2. Severe Storms: Case Studies: Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve

Background

Severe Storm Damage. Photo: Dr. N. P. Psuty

An excellent summary of storms in New Jersey (pre-1980) was written byLudlum (1983) and published by the Rutgers University Press. Since 1980 New Jersey has experienced an increased frequency of Hurricanes and Nor'easters compared to prior decades. The state has seen 25 Nor'easters in the period of 1980-1998, with at least 12 being classified as major Nor'easters. The state has also seen a few hurricanes, including Gloria in 1985, and Floyd in 1999.

Nor'easters

The Perfect Storm (Halloween 1991)

Waves Crashing over the seawall, Halloween 1991 Nor'easter. Photo: Dr. N. P. Psuty

Of particular interest is the Perfect Storm because of its unique nature and publicity. The storm was a composite of three separate weather systems, and resulted in flooding of inland areas up to 100 miles inland. Barrier Islands and backbays were particularly hard hit, and many boardwalks were damaged.

An excellent technical case study of the Perfect Storm has been produced by the Synoptic Laboratory of MIT (http://paoc.mit.edu/synoptic).

December 1992 Nor'easter

The storm of record for New Jersey was the December 1992 Nor'easter. This storm caused damage along the shore that in places exceeded the '62 storm. The below pictures demonstrate the devastation that can be caused by improper management strategies at the shore.

Examples of damage from the Nor'easter of 1992 on Fire Island, NY. Photos: Dr. James Allen, USGS/NPS

Hurricanes

Hurricane Floyd (1999)

Hurricane Floyd caused significant devastation on New Jersey in September, 1999. The state was declared a Federal disaster area with many millions of dollars in damaged. However, even with the Hurricane force winds (it was a class 2 hurricane when it made landfall it reached NJ) there was little damage done to the coast. Most of the damage occurred as flooding and took place inland as the storm stalled for many days. Only very minor effects were seen at the shore.

Hurricane Gloria (1985)

Gloria caused more damage along the shore, but even her impact was small. Water levels, and storm surge, associated with hurricanes is typical less than the severe Nor'easters, and because Hurricanes travel at a greater cross-ground speed they have less time to impact the coast. Gloria, infact, moved so rapidly that tides were only significantly elevated for one tidal cycle, and resulted in only minor erosion and damage from water along the coast.

Index

Information

Resources

2. Severe Storms: Case Studies