Hurricane Esther was the first large

tropical cyclone 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. Depen ...

to be discovered by satellite imagery. The fifth tropical cyclone,

named storm Tropical cyclones and subtropical cyclones are named by various warning centers to simplify communication between forecasters and the general public regarding forecasts, watches and warnings. The names are intended to reduce confusion in the ...

, and hurricane of the

1961 Atlantic hurricane season The 1961 Atlantic hurricane season was a hyperactive Atlantic hurricane season, with an accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) total of 189. The season, however, was an average one in terms of named storms. The season featured eight hurricanes and a w ...

, Esther developed from an area of disturbed weather hundreds of miles west-southwest of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands on September 10. Moving northwestward, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Esther on September 11, before reaching hurricane intensity on the following day. Early on September 13, Esther curved westward and deepened into a major hurricane. The storm remained a Category 3 hurricane for about four days and gradually moved in a west-northwestward direction. Late on September 17, Esther strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of on September 18. The storm curved north-northeastward on September 19, while offshore of North Carolina. Esther began to weaken while approaching New England and fell to Category 3 intensity on September 21. The storm turned eastward early on the following day, and rapidly weakened to a tropical storm. Esther then executed a large cyclonic loop, until curving northward on September 25. Early on the following day, Esther struck

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

, hours before emerging into the

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. Later on September 26, the storm made landfall in southeastern

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

, before weakening to a tropical depression and becoming

extratropical Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of p ...

over southeastern

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. The remnants persisted for about 12 hours, before dissipating early on September 27. Between

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, effects were primarily limited to strong winds and minor beach erosion and

coastal flooding Coastal flooding normally occurs when dry and low-lying land is submerged by seawater. The range of a coastal flooding is a result of the elevation of floodwater that penetrates the inland which is controlled by the topography of the coastal land ...

due to storm surge. In New York, strong winds led to severe crop losses and over 300,000 power outages. High tides caused coastal flooding and damage to a number of pleasure boats. Similar impact was reported in

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. Additionally, some areas observed more than of rainfall, flooding basements, low-lying roads, and underpasses. Overall, damage was minor, totaling about $6 million (1961

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

). There were also seven deaths reported when a United States Navy P5M aircraft crashed about north of

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Meteorological history

On September 10, the

Television Infrared Observation Satellite TIROS, or Television InfraRed Observation Satellite, is a series of early weather satellites launched by the United States, beginning with TIROS-1 in 1960. TIROS was the first satellite that was capable of remote sensing of the Earth, enabli ...

observed an area of

convection Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the conve ...

, or thunderstorms, to the southwest of the Cape Verde islands, suggesting the possibility of

tropical cyclogenesis Tropical cyclogenesis is the development and strengthening of a tropical cyclone in the atmosphere. The mechanisms through which tropical cyclogenesis occurs are distinctly different from those through which temperate cyclogenesis occurs. Tr ...

. At 18:00 UTC that day, a tropical depression formed and subsequently moved on a northwest trajectory. By the time the Hurricane Hunters reached the system on September 12, winds of hurricane force were recorded, and as such, the

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the juri ...

Weather Bureau The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the ...

began issuing warnings on Hurricane Esther. It was later estimated that the system attained tropical storm status on September 11, although the National Hurricane Center later noted that it could have attained hurricane status by this date, thus potentially being one of four simultaneous hurricanes, along with hurricanes Betsy,

Carla Carla is the feminized version of Carl, Carlos or Charles, from ''ceorl'' in Old English, which means "free man". Notable people with the name include: * Carla, French singer and former member of the children's music group Kids United * Carla Abe ...

, and Debbie. The only other such occasions were in

1893 Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – Th ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

. This also made Esther the first hurricane to be discovered by satellite imagery, although not the first to be imaged by one. After becoming a hurricane, Esther turned more to the west-northwest, influenced by the strengthening

Bermuda High The Azores High also known as North Atlantic (Subtropical) High/Anticyclone or the Bermuda-Azores High, is a large subtropical semi-permanent centre of high atmospheric pressure typically found south of the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean, at the Ho ...

that built behind Hurricane Debbie well to the north. By September 13, the storm attained major hurricane status, which is a Category 3 on the current-day Saffir-Simpson scale with sustained winds of . By that time, the

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ). After maintaining winds of for about two days, Esther weakened slightly on September 16 while passing well north 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 ...

. On the next day, the hurricane passed about north of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. Late on September 17, the

barometric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, 7 ...

fell to in the center of Esther, and operationally the Hurricane Hunters estimated winds of . This was later lowered slightly to , which would be its peak intensity attained on September 18, making it a Category 4 hurricane. However, reanalysis as part of the

Atlantic hurricane reanalysis The Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration seeks to correct and add new information about past North Atlantic hurricanes. It was started around 2000 to update HURDAT, the official hurricane d ...

project concluded that Esther was in fact a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 160 mph (260 km/h) and a minimum pressure of ; this has now been officially incorporated into HURDAT. Around the time of attaining peak winds, Esther began moving more to the northwest toward the east coast of the United States, influenced by a dissipating

cold front A cold front is the leading edge of a cooler mass of air at ground level that replaces a warmer mass of air and lies within a pronounced surface trough of low pressure. It often forms behind an extratropical cyclone (to the west in the Northern ...

that exited the coast on September 15. On September 20, the hurricane passed about east of

Cape Hatteras Cape Hatteras is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina. Long stretches of beach, sand dunes, marshes, and maritime forests create a unique environment where wind and waves shap ...

while turning to the north-northeast while gradually weakening. It continued up the coastline, later passing about east of the

Delmarva Peninsula The Delmarva Peninsula, or simply Delmarva, is a large peninsula and proposed state on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by the vast majority of the state of Delaware and parts of the Eastern Shore regions of Maryland and Virginia. ...

. Another trough from the west steered Esther to the northeast and was expected to cause the storm to accelerate, potentially bringing it over

. While turning, the hurricane passed about south of the eastern tip of Long Island, southeast of Block Island, and just south of

Nantucket Island Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

, while a Category 1 hurricane at the time. After the trough bypassed the hurricane, Esther slowed and turned to the east - away from land and over much cooler waters. It weakened to tropical storm status on September 22, and on that day the Weather Bureau discontinued advisories, remarking that Esther no longer had tropical characteristics. As a weakened tropical storm, Esther turned to the southeast and gradually executed a large loop. On September 24, it turned back to the west and subsequently turned back to the north, influenced by another approaching trough. Warmer waters allowed the storm to re-intensify slightly. As a result, the Boston Weather Bureau reissued advisories on the storm on September 25 while Esther was south of Nantucket. The storm crossed over eastern Cape Cod while gradually weakening, making a final

landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...

near

Rockland, Maine Rockland is a city in Knox County, Maine, in the United States. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the town population was 6,936. It is the county seat of Knox County, Maine, Knox County. The city is a popular tourist destination ...

, on September 26. After crossing into Canada, Esther became

early on September 27 while continuing to the east-northeast. It was last noted at 06:00 UTC that day while over eastern

Preparations

While Esther was becoming a powerful hurricane over the open Atlantic, the San Juan Weather Bureau office issued a

small craft advisory A small craft advisory is a type of wind warning issued by the National Weather Service in the United States. In Canada a similar warning is issued by Environment Canada. It is issued when winds have reached, or are expected to reach within 12 ho ...

for the Leeward Islands,

United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...

, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

, and

. Because of uncertainty about the storm's future path, the Weather Bureau advised residents along the east coast of the United States to closely follow the storm. The agency later issued a

hurricane watch Tropical cyclone warnings and watches are alerts issued by national weather forecasting bodies to coastal areas threatened by the imminent approach of a tropical cyclone of tropical storm or hurricane intensity. They are notices to the local pop ...

from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to Norfolk, Virginia on September 18. In Norfolk, Virginia, between 10,000 and 15,000 people were evacuated to emergency shelters on September 19, but were able to return home the next day as Esther passed far to the east. Preparations for Esther were described by the National Weather Service's Norfolk bureau as "the most thorough ever seen here" at the time. Naval ships and aircraft carriers based in the city headed for open waters to endure the storm, while over 200 military airplanes were flown inland away from the coast. The National Weather Service, in anticipation of a possible landfall in the Carolinas, issued a

gale warning A gale warning is an alert issued by national weather forecasting agencies around the world in an event that maritime locations currently or imminently experiencing winds of gale force on the Beaufort scale. Gale warnings (and gale watches) a ...

and a

from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to Norfolk, Virginia on September 18 (tropical storm warnings were not issued at the time). As Esther began to parallel the coastline, a hurricane warning was issued for coastal areas from Long Island to

Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Province ...

on September 20, and were extended to

Eastport, Maine Eastport is a city and archipelago in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,288 at the 2020 census, making Eastport the least-populous city in Maine. The principal island is Moose Island, which is connected to the mainlan ...

early on September 21. All hurricane watches were discontinued on September 21 as Esther moved away from the New England coast, and all hurricane warnings were downgraded to gale warnings later that day as Esther passed near Nantucket and weakened to a tropical storm, and all warnings were discontinued on September 22 after the storm moved away from the coast. After Esther completed its anticyclonic loop over the northwestern Atlantic, a gale warning was again issued from Provincetown, Massachusetts to Eastport, Maine on September 25, and was discontinued the next day after Esther made its second landfall in Maine. Personnel on two offshore surveillance stations called the

Texas Towers The Texas Towers were a set of three radar facilities off the eastern seaboard of the United States which were used for surveillance by the United States Air Force during the Cold War. Modeled on the offshore oil drilling platforms first employ ...

were evacuated; a third tower had collapsed during a storm in January 1961, prompting higher safety standards.

Impact and aftermath

A powerful hurricane, Esther produced high waves and strong swells across much of the western Atlantic, including along the north coast of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Bahamas.

North Carolina and Virginia

, the outer edges of Esther brought sustained winds of with gusts up to . A storm surge of was reported in

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 ...

. The storm surge caused minor flooding and beach erosion in the

Outer Banks The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separating ...

, where road damage was extensive. Damage to property, however, was minimal, and the storm's effects in the Wilmington area were compared to those of "a good

nor'easter A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below), or an East Coast low is a synoptic-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. The original use ...

" by the local weather bureau. Southeastern

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 ...

experienced tides above normal, which flooded some coastal highways in the Hampton Roads area. There was minor beach erosion in the

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

area due to turbulent seas.

Mid-Atlantic

Esther mainly produced heavy rainfall and gale-force wind gusts along the coasts of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

. These areas also experienced storm surges of above normal. Wind gusts to were observed at

Ocean City, Maryland Ocean City, officially the Town of Ocean City, is an Atlantic resort town in Worcester County, Maryland along the East Coast of the United States. The population was 6,844 at the 2020 U.S. census, although during summer weekends the city hosts b ...

, and storm surge flooding caused damage to the city's sea wall and boardwalk. Minor to moderate damage was reported along the

coast. A wind gust of was observed in Atlantic City. Winds downed trees and power lines and damaged apple crops. Storm surge resulted in minor beach erosion and wrecked some boats. Damage totaled less than $1 million. In New York, sustained winds of and gusts up to in Putnam and Rockland counties downed numerous trees, caused power outages, and damaged crops. Farther south on Long Island, the hardest hit areas were Nassau and eastern Suffolk counties. Wind gusts up to felled trees and power lines, leaving over 300,000 homes without electricity; minor structure damage was also reported. Downed power lines and minor flooding due to rainfall amounts of up to also caused public transportation delays on Long Island. Tides as high as damaged many pleasure boats. Minor flooding was reported in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

and

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. Damage likely exceeded $3 million, with nearly one-third of that amount incurred to crops and property each.

New England

In Connecticut, sustained winds between and gusts between caused electrical and phone service outages, as well as generally minor property damage. There was also some loss to crops, especially apples and corn. Similar impact was reported farther east in Rhode Island, though winds were much stronger, with sustained winds of and a gust up to observed at Block Island. Tides ranging from above normal damaged small crafts and caused severe beach erosion, destroying a parking lot and washing out several roads. In south-central and northeastern Maine, precipitation totals between flooded basements, underpasses, and low-lying roads, resulting in traffic being delayed by detours. Strong winds were also observed in eastern Massachusetts, with the strongest wind gust being in Chatham. Despite gale and storm force wind gusts in eastern

and southern

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

, damage was minimal and consisted mainly of downed trees and isolated power outages. Rainfall totals ranged from in southern

to around in the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

area. The storm separated Smith's Point from the rest of Nantucket Island, creating what came to be known as Esther's Island (which has since re-connected in 1988,

Navy plane crash

While over open waters, Esther caused seven indirect deaths when a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

P5M The Martin P5M Marlin (P-5 Marlin after 1962), built by the Glenn L. Martin Company of Middle River, Maryland, was a twin piston-engined flying boat that entered service in 1951, and served into the late 1960s with the United States Navy perfo ...

aircraft crashed about north of

. A merchant ship, the ''African Pilot'', was in the area where the plane crashed when the captain of the ship received a message from the Bermuda Coast Guard that "We have aircraft in trouble in that vicinity..." The captain of the ''African Pilot'' diverted the ship in order to assist the

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

's search for the lost plane. The heavy seas brought by Esther made search-and-rescue efforts difficult. In the end, only three of the ten crewmen were rescued; the other seven were declared lost at sea. The survivors told Coast Guard officials that during the storm, one of the engines of the plane failed, along with most of the electrical power; as a result, the crew was unable to drop the reserve tank or close the

bomb bay The bomb bay or weapons bay on some military aircraft is a compartment to carry bombs, usually in the aircraft's fuselage, with "bomb bay doors" which open at the bottom. The bomb bay doors are opened and the bombs are dropped when over t ...

doors automatically. Before the crew could close the bomb bay doors manually, the plane crashed in shark-infested waters and broke apart; three of the crewmen were able to get out of the downed plane, but the other seven were unable to escape. The three survivors were then attacked by sharks before being rescued.

Project Stormfury

Hurricane Esther was also one of the first targets of a Navy experiment in modifying or weakening hurricanes by seeding them. On September 16, a Navy plane flew into the eye of Esther about northeast of

, and dropped canisters of silver iodide into the storm. ''Note: This replaces a prior citation to an expired Google Cache entry accessed 2006-07-04; some details for this citation were taken from the reference list for the online article
An overview of hurricanes
. The hurricane appeared to weaken slightly in response to the seeding, reportedly by ten percent. This weakening was temporary, however, as the hurricane resumed strengthening shortly after. The aircraft returned the next day to seed again, but the seeding canisters fell outside the

eyewall The eye is a region of mostly calm weather at the center of tropical cyclones. The eye of a storm is a roughly circular area, typically in diameter. It is surrounded by the ''eyewall'', a ring of towering thunderstorms where the most severe weat ...

with no effect on its structure, and the hurricane continued to strengthen. Despite this result, the experiment was deemed a success, and led to the establishment of

Project Stormfury Project Stormfury was an attempt to weaken tropical cyclones by flying aircraft into them and seeding with silver iodide. The project was run by the United States Government from 1962 to 1983. The hypothesis was that the silver iodide would cause ...

Notes

External links

NHC Preliminary Storm Report

BBC Weather: Can hurricanes be stopped?

Hurricane Esther
* "Inside Hurricane Esther", photos by NOAA

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esther (1961) 1961 Atlantic hurricane season Cape Verde hurricanes Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes Hurricanes in Delaware Hurricanes in New England Hurricanes in North Carolina Hurricane Esther Hurricanes in Massachusetts