1831 Barbados–Louisiana hurricane

The Great Barbaos hurricane was an intense Category 4 hurricane that left cataclysmic damage across the Caribbean and Louisiana in 1831.

1831 Barbados–Louisiana hurricane

Meteorological history
Formed	before August 10, 1831 (1831-08-10)
Dissipated	after August 17, 1831 (1831-08-18)
Category 4 major hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds	130 mph (215 km/h)
Overall effects
Fatalities	c. 2,500
Damage	$7 million (1831 USD)
Areas affected	Barbados, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Louisiana
Part of the 1831 Atlantic hurricane season

Meteorological history

The storm was first spotted when a captain from the boat Friends noticed a gale just near Grenada. The gale was more severe than any storm since the 1780 storm. The next morning, waves crashed in the nearby sea. A dark sky appeared the next morning, increasing.^{[1]: 30–31}

Impact

During the storm, roofs of most buildings swayed against the walls, eventually settling in the ground. Trinidad was wholly destroyed, though ships in the Gulf of Paria escaped without damage. The storm also caused a boat to travel ashore.^{[1]: 30–31}

The storm caused ships to sink and killed 1,500 people and caused $7 million USD in damages. According to the Bridgetown Press, Barbados was "laid waste", that no sign of plants was present.^[2] The death toll was controversial, with the apparent death toll being much higher.^[3]

See also

• Tropical cyclones portal

• Hurricane Georges (1998) – had a similar track

Further reading

• Levy, Claude (1959). "Barbados: The Last Years of Slavery 1823–1833". Journal of Negro History. 44 (4): 308–345. doi:10.2307/2716613. JSTOR 2716613. S2CID 148753833.
• Longshore, David (1998). "Great Caribbean Hurricane of 1831". In David Longshore (ed.). Encyclopedia of Hurricanes, Typhoons and Cyclones. New York: Facts on File. pp. 145. ISBN 0-8160-3398-6.
• Ludlum, David M. (1963). Early American Hurricanes: 1492-1870. Boston: American Meteorological Society. pp. 140–142.
• Edghill, J. Y. (1890). About Barbados. London: C. Tallis & Co. pp. 31–38.

References

1. Account of the Fatal Hurricane, by which Barbados Suffered in August 1831: To which is Prefixed a Succinct Narrative of the Convulsions of the Elements, which at Several Times Have Visited and Injured the West Indian Islands. Samuel Hyde. 1831.
2. Griffin-Elliott, Thia. "185th Anniversary of the Great Barbados hurricane". NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
3. "Account of the Fatal Hurricane by which Barbados suffered in August 1831". History Collections. 2021-10-30. Retrieved 2024-10-26.