1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane
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| Category 4 hurricane (SSHS) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Formed | September 9, 1944 | |
| Dissipated | September 16, 1944 | |
| Highest winds |
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| Lowest pressure | 943 mbar (hPa; 27.86 inHg) | |
| Fatalities | 300 - 400 direct (mostly at sea) | |
| Damage | $946.5 million (2005 USD) $978 million (2006 USD) |
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| Areas affected |
North Carolina, New York, New England, Atlantic Canada | |
| Part of the 1944 Atlantic hurricane season |
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The Great Atlantic Hurricane in 1944 was an intense Atlantic hurricane sometimes compared to the New England Hurricane of 1938.
Contents |
[edit] Storm history
A hurricane was first detected on September 9, northeast of the Lesser Antilles. It likely developed from a tropical wave several days before. It moved west-northwestward, and steadily intensified to a 140 mph major hurricane on the 12th, northeast of the Bahamas. Around this time, the Miami Hurricane Warning Office designated this storm The Great Atlantic Hurricane to emphasize its intensity and size, which appears to be the first time a name was designated by the office which evolved into the National Hurricane Center. [1] The hurricane turned northward, where dry and cooler air was entrained into the circulation. It weakened to a Category 2 hurricane on the 14th as it recurved to the northwest, and hit the Outer Banks later that day.
Moving rapidly to the northeast, the hurricane maintained its strength somewhat at the time of its Long Island landfall on September 15, hitting as an 85 mph hurricane. Shortly thereafter it crossed the Rhode Island coastline, and after emerging into the Massachusetts Bay it hit Maine, just before becoming extratropical. The non-tropical system continued northeastward, and merged with a larger extratropical low on the 16th south of Greenland.
[edit] Impact
The hurricane caused $100 million in damage (1947 USD), roughly one-third of the 1938 hurricane. 390 lives were lost from the hurricane; most of them were from marine casualties. 46 deaths occurred on land, a low toll due to the well-executed warnings and evacuations.
The last time two intense New England hurricanes occurred so closely together were the Great September Gale of 1815 and the 1821 Norfolk and Long Island Hurricane.
[edit] Hatteras
This storm wreaked havoc on Hatteras Island, North Carolina causing the residents to have to relocate the entire village of Kinnakeet a few miles further south. It also sank two United States Coast Guard Cutters just off Oregon Inlet, N.C. (USCGC Jackson and USCGC Bedloe) with a loss of 48 men.
[edit] USS Warrington
The storm was also responsible for sinking the Navy destroyer USS Warrington (DD-383), approximately 450 miles east of Vero Beach, FL, with a loss of 248 sailors. The hurricane was one of the most powerful to traverse the Eastern Seaboard, reaching Category 4 when it encountered the Warrington, and producing hurricane force winds over a diameter of 600 miles[citation needed]. The hurricane also produced waves in excess of 70 ft in height. The hurricane and the sinking of the USS Warrington are documented in the 1996 book "The Dragon's Breath - Hurricane At Sea", written by CDR Robert A. Dawes, Jr. (a former Commanding Officer of the Warrington), and published by Naval Institute Press. -RJR
