1780 Atlantic hurricane season

1780 Atlantic hurricane season
Season summary map
Seasonal boundaries
First system formed	≤June 13, 1780
Last system dissipated	≥Nov. 17 , 1780
Seasonal statistics
Total storms	≥ 8
Major hurricanes (Cat. 3+)	≥ 4
Total fatalities	≥ 28,000 (record)
Total damage	Unknown
Atlantic hurricane seasons 1778, 1779, 1780, 1781, 1782

The 1780 Atlantic hurricane season ran through the summer and fall in 1780. The 1780 season was extraordinarily destructive, and was the deadliest Atlantic hurricane season in recorded history with over 28,000 deaths. Four different hurricanes, one in June and three in October, caused at least 1,000 deaths each; this event has never been repeated and only in the 1893 and 2005 seasons were there two such hurricanes. The season also had the deadliest Atlantic hurricane of all time, since known as the Great Hurricane of 1780.

Landfalling storms affected the Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Cuba, Bermuda, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, and the New England states.

This destructive season should be seen against a backdrop of the American Revolution, which involved hostilities in the Caribbean by the fleets of Spain, France and the Dutch Republic operating against British fleets with the concomitant greater risk of loss of life due to increased exposure of warships and transports to hazardous weather conditions. This critical coincidence is at least partially responsible for the unprecedented losses of life inflicted, especially in the three fierce hurricanes that struck in quick succession during October.