1826 Canary Islands storm

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]

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]

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]