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Storms That Hit

NHC AL051861 · Atlantic basin

Unnamed Hurricane of 1861

September 27, 1861 – September 28, 1861

Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated

Hurricane Unnamed 1861 storm peaked at Category 1 with 81 mph sustained winds and passed within 75 miles of 2,149 US cities, 65 of them while still at hurricane strength.

The 1861 storm in the record

HURDAT2 tracks the unnamed storm of 1861 (AL051861) from September 27, 1861 to September 28, 1861; its peak was 81 mph (Category 1). HURDAT2 marks a landfall within 50 miles of a US city on this site: on September 27 at 81 mph (Category 1), 2 miles from Sneads Ferry, NC. Its centre passed within 75 miles of 2,149 US cities, in 14 states, most in New Jersey (455) and New York (362). The strongest pass was 81 mph (Category 1) 2 miles from Sneads Ferry, NC; the centre came closest to Farmington, CT, less than a mile away.

Peak strength
Category 1

81 mph

Cities within 75 mi
2,149
At hurricane strength
65

when closest

States
14
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Cities Unnamed 1861 storm passed near, strongest first

North Carolina (148)

and 88 more

South Carolina (3)

New Jersey (455)

and 395 more

Maryland (89)

and 29 more

Virginia (67)

and 7 more

Delaware (37)

Pennsylvania (150)

and 90 more

New York (362)

and 302 more

Connecticut (186)

and 126 more

Massachusetts (311)

and 251 more

Rhode Island (49)

Maine (152)

and 92 more

New Hampshire (129)

and 69 more

Vermont (11)

Other storms of the 1861 season

All hurricanes and tropical storms →

About this record

The track is the National Hurricane Center's best-track record, revised after the season with every observation available. Strength at a city is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, not the wind that city measured.