The 1889 Atlantic hurricane season featured the first known tropical cyclone in the basin to attain hurricane status in the month of May. Of the nine known tropical storms, six intensified into hurricanes, but none of those strengthened into a major hurricane. However, in the absence of modern satellite and other remote-sensing technologies, only storms that affected populated land areas or encountered ships at sea were recorded, so the actual total could be higher. Therefore, an undercount bias of zero to six tropical cyclones per year between 1851 and 1885 and zero to four per year between 1886 and 1910 has been estimated. The first system was initially over the western Atlantic Ocean on May 16, while the ninth and final storm transitioned into an extratropical cyclone just prior to striking Nova Scotia on October 7.

Neither meteorologists José Fernández-Partagás and Henry F. Diaz in 1996 nor the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project in the early 21st century added or removed any previously undocumented storms from the official hurricane database (HURDAT). However, both modified the tracks of several cyclones. Additionally, a damage study conducted by Cuban meteorologist Ramón Pérez Suárez in 2000 led to the second system being reclassified from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane on the present-day Saffir–Simpson scale. More recently, a 2014 reanalysis study by climate researcher Michael Chenoweth recommended the removal of the ninth storm and the addition of four cyclones not currently listed in HURDAT. However, these proposals have not yet been approved.

The most intense tropical cyclone of the season, the six system, peaked as a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 km/h) in September. Passing through the Leeward Islands and then striking Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula and the Gulf Coast of the United States, the storm left destruction in many places, including about $40,000 (1889 USD) in damage and one death in the Jacksonville area of Florida. Also that month, the season's fourth system, which also peaked as a Category 2 hurricane, severely impacted the Lesser Antilles and the Northeastern United States, despite not making landfall in the latter. The United States reported almost $2.36 million in damage and 40 deaths. In June, the second cyclone of the season may have also caused fatalities in Cuba. __TOC__

Season summary

The Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT) officially recognizes that nine tropical cyclones formed during the 1889 season, six of which strengthened into a hurricane, while none of those intensified into a major hurricane. Neither meteorologists José Fernández-Partagás and Henry F. Diaz in 1996 nor the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project in the early 21st century added or removed any previously undocumented storms from HURDAT, though both modified the tracks of several cyclones. A damage study conducted by Cuban meteorologist Ramón Pérez Suárez in 2000 led to the season's second storm being retroactively upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane. However, a more recent reanalysis by climate researcher Michael Chenoweth, published in 2014, adds four storms and removes one – the ninth system – for a net gain of three cyclones, although these proposed changes have yet to be approved for inclusion to HURDAT. Chenoweth's study utilizes a more extensive collection of newspapers and ship logs, as well as late 19th century weather maps for the first time, in comparison to previous reanalysis projects.

Tropical cyclogenesis began by mid-May, with a tropical storm first detected north of the Lesser Antilles on May 16. Reaching hurricane status, this storm became the first Atlantic cyclone to reach hurricane status in the month of May and one of only four on record. After it became extratropical on May 21, no further activity is known to have occurred until June 15. Striking Cuba likely as a hurricane and Florida as a tropical storm, the system was last noted on June 20 south of Nova Scotia. Another lengthy period of dormancy then occurred, with the season's third system not being observed until August 19. The storm crossed the Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos Islands and continued northward before being last noted on August 28 offshore the Northeastern United States. September featured five cyclones, three of which became hurricanes. The season's fourth system caused 40 deaths and almost $2.36 million in damage in the United States despite not making landfall there. Later that month, the sixth storm of the season peaked as a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175  km/h). Passing through the Leeward Islands and then striking the Yucatán Peninsula, Louisiana, and Alabama, the storm left destruction in many places, including about $40,000 in damage and one death in the Jacksonville area of Florida. One additional cyclone, which peaked as a tropical storm, moved rapidly northeastward, crossing Cuba and Florida before becoming extratropical while approaching Nova Scotia on October 7, marking the end of known seasonal activity.

The season's activity was reflected with an accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) rating of 104, the fourth highest total of the decade. ACE is a metric used to express the energy used by a tropical cyclone during its lifetime. Therefore, a storm with a longer duration will have higher values of ACE. It is only calculated at six-hour increments in which specific tropical and subtropical systems are either at or above sustained wind speeds of 39 mph (63 km/h), which is the threshold for tropical storm intensity. Thus, tropical depressions are not included here.

Systems

Hurricane One

Based on the Monthly Weather Review reporting a disturbance of "moderate intensity" to the north of the Lesser Antilles beginning on May 16, the Atlantic hurricane database initiates the track for this system on that date about north of the British Virgin Islands. The cyclone strengthened slightly but remained a tropical storm for the next few days as it headed northwestward, until turning northeastward by May 20. Several hours later, the storm intensified into a hurricane and reached sustained winds of 80 mph (130 km/h), based on the schooner Joseph W. Fish observing sustained winds of and another ship recording an unspecific hurricane-force sustained wind speed on the following day. However, the system weakened to a tropical storm early on May 21 and soon transitioned into an extratropical cyclone about east of Nags Head, North Carolina.

This cyclone was the first May hurricane on record in the Atlantic basin, and remains one of only four such systems known today. Climate researcher Michael Chenoweth's 2014 study indicates that this system developed as a tropical depression just north of the Mona Passage on May 16. Other significant changes include that storm intensifying into a hurricane on May 21, as opposed to becoming extratropical that day, a transition that instead occurred on May 22. The extratropical remnants later struck Nova Scotia.

Hurricane Two

Maritime observations indicated the presence of a tropical storm over the northwestern Caribbean as early as June 15. Moving north-northwestward, the cyclone struck the Guanahacabibes Peninsula of Cuba several hours later, likely as a minimal hurricane with sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h), according to a study of wind damage conducted by meteorologist Ramón Pérez Suárez in 2000. However, the hurricane weakened back to a tropical storm shortly after reaching the Gulf of Mexico on June 16. Gradually curving northeastward on June 17, the system made landfall near Cedar Key, Florida, with winds of 50 mph (85 km/h) around 14:00 UTC. After emerging into the Atlantic from the First Coast on the following day, the system remained closely offshore Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. The cyclone was last noted on June 20 about southwest of Sable Island, Nova Scotia.

Chenoweth's study suggests that the storm did not strike Cuba and instead moved through the Yucatán Channel before striking Florida farther south, near present-day Sarasota. Heavy rains fell over western Cuba, inundating many streets. Walls and house collapsed, particularly in Batabanó and the Vuelta Abajo region. Several vessels also capsized. The Daily Inter Ocean noted that no deaths occurred, but Spanish meteorologist Simón Sarasola reported that "lives were lost". Although the highest recorded sustained wind speed in Florida reached only at Cedar Key, heavy precipitation fell across the state, causing several washouts along the South Florida Railroad. Additionally, a tornado in Lake Mary downed some trees and destroyed a large packinghouse.

Hurricane Three

Land-based weather stations first reported this storm about south of the Dominican Republic on August 19. Several hours later, the cyclone made landfall in the country near Baní with winds of 60 mph (95 km/h). Santo Domingo observed a barometric pressure of . Due to moving across rugged terrain, the system likely weakened to a tropical depression, but re-intensified into a tropical storm after emerging into the Atlantic near on August 20. The storm then passed through the southeastern Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands early the next day while moving northwestward. By August 24, the cyclone curved northeastward while well offshore the East Coast of the United States. Based on the Monthly Weather Review noting that various ships recorded hurricane-force winds, the system intensified into a hurricane on August 26 and peaked with winds of 80 mph (130 km/h). Turning northward, the hurricane began weakening on August 28, falling to tropical storm intensity before being last noted approximately east-southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Chenoweth could not confirm the existence of this cyclone, citing "unreliable" reports from the Dominican Republic "and absence of evidence from daily weather map series". In the Greater Antilles, the storm caused falling barometric pressures and increased wind speeds from the Dominican Republic to as far west as Havana, Cuba. Santo Domingo in the former recorded sustained winds of 60 mph (95 km/h). The cyclone and its remnants produced gales along the coast of the Mid-Atlantic and New England. On August 29, sustained winds reached in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

Hurricane Four

Hurricane San Martín of 1889

A tropical storm was first reported about east-southeast of Barbados on September 1. Moving northwestward, the cyclone strengthened into a hurricane on the next day, shortly before striking Guadeloupe. The storm intensified into a Category 2 hurricane on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson scale over the Anegada Passage on September 3, based on Saint Thomas observing a barometric pressure of . Shortly thereafter, the cyclone crossed over the Virgin Islands and re-emerged into the Atlantic. Beginning on September 5, the storm switched course a few times, before resuming its original northwestward motion by September 7. As the cyclone approached the Northeastern United States, it slowly weakened, falling to tropical storm intensity by September 11. The system then turned southwestward and was last noted late the next day about east-northeast of Virginia Beach, Virginia. Chenoweth proposed that this storm moved in a similar trajectory to that shown in HURDAT through September 5, when it instead turned north-northwestward. The cyclone also became more intense, holding major hurricane status from then until September 7. Chenoweth's study also indicates that the system persisted until late on September 14, hours after making landfall near present-day Sandbridge, Virginia, as a tropical storm.