If you’re traveling along the East Coast in late summer, be aware that the farther south you go the more likely you are to encounter one of Mother Nature’s most powerful phenomena, the hurricane. All across the southeastern United States, hurricane season begins in June and lasts through November, and the threat of a storm can put a sudden end to the summer fun. Hurricanes are tropical storms covering upwards of 400 square miles, with winds reaching speeds of 75 to 150 mph or more. These storms form as far away as Africa, and sophisticated warning systems are in place to give coastal visitors plenty of time to get out of harm’s way. Radio and TV stations broadcast storm watches and evacuation warnings, and if you hear one, heed it and head inland to higher ground.
Even more dangerous than the high winds of a hurricane is the storm surge—a dome of ocean water that can be 20 feet high at its peak, and 50 to 100 miles wide. Ninety percent of hurricane fatalities are attributable to the high waves of a storm surge, which can wash away entire beaches and intensify flooding in coastal rivers and bays many miles upstream from the shore. The strongest hurricane recorded in the United States was the Labor Day storm of 1935, which killed 500 people and destroyed the Florida Keys Railroad. More recent hurricanes include Hurricane Andrew in 1992, which killed 54 people and caused more than $25 billion worth of damage, and the multiple ’canes that pounded Florida in 2004. More recent hurricanes include Hurricane Andrew in 1992, which killed 54 people and caused more than $25 billion worth of damage, and the multiple ‘canes that pounded Florida in 2004. The levee breaks which flooded New Orleans made Hurricane Katrina by far the most costly hurricane, but the deadliest hurricane on record hit Galveston Island, Texas in 1900, killing more than 6,000 people—the worst natural disaster in United States history.
The Outer Banks
