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Storms That Hit

NHC AL081861 · Atlantic basin

Unnamed Hurricane of 1861

November 1, 1861 – November 3, 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 1,419 US cities, 81 of them while still at hurricane strength.

The 1861 storm in the record

HURDAT2 tracks the unnamed storm of 1861 (AL081861) from November 1, 1861 to November 3, 1861; its peak was 81 mph (Category 1). HURDAT2 marks 4 landfalls within 50 miles of a US city on this site, the first on November 1 at 69 mph (tropical storm), 7 miles from Marco Island, FL. Its centre passed within 75 miles of 1,419 US cities, in 13 states, most in Massachusetts (330) and New York (229). The strongest pass was 81 mph (Category 1) 5 miles from Beaufort, NC; the centre came closest to Salisbury, MA, less than a mile away.

Peak strength
Category 1

81 mph

Cities within 75 mi
1,419
At hurricane strength
81

when closest

States
13
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Cities Unnamed 1861 storm passed near, strongest first

North Carolina (80)

and 20 more

Virginia (21)

New York (229)

and 169 more

Connecticut (182)

and 122 more

Florida (139)

and 79 more

New Jersey (112)

and 52 more

Maryland (13)

Delaware (11)

Rhode Island (49)

Massachusetts (330)

and 270 more

Maine (128)

and 68 more

New Hampshire (124)

and 64 more

Vermont (1)

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.