1991 Halloween Nor’easter
Encyclopedia : 1 : 19 : 199 : 1991 Halloween Nor’easter
- ''This article is about the nor'easter of 1991; for the book see The Perfect Storm; for the movie see The Perfect Storm (film).
October 28 brought the formation of a powerful extratopical cyclone east of Nova Scotia. The system moved east-southeast and then curved to the west. With fuel from Hurricane Grace and the Gulf Stream, the nor’easter began to acquire tropical characteristics and became a tropical storm on October 31. It finished making a complete loop while intensifying into a minimal category 1 hurricane the next day. On November 2, Atlantic Canada experienced the effects of a landfalling tropical storm, which dissipated later that day. Damage totals neared $1 billion (1991 USD) and deaths climbed to 12 people. Most of the damage was while it was extratropical. The hurricane was the second costliest storm of the season, behind only Hurricane Bob, which caused $1.5 billion (1991 USD, $2.8 billion 2005 USD).
Storm history
The Halloween Storm began as a typical nor'easter on October 28, but developed into a powerful storm reminiscent of the Blizzard of 1978 when it was stalled offshore by the high pressure in Canada. To add fuel to the fire, Hurricane Grace, laden with moisture and heading north in the Atlantic, responded to the cold front and headed toward the low. The massive wind shear associated with the nor'easter shredded Grace, but the large amount of moisture associated with the former tropical cyclone helped intensify the storm.
The Halloween Storm reached peak intensity at approximately 12:00 UTC 30 October 1991 with the lowest pressure being 972 millibars. This huge storm, with its associated high winds from the pressure gradient between the high and low, created huge waves. NOAA buoy 44011 located at 41.1° N, 66.6° W reported maximum sustained winds of 49 knots (91 km/h) with gusts to 65 kt (120 km/h) and a significant wave height of 39 feet (12 m) near 15:00 UTC. Buoy 44008 located at 40.5° N, 69.5° W reported maximum sustained winds of 53 kt with gusts to 63 kt (117 km/h) and a significant wave height of 31 ft (9 m) near 00:00 UTC on October 31. Other, higher waves (such as the one shown in the film dramatization The Perfect Storm) were reported by ships, but not confirmed.
- 8 while subtropical
- 8 making landfall
The core of the storm, which moved southwards, ended up over warmer Gulf Stream waters and began to develop the convection (thunderstorms, rain, etc.) of a tropical storm early on November 1. It later strengthed into a true hurricane, with minimum pressure of 980 mbar and sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h), making it a category 1 hurricane. Since the northeast of the United States had already received a pounding from the main storm, and the hurricane was forecast to remain offshore, it did not receive a name and is known simply as Hurricane #8 of 1991. The hurricane continued to the northeast, and dissipated on November 2 after making landfall on Nova Scotia as a tropical storm with 50 (statute) mph (80 km/h) winds.
Impact
The Halloween Storm of 1991 was costly; Walter Drag, Senior Forecaster at the Boston National Weather Service office, estimates the cost of the storm to be under 1 billion U.S. dollars. It caused 12 confirmed deaths; 6 onboard the Andrea Gail and one U.S. Air Force pararescue jumper. A sailing vessel, the Satori, was piloted by a novice and nearly foundered during the storm. It lashed northeastern U.S. with a storm tide of more than 14 ft (4 m) above a storm surge of approximately 5 ft (1.5 m), and piled on top of that 30 ft (10 m) waves. Fortunately, the worst of the storm stayed offshore.
The cold front associated with the No Name Storm also spawned a major blizzard in Minnesota. The Halloween Blizzard, as it was called, pounded the eastern half of Minnesota over a three day period. The storm dropped 28.4 inches (72 cm) of snow on the Twin Cities, a single storm record for the region. Duluth received 36.9 inches (94 cm) of snow. This remains the largest snowfall amount from a single storm total in Minnesota history. In southern Minnesota, with slightly warmer temperatures, it became a major ice storm. Especially hard hit was the area around Albert Lea and Austin. The extremely cold temperatures that followed hindered highway snow removal and transportation was largely shut down.
Naming
The U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NWS Natural Disaster Survey Report called the storm "The Halloween Nor’easter of 1991". The "perfect storm" moniker was coined by NWS Boston Deputy Meteorologist, Robert Case. In New England it is still colloquially referred to as simply "the No Name Storm" or "the Halloween Storm." (Had it been given a name, it would have been called Hurricane Henri)Quotations
See also
- redirect
External links
- [Summary of the storm and its formation, with satellite imagery]
- [News article covering the storm]
- [NWS Service Assessment]
- [Semi-official report]
- [The unnamed hurricane spawned by the storm]
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