1896 East Coast hurricane
| Category 2 hurricane (SSHWS/NWS) | |
Surface weather analysis of the hurricane off the Mid-Atlantic coast on October 11, 1896
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| Formed | October 7, 1896 |
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| Dissipated | October 13, 1896 |
| Highest winds |
1-minute sustained: 100 mph (155 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 960 mbar (hPa); 28.35 inHg |
| Fatalities | Four |
| Damage | $500,000 (1896 USD) |
| Areas affected | Florida • U.S. East Coast • the Maritimes |
| Part of the 1896 Atlantic hurricane season | |
The 1896 East Coast hurricane was a slow-moving tropical cyclone that battered the East Coast of the United States from Florida to New England in mid-October 1896. The fifth tropical cyclone of the 1896 Atlantic hurricane season, it formed on October 7 in the southern Gulf of Mexico, and caused minor damage in Florida while crossing the state two days later. From October 10 through 13, the hurricane drifted northeastward along the coast, reaching its peak intensity as the equivalence of a Category 2 hurricane on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson scale. The hurricane subjected many areas along the East Coast to days of high seas and damaging northeasterly winds, which halted shipping operations.
The Mid-Atlantic coastline experienced flooding storm tides that submerged and heavily eroded Cobb's Island, part of the Virginia Barrier Islands. Hotels and cottages there were extensively damaged, and the hurricane brought about the end of the island's stint as a popular summer resort. Along the Jersey Shore, low-lying railroads were flooded, boardwalks were destroyed, and many beach houses sustained damage. The hurricane did $200,000 in damage to coastal installations on New York's Coney Island. To the north, wind gusts as high as 80 mph (130 km/h) affected eastern New England. Four sailors died in two maritime incidents attributed to the hurricane, and overall damage amounted to $500,000.
The fifth documented tropical cyclone of the 1896 season was first noted in the southern Gulf of Mexico as a weak tropical storm on October 7. It tracked toward the east-northeast and made landfall in a sparely populated region of Southwest Florida around 00:02 UTC on October 9. The storm crossed the Florida Peninsula and emerged over open water near Sebastian. Turning more northeastward, the storm gradually intensified and achieved hurricane intensity on October 10. By that evening, hurricane warnings were hoisted along the East Coast of the United States from Jacksonville, Florida to Boston, Massachusetts.
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