Latest news with #Superstorm
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
On Today's Date: The March 1993 'Superstorm'
We're in the midst of a parade of March storms across the nation this month. While impactful, none of those will match the shocking, widespread effects from a 1990s "Superstorm." On March 12, 1993, 32 years ago today, low pressure intensified rapidly in the Gulf, and would then rake up the Eastern Seaboard the following weekend with historic impacts from Cuba to eastern Canada. Dubbed "Superstorm" or the "Storm of the Century," it began by pushing a storm surge reminiscent of recent hurricanes into Florida's Gulf Coast, up to 12 feet in Taylor County. A squall line of severe thunderstorms raked across Cuba and the Florida Peninsula producing winds as high as 109 mph and spawning 15 tornadoes. Along the East Coast, winds up to 90 mph were clocked in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, 81 mph in Boston and 71 mph at New York's LaGuardia Airport. Coastal flooding and pounding surf damaged 200 homes in North Carolina's Outer Banks and at least 18 homes were lost on Long Island's coast. The snow was also historic. At least 6 inches of snow was reported as far south as the western Florida Panhandle. Mt. LeConte, Tennessee, measured 56 inches of snow, and drifts up to 10 feet were reported in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina and Tennessee each set all-time snow depth records. 'Superstorm' claimed 270 lives in 13 states from Florida to Maine. Over 200 hikers needed rescue in the Appalachians. The total estimated damage in the U.S. was $12.2 billion (2024 dollars). Every major airport on the East Coast and virtually all interstates from northern Georgia northeastward were closed at one time or another and nearly 10 million customers lost electricity. NOAA calculated almost 120 million in the East were impacted by the snowstorm. An estimated 44 million acre-feet of water was dumped on the East in the storm, about 40 days of Mississippi River flow at New Orleans, according to NOAA. It remains one of only two Category 5 East Coast snowstorms dating to 1950, according to the NESIS scale. Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
NYC home that famously battled back from Hurricane Sandy faces another once-in-a-lifetime disaster: ‘Really messed up'
A Staten Island home that battled back from Hurricane Sandy to 'save Christmas' — winning a visit from then-President Obama — is again partly buried in debris thanks to another once-in-a-lifetime disaster. Debra Ingenito, the 61-year-old widow who lives in the New Dorp Beach home with her two sons and several pets, said she was watching television in her living room during the early afternoon of Feb. 11 when she heard a tremendous boom. 'It really did sound like something exploded,' Ingenito told The Post. Ingenito — who had already rebuilt her family's home after Sandy — ran outside with one of her sons. The pair was shocked by the sight that greeted them. 'The house next door split in half, so half went on top of the opposite-side neighbor's car, and the other was up against our house,' she said. The crushing weight did a number on Ingenito's Topping Street home, damaging several rooms, including her kitchen on the first floor, partly wrecking her second floor, pancaking a plastic fence, cracking her chimney flue and blocking at least one exterior door. 'There's all stress cracks from the impact,' she said of her home. 'It's really messed up. … I sit here, and when the wind starts going, I hear the creaks and cracks.' It's the second time an extraordinary disaster has befallen the unfortunate Staten Islander, whose house was battered and flooded by Superstorm Sandy in November 2012. Ingenito's late husband, Joeseph, made headlines at the time for decorating a 7-foot tree outside their house for Chrismas — all that remained of the mammoth blue spruce that once towered over the family's yard before Sandy's tremendous winds tore it down. Joe decorated the tree with whatever survived the storm surge, including paper coffee cups, surgical masks, a worker's glove, safety goggles, a random hat and a Hannah Montana bag. 'I just wanted to help the neighborhood keep its spirits up,' he said. 'We're still going to have Christmas.' The couple vaulted to national fame when Obama even gifted them two ornaments for the tree after reading about their makeshift decorations. 'It's an honor, it's a once-in-a-lifetime deal,' Joseph said of the presidential attention. His wife called the ornaments 'beautiful' and said they'd be passed down through the generations. It took two years for the Ingenitos' home to be fully restored, she said. The house next door was also badly damaged during the storm, according to SILive. Workers were raising the first floor of the unoccupied next-door home when its foundation gave out and the structure tumbled onto Ingenito's and the other property, a source told the outlet. The local building department put a stop-work order on it after it fell. SILive said the contractor had been working without a permit and had violated other local rules. Building officials issued a partial vacate order for Ingenito's home, meaning she cannot use portions of it. She said she is not going anywhere. She said she is scared someone will rob her home if it's left unoccupied, and also, she has nowhere else to go anyway. Several people are helping Ingenito deal with the contractors and insurance companies — but this time, she'll go through the crucible of rebuilding without her loving husband, who died in July. Four months later, her dad passed away on her birthday, leaving her reeling even more. 'Then I had to have this happen, and I'm like, 'Really?' ' she said. 'But you know what, I just have to take it day by day,' the widow said, noting that she has no idea how much the repairs will cost or how long the rebuild will take. 'I just want the house fixed. 'But I'm a woman of faith, and I believe [my husband] was here when that house came down,' she said. 'Because it could have been a lot worse.'
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
5 Reasons Spring Is The Most Extreme Weather Season, From A Rising Tornado Threat To Major Snowstorms
Spring is a battleground season that's notorious for unleashing a large range of extreme weather conditions. Tornadoes, major snowstorms, flooding rain, high winds and big temperature fluctuations go hand-in-hand with the season, sometimes all occurring at once within the same storm. The reason this happens is because it's a time of year that features a battle between warmer air trying to push farther north and the last of winter's cold plunging southward out of Canada. That temperature contrast fuels a strong jet stream that propels intense low-pressure systems capable of packing highly variable weather conditions. Next, we look at five reasons why this setup typically makes spring the most volatile weather season. Many parts of the country can still see winter storms in spring, especially early in the season. March and April are the snowiest months of the year in the Rockies and High Plains. The last measurable snow in many cities across the nation's northern tier doesn't happen until April. Heavy spring snowstorms commonly impact areas from the Rockies and the adjacent Front Range into the Plains and upper Midwest. Sometimes these storms even produce blizzard conditions. The Northeast has a long history of significant winter storms in March, with the 1993 Superstorm being the most severe in modern times. More recently, four nor'easters hit the region in three weeks during March 2018. Parts of the region have also been hit in April, including a blizzard in 1982. Tornado outbreaks are probably the weather event most often associated with spring. Tornado activity in the Lower 48 increases in March before peaking in April, May and June. Those are the core months for tornadoes, but they can occur at other times during the year. March averages the fewest spring tornadoes, with 104 per year. That average increases to 202 in April and 260 in May, based on the period of 2004-23. The area of highest tornado risk in spring shifts from the Deep South in March toward the Plains and Midwest from April into May. That follows the northward migration of the jet stream further into spring. River flooding often occurs in spring, especially from the Plains and Midwest into parts of New England. A sharp spring warmup can quickly melt lingering snowpack that can then spill into rivers and cause them to flood. The worst flooding happens when bouts of heavy rain move across an area where the ground is already saturated from winter snowmelt or rain. Since the ground cannot absorb any of the rain, serious flooding can occur and potentially inundate city streets and even homes. An extreme example of severe flooding happened in March 2019 when heavy rain from a bomb cyclone combined with melting snow to produce a flooding disaster in parts of the Plains and Midwest. NOAA estimated the total damage from this historic flood event at $10.8 billion. It was one of the nation's costliest inland flood events on record. Flash flooding is also an increasing threat in spring as thunderstorms become more numerous. Thunderstorms can produce rainfall rates of more than an inch per hour. Major flash flooding can occur if that heavy rain persists for several hours in a particular area. Spring is also known for its up-and-down temperatures. This is particularly the case in March and April when strong low-pressure systems moving through the central and eastern states draw warm air ahead into the northern tier of the country. That could result in a brief couple of days with some enjoyable warmth. But an inevitable cold plunge typically arrives after the storm departs and takes away the glimpse of spring temperatures. The atmosphere becomes less prone to wild temperature swings later in spring and allows for longer periods of warmer weather. Of course, average temperatures steadily rise through the season as well. Most of the country has average highs in the 60s, 70s and 80s by May. (MORE: How Average Highs, Lows Rise Through Spring) Gusty winds often accompany potent spring storms before, during and after their passage through the Lower 48. Spring as a whole (March to May) is the windiest season for more than half the contiguous United States, according to a post on Bluesky from Brian Brettschneider, an Alaska-based climatologist. The windiest time is early spring. March is the windiest month for many cities from the Plains to the East Coast, but stronger winds also accompany storm systems well into April. Sometimes those winds can contribute to blowing dust in the Southwest and Plains.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Type of nor'easter: Miller Type A storm system explainer
Nor'easters are powerful storm systems that impact the Eastern Seaboard with a combination of northeasterly winds, heavy precipitation and coastal flooding. These storm systems, which typically occur in the autumn and winter months, form when cold air over the continental United States clashes with warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Stream. The resulting event can produce blizzard conditions, hurricane-force wind gusts, severe weather and significant coastal erosion. Meteorologists classify nor'easters using the Miller classification system, named after researcher J.E. Miller, from the 1940s. Originally, only two types of storms - Miller Type A and Miller Type B – were used for identification purposes, but in the early 2000s, forecasters expanded the system to include three additional types, creating five distinct categories: Type A, Type B, Type C, Type D and Type E. Each type of nor'easter has unique characteristics and impact zones that can lead to devastating conditions, with widespread power outages and billions of dollars in damage. What Is A Nor'easter? This event happens when a strong polar jet dips southward and meets a low-pressure system that develops in the Gulf of Mexico or southwest Atlantic. The system's origin point is often a frontal boundary that is draped across the Gulf Coast and Florida. As the low moves up the Eastern Seaboard, the system usually rapidly intensifies with significant snowfall likely in the mid-Atlantic and into areas of the interior Northeast. Due to the system's trajectory, large chunks of the I-95 corridor tend to miss out on the heavy snow, with rainfall that cuts down on accumulation rates. Miller Type A events are more common during La Niña patterns than during El Niños because the northern jet tends to be more energized than the southern subtropical jet. Some of the most powerful storm systems outside of hurricanes have been Miller Type A storms. The Superstorm of 1993, a Miller Type A event, was the most destructive nor'easter in U.S. history. Known as the "Storm of the Century," the system produced hurricane-force wind gusts, tornadoes, flooding and blizzard conditions that led to the deaths of more than 300 people with damage amounts in the immediate aftermath of the event estimated to be at more than $5 billion. What Does Rain Smell Like? December 22-24, 1989: Christmas Coastal Snowstorm A storm system that developed in the Gulf of Mexico and traveled along the southeastern coastline produced a once-in-a-lifetime snowfall event for communities in the Deep South. Enough cold air was in place that instead of rain or severe weather, cities from Florida through the coastal Carolinas saw record snowfall. According to NOAA historical data, 15" of snow fell in Wilmington, North Carolina, while 3.9" fell in Charleston and Jacksonville saw around 2". According to the NWS, the frozen weather event caused widespread power outages and severe crop damage as arctic temperatures gripped the region for days. Winds were reported to be 60 mph and wave heights were between 25-35 in the near-shore waters from Virginia into the Carolinas. Virginia and the Delmarva Peninsula were the northernmost extent of the impactful weather, as the system took a path out to sea and did not make a swipe at the Northeast. March 12-14, 1993: Storm of the Century A low-pressure system developed on March 12th along a nearly stationary front along the Gulf Coast. The system, dubbed the "Storm of the Century," produced hurricane-force wind gusts, tornadoes, flooding and blizzard conditions across much of the eastern third of the nation. During its trek from the Gulf Coast along the Eastern Seaboard, the system's barometric pressure dropped to as low as 960 mb, which is the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane. Widespread wind gusts of more than 70 mph knocked power out to at least 10 million residents, with an estimated 120 million in the impact zone. The heaviest snowfall occurred in the Appalachians with 1-2 feet reported from North Carolina through interior Pennsylvania and New York. The combination of gusty winds and heavy precipitation caused every major airport on the U.S. East Coast to close at some point during the storm system. While the coastal storm of 1989 demonstrated the limited impact a Miller Type A nor'easter can have, the "Storm of the Century" showcased the opposite extreme, highlighting the vast reach and intensity such a system can achieve. According to NOAA, the storm system led to the deaths of more than 300 people, with damage tallies in the immediate aftermath of the event estimated to be at more than $5 billion. December 18-20, 2009: North American Blizzard of 2009 The nor'easter developed during the weekend before Christmas along the Gulf Coast and caused impacts along the Appalachians and southern parts of the Northeast and New England. Its track led to significant snowfall from the Appalachians through Long Island, with some communities reporting more than 2 feet of snow. Wind gusts of 40-50 mph triggered Blizzard Warnings to be issued from around the nation's capital to Long Island. Parts of the Southeast, including Georgia and the Carolinas, experienced extreme icing, which halted travel. Based on NOAA's impact scale, the storm system only ranked as a 2 out of 5 based on precipitation amounts and population impacted. The event was quickly followed by the 2009 North American Christmas blizzard, which produced more widespread impacts across a greater extent of the country and received a rating of 5 - the most extreme on its impact article source: Type of nor'easter: Miller Type A storm system explainer
