The
Saxby Gale was the name given to a
tropical cycloneA tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
which struck eastern
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's
Bay of FundyThe Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine...
region on the night of October 4-5, 1869. The storm was named for Lieutenant
Stephen Martin SaxbyStephen Martin Saxby was a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy of England during the 1800s. Saxby practiced a form of Meteorological astrology or Pseudo Meteorology in the Victorian Era. Through his calculations he predicted a storm called the Saxby Gale. Saxby also published a book in 1864 called the...
, a naval instructor and amateur astronomer who, based on his astronomical studies, had predicted extremely high tides in the North Atlantic Ocean on October 5, 1869, which would produce storm surges in the event of a storm.
The
Saxby Gale was the name given to a
tropical cycloneA tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
which struck eastern
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's
Bay of FundyThe Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine...
region on the night of October 4-5, 1869. The storm was named for Lieutenant
Stephen Martin SaxbyStephen Martin Saxby was a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy of England during the 1800s. Saxby practiced a form of Meteorological astrology or Pseudo Meteorology in the Victorian Era. Through his calculations he predicted a storm called the Saxby Gale. Saxby also published a book in 1864 called the...
, a naval instructor and amateur astronomer who, based on his astronomical studies, had predicted extremely high tides in the North Atlantic Ocean on October 5, 1869, which would produce storm surges in the event of a storm.
Effects
The hurricane caused extensive destruction to port facilities and communities along the Bay of Fundy coast in both
New BrunswickNew Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
and
Nova ScotiaNova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
as well as
MaineMaine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, particularly
CalaisCalais is a city in Washington County, Maine, United States. The city has three United States border crossings or also known as a Port of entry with the busiest being on the St. Croix River bordering St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada...
,
St. AndrewsSt. Andrews is a Canadian town in Charlotte County, New Brunswick.It is sometimes referred to in tourism marketing by its unofficial nickname "St. Andrews-by-the-sea".-Geography:St...
,
St. GeorgeSt. George is a Canadian town in Charlotte County, New Brunswick.St. George is nicknamed the "Granite Town" and is located on the Magaguadavic River between Passamaquoddy Bay and Lake Utopia. It is 70 km west of Saint John....
,
Saint JohnCity of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
, Moncton,
SackvilleSackville is a Canadian town in Westmorland County, New Brunswick.Mount Allison University is located in the town...
,
AmherstAmherst is a Canadian town in northwestern Cumberland County, Nova Scotia.Located at the northeast end of the Cumberland Basin, an arm of the Bay of Fundy, Amherst is strategically situated on the eastern boundary of the Tantramar Marshes 3 kilometres east of the interprovincial border with New...
,
WindsorWindsor is a town located in Hants County, Mainland Nova Scotia at the junction of the Avon and St. Croix Rivers. It is the largest community in western Hants County with a 2001 population of 3,779 and was at one time the shire town of the county. The region encompassing present day Windsor was...
and
Truro-Education:Truro has one high school, Cobequid Educational Centre. Post-secondary options include a campus of the Nova Scotia Community College, as well as the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in the neighboring town of Bible Hill.- Sports :...
.
Much of the devastation was attributed to a 2-metre
storm surgeA storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system, typically tropical cyclones and strong extratropical cyclones. Storm surges are caused primarily by high winds pushing on the ocean's surface. The wind causes the water to pile up higher than the ordinary sea...
created by the storm which coincided with a
perigeanPerigee is the point at which an object makes its closest approach to the Earth.. Often the term is used in a broader sense to define the point in an orbit where the orbiting body is closest to the body it orbits. The opposite is the apogee, the farthest or highest point.The Greek prefix "peri"...
spring
tideTides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
; the Bay of Fundy having one of the highest tidal ranges in the world. The Saxby Gale storm surge produced a water level which gave
Burntcoat Head, Nova ScotiaBurntcoat Head is an unincorporated Canadian community in Hants County, Nova Scotia and is known internationally as the site where it was officially recorded that the Bay of Fundy, and specifically Burntcoat, has the highest tides in the world.- Highest Tides in the World :Burntcoat Head has a...
the honor of having highest tidal range ever recorded.
The storm also produced waves which, combined with the storm surge, breached dykes protecting low-lying farmland in the
Minas BasinThe Minas Basin is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy and a sub-basin of the Fundy Basin located in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is known for its extremely high tides.- Geography :- Boundary :...
and the
Tantramar MarshesThe Tantramar Marshes is a National Wildlife Area on the southern part of the Isthmus of Chignecto, which joins Nova Scotia to New Brunswick and the Canadian mainland. It is the site of the historic Battle of Fort Beauséjour, the final chapter in the long battle for Acadia by the British and French...
, sending ocean waters surging far inland to inundate farms and communities. Sailing ships in various harbors were tossed about and/or broken up against wharves and breakwaters which were also destroyed. Farmers trying to rescue livestock from fields along shorelines drowned after dykes were breached; over 100 people were killed in the
MaritimesThe Maritime provinces, also called the Maritimes or the Canadian Maritimes, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. On the Atlantic coast, the Maritimes are a subregion of Atlantic Canada, which also includes the...
alone. The gale destroyed miles of the newly completed
Windsor and Annapolis RailwayThe Windsor and Annapolis Railway was a historic Canadian railway that operated in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley.The railway ran from Windsor to Annapolis Royal and leased connections to Nova Scotia's capital of Halifax...
along the
Minas BasinThe Minas Basin is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy and a sub-basin of the Fundy Basin located in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is known for its extremely high tides.- Geography :- Boundary :...
near Horton and
Wolfville, Nova ScotiaWolfville is a small town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada, located about northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax. As of 2006, the population was 3,772....
.
Naming of the storm
The storm (which pre-dated the practice of naming hurricanes) was given the name "Saxby" in honor of Lieutenant
Stephen Martin SaxbyStephen Martin Saxby was a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy of England during the 1800s. Saxby practiced a form of Meteorological astrology or Pseudo Meteorology in the Victorian Era. Through his calculations he predicted a storm called the Saxby Gale. Saxby also published a book in 1864 called the...
,
Royal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, who was a naval instructor and amateur
astronomerAn astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
. Lt. Saxby had written a letter of warning, published December 25, 1868 in
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's
The StandardThe Standard is an English free newspaper of Hong Kong with a daily circulation of 231,018. It was called the Hong Kong Standard and changed to HKiMail during the Internet boom, but it changed back to The Standard in 2001....
newspaper in which he notes the astronomical forces predicted for October 5, 1869 which would produce extremely high tides in the North Atlantic Ocean during the height of hurricane season. Lt. Saxby followed this warning with a reminder published on September 16, 1869 to
The Standard in which he also warns of a major "atmospheric disturbance" that would coincide with the high water level at an undetermined location. Many newspapers took up Saxby's warning in the coming days.
In a monthly weather column published October 1, 1869 in
HalifaxHalifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
's
The Evening Express, amateur meteorologist Frederick Allison relayed Lt. Saxby's warning for a devastating storm the following week.
Despite the warning, many readers throughout the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
,
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Newfoundland and the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
dismissed Saxby since there were frequent gales and hurricanes during the month of October. The fact that the high tides occurred throughout the North Atlantic basin was unremarkable and astronomically predictable, except for their coinciding with the hurricane which struck the
Gulf of MaineThe Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America.It is delineated by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and Cape Sable at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast. It includes the entire coastlines of the U.S...
and Bay of Fundy to produce the devastating storm surge. Lt. Saxby's predictions were considered quite lunatic at the time. Some believed that his predictions were founded upon
astrologyAstrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
, which was not the case.
Letter to the Editor, Dec. 25, 1868
Source:
http://www.magma.ca/~jdreid/saxby25dec.htm
Letter to the Editor, Sept. 16, 1869
Source:
http://www.magma.ca/~jdreid/saxby14sept.htm
Op-Ed Column, Oct. 1, 1869
Source:
http://www.magma.ca/~jdreid/Express.htm
See also