Retrospective Analysis of the 1954 55 Hurricane Seasons

Retrospective Analysis of the 1954 -55 Hurricane Seasons and Impacts to the Northeast U. S. Kevin Lipton Forecaster WFO Albany, NY

Why these 2 seasons? • 5 separate tropical cyclones (including a landfalling CAT 3 and CAT 2 in August 1954) directly impacted the northeast/New England states over these 2 seasons. • Growing up on Long Island, most anecdotal references to hurricanes were 1954 -55. • Motivation – to increase awareness of how active a tropical cyclone season can get in the northeast U. S. /New England.

1954 Hurricane Season Hazel Edna Carol Edna Hazel

1955 Hurricane Season Diane Connie

Summer 1954 (Jun-Aug) 500 mb Height Anomalies Image provided by the NOAA/ESRL Physical Sciences Division, Boulder Colorado from their Web site at http: //www. esrl. noaa. gov/psd /

July/August 1954 Mean 500 mb Heights Image provided by the NOAA/ESRL Physical Sciences Division, Boulder Colorado from their Web site at http: //www. esrl. noaa. gov/psd /

July/August 1954 500 mb Height Anomalies Image provided by the NOAA/ESRL Physical Sciences Division, Boulder Colorado from their Web site at http: //www. esrl. noaa. gov/psd /

July/August 1954 850 mb Temperature Anomalies Image provided by the NOAA/ESRL Physical Sciences Division, Boulder Colorado from their Web site at http: //www. esrl. noaa. gov/psd /

Hurricane Carol (August 31) Cat 3/Major Map from NHC at http: //www. nhc. noaa. gov/outreach/history/

Hurricane Carol Impacts • Landfall morning of August 31, 1954 as Category 3 Hurricane – Initially Westhampton/Cutchogue on LI – Second landfall near Old Saybrook, CT – Moving northward at over 35 MPH • Peak Wind Gust 130 MPH at Block Island, RI • 60 deaths, +$460 million (1954 USD) in damage to property/crops • Widespread tidal flooding (arrived just after high tide) – 5 -8 feet storm surge west shore CT, 10 -15 feet from New London CT eastward – On Narragansett Bay – just north of South Street Station Site, recorded surge of 14. 4 feet – Downtown Providence, RI flooded under 10 -12 feet of water • Destroyed nearly 4000 homes, 3500 cars, and over 3000 boats in southern New England.

Location Carol – Peak Wind Gusts Peak Gust (MPH) Block Island, RI 130 Blue Hill Observatory – Milton, MA 125 Brookhaven Natl Lab (410 FT) Upton, NY 125 Quonset Pt Naval Air Station – N. Kingstown, RI 125 Providence WBAS, RI 105 Boston, MA 100 Salem USCGAS, MA 93 Otis AFB – Falmouth, MA 88 Brunswick NAS, ME 84 Portland, ME 78 Nantucket, MA 77 Dow AFB – Bangor, ME 73 Westover AFB – Springfield, MA 71 Windsor Locks, CT 70 New Haven, CT 65 Laconia, NH 65 Hartford, CT 64 Concord, NH 63 La Guardia Field, NY 62 Bridgeport, CT 60 NY Int’l Airport (Idlewild/JFK), NY 54

Carol - Rainfall Map courtesy of Northeast River Forecast Center

Hurricane Edna (Sep 11, 1954) Map from NHC at http: //www. nhc. noaa. gov/outreach/history/

Hurricane Edna - Impacts • Passed over Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, then across eastern tip of Cape Cod on morning of Aug. 11 th as a Category 2 Hurricane (moving at ~ 45 MPH). • Peak wind gusts included 120 MPH on Martha’s Vineyard, 110 MPH on Block Island. • Rainfall amounts of 3 -6 inches were common, as far west as western LI/NYC area. – Mainly urban/small stream flooding, but some river flooding in RI and northeast MA. • Storm surges mostly 4 feet or less, except 6+ feet at Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and Cape Cod. • ~ 20 deaths, $40 million (1954 USD) in damages.

Edna - Rainfall Map courtesy of Northeast River Forecast Center

Location Edna – Peak Wind Gusts Martha's Vineyard AP, MA WBAS - Block Island, RI Brookhaven National Laboratory - Upton, NY Quonset Pt Naval Air Station – N. Kingstown, RI Augusta, ME WBAS - Nantucket, MA Bedford, MA Bangor, ME Boston, MA Worcester, MA WBAS - Providence, RI Suffolk CO AFB - Westhampton Beach, NY Portland, ME WBAS - Hartford, CT Westchester CO AP - White Plains, NY NY Intl AP (Idlewild), NY Long Branch, NJ NAS - Atlantic City, NJ Lakewood, NJ WBAS - La Guardia Field, NY WBAS - New Haven, CT Stamford Museum - Stamford, CT USCG - Barnegat Lifeboat Sta, NJ Teterboro AP, NJ Concord, NH Mc. Guire AFB - Trenton, NJ Peak Wind (MPH) 120 110 95 93 92 90 90 90 87 81 79 75 74 70 60 60 59 59 57 55 52 50 50 45 42 40

Hurricane Hazel (Oct 15, 1954) Map from NHC at http: //www. nhc. noaa. gov/outreach/history/

Hurricane Hazel - Impacts • Came ashore as a Category 4 Hurricane near Myrtle Beach, SC on October 15 th. • Became Extra-Tropical, tracking northward along/east of Appalachians initially, then toward southern Ontario, Canada. • 95 U. S. deaths, > 400 deaths in Haiti, Bahamas, Puerto Rico and Cuba, and ~81 deaths in Canada (mostly near Toronto). • Strong winds on eastern side – widespread 6090+ MPH peak wind gusts eastern VA through central/eastern PA/NY • Heavy rainfall on western side, especially in southern Ontario Canada • Total U. S. damage >$280 million (1954 USD)

Location Peak Wind Gusts - Hazel Peak Wind Gust (MPH) WBO NYC – Battery PK, NY (450 FT ASL) 113 WBAS Binghamton, NY 94 WBAS Philadelphia, PA 94 Teterboro AP, NJ 92 Millville, NJ 86 Reading, PA 85 USNAS Floyd Bennett Fld Bklyn NY 84 WBAS Allentown, PA 82 WBAS Harrisburg, PA 80 WBAS La Guardia Fld, NY 79 Elmira, NY 79 WBAS Newark, NJ 76 WBAS Williamsport, PA 75 USNAS Lakehurst, NJ 75 Syracuse, NY 75 Laurel Hill, NY 73 WBAS Buffalo, NY 73 Lakewood, NJ 72 Westchester CO AP, NY 70 WBAS Albany, NY 69

Hurricane Hazel – Rain Map courtesy of Northeast River Forecast Center

Summer 1955 (Jun-Aug) 500 mb Height Anomalies

July/August 1955 Mean 500 mb Heights Image provided by the NOAA/ESRL Physical Sciences Division, Boulder Colorado from their Web site at http: //www. esrl. noaa. gov/psd /

July/August 1955 500 mb Height Anomalies Image provided by the NOAA/ESRL Physical Sciences Division, Boulder Colorado from their Web site at http: //www. esrl. noaa. gov/psd /

July/August 1955 850 mb Temperature Anomalies Image provided by the NOAA/ESRL Physical Sciences Division, Boulder Colorado from their Web site at http: //www. esrl. noaa. gov/psd /

SST Anomalies (F) Jul 16 -Aug 15 1955 Based from 1912 -31 SST Climatology as described by G. Slocum 1938 Namias, J. , and C. R. Dunn, 1955

Hurricane Connie (August 12 -14, 1955) Map from NHC at http: //www. nhc. noaa. gov/outreach/history/

Connie Impacts • Hurricane Connie came ashore near Morehead City, NC on August 12 th as a Category 2 Hurricane. It then weakened to Tropical Storm strength and interacted with frontal system across mid Atlantic states/northern Appalachians. • Heavy rainfall of 4 -8 inches from NYC/western LI into southern New England, locally higher, led to mostly urban/small stream flooding (drought conditions developed prior). • Peak wind gusts of 30 -50 mph NYC/LI into western New England. • Set the stage for much more severe flooding from Diane which impacted Northeast/New England less than 5 days later.

Hurricane Connie - Rainfall Map courtesy of Northeast River Forecast Center

Hurricane Diane (August 17 -21, 1955) Map from NHC at http: //www. nhc. noaa. gov/outreach/history/

Hurricane Diane Impacts • Landfall August 17 th, 1955 as Category 1 Hurricane near Wilmington, NC, then weakened to Tropical Storm. • Main effects were excessive rainfall, with widespread 6 -12 inches across southeast NY into southern New England, with embedded locally higher amounts. – Storm totals included 19. 76 inches in Westfield, MA, and 12. 05 inches at WBAS Bradley Field at Windsor Locks, CT. • Totals between Connie and Diane reached 20 -25 inches across portions of southern New England, resulting in catastrophic flooding.

Hurricane Diane Impacts - Flooding • Nearly all rivers in major rivers/tributaries in CT exceeded Flood Stage – some by OVER 20 feet! – CT River @ Hartford reached 14. 6 ft above Flood Stage – Westfield River exceeded Flood Stage by 20. 2 feet. – Quinebaug River @ Jewett City, CT exceeded Flood Stage by 11. 5 feet. • Severe Flooding in MA – Nearly 40% of downtown Worcester, MA submerged. – Blackstone River in Woonsocket, RI rose 17 feet above Flood Stage • Portions of Woonsocket completely destroyed, aggravated by failure of Horseshoe Dam. • Over 112 homes destroyed, 1480 homes damaged by flood waters. • Over 200 dams in the New England area suffered partial or total failure. • 184 deaths nationwide, $832 million-1 B in damages (1955 USD - mostly in the northeast/New England states) – 77 deaths in CT – 12 in MA – 1 in RI

Hurricane Diane - Rainfall Map courtesy of Northeast River Forecast Center

Peak River Flows Naugatuck River at Beacon Falls, CT 106, 000 cfs/260 sq mi = 408 cfs/sq mi

Naugatuck River, Torrington, CT – August 1955

Mad River – Winstead, Litchfield County, CT

Mad River – Winstead, Litchfield County, CT

Summary • Five tropical cyclones directly impacted northeast/New England states in two seasons. • 1954 -55 northeast/New England total fatalities 100 -200+, total damages in northeast (in 1954 -55 USD) ~ 1. 5 Billion. • 1954 storms stronger, fast-moving, with more wind issues and significant coastal effects. • 1955 storms slower moving, mainly producing heavy rains/flooding issues across northeast/New England states. • Are we prepared for such high-impact events within such a short duration?

Acknowledgements • David R. Vallee, Hydrologist-In-Charge, Northeast River Forecast Center. • Stephen Di. Rienzo, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, WFO ALY • Joe Villani, Forecaster WFO ALY. • National Hurricane Center – Hurricanes In History webpage

References • • • • Blake, E. S. , C. W. Landsea, and E. J. Gibney, 2011: The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Tropical Cyclones from 1851 to 2010 (and other frequently requested Hurricane facts). NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS NHC-6, 46 pp. Chapman, W. T. , and Y. T. Sloan, 1955: The Paths of Hurricanes Connie and Diane. Mon. Wea. Rev. , 83, 171 -180. Davis, W. R. , 1954: Hurricanes of 1954. Mon. Wea. Rev. , 82, 370 -373. Krueger, A. F. , 1954: The Weather and Circulation of October 1954. Mon. Wea. Rev. , 82, 296300. Malkin, W. , and G. C. Holzworth, 1954: Hurricane Edna, 1954. Mon. Wea. Rev. , 82, 267 -279. Mc. Guire, J. K. , 1954: The Storm of August 31, 1954. Climatological Data – National Summary, Volume 5, No. 8 (August 1954), 47 pp. Mook, C. P. , 1955: Surface Streamlines Associated with the Torrential Rains of August 18 -19, 1955, in the Northeastern United States. Mon. Wea. Rev. , 83, 181 -183. Namias, J. , and C. R. Dunn, 1955: The Weather and Circulation of August 1955. Mon. Wea. Rev. , 83, 163 -170. Sable, E. , 1954: Hurricane Edna – September 11, 1954. NOAA Weather Bureau Hurricane Series, WBO Boston, MA, 2 pp. Slocum, G. 1938: The Normal Temperature Distribution of the Surface Water of the Western North Atlantic Ocean. Mon. Wea. Rev. , 66, 39 -43. U. S. Weather Bureau, 1954: The Storm of September 11, 1954. NOAA Weather Bureau Hurricane Series, WBO Battery Place, NYC, NY, 12 pp. U. S. Weather Bureau, 1954: The Storm of October 15, 1954. NOAA Weather Bureau Hurricane Series, WBO Battery Place, NYC, NY, 20 pp. Winston, J. S. , 1954: The Weather and Circulation of August 1954. Mon. Wea. Rev. , 82, 228236.