- Hurricane Gracie
Infobox Hurricane
Name=Hurricane Gracie
Type=hurricane
Year=1959
Basin=Atl
Formed=September 20 ,1959
Dissipated=September 30 ,1959
1-min winds=120
Pressure=950
Da
Fatalities=22 direct
Inflated=0
Areas=Bahamas ,South Carolina ,North Carolina ,Virginia
Hurricane season=1959 Atlantic hurricane season Hurricane Gracie was a major
hurricane that formed in September 1959, the strongest during the1959 Atlantic hurricane season and the most intense to strike theUnited States sinceHurricane Hazel in 1954.National Hurricane Center . [http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1959/gracie/prenhc/prelim01.gifPreliminary Report on Hurricane Gracie: September 22-October 1, 1959.] Retrieved on2008-01-07 .] The system was first noted as an area of thunderstorms east of theLesser Antilles which moved just north of theGreater Antilles , quickly intensifying into a hurricane onSeptember 22 . Gracie was a storm that was very difficult to forecast, with its movement unpredictable.Allan Huffman [http://raleighwx.easternuswx.com/gracie.html Hurricane Gracie.] Retrieved on2008-01-07 .] After five days of erratic motion, Gracie became a major hurricane which struckSouth Carolina , and weakened as it moved up theAppalachians , bringing much needed rain to a drought-plagued region. Much of the destruction related with Gracie was centered onBeaufort, South Carolina . Gracie became anextratropical cyclone onSeptember 30 while moving through the Eastern United States.Meteorological history
An area of
squall y weather was first noted a few hundred miles east of the Lesser Antilles onSeptember 18 . [National Hurricane Center . [http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1959/gracie/prenhc/prelim03.gifSan Juan Weather Bureau Weather Bulletin for Press Radio and Television 3 PM September 18 1959.] Retrieved on2008-01-07 .] The convective area organized into a tropical depression near the north coast ofHispaniola onSeptember 20 . After moving west-northwestward for a day, it turned northeastward, where upper level winds were very favorable and steering currents were very weak. OnSeptember 22 Gracie was named as a tropical depression before it developed into a tropical storm, [National Hurricane Center . [http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1959/gracie/prenhc/prelim07.gifMiami Weather Bureau Advisory Number 1 Tropical Depression Gracie 1030 AM EST September 22 1959.] Retrieved on2008-01-07 .] followed by reaching hurricane strength later that night. It turned to the east onSeptember 25 , and turned back west to west-northwest onSeptember 27 as a stable anticyclone built in to its north.Allan Huffman [http://raleighwx.easternuswx.com/gracie.html Hurricane Gracie.] Retrieved on2008-01-07 .] cite web|author=Weather Underground|year=2007|title=Hurricane Gracie|publisher=Wunderground.com|accessdate=2007-11-08|url=http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/at195908.asp]Gracie quickly strengthened and reached its peak of convert|140|mph|km/h kn|lk=on winds on
September 29 , but cooler air and land interaction weakened it to a convert|120|mph|km/h kn|abbr=on Category 3 major hurricane at the time of its landfall at 1625 UTC over St. Helena Sound near the south end of Edisto Island inSouth Carolina . [National Hurricane Center . [http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1959/gracie/prenhc/prelim30.gifLocal Statement from Weather Bureau Charleston South Carolina Hurricane Gracie 12 Noon EST September 29 1959.] Retrieved on2008-01-07 .] After landfall, Gracie moved inland and north and became extratropical onSeptember 30 .Preparations
Impact
Georgia and South Carolina
Storm surge flooding was minimal due to the storm's landfall near the time of low
tide . However, Charleston still recorded their highest tide since 1940. [National Hurricane Center . [http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1959/gracie/prenhc/prelim31.gifTide Statement Weather Bureau Office Charleston South Carolina 2:30 PM EST September 29 1959.] Retrieved on2008-01-07 .] Along the coast of southern South Carolina, the storm tide was measured up to convert|11.9|ft|m|lk=on above mean lower low water (the average level of the lowest low tide each day). [D. Lee Harris. [http://www.csc.noaa.gov/hes/images/pdf/CHARACTERISTICS_STORM_SURGE.pdf U. S. Department of Commerce Weather Bureau Technical Paper No. 48: Characteristics of the Hurricane Storm Surge.] Retrieved on2008-01-12 .] TheUnited States Coast Guard vessel Bramble evacuated people stranded in Savannah and Charleston onSeptember 30 . [United States Coast Guard . [http://www.uscg.mil/systems/gse/180%20histcontextno%20pics.html Historical Context and Statement of Significance Cactus, Mesquite, and Basswood Classes United States Coast Guard 180-foot Buoy Tenders (WLBs).] Retrieved on2008-01-12 .] Gracie killed 10 people inSouth Carolina and Georgia, mainly due to wind and rain-induced automobile accidents, falling trees and electrocution by live wires. The Garden Club of South Carolina replaced numerous trees after the storm. [South Carolina Department of Transportation. [http://www.scdot.org/ArtMan/publish/article_658.shtml State Highway Map Features Garden Club o South Carolina.] Retrieved on2008-01-11 .] Wind damage was quite significant acrossSouth Carolina , particularly the city of Beaufort, South Carolina, with many downed trees, telephone poles, and streetlights. Also, numerous windows were shattered and shingles were torn off of roofs. A number of creeks overflowed causing floodwaters that, in areas, were several feet deep. The opening of the Beaufort Center of theUniversity of South Carolina was delayed due to Gracie. [University of South Carolina . [http://www.sc.edu/bulletin/archives/2002-2003/Beaufort/Univ.html USC Beaufort.] Retrieved on2008-01-11 .] It would be 30 years before another major hurricane stuck South Carolina;Hurricane Hugo in September 1989.cite web|author=Hurricane Research Division|year=2007|title=Hurdat Data for Tropical Cyclones 1851-2006|publisher=NOAA |accessdate=2008-01-12|url=http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/tracks1851to2006_atl.txt]Elsewhere in the United States
Heavy rains fell well ahead of the storm along an inverted trough extending north of the storm, causing convert|6.79|in|mm|lk=on between the mornings of
September 28 andSeptember 29 atNorfolk, Virginia . [Daily Weather Maps. [http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/dwm/1959/19590929.djvu September 29, 1959.] Retrieved on2008-01-12 .] The highest rainfall amount measured during the storm was convert|13.20|in|mm|lk=on at Big Meadows. [David M. Roth . [http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical/rain/gracie1959.html Hurricane Gracie Rainfall Page.] Retrieved on2008-01-17 .] The storm spawned seven tornadoes in all. [Tom Grazulis and Bill McCaul. [http://www.tornadoproject.com/alltorns/allhurricanes.htm List of Known Tropical Cyclones Which Have Spawned Tornadoes.] Retrieved on2008-01-11 .] A few of thetornado es which accompanied the dissipating storm throughVirginia killed twelve people nearCharlottesville, Virginia . Other tornadoes touched down in the Carolinas and Pennsylvania. [Virginia Department of Emergency Management. [http://www.vdem.state.va.us/newsroom/history/hurricane.cfm Virginia's Weather History: Virginia Hurricanes.] Retrieved on2008-01-11 .] For the most part, rainfall from Gracie was beneficial as it moved up the Appalachians since the area had been in a drought preceding thecyclone .National Hurricane Center . [http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1959/gracie/prenhc/prelim02.gifHurricane Gracie Preliminary Storm Report, page 2.] Retrieved on2008-01-07 .]Long term impact
Edisto Beach, South Carolina was changed forever by Gracie, due to human efforts to renourish thebeach after its passage. Most of the shell hash beach currently at Edisto was placed there after Gracie. In order to expand the beach, an inlandmarsh was excavated and moved to the shoreline. This created highly desirable beach front property which led to new development along the coast seaward of Palmetto Boulevard, but also created an environmental catastrophe along the nearby ocean floor. [Gered Lennon. [http://books.google.com/books?id=EpHzhOo5EzUC&pg=PA118&lpg=PA118&dq=hurricane+gracie+1959&source=web&ots=34hj2dLRTa&sig=hHuf_BjTl5bpLSwA942_IUnyPOM#PPA119,M1 Living With the South Carolina Coast.] Retrieved on2008-01-11 .] A species ofisopod which grows in coastal estuaries, the Cyathura Polita, disappeared after the passage of this hurricane from theAshepoo River in South Carolina. [William D. Burbanck. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0012-9658(196107)42%3A3%3C606%3ATDOCPF%3E2.0.CO%3B2-E The Disappearance of Cyathura Polita from the Ashepoo River, South Carolina, After Hurricane "Gracie" in 1959.] Retrieved on2008-01-11 .] TheKermadec Petrel , a bird, was swept to Lookout Mountain Sanctuary inPennsylvania during Gracie, marking the first time it appeared in North America. [University of New Mexico . [http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Wilson/v073n03/p0262-p0267.html Kermadec Petrel in Pennsylvania.] Retrieved on2008-01-11 .]Retirement
Gracie's retirement status is unclear; some sources list it as being retired, [ [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/B3.html Faq : Hurricanes, Typhoons, And Tropical Cyclones ] ] although the official NHC list omits Gracie. [ [http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/retirednames.shtml Retired Hurricane Names Since 1954 ] ] However, the name has not been used since; Hurricane Gracie was before the formal lists were created, so it was not replaced with any particular name.
See also
*
List of tropical cyclones
*List of Atlantic hurricanes References
External links
* [http://raleighwx.easternuswx.com/gracie.html Hurricane Gracie Information]
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