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The ‘Granddaddy’ of Hurricanes 1715 and 1848
The ‘Granddaddy’ of Hurricanes 1715 and 1848
Posted Oct 9, 2024 by Martin Armstrong |
In 2015, the remains of the famous
1715 Treasure Fleet was discovered. It was actually a combination of two Spanish fleets returning from the New World loaded with gold and silver. On Wednesday, July 31at, 1715, seven days after they sailed from Cuba, all eleven ships of the fleet were lost in a hurricane along the east coast of Florida. The only ship to survive was a the French frigate
Le Grifon that sailed further out to sea and lived to return to Europe with the news of horrendous storms in the New World.
The 1848 hurricane was the most severe hurricane to hit Tampa Bay and was probably a Cat 5. That event reshaped the coast line in many areas. The storm occurred prior to the keeping of meteorological records so we do not know for certain. However, the storm surge is considered to be consistent with a hurricane of Category 4 or greater. The hurricane made landfall in Clearwater and exited the other side of the state at Cape Canaveral. Once in the Atlantic, it turned north and hit Newfoundland.This chart before 1800 lacks the record and magnitude. The events before 1800 are major ones that people reported. They do tend to come in clusters and intensify with solar activity as is the same with Volcanoes. We saw a low in 2021 and 2024 should have been a more active season. If next year exceeds the activity of 2024, then there is a risk on a greater number into 2027.