Meteorological History
A tropical wave developed into a tropical depression over the northeastern Bahamas on August 25. It moved to the northwest, and intensified into a tropical storm just six hours after forming. Receiving the name Carol, the storm gradually turned to the north, and strengthened under generally favorable conditions. On August 27, while located 345 miles (545 km) east of Cape Canaveral, Florida, Carol strengthened to attain hurricane status. With a large anticyclone persisting across the southeastern United States, the motion of Carol turned to a northwest drift. The hurricane continued to strengthen, and Carol reached an initial peak intensity of 105 mph (169 km/h) late on August 27. After maintaining peak intensity for 30 hours and moving a distance of 77 miles (124 km), Carol weakened slightly off the coast of Georgia.
An eastward moving deep-wave trough intensified as it moved through the eastern United States. This caused Carol to accelerate as it turned to the north and north-northeast. On August 30, the hurricane again strengthened to reach Category 2 status while located 180 miles (290 km) east of Savannah, Georgia. Early on August 31, Carol passed very near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina with Reconnaissance Aircraft intensity estimates between 75 mph (120 km/h) to 125 mph (200 km/h). The hurricane continued north-northeastward with a forward motion of up to 39 mph (63 km/h), and Carol intensified further to make landfall on eastern Long Island (the eye going over the Fire Island community of Point O'Woods) as an upper Category 2 or a Category 3 hurricane. After quickly crossing the Long Island Sound the hurricane made its final landfall on Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Carol was a small hurricane, with the strongest winds near and to the east of the center. The eye remained well-defined as it made landfall, unusual for New England hurricane landfalls; residents in Groton, Connecticut reported clear skies and calm conditions as the hurricane made landfall, which was followed by an increase to hurricane-force winds 30 minutes later. Carol quickly lost tropical characteristics while crossing Connecticut and western Massachusetts as a minimal hurricane, and late on August 31 the hurricane became extratropical over southwestern New Hampshire. The powerful extratropical storm continued northward, and after entering Canada it lost its identity over southern Quebec, but not before downing trees and power lines in Montreal from wind gusts as high as 55 mph.
Read more about this topic: Hurricane Carol
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Yet poetry, though the last and finest result, is a natural fruit. As naturally as the oak bears an acorn, and the vine a gourd, man bears a poem, either spoken or done. It is the chief and most memorable success, for history is but a prose narrative of poetic deeds.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)