devastated the immediate oceanfront from 

 the South Carolina line to Cape Lookout. 

 All traces of civilization on that portion of 

 the immediate waterfront between the 

 state line and Cape Fear were practically 

 annihilated." 



Stevenson says the dune line, which 

 in some cases was 20 feet tall, was washed 

 away, So were the houses and cottages 

 that had been built behind the dunes for 

 protection. 



In Long Beach, 352 of the town's 357 

 buildings were "washed into the sea." This 

 story was repeated up the coast at Holden 

 Beach, Carolina Beach and Wrights ville. 



But the winds weren't the only 

 problem. Storm surges and tides as high as 

 14 feet above normal were common. At 

 the Holden Beach bridge, water measured 

 a whopping 18 feet above normal. The 

 Cape Fear River at Wilmington reached its 

 highest point on record. That town 

 suffered major damage and was without 

 electricity for three days. 



Hazel's destruction was not limited to 

 coastal areas. After striking the shore, she 

 bullied her way through North Carolina's 

 heartland, destroying crops, homes, barns 

 and buildings. 



At Raleigh, she uprooted trees and 

 caused thousands of dollars in damage. As 

 far inland as Smithfield her winds were 

 recorded at 90 to 100 mph. 



After cutting a path into Virginia, she 

 continued northward, pouring torrential 

 rains in several states and flooding two 

 Canadian provinces. She was last detected 

 over Scandinavia where she finally fizzled. 



Experts have called Hazel a freak, but 

 other folks have labeled her a judgment 

 from a higher power. She was a severe 

 hurricane that jumped ashore in North 

 Carolina on the exact date of the highest 

 tide of the year — the full moon tide of 

 October. 



Locals call this the marsh hen tide 

 because salt water rises in the marsh 

 grasses, floating marsh birds above their 

 protective cover and making them easy 

 targets for hunters. 



Connie — After several days of 

 sloppy, sluggish movements in the Atlantic 

 Ocean, Hurricane Connie slammed into 



.YOA4 Sational Weather Service 



Will it happen again'? 

 Will Tar Heel residents face a similar 

 onslaught of hurricanes in the future? 

 ••••••• 



the North Carolina coast on the morning of 

 Aug. 12. 1955. Connie probably will be 

 best remembered for the amount of water 

 she dumped onto Tar Heel farmlands. 

 Thousands of acres were flooded. 



Because she was slow-moving, this 

 stomi caused pounding waves to eat away 

 at the Carolina coastline from Southport to 

 Xags Head. Beach erosion was estimated 

 worse than that caused by Hazel 10 

 months earlier. The towns of Oriental. 

 Belhaven, Plymouth and Elizabeth City 

 received the brunt of Connie's winds and 

 rains. 



Diane — Coastal residents were in 

 the process of estimating the cost of 

 Connie when they heard the horrible news 

 over radio: yet another hurricane, the fifth 

 in 12 months, was churning in the Atlantic 

 on a beeline to the North Carolina coast. 

 Her name was Diane, and she was 

 expected to strike land in the early 

 morning hours of Aug. 17. 



Diane made her appointment at 

 Carolina Beach on schedule, bringing with 

 her winds measuring 74 mph. Like her 

 sister of a week earlier, Diane ferried walls 

 of salt water inland, eating away at 

 beaches and flooding already inundated 

 farms. Crops that had managed to survive 



Connie's drenching were drowned by 

 Diane's. 



About 1.000 people were evacuated 

 from low-lying areas, especially near 

 sounds and rivers. In Belhaven, water was 

 reported at 3 feet above street level in some 

 stores. In New Bern's downtown district, 

 the Neuse and Trent rivers swelled and 

 carried waist- deep water into buildings. 



lone — For a little more than a month, 

 residents of North Carolina's coastal 

 counties had been walking in the mud and 

 mire brought on by Connie and Diane. 

 Then, on Sept. 19. 1955. Hurricane lone 

 made landfall at Salter Path, about 10 miles 

 west of Morehead City. 



lone was a strong lady while swirling 

 in the Atlantic, but quickly lost her gusto 

 when she slammed into the beaches. But 

 she brought a tremendous storm surge and 

 another abundance of rain to our coast. 



At New Bern, tides were reported to 

 be more than 10 feet above normal, flood- 

 ing at least 40 city blocks. Several hundred 

 homes in the area were washed away. 



Unlike Connie and Diane, lone was a 

 killer. Seven deaths were reported across 

 the state, five from drowning and two from 

 car accidents on rain-swollen roads. 



In the 4l-day period from the begin- 

 ning of Connie to the end of lone, unprec- 

 edented amounts of rain fell on North 

 Carolina. At the National Weather Service 

 substation at Hoffman Forest (near Mays- 

 ville), almost 49 inches of rain were 

 recorded. 



Will it happen again? Will Tar Heel 

 residents face a similar onslaught of 

 hurricanes in the future? 



The answer, says Joe Pelissier, lies not 

 in the minds of men, but in the fickle 

 imagination of Mother Nature. 



"If conditions are right, a hurricane will 

 form," he says. "And a hurricane doesn't 

 know it's heading for a certain area; there's 

 nothing that directs it to the North Carolina 

 coast in particular. 



"We can do a certain amount of 

 general prediction of hurricanes now," he 

 says. "But where it's going to land, that's 

 anyone's guess." ^ 



In Long Beach, 352 of the town's 357 buildings were "washed into the sea." 



8 SEPTEMBER' OCTOBER 1991 



