What Western Hemisphere hurricane killed the most people, and what war was going on at the time?
An unnamed hurricane (names didn’t begin until 1950) killed more than 20,000 people on and around the islands of the eastern Caribbean Sea in 1780. This was during the American Revolution. Chap. 1, page 19. Q: Sailors back to Christopher Columbus knew that “brick red” sunsets, the disappearance of the puffy clouds that usually dot tropical skies, and high, thin clouds moving in overhead were signs that a hurricane might be coming. But, they didn’t understand why. What is the reason for these signs? A: Air rises in a hurricane and then flows out of the top of the storm to travel a few hundred miles before it begins sinking. The air flowing out of the hurricane is humid enough to form the high, thin cirrus clouds. When the air sinks far from the storm it warms the air, which evaporates the puffy clouds. The sinking air also traps dust near the surface–even over the ocean–which causes the “brick red” sunsets. Chap. 2, page 50. Q: When and where did the strongest hurricane of the 20th ce
