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| Mid-Atlantic Hurricanes: A Closer Examination (September 2010) |
- Welcome to Mid-Atlantic Hurricanes: A Closer Examination. This is a periodic
column based on the book, Hurricanes and the Middle Atlantic States. It
examines tropical cyclones from a historical Mid-Atlantic perspective.
` As I write this column at the opening of September, Category 4 Earl is barreling toward
the Mid-Atlantic coast. It well may herald the end of the remarkable hurricane lull that the
region has enjoyed for years. It may provide a wake-up call to residents unacquainted with
hurricane history.
2010 is not a year for complacency. Quite often, hurricanes that form within several weeks
of each other and move through the same general geographic area follow roughly parallel
tracks. Any storm that travels west of Hurricane Earl and makes landfall along the Atlantic
coast will almost certainly cause trouble. Also, about 60 percent of the time when a notable
hurricane like Earl affects the Mid-Atlantic region prior to Labor Day, one or more significant
tropical cyclones follow before the end of hurricane season on November 30.
The last hurricane to cause significant damage to the entire Mid-Atlantic shore, from the
Outer Banks to Long Island, was Gloria in September 1985. Since the current active North
Atlantic hurricane cycle began in 1995, there has been a compete absence of big Mid-Atlantic
coastal hurricanes. Halfway through a typical 30-year active cycle not a single notable region-
wide coastal hurricane. Remarkable!
The previous two active hurricane cycles, in the late 1800s and from the 1930s through
about 1960, each produced at least six big ones. The coast was slammed by legendary bursts
of fury. The Great Tempest of 1879. The Chesapeake and Potomac Hurricane of 1933. The
Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944.
Then we have this cycle. Presumably, it has about 15 years left. Hurricane history is
repetitive. This cycle is bound to generate its share of legendary Mid-Atlantic storms. And
there is so much complacency. Few residents know or seem to care about hurricane history.
School is in session. Mother Nature can be a harsh teacher. We've claimed her barrier
islands, her storm playgrounds, building with impunity. Our trees, shading many homes, flirting
with power lines, await a sudden, violent, pruning via hurricanes like Hazel of 1954. Our
streams and rivers await the fierce deluges that will cause them to invade places people call
home, thought safe from flooding.
I fear that we will pay a dear price for ignoring hurricane history.
Now about the 25-year thing...
Every 25 years since 1935 the East Coast has experienced a notable hurricane.
In 1935, it was the Great Labor Hurricane. A Category 5 when demolishing the upper
Florida Keys, the monster killed more than 400 people. After Florida, the hurricane tracked up
the East Coast, creating a tornado outbreak in sections of the Mid-Atlantic region, bringing
widespread gale-force winds near the coast, and dumping more than 16 inches of rain in 52
hours on sections of the Delmarva Peninsula. In fact, it ranks among the most destructive
natural disasters for the Maryland Eastern Shore.
Hurricane Donna, in 1960, struck the upper Florida Keys as a Category 4, then made a
run up the East Coast. It tracked over North Carolina and Long Island as a Category 2. Donna
is the only known hurricane to generate hurricane force winds over every East Coast state,
from Florida to Maine.
Then there was Gloria in 1985. It was a Category 2 hurricane that tracked a short
distance off the Mid-Atlantic coast, finally making landfall on Long Island. High winds and surf
left billions of dollars in property losses.
Hurricane history is so repetitive...
Something About 25 Years... |
| (For more on the effects of these hurricanes on the Mid-Atlantic region, read Hurricanes and the Middle Atlantic States, the only book to focus on the region's hurricane history!) Rick Schwartz, author of Hurricanes and the Middle Atlantic States ricschwartz@yahoo.com |
Note: Homeowners' insurance policies rarely cover flood loss to a home and its
contents. Supplemental coverage is needed. The National Flood Insurance Program
is the largest issuer of such policies. Based on hurricane history, there is an
enhanced risk of a significant hurricane visiting the Mid-Atlantic region this season.
Coastal areas are particularly due. About one in four floods occur outside a
high-risk flood zone. For more information, visit www.floodsmart.gov.
contents. Supplemental coverage is needed. The National Flood Insurance Program
is the largest issuer of such policies. Based on hurricane history, there is an
enhanced risk of a significant hurricane visiting the Mid-Atlantic region this season.
Coastal areas are particularly due. About one in four floods occur outside a
high-risk flood zone. For more information, visit www.floodsmart.gov.
