because there were no satellites in that era, some storms that stayed at sea or affected sparsely populated areas may have gone unrecorded. Modern reanalysis has added storms to the lineup, so the exact count can vary by source. The season produced about 200 total fatalities, but the total damage is unknown.

Five storms made landfall, and the season included several ship encounters and coastal impacts. The best-known early landfall was the May storm Amanda. Forming in the Gulf of Mexico on May 24, Amanda intensified into a hurricane and struck near Apalachicola, Florida, on May 28. It caused heavy damage in the Florida Panhandle and at least 110 deaths.

In August and September, other notable storms affected ships and coastlines across the Atlantic:

- August 8–9: A Category 2 hurricane about 630 miles south-southeast of Cape Race; it did not make landfall.
- August 18–19: A hurricane near Atlantic Canada, with ships reporting strong winds and damage.
- August 19–23: A hurricane that moved toward Nova Scotia, causing wrecks and damaged vessels.
- August 27–28: A storm observed by several ships, with a central pressure around 975 mb.
- September 9–16: A Category 1 hurricane that stayed near Bermuda.
- September 18–19: A hurricane that made landfall at Emerald Isle, North Carolina, bringing strong winds, heavy rain, and coastal flooding inland in the Delaware Valley.
- September 18–19 (western Gulf area): A storm that produced shipwrecks and coastal effects along the Gulf Coast; some records question its tropical nature.
- September 26–27: A tropical storm off Bermuda, with several ships reporting winds around 60 mph; some sources exclude it from the official record.
- September 29–30: A tropical storm formed near southeast Texas, struck near Galveston with about 70 mph winds, and moved inland and northeast, dissipating by October 1. It caused wind and rain damage along the Gulf Coast and affected New Orleans drought conditions.

Overall, 1863 was a deadly year with notable shipwrecks and coastal impacts, but no storms reached major hurricane strength. The uneven and later-added records mean the precise list of storms can differ among sources.