Hurricane Ella was the strongest hurricane on record in Canadian waters. It formed on August 30, 1978 to the south of

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, and quickly intensified as it tracked west-northwestward. By September 1, Ella reached winds of , and it was expected to pass close to 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 ...

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 So ...

during the busy

Labor Day Weekend Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...

. The hurricane became stationary for about 24 hours, and later turned to the northeast away from the coast. On September 4, Ella reached Category 4 status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale off the coast of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. It subsequently weakened, passing southeast of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

before being absorbed by a large

extratropical cyclone 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 ...

. In North Carolina, the

National Hurricane Center The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is the division of the United States' NOAA/National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting tropical weather systems between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 3 ...

issued a hurricane watch due to the large influx of people expected during the holiday weekend. As such, there was a significant drop in tourism, although no significantly adverse weather occurred along the Outer Banks. High waves and some minor beach erosion was reported, but there were no deaths, injuries, or damage from Ella. By the time the hurricane passed Newfoundland, the strongest winds were to the southeast of the center, and as a result, no significant impact was reported on Canada.

Meteorological history

Towards the end of August 1978, a

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 Norther ...

stalled and dissipated across the western

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, which spawned a tropical disturbance southeast of

on August 28. A circulation was present, and it developed into a tropical depression on August 30, about 520

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

s (840 km) south-southeast of Bermuda. Located to the south of a

subtropical ridge The horse latitudes are the latitudes about 30 degrees north and south of the Equator. They are characterized by sunny skies, calm winds, and very little precipitation. They are also known as Subtropics, subtropical ridges, or highs. It is a h ...

, the depression tracked steadily west-northwestward, and it attained tropical storm status 18 hours after forming, based on a nearby ship observation. At 2200 UTC on August 30, the

(NHC) initiated advisories on the system, but three hours later, as its rapid strengthening became evident, it was upgraded to Tropical Storm Ella. Tropical Storm Ella intensified quickly and reached hurricane status late on August 31, based on confirmation from nearby ship reports and a Hurricane Hunters flight. At the time, the hurricane was forecast to avoid making landfall on

and ultimately turn northeastward, although it was expected to pass within of land during the busy

. On September 1, Ella reached a preliminary peak intensity of , a

major hurricane Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

and a Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. At the same time a short-wave trough reached the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...

. The trough caused the hurricane to decelerate and turn slightly to the north, and a

ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

behind the trough caused Ella to become nearly stationary for 24 hours. During that time, the threat toward the North Carolina coast diminished, and concurrently, the winds decreased as the convection diminished. On September 3, another trough exited the coast of the United States, allowing the hurricane to accelerate toward the northeast through the diminished ridge. By that time, the winds had decreased to , although forecasters expected

baroclinic instability In fluid dynamics, the baroclinity (often called baroclinicity) of a stratified fluid is a measure of how misaligned the gradient of pressure is from the gradient of density in a fluid. In meteorology a baroclinic flow is one in which the densi ...

to maintain much of the cyclone's remaining force. Instead of continued weakening, the hurricane began to significantly re-intensify. Early on September 4, Ella again reached major hurricane status, and later that day it peaked with winds of ; at the time it was about south of Halifax,

, and its peak winds were measured by Hurricane Hunters. This made it the strongest hurricane ever recorded in Canadian waters. Weakening began immediately after peak intensity due to cooler water temperatures. Early on September 5, Ella passed very near

Cape Race Cape Race is a point of land located at the southeastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Its name is thought to come from the original Portuguese name for this cape, "Raso", mea ...

, although the strongest winds were south and east of the center. Associated convection became completely removed from the center, and the hurricane became

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 ...

as it was absorbed by a larger mid-latitude system.

Preparations and impact

On September 1, as Hurricane Ella was strengthening to its first peak in strength, the

anticipated a track near the

coast during the busy

; as a result, the agency 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 popul ...

for the

. The

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 shape ...

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

office requested radio and television stations in the threatened area to continue broadcasting beyond normal hours, so to convey storm updates to people in the region. Additionally, the Cape Hatteras agency issued an advisory for small craft to remain at port, and also for affected people to "keep alert ndignore rumors." Due to the threat, campgrounds on

Ocracoke Island Ocracoke
, from the North Carolina Collection website at the

and Cape Lookout, each only accessible by ferry, were closed to reduce their populations. The hurricane ultimately stayed far away from the coast, and the heavy rainfall and thunderstorms remained at least offshore. While nearly stationary, Hurricane Ella produced waves of in height, as well as rip currents along the coast. The highest wind gust from the storm over land was at

Diamond Shoal Light Diamond Shoal Light is an inactive offshore lighthouse marking Diamond Shoals off Cape Hatteras. History Diamond Shoals, which extend many miles out from Cape Hatteras, is considered to be one of the most dangerous spots on the Atlantic seaboard ...

. The waves reached the dunes along most beaches, causing some minor beach erosion; the depleted sand returned within a few days. Further north, along the coast of Virginia, no large waves were reported, which was considered unusual for how close the hurricane was to the state. Ultimately, the most significant effect from the hurricane was the significant drop in tourism. The

is typically the last significant week of the summer tourist season, and normally, many people vacation along the

. Due to the hurricane watch, traffic was light, and many businesses and hotels reported much less business than usual. A forecaster with the

said the hurricane watch was put into effect because of "thousands of people streaming in and only one road off the Outer Banks, nd theycouldn't wait until the last minute." The same forecaster noted that an "alert" less than a hurricane watch "would have been used uring Ella No significant impact was reported in Canada, as the strongest winds were south and east of the center. Prior to the storm's arrival, the Newfoundland Weather Forecast Office issued a hurricane warning for southeastern Newfoundland. The ferry between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland was disrupted, and boats across the region were sent back to harbor. Rainfall was fairly light, peaking at in southeastern Newfoundland, and sustained winds reached at

. Hurricane Ella prompted a scare for engineers secretly working to remedy a structural flaw in the

Citigroup Center The Citigroup Center (formerly Citicorp Center and also known by its address, 601 Lexington Avenue) is an office skyscraper in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Built in 1977 to house the headquarters of Citibank, it is tal ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, as the high winds could have caused the building to collapse. Ultimately the engineers solved the flaw by welding heavy steel plates over the bolted joints on the support columns at the building's base.

References

External links

Monthly Weather Review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ella (1978) Category 4 Atlantic hurricanes 1978 Atlantic hurricane season Hurricanes in North Carolina

Meteorological history

Preparations and impact

See also

References

External links