The Greatest Nor`easter of the 20th Century

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50th Anniversary: The Greatest Nor'easter of the
20th Century
Mt
by Matt Sampson & weather,com Staff
In 1962 Ash Wednesday took on
new
significance, when a formidable and
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unrelenting storm struck the eastern United
States. The strongest nor'easter of the 20th
century hit the Mid Atlantic region on March
5-9, !962. This week marks the 50th
anniversary of the storm that caused $1.5
billion in damage (adjusted for inflation).
I
For nearly three days the storm hammered
the coast, battering the shoreline, sweeping
beach homes, hotels, and boardwalks into the
sea. Further inland, wind-driven snow virtually
March 1962 - Photo shows storm damage to Virginia
immobilized portions of the Mid- Atlantic
Beach,
Va. (Courtesy: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
states,
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"The March '62 storm was one of the most extreme weather systems of its type, and one of
the most extraordinary meteorological events of any kind, in recorded history," notes Stu
Ostro, The Weather Channel's Senior Director of Weather Communications.
"The storm was immense in size, didn't move for days, and had an onshore fetch of wind
which was strong in velocity, exceptionally long in distance, and persisted through five high
tide cycles, relentlessly surging the ocean in with severe coastal flooding plus huge
battering waves on top."
A large high pressure system over northern Canada and the developing storm that covered
much of the western Atlantic Ocean combined to generate a vast circulation of wind that
blew along a tremendous length of the ocean.
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3191201210:57 AM
50th Anniversary: The Greatest Nor'easter of the 20th Century - wea...
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It hit during
"Spring Tide,"
when the sun and moon are
in phase, and produce a
higher than normal
astronomical tide,
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residents reeling under a
massive inundation. Typical nor'easters might last for one day and produce a few high tide
episodes, but this storm lasted several days. Each new high tide cycle added to damage
produced by the last tide.
The Weather Channel's Hurricane Specialist, Bryan Norcross, was living in New Jersey at
the time of the storm. "Right after the storm we went to Wildwood to check on my aunt and
uncle's house on the Sound, the west side of town on the water, It was completely gone,
swept away. As we were driving back, we saw some familiar wallpaper, The kitchen wall
was sitting there wedged against a tree, with a picture still hanging on the wall."
"Our summer house on Long Beach Island, NJ was
smashed, and cut into four or five pieces. A two-story
house sat in the middle of the main road, Long Beach
Blvd., for months. I remember school books,
refrigerators, and living-room furniture washing in on
the waves all summer long. It took years for the island
to get back to normal."
In New Jersey alone, it was estimated to have
destroyed or greatly damaged 45,000 homes.
Across New Jersey's coastal barrier islands, residents rushed to escape as the waters rose.
Bridges, which were, in many places, the only link to the mainland, quickly became blocked
by water and debris. Evacuees often had to be plucked from their homes by helicopters, or
rescued by army trucks.
Almost all of Sea Isle City's I,2OO residents were forced to leave their homes, many of
which were submerged in up to 5 feet of water. Many Cape May locals fled after they were
left without electricity, water, heat or sewage facilities, Atlantic City was pummeled by
25-foot high waves and wind gusts up to 58 mph.
"It was just a continuation of that onshore wind and the water just got higher and higher
with each successive high tide," recalls Weather Channel Meteorologist Mike Seidel, who
was a six year old, living just inland from the Maryland shore when the storm hit.
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3191201210:57 AM
50th Anniversary: The Greatest Nor'easter of the 20th Century - wea...
htto: //www.weather. com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/ash-w...
The Ftlentic f,hy boanJuralk is damaged bythree
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dap olpummeling surf.
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Out at sea, winds up to 70 mph built 4O-foot waves and the storm tossed the 500-foot
Liberian tanker, the Gem, like a child's toy, breaking the enormous vessel in two. It took
three Navy destroyers to rescue the27 men left stranded in the stern, while the cruise ship
Victoria sent a lifeboat for the three men remaining in the bow. Fifteen men on fishing
trawlers out of Point Pleasant, N,J, were not so lucky - they were lost at sea.
While rain pummeled the shore, inland snowfall wiped out telephone communication and
suspended virtually all transportation, Ablizzard blanketed North Carolina and completely
enveloped Virginia's Shenandoah Valley in nearly 2 feet of snow. Winchester, Va., endured
a record-shattering twenty-three inches of snow, the heaviest single snowfall in the history
of that city, while up to 42 inches fell in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Snow fell as far south as
Alabama, and temperatures plunged into the 30s across Florida.
After more than two days of
pounding coastal
communities from
Connecticut to North
Carolina, the storm The
New York Times had called
"A savage gale, with
pounding tides, towering
seas and heavy snows,"
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receded.
In Chincoteague/ Va. more than 7,200 homes were damaged and 9Oo/o of cars flooded.
Locals felt the damaqe from this storm was worst in Virginia Beach than that of the 1933
Hu
rricane.
Several North Carolina beach front communities, including Kitty Hawk, Nags Head and Kill
Devil Beach, were left mired in thick sand, which covered roads and lined the first story of
homes and businesses.
Estimated damage to the state of N,J. was $130 million, almost half of the total of all six
states hit. A newspaper later reported on the scene in the town of Harvey Cedars, "The
houses are everywhere, in no order, sometimes piled two or three together. Around them
crushed and mangled cars and trucks lie half buried."
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While there seems to be some disagreement about fatalities, the Red Cross put the death
toll for the East Coast at 40, with a quarter of those killed in New Jersey.
While the storm was neither a hurricane/ nor a classic nor'easter, its impact was so
powerful, the U.S. Weather Bureau gave it a name: "The Great Atlantic Storm." That name
was later changed by Outer Banks resident, Aycock Brown. Referencing the solemn holiday
that shared the day the storm unleashed its fury he named it "The Ash Wednesday Storm,"
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