Tropical Events 1950s

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception


1959 - Hurricane Gracie
Gracie made landfall near Beaufort, SC, at the end of September as a Category 3 hurricane. The storm came ashore at low tide, limiting the impact of the storm surge, but the surge still produced an impressive rise in water. The tide level peaked close to 10 feet above mean lower low water level on Charleston Harbor as Gracie pushed the storm surge into the coast. Even at low tide, Hurricane Gracie easily produced coastal flooding, including 1 to 2 feet of salt water in parts of Charleston. Landfall at high tide could have pushed salt water to catastrophic flooding levels along the South Carolina coast. Loss of life was kept to a minimum by effective advance evacuation, but an estimated 10 deaths were directly attributed to Hurricane Gracie. A report filed from the Weather Bureau in Charleston, SC, at the time described damage as "...widespread and extensive, estimated to be 5 to 10 million dollars and perhaps more."


1957 - Hurricane Audrey
      Audrey made landfall in late June as a Category 4 hurricane near the Texas-Louisiana border. Audrey brought a storm surge in excess of 12 feet, which inundated the flat coast of southwestern Louisiana as far as 25 miles inland in some places. Waves on top of the surge were 4 to 5 feet, with a few peaks possibly reaching 8 to 10 feet. Entire communities in the tidal region of Louisiana were demolished. In the Cameron to Gran Cheniere area, 60 to 80% of the houses were destroyed or floated off their foundations. At least 416 deaths were associated with Audrey, with nearly all those deaths coming as a result of the storm surge. Estimates of property damage were in the range of $150 to 200 million.


1956 - Hurricane Flossy
Hurricane Flossy crossed the Mississippi delta a little north of Burrwood, LA, in late September. The hurricane completely submerged Grand Isle with its storm surge and advanced on the Greater New Orleans area. Hurricane Flossy then continued on, with the center passing a little south of Pensacola, FL, bringing storm tide of 7.4 feet mean sea level at Laguna Beach, FL. Flossy became extratropical shortly after the center passed out of Florida, but continued to move northeastward inside the U.S. coastline as a strong storm until it passed out to sea near the Virginia Capes. Tides flooded portions of Norfolk, VA, and water stood 2.5 feet deep in several streets. Beach erosion occurred as far north as Delaware. Hurricane Flossy was responsible for 15 deaths, with damage estimates set just short of $25 million.


1955 - Hurricane Connie
Connie made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on the North Carolina coast near Morehead City in mid-August. Tides along the North Carolina coast were as much as 7 feet above normal from Southport to Nags Head, and 5 to 8 feet above normal in the sounds at the mouths of the rivers. Total damage in North Carolina was estimated at $40 million. Hurricane Connie was responsible for 25 deaths.


1954 - Hurricane Hazel
Hazel made landfall near the North Carolina/South Carolina border as a Category 4 hurricane on October 15. The North and South Carolina beaches suffered serious devastation, with beach resorts along the coast destroyed. Every pier along a distance of 170 miles of coastline was demolished and whole lines of beach homes were wiped away. In some places the tide was over 17 feet higher than mean low water. As Hurricane Hazel continued up the eastern seaboard, damage was extensive as tides around the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay reached 2 to 6 feet above sea level and high tides in Baltimore, MD, flooded the streets. The Potomac River rose to 5.4 feet above mean sea level at Dahlgren and Colonial Beach, VA. The Potomac River at Alexandria rose to 7.5 feet and the river reclaimed several blocks of the city. Hurricane Hazel caused a total of 95 deaths in the U.S. and an estimated $281 million in damages.


1954 - Hurricane Carol
Hurricane Carol brushed Cape Hatteras, NC, and proceeded past Norfolk, VA, finally making landfall on August 31 on eastern Long Island, NY, and southeastern Connecticut as a Category 3 hurricane. Carol arrived shortly after high tide, causing widespread tidal flooding. Storm surge levels were 5 to 8 feet across the west shore of Connecticut and 10 to 15 feet from the New London, CT, area eastward. Narragansett Bay and New Bedford Harbor saw surges of over 14 feet in the upper reaches of both waterways. Coastal communities from central Connecticut eastward were devastated, and entire coastal communities were nearly wiped out in New London, Groton, and Mystic, CT, as well as from Westerly to Narragansett, RI. Downtown Providence, RI, was flooded under 12 feet of water. Hurricane Carol destroyed nearly 4,000 homes and was responsible for 60 deaths, with an estimated $461 million in damages.