Racer's Storm

Racer's hurricane was a destructive tropical cyclone that had severe effects on northeastern Mexico and the Gulf Coast of the United States in early October 1837. It takes its name from the Royal Navy ship Racer, which sustained some damage when it encountered the hurricane in the northwestern Caribbean Sea. The storm first affected Jamaica with flooding rainfall and strong winds on September 26 and 27, before entering the Gulf of Mexico by October 1. As the hurricane approached northern Tamaulipas and southern Texas, it slowed to a crawl and turned sharply eastward. The storm battered the Gulf Coast from Texas to the Florida Panhandle between October 3 and 7, and after crossing the Southeastern United States, it emerged into the Atlantic shipping lanes off the Carolinas. For most of the storm's duration, the strongest winds and heaviest rains were confined to the northern side of its track.

The effects of the tropical cyclone were far-reaching. Matamoros, on the southern bank of the Rio Grande, faced hurricane conditions for several days, with significant damage to ships. Many towns along the Texas shoreline were inundated by the storm surge, which flooded the coastal plains for miles inland. Galveston Island was devastated, with nearly every building washed away and most vessels driven ashore. To the east, a water level rise of 8 ft (2.4 m) on Lake Pontchartrain submerged low-lying areas of New Orleans, where strong winds unroofed houses. Many buildings along the shores of the lake were swept away, and multiple steamboats were destroyed. The hurricane destroyed the first American lighthouse constructed outside the Thirteen Colonies. Storm surge and wind damage extended into Mississippi and Alabama, but to a lesser degree of severity. In the interior Southeast, sugar cane and cotton crops took heavy losses. As the weakening storm buffeted the Outer Banks of North Carolina on October 9, a passenger steamboat called the SS Home ran aground about 300 ft (91 m) off Cape Hatteras, and rapidly broke up in the pounding surf. Of the 130 passengers and crewmen, about 90 perished. Overall, Racer's hurricane killed an estimated 105 people.

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