 The origins of the 1909 Greater Antilles hurricane are unclear, but are believed to have begun with a large, slow-moving storm system near Jamaica in early November. By November 8, it was classified as a tropical storm and was situated over the southwestern Caribbean Sea, north of Panama. A ship in the vicinity of the system recorded an atmospheric pressure of 1004 mbar (hPa; 29.68 inHg). Slowly moving northeastward, an unusual direction for a Caribbean cyclone, the storm gradually intensified. The forward motion of the system steadily increased on November 10 as it headed towards Jamaica. Late on November 11, the system brushed the eastern tip of Jamaica as a strong tropical storm, with maximum winds estimated at 70 mph (120 km / h). Several hours later, the storm intensified into what would now be classified a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir – Simpson Hurricane Scale. During the afternoon of November 12, the hurricane made landfall in northern Haiti, in the Nord-Ouest Department, with winds of 85 mph (140 km / h). After briefly moving over land, the storm entered the Atlantic Ocean and turned east-northeast and further accelerated.
