August 18, 1779 - "Dunbar's Hurricane" landfall in SE LA - tracked over parts of NOLA

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August 18th, 1779:

A hurricane made landfall at New Orleans. At the time, Spain had declared war on Great Britain. Almost all of Bernardo de Galvez’ ships (Governor of New Orleans) that were to be used to secretly seize the British post at Baton Rouge were grounded or destroyed, thus ruining his plans for invasion until the 27th. The only ship that escaped disaster was El Volante. Among the ships wrecked was the America La Reseda. Some of the ships were found in the middle of woods after the storm!

Wind and rain began on the night of the 17th. Full violence of the storm was attained by 3 am on the 18th. All houses, pirogues, barges, and boats were decimated; these included an American Frigate, the Morris. This vessel was loaded with gunpowder to be used in the American Revolution against the British in Illinois (Barnes). Fields were leveled and all crops, stock, and provisions were lost.

During this storm, William Dunbar made observations that uncovered the true nature of tropical storms and hurricanes; that they had a progressive forward movement and that the winds revolved around a vortex at the center. He witnessed the 5-6 minute calm at New Orleans, before the wind reversed and equaled its previous fury (Sullivan). His findings were presented to the American Philosophical Society in 1801.

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The 1779 storm made landfall at New Orleans, smashing boats, fields, and provisions during the American Revolution, right after Spain had declared war on Great Britain. According to Governor Bernado de Gálvez, the “impetuous hurricane” came upon them in “less than three hours,” destroying ships that were in the process of attempting to seize the British fort at Baton Rouge, delaying the plans for invasion a full ten days.

This hurricane would become known as “Dunbar’s Hurricane” because William Dunbar, a Scottish-American explorer and naturalist, was in New Orleans at the time and recorded observations on how hurricanes rotated around a central vortex and progressed forward. Dunbar later presented his observations to the American Philosophical Society in 1801, setting the basis for a new understanding of hurricane movements and scientific study.

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