A major midlatitude hurricane in the Little Ice Age

Abstract. An unusually severe hurricane struck Nova Scotia during the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763), causing exceptional damage to the ships of two naval fleets. Its impact was so much greater than that of modern storms that it warranted detailed study. Quantitative storm attributes were extracted from hourly entries in logs of multiple ships scattered by the hurricane. Wave height and wind data at multiple ship locations characterized storm intensity which was compared to storm surge calculated at two coastal sites. A comparison to modern Atlantic hurricanes suggests it was a major hurricane, likely Cat 4 intensity at landfall making it more powerful than any modern (post-1851) storm despite the colder climate of the Little Ice Age (LIA c1300–1850). Mean annual and multi-decadal climate trends did not capture the weather (days to weeks) that fueled this storm. Understanding its climatology and that of other major LIA midlatitude hurricanes can improve our understanding of natural variability and potential future impacts under warming oceans.