1826 Canary Islands storm

The 1826 Canary Islands storm (also known as San Florencio Storm[1]) was the worst weather-related disaster in the history of the Canary Islands, claiming at least 298 lives. It was likely either a tropical cyclone or a storm system derived from a tropical cyclone.

Meteorological history

The November 1826 storm[2] has been explained as a tropical storm that intensified after an interaction with a mid-latitude trough and moved close to the Canary Islands;[3] atmospheric pressures dropped to 966–947 hPa (28.5–28.0 inHg) at 500 metres (1,600 ft) elevation.[4] Alternatively, the storm might have been an extratropical cyclone that formed from a tropical system.[5] The French naturalist Sabin Berthelot explicitly called this storm a "hurricane".[5]

Impact

The storm impacted the entire Canary Islands, with some islands disproportionately hit. It is still the worst known weather-related disaster in the history of the Canary Islands.[6]

Trees and plantations were flattened and winds[7] with gusts probably exceeding 120–150 kilometres per hour (75–93 mph)[8] damaged houses (reportedly 603 in Tenerife alone) and ships in ports (of which six were reportedly lost);[7] the death toll in Tenerife reached 298 and sources speak of "floating cadavers" and "infinite number of dead".[9] Most of the destruction and death toll was caused by the precipitation;[8] with some places seeing over 500 mm (20 in) of rain.

Geomorphological changes also took place in the islands as a consequence of the storm, an alluvial fan on Teide[10] and flood deposits on Lanzarote were most likely formed by it.[1]

Records

Research on past tropical cyclone activity in the Canary Islands has gained importance after Tropical Storm Delta passed through the islands in 2005, amid concerns of global warming.[11] Other storm events with rainfall that affected the Canary Islands aside from Tropical Storm Delta occurred in December 1645, January 1713, October 1722, November 1922, January 1957 and December 1975; none, however, was as intense as the 1826 event.[12]

References
  1. Criado, C; Dorta, P; Bethencourt, J; Navarro, JF; Romero, C; García, C (1 December 2013). "Evidence of historic infilling of valleys in Lanzarote after the Timanfaya eruption (ad 1730–1736, Canary Islands, Spain)". The Holocene. 23 (12): 10. Bibcode:2013Holoc..23.1786C. doi:10.1177/0959683613505342. ISSN 0959-6836.
  2. Criado, Dorta & Bethencourt 2008, p. 46.
  3. Bethencourt‐González & Dorta‐Antequera 2010, p. 334.
  4. Bethencourt‐González & Dorta‐Antequera 2010, p. 335.
  5. Bethencourt‐González & Dorta‐Antequera 2010, p. 336.
  6. Dorta Antequera, Pedro; Yanes Luque, Amalia; Rodríguez-Báez, José Ángel (2017). "Determinación y caracterización de situaciones de temporal marino e inundación costera por rebase del oleaje en San Andrés, NE de Tenerife (1984-2014)". Investigaciones Geográficas (68): 98. doi:10.14198/INGEO2017.68.06. ISSN 1989-9890.
  7. Bethencourt‐González & Dorta‐Antequera 2010, p. 331.
  8. Criado, Dorta & Bethencourt 2008, p. 48.
  9. Bethencourt‐González & Dorta‐Antequera 2010, p. 332.
  10. Carracedo, Juan Carlos; Troll, Valentin R. (2013). Teide Volcano: Geology and Eruptions of a Highly Differentiated Oceanic Stratovolcano. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 51. ISBN 9783642258930.
  11. Bethencourt‐González & Dorta‐Antequera 2010, p. 329.
  12. Bethencourt‐González & Dorta‐Antequera 2010, p. 330.

Sources
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