Meteorological History
A tropical wave developed into a tropical cyclone on August 3 to the west of the Cape Verde islands, based on reports from two ships. It moved rapidly to the west-northwest, quickly intensifying into Tropical Storm Connie. A Hurricane Hunters flight on August 4 reported a developing eye feature, and the next day Connie rapidly strengthened into a 125 mph (201 km/h) major hurricane. On August 6, it passed about 60 mi (97 km) north of the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico. By that time, Connie had attained peak winds of 145 mph (233 km/h), or the equivalence of a current-day Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
For four days, Connie maintained its peak intensity as its track shifted from the west-northwest toward the northwest, passing to the northeast of the Bahamas as it rounded a large ridge. On August 7, its eye had decreased to a diameter of 7 mi (11 km). By August 10, the eye had lost its definition as Connie slowed its northwest track. It began a west-northwest drift due to slight interaction with developing Hurricane Diane to its southeast, as well as a building ridge to its northeast. The hurricane turned to the north on August 11 and was steadily weakening, due to the combination of upwelling and entrainment of cool air. Connie turned toward the north-northeast on August 12, by which time it had weakened to a minimal hurricane. Late that day, it moved ashore near Fort Macon State Park in North Carolina. According to the Atlantic hurricane database, Connie made landfall with winds of 80 mph (130 km/h), although the Hurricane Research Division suggested that the hurricane hit North Carolina with winds of at least 115 mph (185 km/h). It progressed inland, weakening to a tropical storm over Virginia and moving northward through the Chesapeake Bay. Connie turned to the northwest, passing through much of Pennsylvania before weakening to a tropical depression near the Pennsylvania/New York border. After crossing Lake Ontario and southwestern Ontario, the system moved through Lake Huron, dissipating on August 15 near Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
Read more about this topic: Hurricane Connie
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