Hurricane History Map

1861 North Atlantic season

16 storms formed in the North Atlantic basin in 1861, from 4 July 1861 to 3 November 1861.

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Years1861
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

The 1861 season in numbers

The record holds 16 storms for the 1861 North Atlantic season, of which 0 had names.6 reached tropical storm strength (34 knots or more), 5 reached hurricane strength (category 1 or more) and 0 were major (category 3 or more). 10 have no wind speed in the record.

  • 16storms
  • 6tropical storm strength or more
  • 5hurricane strength or more
  • 0major (category 3 to 5)
  • 49accumulated cyclone energy

Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the squared wind speed of every position of 34 knots or more, divided by 10,000. It is approximate here because the winds are 1-minute equivalents, and it is mostly useful for comparing seasons of one basin.

Strongest storms of 1861

  • Unnamed storm of July 1861 (North Atlantic)4 July 1861 to 12 July 1861, peak Category 2 (90 kt)
  • Unnamed storm of August 1861 (North Atlantic)24 August 1861 to 31 August 1861, peak Category 2 (90 kt)
  • Unnamed storm of August 1861 (North Atlantic)13 August 1861 to 17 August 1861, peak Category 1 (80 kt)
  • Unnamed storm of September 1861 (North Atlantic)27 September 1861 to 28 September 1861, peak Category 1 (70 kt)
  • Unnamed storm of November 1861 (North Atlantic)1 November 1861 to 3 November 1861, peak Category 1 (70 kt), 999 hPa

All 16 storms of 1861

StormPeak
Unnamed storm Category 2
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Unnamed storm Category 1
Unnamed storm Category 2
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Unnamed storm Category 1
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Unnamed storm Category 1

← 1860 · 1862 → · All seasons

Other basins in 1861

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