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Unnamed hurricane of 1879 (AL021879)

Unnamed hurricane of 1879 (AL021879) was a Category 3 hurricane at its peak, with 115 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 971 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at 13 of the cities we track; the strongest was Virginia Beach, VA, with a modeled peak gust of 86 mph.

Peak strength115 mph winds (1-minute)
Category 3
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track
13
LandfallsFirst August 18, 1879
2
Lowest pressure
971 mb

Track, wind field and cities

Select a piece of the track or a city for details.

  • Depression or weaker
  • Tropical storm
  • Hurricane, Category 1 or 2
  • Major hurricane, Category 3 to 5
  • Landfall
  • City (larger ring, stronger modeled gust)
  • Modeled wind field, 39 to 111 mph sustained (darker, stronger; orange 111 mph+)
Source: NOAA/NWS National Hurricane Center best track (HURDAT2). City winds and the wind field are modeled.

The shaded areas are where our model puts Unnamed hurricane of 1879 (AL021879)’s sustained winds over open land at 39 mph or more (tropical-storm force), 58, 74 (hurricane force) and 111 mph (major hurricane force) at some point along its track. Modeled, not measured. How we model hurricane winds

Landfalls

  1. August 18, 1879, Category 3 at 115 mph, about 65 miles from Wilmington, NC
  2. August 19, 1879, Category 1 at 81 mph, about 43 miles from Providence, RI

Modeled winds at cities (13)

Estimated peak winds for open, flat ground at each city’s center. Not measurements. How we model hurricane winds

CityPeak gustSustainedClosest passPeak
Virginia Beach, VA86 mph70 mph19 milesAug 18, 1879, 1:03 PM GMT-4:56:02
Atlantic City, NJ67 mph55 mph41 milesAug 18, 1879, 4:33 PM GMT-4:56:02
Wilmington, NC67 mph54 mph45 milesAug 18, 1879, 5:03 AM GMT-4:56:02
Myrtle Beach, SC65 mph53 mph80 milesAug 18, 1879, 12:48 AM GMT-4:56:02
Providence, RI53 mph43 mph43 milesAug 18, 1879, 11:33 PM GMT-4:56:02
Norwich, CT52 mph42 mph54 milesAug 18, 1879, 10:33 PM GMT-4:56:02
New York, NY52 mph42 mph78 milesAug 18, 1879, 6:48 PM GMT-4:56:02
Charleston, SC50 mph41 mph117 milesAug 18, 1879, 12:03 AM GMT-4:56:02
Trenton, NJ49 mph40 mph88 milesAug 18, 1879, 6:18 PM GMT-4:56:02
New Haven, CT49 mph40 mph73 milesAug 18, 1879, 9:18 PM GMT-4:56:02
Bridgeport, CT49 mph39 mph77 milesAug 18, 1879, 8:48 PM GMT-4:56:02
Richmond, VA49 mph40 mph112 milesAug 18, 1879, 1:03 PM GMT-4:56:02
Philadelphia, PA48 mph39 mph96 milesAug 18, 1879, 5:33 PM GMT-4:56:02

Best track (32 positions)

TimeStatusWindPressurePosition
Aug 13, 00:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph19.0°N, 58.0°W
Aug 13, 06:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph19.0°N, 59.0°W
Aug 13, 12:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph19.0°N, 60.0°W
Aug 13, 18:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph19.0°N, 61.3°W
Aug 14, 00:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph19.1°N, 62.9°W
Aug 14, 06:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph19.2°N, 64.5°W
Aug 14, 12:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph19.2°N, 65.6°W
Aug 14, 18:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph19.5°N, 66.8°W
Aug 15, 00:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph19.7°N, 68.0°W
Aug 15, 06:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph20.1°N, 69.0°W
Aug 15, 12:00 UTCTropical storm58 mph20.5°N, 70.0°W
Aug 15, 18:00 UTCTropical storm58 mph21.2°N, 71.1°W
Show all 32