October “Names” to Remember in DC

Hurricane Opal makes landfall in October 1995  (Source: NOAA)

October has seen some notable Atlantic hurricanes, including some of most powerful ones on record, such as Wilma in 2005 and Mitch in 1998.  As recently as last year, Matthew became the Atlantic’s first Category 5 hurricane in nearly a decade.  Fortunately, none of these storms impacted the DC Metro Area.

While rare, DC and the Mid-Atlantic Region have felt the impacts of significant tropical or remnants of tropical systems in October including Hurricanes Sandy, Opal and Hazel.

Sandy (2012):  While not an unusually intense storm, what made Sandy memorable was its track.  At peak intensity, Sandy was a major Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 115 mph.  However, instead of heading harmlessly out to see, Sandy turned westward and made landfall in New Jersey on October 29.  Shortly before its landfall, Sandy was declared a “non-tropical” or “post-tropical” storm, meaning it had lost its tropical characteristics.

No matter what type of storm it was officially called when it made landfall, Sandy caused significant coastal erosion combined with flooding rainfall and damaging far well-inland.  It became one of the costliest systems on record, causing an estimated $75 billion in damages.  Sandy brought record rainfall and wind damage to the DC Metro Area on October 29-30.

Opal (1995):  Opal was one of five major hurricanes to form during the very active 1995 season.  It was also the strongest hurricane of the season with peak winds of 150 mph and a minimum central air pressure of 916 millibars (the lowest air pressure for a hurricane that didn’t reach Category 5 intensity).  Fortunately, it weakened to Category 3 intensity before making landfall near Pensacola, Florida on October 4.  Opal brought a significant storm surge to the U.S. Gulf Coast, with additional impacts far inland.  The DC Metro Area saw some severe weather from the remnants of Opal on October 5.

Hazel (1954):  Hazel remains a rare and record-setting storm more than 60 years after it made landfall.  On October 15, Hazel made landfall near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina as a Category 4 hurricane (sustained winds of 135 mph).  It tracked northward rapidly and caused devastation as far north as Canada.  It brought Washington, D.C. and New York City their highest wind gusts on record (98 mph and 113 mph, respectively).  Hazel remains the last Category 4 hurricane to make landfall anywhere in the United States during the month of October. 

Fortunately, there are no active tropical storms or hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean this weekend and none are expected to develop in the next few days.  Nevertheless, this season has already set a slew of records and has been exceptionally damaging and deadly.  The World Meteorological Organization is all but certain to retire the names “Harvey,” “Irma” and “Maria,” following their horrific impacts.