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Historical Climate Variability and Impacts in North America pp 79–97Cite as

Reconstructing 19th Century Atlantic Basin Hurricanes at Differing Spatial Scales

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Abstract

This chapter introduces concepts of hurricane reanalysis and hurricane reconstruction at multiple spatial scales. Two case studies are used to illustrate these respective processes: (1) reconstruction of the 1850 hurricane season and (2) reanalysis of the 1854 Great Carolina Hurricane. Historical documentary evidence from newspapers, ship logs, personal correspondence, and instrumental weather reports were compiled and utilized during the analysis. The storms in 1850 were objectively classified by strength as tropical storm, hurricane, or major hurricane intensity and the storm track was reconstructed using all available locational data across ocean and inland areas. Hurricane intensity for the 1854 Great Carolina Hurricane was determined through several analyses: wind damage, storm surge, and local impact analysis. Results suggest that the 1850 hurricane season contained at least four tropical cyclones and two suspect storms (e.g. potential tropical cyclones requiring additional substantiating evidence). Results also indicate that although the Great Carolina Hurricane of 1854 made landfall near Savannah, Georgia the impacts of the hurricane were probably less than a Category 2 storm in southern South Carolina and around a Category 1 in Charleston, SC. The methodologies and examples presented in this chapter can be used to reassess and expand the North Atlantic Basin hurricane database, as well as to improve and extend historical hurricane chronologies of other ocean basins around the world.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, University of South Carolina, 29208, Columbia, SC, USA

    David A. Glenn & Douglas O. Mayes

Authors
  1. David A. Glenn
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  2. Douglas O. Mayes
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Correspondence to David A. Glenn or Douglas O. Mayes .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Geography, University of Vermont, University Place 94, Burlington, 05405-0114, U.S.A.

    Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux

  2. Dept. Geography, University of South Carolina, Columbia, 29208, U.S.A.

    Cary J. Mock

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Glenn, D.A., Mayes, D.O. (2009). Reconstructing 19th Century Atlantic Basin Hurricanes at Differing Spatial Scales. In: Dupigny-Giroux, LA., Mock, C. (eds) Historical Climate Variability and Impacts in North America. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2828-0_6

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