Hurricane Connie

Hurricane Connie was a Category 4 hurricane that contributed to significant flooding across the eastern United States in August 1955, just days before Hurricane Diane affected the same general area. Connie formed on August 3 from a tropical wave in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It moved quickly west-northwestward, strengthening into a hurricane by August 4. Connie first posed a threat to the Lesser Antilles, ultimately passing about north of the island group. In the United States Virgin Islands, three people died due to the hurricane, and a few homes were destroyed. The outer rainbands produced hurricane-force wind gusts and intense precipitation, reaching in Puerto Rico. On the island, Connie destroyed 60 homes and caused crop damage. After affecting Puerto Rico, Connie reached maximum sustained winds of , and a barometric pressure of , as observed by the Hurricane Hunters on August 7. The hurricane later weakened, slowed its forward motion, and turned to the north, striking North Carolina on August 12 as a Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Connie was the first of three damaging tropical cyclones in the 1955 hurricane season to hit the state, along with Diane and Ione. The storm progressed inland after moving through the Chesapeake Bay region, and was later absorbed by a cold front over Lake Huron on August 15.

Ahead of the storm, the United States Weather Bureau issued widespread hurricane warnings, spurring evacuations, flight cancelations, and beach closures. Connie produced strong winds, high tides, and heavy rainfall as it moved ashore, causing heavy crop damage and 27 deaths in North Carolina. Four people were killed in Washington, D.C. due to a traffic accident caused by slick roads. In Chesapeake Bay, Connie capsized a boat, killing 14 people and prompting a change in Coast Guard regulations. There were six deaths each in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and 14 deaths in New York, where record rainfall flooded houses and subways. At least 295,000 people nationwide lost electric power during the storm. Damage in the United States totaled around $86 million (1955 USD). The rains from Connie contributed to flooding from Hurricane Diane that caused $700 million in damage. The remnants of Connie killed three people in Ontario, and also destroyed a few houses and boats in the province. As a result of its impacts, including a death toll of 77, the name Connie was retired from the Atlantic hurricane naming list.

Meteorological history

A tropical wave developed into a tropical depression to the west of the Cape Verde islands on August 3, 1955, based on reports from two nearby ships. The depression moved quickly west-northwestward and intensified into Tropical Storm Connie. A Hurricane Hunters flight on August 4 reported a developing eye feature. Observations from the flight, as well as a nearby ship, suggested that Connie attained hurricane status on August 4. The hurricane continued to intensify as it approached the northern Lesser Antilles, passing about north of the island group on August 6. Later that day, the storm strengthened to major hurricane status, or a Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

After passing the Lesser Antilles, Connie turned more to the northwest as it rounded a large ridge. A Hurricane Hunters flight on August 7 observed an eye shaped like an inverted cone – larger at flight-level, and a diameter of at the surface. The plane also observed a minimum barometric pressure of 944 mbar (27.88 inHg), the lowest in association with the hurricane. Based on the observations, the Hurricane Research Division estimated maximum sustained winds of , making Connie a Category 4 hurricane. Along the northern coast of Puerto Rico, the threat of Connie forced 40,000 people to evacuate their homes.

While Connie was meandering in the western Atlantic Ocean, its potential track posed problems for forecasters, due to its slow movement near the southeast United States coastline. The Weather Bureau later extended the hurricane warnings to Delaware Breakwater, with storm warnings farther northeast to Provincetown, Massachusetts. The alert for North Carolina was up for about three days until Connie moved inland.

Ahead of the storm, the United States military flew its planes away from the coast to safer shelters further inland. Two people were killed when they crashed the Navy plane they were evacuating. Large Naval ships rode out the storm at sea, while smaller vessels anchored in Tangier. More than 100 merchant vessels from a dozen counties anchored in the waters of Hampton Roads, or while small boats were secured at port. The American Red Cross opened at least 79 shelters, and mobilized 41 officials with hurricane experience. The Coast Guard ordered four towns along beaches to evacuate, and overall about 14,000 people evacuated the coastline. About 2,000 people evacuated from flood-prone areas in New Bern, North Carolina. The threat of Connie also canceled a flight by President Dwight Eisenhower from Gettysburg to Washington, D.C., prompting him to travel instead by car. More than 300 residents evacuated in North Jersey.

Impact

Caribbean

As the hurricane passed north of the Lesser Antilles, the outer rainbands of Connie produced wind gusts as high as on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. of which fell in one day. Rainfall reached in Charlotte Amalie on Saint Thomas. Two people drowned on the island, and one person was electrocuted due to Connie's passage. The hurricane also destroyed a few shacks and boats on Saint Thomas. In Puerto Rico, high winds and waves destroyed 60 poorly built houses. Connie also damaged crops and utilities in Puerto Rico. Later, San Salvador Island in the Bahamas reported winds of .

left|thumb|Connie west of [[Cape Hatteras, North Carolina]]

When Connie struck North Carolina, it produced sustained winds of in Morehead City, with gusts to . Wind gusts near where the hurricane moved ashore reached , although it was uncertain whether the gust was estimated or measured. Flooding-induced rainfall closed U.S. Route 17 near New Bern. As Connie progressed northward, it continued to drop significant amounts of precipitation. Totals of over were reported on both sides of Chesapeake Bay, in Pennsylvania, and in southeastern New York. More than 100 traffic accidents occurred in Washington D.C. due to slick roads; one accident killed four people, after a car was sideswiped and knocked into a swollen creek where the occupants drowned. The storm spawned a waterspout in Bethany Beach, which knocked off the roofs of a dozen homes, caused a six-hour power outage, and caused a minor injury when a teenager was flown . The rains caused flooding that was described as "inconsequential" by the United States Geological Survey, due to preceding drought conditions. Three days' of rainfall caused creeks to rise in the Lehigh Valley. About 10,000 people lost power in Pennsylvania, but service was quickly restored. A boy required rescue from the flooded Darby Creek.

Heavy rainfall, totaling over affected southeastern New York, causing heavy damage, and killing 11 people in the New York metropolitan area, and three people upstate. Hurricane Connie brought the heaviest rain seen in New York City in over 50 years, totaling within a 20-hour span. Large areas of the city were flooded, inundating subways and thousands of houses. About 100,000 people lost power in the city. and forced LaGuardia Airport to temporarily shut down after flooding reached deep. The Chenango County Fair closed early due to the storms' rains. In coastal Connecticut, the rainfall from Connie increased levels along streams, but there was little damage. Late in the storm's path through the United States, Connie produced wind gusts of along Lake Huron in Michigan, causing high waves that damaged or sank many small boats. Damage in Michigan was estimated at $150,000.

Aftermath

frame|right|Newsreel video clip of Hurricane Connie in North Carolina

Flooding caused by Connie generally did not attract much media attention; however, the floods were important in setting the conditions for later significant flooding across the Northeastern United States. Immediately after the storm, the U.S. Small Business Administration authorized low-interest loans for homes and businesses affected by Connie.

The loss of the Levin J. Marvel during the hurricane prompted the United States Congress to pass a law in 1956, which allowed the Coast Guard to inspect all vessels with more than six passengers; the previous law only allowed inspections for boats of more than 700 tons, much higher than the 183 tons that the Marvel displaced. The inexperienced captain was charged with negligence and manslaughter and stood trial before the United States District Court for the District of Maryland in Baltimore. Those charges carried a prison term of 11 years. Judge Robert Dorsey Watkins, however, acquitted him of the manslaughter charge, instead sentencing him to one-year probation for negligence.

Due to its destructive impact and high death toll, the name Connie was retired from the Atlantic hurricane naming list by the U.S. Weather Bureau after the 1955 season. It was one of four names retired from that year.

Notes

References

External links

Flood of '55 from The Hartford Courant