It generated the highest storm surge ever recorded in Tampa Bay, reshaping parts of the nearby coastline and destroying many of the small settlements in the area at the time.
[1][2][3] The storm made its way across the largely uninhabited Florida peninsula over the next two days, and although weakened by the time it emerged in the Atlantic Ocean, it caused substantial damage on the east coast as well.
[3] After moving into the extreme western Atlantic, the cyclone continued to the northeast just offshore of the East Coast of the United States to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.
[5] A weather station at Fort Brooke in modern downtown Tampa measured a minimum pressure of 28.18 inches of mercury (954 mb) and peak winds of 72 miles per hour (116 km/h) on September 23, though the anemometer ceased functioning before the height of the storm.
[9][10] The storm destroyed the fishing rancho of Antonio Máximo Hernández, reputedly lower Pinellas' first white settler, forcing him to emigrate permanently.
[11] The storm almost obliterated the citrus crop and destroyed the main house at St. Helena plantation on the northwest corner of Tampa Bay — now part of Safety Harbor — forcing the residents to shelter on an elevated Tocobaga midden.
The storm destroyed the lighthouse on Egmont Key, and the keeper (Marvel Edwards) rode out the hurricane in a rowboat tied to a palm tree.