The Perfect Storm
The Perfect Storm is a book (ISBN 039304016X) written by Sebastian Junger and published by Little Brown and Company in 1997. The paperback edition (ISBN 0060977477) followed in 1999 from HarperCollins' Perennial imprint. It is about the storm that hit North America in October 1991, and features the crew of the fishing boat Andrea Gail, based out of Gloucester, Massachusetts, who were lost 500 miles at sea during the severe conditions.
The Perfect Storm is also a movie adapted from this book. It was directed by Wolfgang Petersen, released in 2000, and features George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Diane Lane, and Karen Allen. The families of certain crew members disliked the movie and sued the producers; the litigation is still ongoing as of 2004.
The real "Perfect Storm"
The Perfect Storm is not officially called as such; the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NWS Natural Disaster Survey Report called it The Halloween Nor’easter of 1991. The Perfect Storm moniker was coined by NWS Boston Deputy Meteorologist, Robert Case, in a discussion with Junger.
As succintly stated by Case, "A strong disturbance associated with a cold front moved along the U.S.-Canadian border on October 27 and passed through New England pretty much without incident. At the same time, a huge high pressure system was forecast to build over southeast Canada. When a low pressure system along the front moved into the Maritimes southeast of Nova Scotia, it began to intensify due to the cold dry air introduced from the north. [...] These circumstances alone, could have created a strong storm, but then, like throwing gasoline on a fire, a dying Hurricane Grace delivered immeasurable tropical energy to create the perfect storm."
After the peak of the storm, a hurricane formed in the center of the circulation. It was far north of typical tropical storms, but had all the other characteristics of a hurricane. The hurricane was not named, since the storm had already pounded the eastern United States and the hurricane was forecast to remain offshore, all warnings were storm warnings and not hurricane warnings.
Beginning of the storm
The Halloween Storm began as a typical nor'easter, but developed the conditions of the Blizzard of 1978 when it was stalled offshore by the high pressure in Canada. To add fuel to the fire, as Case stated, Hurricane Grace, blowing itself out in the Atlantic Ocean, but still carrying a lot of water, responded to the cold front and headed toward the low. It was quickly shredded by wind shear and was absorbed. The large amount of moisture and warmth present in the hurricane helped intensify the storm.
The "Perfect Storm"
The Halloween Storm reached peak intensity at approximately 1200 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 degrees N, 66.6 degrees W reported maximum sustained winds of 49 kt with gusts to 65 kt and a significant wave height of 39 feet near 1500 UTC. Buoy 44008 located at 40.5 degrees N, 69.5 degrees W reported maximum sustained winds of 53 kt with gusts to 63kt and a significant wave height of 31 feet near 0000 UTC on October 31. Other, higher waves (such as the one shown in the movie) were reported by ships, but not confirmed.
Weakening storm, and associated hurricane
The storm, which was moving southwards, moved over warmer Gulf Stream waters and began to develop the convection (thunderstorms, rain, etc.) of a tropical storm at or about 0000 UTC November 1. It later strengthed to true hurricane status, with peak intensity of 980 mb and sustained winds of 65 knots (making it a Category 1 hurricane). Since the northeast of the United States had already recieved a pounding from the main storm, and that the hurricane was forecast to remain offshore, it has never recieved a name and is known at NOAA as the Unnamed Hurricane of 1991.
Damage and results of the storm
The Halloween Storm of 1991 was a costly storm; Drag estimates the cost of the storm to be under 1 billion U.S. dollars. It caused 12 confirmed deaths; 5 onboard the Andrea Gail. It lashed northeastern U.S. with a storm tide of >14 feet above a storm surge of approximatly 5 feet, and piled on 30 foot waves on top of that. Fortunately, the worst of the storm stayed offshore.
External links
- IMDb: The Perfect Storm (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0177971/)
- Summary of the storm and its formation, with satellite imagery (http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/satellite/satelliteseye/cyclones/pfctstorm91/pfctstorm.html)
- News article covering the storm (http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/s451.htm)
- Semi-official report (http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/box/PS.htm)
- The unnamed hurricane spawned by the storm (http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/satellite/satelliteseye/hurricanes/unnamed91/unnamed91.html)
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