Southern Illinois University - Summer 2021
German 113, Chapter 6 Paper
Professor Bullard, Section 4
January 26, 2021
As a result, The 1874 Atlantic hurricane season featured the first hurricane to be recorded
on a weather map by the United States Signal Service (the present-day National Weather
Service). (Brown & Davis, 2018) It was a relatively inactive season, in which seven tropical
cyclones developed.
Class Date: 24/4/2024
Professor’s Remark: Add more statistical evidence to strengthen your points.
PAPER CONTENT:
## Discussion
Four storms intensified into hurricanes, but none attained major hurricane status. 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.
## Conclusion
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 cyclones,
large alterations were made to the tracks of third and seventh systems in 1995 by José
Fernández-Partagás and Henry Díaz, who also proposed smaller changes to the known track
of sixth system. Neither Fernández-Partagás and Díaz nor the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis
project introduced any previously undocumented tropical cyclones during their reanalyses
of the 1874 season.
## Background
Another reanalysis study, authored by climate researcher Michael Chenoweth and
published in 2014, theorizes that seven cyclones formed. Chenoweth proposes the removal
of the first and fifth storms from the official hurricane database (HURDAT), as well as the
addition of two new storms.
## Findings (List)
- However, these changes have yet to be incorporated into HURDAT.
- The first storm of the season was initially observed over the eastern Gulf of Mexico on July
2.
- Most of the systems directly impacted land.
## Analysis
A tropical storm that developed in the Bay of Campeche during the month of September
killed one person and caused significant damage in northeastern Mexico and south Texas
after striking Tamaulipas and moving northward. The sixth storm of the season, and also
the third hurricane, struck Florida as a Category 1 hurricane before making a second
landfall in South Carolina at the same intensity in late September. This cyclone inflicted at
least $100,000 (1874 USD) in damage to rice crops in the Savannah area of Georgia alone.
The seventh, final, and strongest system of the season developed in the Caribbean Sea on
October 31, and made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 2 hurricane, causing at least five
fatalities and $75,000 in damage there.
## Discussion
After striking eastern Cuba and the Bahamas as a tropical storm, the storm was last sighted
to the north of the latter on November 4, as a Category 1 hurricane. == Season summary ==
The Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT) officially recognizes seven tropical cyclones
from the 1874 season. Four storms attained hurricane status, with winds of 75 mph (120
km/h) or greater. However, none of those intensified into a major hurricane.
## Conclusion
No previously undocumented cyclones were added by meteorologists José Fernández-
Partagás and Henry Díaz in 1995 or by the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project. A 2014
study by climate researcher Michael Chenoweth also did not propose a net gain or loss of
the number of storms in 1874 but did recommend the removal of the season's first and fifth
systems.
## Background
Chenoweth. The study argued for significant changes to the season's fourth system,
suggesting that it strengthened into a Category 3 major hurricane.
## Findings
Chenoweth's study utilizes a more extensive collection of newspapers and ship logs, as well
as late 19th century weather maps for the first time, in comparison to previous reanalysis
projects. These changes have yet to be incorporated into HURDAT, however. The first storm
of the season was a tropical storm that formed in the Gulf of Mexico during the month of
July. The system made landfall near Galveston, Texas, on July 5. Two systems are known to
have developed in August, the first of which struck Newfoundland as a tropical storm and
the second also made landfall there but as an extratropical cyclone.
## Analysis
Both storms peaked as a Category 1 hurricane on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson scale. In
early September, another tropical system developed in the Bay of Campeche and made
landfall in northeast Mexico with winds up to 60 mph (95 km/h), causing significant
damage there and in south Texas as well as one fatality in the latter. : 113–115 : 20
September featured two other systems, including the season's sixth cyclone, which crossed
the Yucatán Peninsula and then made two landfalls at hurricane intensity in the United
States, first in Florida and then in South Carolina.
## Discussion (List)
- About $100,000 in damage to rice crops occurred in Georgia's Savannah area alone.
- This was the first hurricane to ever be shown on a weather map.
## Conclusion
The seventh, final, and strongest hurricane (by sustained winds) of the season existed over
the southwestern Caribbean Sea by October 31. Peaking as a Category 2 hurricane with
maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (165 km/h), the cyclone struck Jamaica at this
intensity.
## Background
Five fatalities and severe damage occurred in parts of Jamaica, reaching $75,000 in the
Kingston area alone. After crossing eastern Cuba and the Bahamas as a tropical storm, the
system re-strengthened into a hurricane while north of the Bahamas, where it was last
sighted on November 4. The season's activity was reflected with an accumulated cyclone
energy (ACE) rating of 47, the lowest total of the decade, despite featuring more storms
than 1872, 1873, 1875, and 1876. ACE is a metric used to express the energy used by a
tropical cyclone during its lifetime.
References / Works Cited:
1. Wikipedia (n.d.). Retrieved from https://wikipedia.org/
2. Random Book Title (2022). Academic Publishing House.
