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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 fanonTeide^[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]