Hurricane Gracie was a major

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

that formed in September 1959, the strongest during the

1959 Atlantic hurricane season The 1959 Atlantic hurricane season had a then record-tying number of tropical cyclones – five – develop before August 1. The season was officially to begin on June 15, 1959 and last until November 15, 1959, the period of each y ...

and the most intense to strike the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

since

Hurricane Hazel Hurricane Hazel was the deadliest, second costliest, and most intense hurricane of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm killed at least 469 people in Haiti before striking the United States near the border between North and Sout ...

in 1954. National Hurricane Center
Preliminary Report on Hurricane Gracie: September 22-October 1, 1959.
Retrieved on 2008-01-07. The system was first noted as an area of thunderstorms east of the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc bet ...

which moved just north of the

Greater Antilles The Greater Antilles ( es, Grandes Antillas or Antillas Mayores; french: Grandes Antilles; ht, Gwo Zantiy; jam, Grieta hAntiliiz) is a grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, a ...

, quickly intensifying into a hurricane on September 22. Gracie was a storm that was very difficult to forecast, with its movement unpredictable.Allan Huffma
Hurricane Gracie.
Retrieved on 2008-01-07. After five days of erratic motion, Gracie became a major hurricane which struck

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, and weakened as it moved up the

Appalachians The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

, bringing much needed rain to a drought-plagued region. Much of the destruction related with Gracie was centered on

Beaufort, South Carolina Beaufort ( , a different pronunciation from that used by the city with the same name in North Carolina) is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South ...

. Gracie became an extratropical cyclone on September 30 while moving through the Eastern United States.

Meteorological history

An area of

squall A squall is a sudden, sharp increase in wind speed lasting minutes, as opposed to a wind gust, which lasts for only seconds. They are usually associated with active weather, such as rain showers, thunderstorms, or heavy snow. Squalls refer to the ...

y weather was first noted a few hundred miles east of the Lesser Antilles on September 18. The convective area organized into a tropical depression near the north coast of Hispaniola on September 20. After moving west-northwestward for a day, it turned northeastward, where upper level winds were very favorable and steering currents were very weak. On September 22 Gracie was named as a tropical depression before it developed into Tropical Storm Gracie, followed by reaching hurricane strength later that night. It turned to the east on September 25, and turned back west to west-northwest on September 27 as a stable anticyclone built in to its north. Gracie quickly strengthened and reached its peak of winds on September 29, but cooler air and land interaction weakened it slightly to a 130 mph (215 km/h) Category 4 major hurricane at the time of its landfall at 1625 UTC over

St. Helena Sound Saint Helena Sound is a coastal inlet in the Lowcountry region South Carolina, located along the Atlantic Ocean between Beaufort County, South Carolina, Beaufort and Colleton County, South Carolina, Colleton counties. Located within the relativel ...

near the south end of

Edisto Island Edisto Island is one of South Carolina's Sea Islands, the larger part of which lies in Charleston County, with its southern tip in Colleton County. The town of Edisto Beach is in Colleton County, while the Charleston County part of the island is ...

. After landfall, Gracie moved inland and north and became extratropical on September 30. Gracie's remnants persisted for several days as they slowly turned northeastward and then eastward. Gracie's remnants emerged into the Atlantic on October 2, before dissipating later that day.

Preparations

A hurricane watch was issued for the coast of the United States from

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is t ...

at 1600 UTC on September 28, which were quickly updated to hurricane warnings by 1900 UTC the same day. By 1900 UTC, gale warnings were in effect from Daytona Beach, Florida to Savannah, Georgia as well as from Wilmington to

Morehead City, North Carolina Morehead City is a port town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,661 at the 2010 census. Morehead City celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding on May 5, 2007. It forms part of the Crystal Coast. Hist ...

. At 1200 UTC on September 29, gale warnings were dropped south of Brunswick, Georgia. At 2200 UTC, gale warnings were extended northward to

Cape May, New Jersey Cape May is a city located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations, and part of ...

, including

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

and

Delaware Bay Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltwater of the Atlantic Ocean. The bay is bordered inland ...

. At 0400 UTC on September 30, all warnings south of Cape Hatteras were dropped, leaving gale warnings in effect from Cape Hatteras northward. At 1000 UTC, small craft were advised to remain in port from Cape May northward to

Block Island, Rhode Island Block Island is an island in the U.S. state of Rhode Island located in Block Island Sound approximately south of the mainland and east of Montauk Point, Long Island, New York, named after Dutch explorer Adriaen Block. It is part of Washingt ...

. By 1600 UTC, due to Gracie's continued weakening, all remaining gale warnings were downgraded to small craft warnings.

Impact

Georgia and South Carolina

Storm surge flooding was minimal due to the storm's landfall near the time of low

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

. However, Charleston still recorded their highest tide since 1940. Along the coast of southern South Carolina, the storm tide was measured up to above mean lower low water (the average level of the lowest low tide each day). The

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

vessel Bramble evacuated people stranded in Savannah and Charleston on September 30. Gracie killed 10 people in

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, mainly due to wind and rain-induced automobile accidents, falling trees and electrocution by live wires. The Garden Club of South Carolina replaced numerous trees after the storm. Wind damage was quite significant across

, particularly the city of Beaufort, South Carolina, with many downed trees, telephone poles, and streetlights. Also, numerous windows were shattered and shingles were torn off of roofs. A number of creeks overflowed causing floodwaters that, in areas, were several feet deep. The opening of the Beaufort Center of the University of South Carolina was delayed due to Gracie. It would be 30 years before another major hurricane struck South Carolina: Hurricane Hugo in September 1989.

Elsewhere in the United States

Heavy rains fell well ahead of the storm along an inverted trough extending north of the storm, causing between the mornings of September 28 and September 29 at Norfolk, Virginia. The highest rainfall amount measured during the storm was at Big Meadows. The storm spawned six tornadoes in all. This included three F3

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

es which accompanied the dissipating storm through

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, killing 12 people and injuring 13 near Charlottesville, Virginia. Three F1 tornadoes had touched down in the Carolinas prior to those touching down. For the most part, rainfall from Gracie was beneficial as it moved up the Appalachians since the area had been in a drought preceding the cyclone. National Hurricane Center
Hurricane Gracie Preliminary Storm Report, page 2.
Retrieved on 2008-01-07.

Long-term impact

Edisto Beach, South Carolina Edisto Beach is a town in Colleton County, South Carolina, United States. Edisto Beach's population was 414 as of the 2010 census, down from 641 in 2000. The town limits include only the developed coastal area of Edisto Island within Colleton Coun ...

was changed forever by Gracie, due to human efforts to renourish the

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc sh ...

after its passage. Most of the shell hash beach currently at Edisto was placed there after Gracie. In order to expand the beach, an inland

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...

was excavated and moved to the shoreline. This created highly desirable beach front property which led to new development along the coast seaward of Palmetto Boulevard, but also created an environmental catastrophe along the nearby ocean floor. A species of isopod which grows in coastal estuaries, the Cyathura Polita, disappeared after the passage of this hurricane from the

Ashepoo River Ashepoo River is a short blackwater river in South Carolina, United States. It rises in a confluence of swamps south of Walterboro, flows in a southeast direction and empties into Saint Helena Sound at . The entire course of the river lies withi ...

in South Carolina. The

Kermadec petrel The Kermadec petrel (''Pterodroma neglecta'') is a species of gadfly petrel in the family Procellariidae. It is 38 cm long with a wingspan of 100 cm. It is polymorphic, with light, dark and intermediate morphs known. It eats squid, fis ...

, a bird, was swept to Lookout Mountain Sanctuary in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

during Gracie, marking the first time it appeared in North America.

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

Kermadec Petrel in Pennsylvania.
Retrieved on 2008-01-11.

References

External links

Hurricane Gracie Information
{{Good article Gracie 1959 Gracie 1959 Gracie 1959 Gracie 1959 Gracie 1959 1959 in South Carolina 1959 in Tennessee 1959 in Virginia 1959 in the Bahamas Gracie 1959 1959 in the Caribbean 1959 natural disasters in the United States ca:Plantilla:Huracans Atlàntics retirats simple:Template:Retired Atlantic hurricanes