Hurricane Gloria

Hurricane Gloria was a powerful tropical cyclone that caused significant damage along the East Coast of the United States and in Atlantic Canada during the 1985 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the first significant tropical cyclone to strike the northeastern United States since Hurricane Agnes in 1972 and the first major storm to affect New York City and Long Island directly since Hurricane Donna in 1960. Gloria was a Cape Verde hurricane originating from a tropical wave on September 16 in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. After remaining a weak tropical cyclone for several days, Gloria intensified into a hurricane on September 22 north of the Lesser Antilles. During that time, the storm had moved generally westward, although it turned to the northwest due to a weakening of the ridge. Gloria quickly intensified on September 24, and the next day reached peak winds of . The hurricane weakened before striking the Outer Banks of North Carolina on September 27. Later that day, Gloria made two subsequent landfalls on Long Island and across the coastline of western Connecticut, before becoming extratropical on September 28 over New England. The remnants moved through Atlantic Canada and went on to impact Western Europe, eventually dissipating on October 4.

Before Gloria made landfall, the National Hurricane Center issued hurricane warnings at some point for the East Coast of the United States from South Carolina to Maine. Hundreds of thousands of people evacuated, and the hurricane was described as the "storm of the century." In general, Gloria's strongest winds remained east of the center, which largely spared locations from North Carolina to New Jersey, and the passage at low tide reduced storm surge. Hurricane-force winds and gusts affected much of the path, which knocked down trees and power lines. This left over 4 million people without power, causing the worst power outage in Connecticut history related to a natural disaster. Fallen trees caused six of the storm's fourteen deaths.

In North Carolina, high waves damaged many homes along the Outer Banks and caused heavy beach erosion. High waves also damaged piers, boats, and docks throughout the Mid-Atlantic states. Flooding forced several highways to close, and in Pennsylvania, thousands were forced to evacuate their homes. The storm surge destroyed 48 homes on Long Island, while the winds damaged the roofs of many more. Widespread crop damage occurred, amounting to about $20 million (1985 USD). Overall damage in the United States was estimated at $900 million, which was less than expected. In neighboring Canada, the remnants of Gloria caused minor power outages in New Brunswick, although confusion related to the storm's arrival led to the creation of the Canadian Hurricane Centre.

Meteorological history

A tropical wave moved off the west coast of Africa on September 15. Based on data from satellite imagery, it is estimated that a tropical depression formed on September 16 near Cape Verde, with an associated low-level circulation. The next day, the depression intensified into Tropical Storm Gloria, but there was no further intensification. On September 18, Gloria weakened back to tropical depression status, but re-intensified into a tropical storm on September 20. During this time, it moved generally westward due to a strong ridge to the north. On September 21, the Hurricane Hunters began flying into Gloria to measure the storm's intensity, and the next day, a flight observed winds of at a height of . As a result, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) upgraded Gloria to a hurricane about east-northeast of the Lesser Antilles. Later that day, a buoy about east of the center recorded a wave height of , which at the time was the highest buoy wave recording in an Atlantic hurricane. After weakening further, Gloria passed just east of the Delmarva Peninsula and New Jersey and interacted with a cold front. Its strongest winds remained on the eastern edge of the circulation, and the storm was gradually losing tropical characteristics. This was only about three days after Henri had struck the same general area as a much weaker tropical storm. Operationally, the NHC had classified Gloria as a Category 3 major hurricane when it made landfall, but the storm's landfall intensity was later downgraded in the post-season analysis. Even then, the hurricane produced Category 3-equivalent wind gusts throughout Long Island.

About an hour after striking Long Island, Gloria made its final landfall in western Connecticut near Westport, and proceeded to move through New England, while weakening.

Preparations

right|thumb|Hurricane Gloria to the east of Florida on September 25|alt=Satellite image of Hurricane Gloria as it is located well east of Florida, with a pinhole eye and a convective band pattern which is slightly elongated longitudinally, although the overall circulation of the storm is still tight and intense.

Early in Gloria's duration, it threatened the northern Lesser Antilles, prompting a hurricane watch and later warning for the area.

While Gloria was off the east coast of Florida, the NHC issued a hurricane watch from Edisto Beach, South Carolina to Cape Henry, Virginia, which was upgraded to a hurricane warning at 1000 UTC on September 26, or 19.5 hours before landfall. By later that day, a hurricane watch was issued for the rest of the eastern United States to Eastport, Maine. By two hours before Gloria's landfall on Long Island, a hurricane warning was in effect for the same area, after warnings were gradually extended further north. Such a track gathered the attention of many people, and led to the evacuation of 380,000 people along the coast from North Carolina to Connecticut. In Maryland, officials implemented lane reversing to expedite the evacuation process, a policy many other coastal states now use.

Officials advised 95,000 citizens along the New Jersey coastline, an area that rarely experiences hurricanes, to evacuate. Cape May County—the most vulnerable part of the state and among the most susceptible in the entire country—would require 36 hours in 2005 to evacuate the 100,000 citizens and 900,000 tourists that were commonly present during busy summer weekends.

Offices and classes of Harvard University closed only for the third time in the 20th century, the previous cases being the New England Hurricane of 1938 and the Blizzard of '78. Although Gloria's winds downed numerous trees and caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage in the area, overall effects were much less than expected.

At the same time Gloria was making landfall on Long Island, a storm warning was issued for western New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Gloria was the first significant hurricane to affect New England since Hurricane Donna in 1960. In addition, some unofficial reports in southeastern Virginia indicated amounts of up to of rain. Because much of the Mid-Atlantic experienced the western, weaker side of this hurricane, damage was relatively light. High winds downed numerous trees throughout the area, leaving hundreds of thousands without power, including 237,000 in New Jersey, 124,000 in Maryland, and 56,000 in Virginia. Extreme rainfall in Virginia resulted in $5.5 million (1985 USD) in damage.

Long Island and New York City

left|thumb|Rainfall totals related to Hurricane Gloria|alt=A black map of the United States East Coast and the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, with white outlines. Superimposed over this map is a yellow line which represents the track of Hurricane Gloria. Color shading represents rainfall from the hurricane; darker colors indicate higher rainfall totals, an axis of which can be seen from eastern North Carolina extending north-northeastward into far eastern Pennsylvania near the border with New York.

While making its second landfall, Gloria was accompanied by a storm surge of at Battery Park, the highest along its path. The highest wind report was a gust of at Islip Airport. Central Park reported a gust of . There were four deaths on Long Island, two of whom related to heart attacks and the other two related to fallen trees. There were also 14 injuries in the region, many of them due to downed tree branches. In the New York mainland, heavy rainfall flooded rivers and alleviated drought conditions. Rough waves damaged boats and docks along the Hudson River. Unsettled weather contributed to a traffic fatality and an airplane crash that killed one in the New York mainland.

New England and Canada

right|thumb|Satellite image of Hurricane Gloria making landfall on New England|alt=Gloria is shown as a large hurricane as it is making landfall in new England. The storm is in the process of losing its tropical characteristics; its eye has become obscured, and the vast majority of convection is located along the left half of the circulation.

Gloria passed quickly through New England as a weakened hurricane, although it maintained a large circulation. The storm hit at low tide, resulting in low to moderate storm surges of in Groton, Connecticut, in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and in Portland, Maine. The high waves caused heavy beach erosion in Connecticut and Rhode Island. The highest reported sustained winds were in Waterbury, Connecticut, and Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory in Massachusetts, although neither location is at sea level. Gusts peaked at in Chatham, Massachusetts, and widespread areas across New England reported hurricane-force gusts. Heavy rainfall caused stream flooding, although the heaviest damage was from the winds. The hurricane destroyed a radio tower in Framingham and damaged hundreds of homes in the eastern portion of the state. Along the coast, the storm tide caused minor coastal flooding and damaged hundreds of boats. Across Massachusetts, damage was estimated at $61 million, including $6 million from crop damage.

Gloria's high winds downed numerous trees across New England, causing minor to moderate damage. In the region, Connecticut received the worst damage to trees and structures. Along the coastline, storm surge and strong waves washed away several fishing piers, and some roadways were underwater during the storm's passage. In Maine, damage was more severe, where strong wind gusts ripped off roofs and uprooted hundreds of trees. High winds across New England resulted in significant power outages, leaving 250,000 in Maine without power. In all, seven deaths occurred in New England, many of which occurred from falling tree limbs.

Western Europe

In Western Europe, Gloria's remnants produced unusual weather over portions of the region. On October 4, Gloria's remnants caused the warmest October day on record for Switzerland during the 20th century. Later in 2011, a nor'easter in October left over 830,000 people statewide without power, also breaking the record set by Gloria. In New Hampshire, most power outages were quickly restored, and all were restored within six days. In Maine, all power outages were restored in 11 days.

In Canada, the damage was less than expected, but confusion related to the storm threat prompted Environment Canada to research the need for a dedicated hurricane center in 1986. The following year, the Canadian Hurricane Centre was established with offices on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

Due to the hurricane's impact, the World Meteorological Organization retired name Gloria from the rotating Atlantic tropical storm naming lists in the spring of 1986, and it will never again be used in the basin. It was replaced with Grace for the 1991 season.

Notes

References

External links

HPC information on Gloria's rainfall
NOAA hurricane intensities at landfall
An unofficial Hurricane Gloria page