Remembering Agnes
By Charlie Wilson, Guest Writer
Satellite image of Agnes hitting the Florida panhandle in 1972. Courtesy NOAA.
So far, June has offered more than its share of extreme weather - mainly in the form of heat and severe thunderstorms. But we haven't experienced any tropical storm or hurricane activity. Could it happen??
While it's unusual for June tropical storms or their remnants to affect the Mid-Atlantic, it certainly can happen. The most memorable June storm to affect the Mid-Atlantic region was Agnes in 1972 which caused heavy rainfall and extensive flooding across the Mid-Atlantic.
Keep reading to learn more about Agnes and its effects on our region. See Dan's full forecast to find out if any more extreme weather is headed this way.
Agnes over the Northeast. Courtesy NOAA.
Hurricane Agnes struck the Florida Panhandle on June 19 with sustained winds of 85 mph accompanied by a 6-10 foot storm surge. Rapidly weakening to a tropical depression, the center moved northeast across south-central Georgia and the Carolinas. It then intensified back to a tropical storm on June 22 as the center moved off the North Carolina coast. The rejuvenated tropical storm gained momentum and continued intensifying off the Mid-Atlantic coast. Later that day, the unexpected occurred as Agnes made a turn to the northwest making landfall over western Long Island and New York City with sustained winds of 65 mph.
Already a strong storm, Agnes merged with a non-tropical storm system on June 23 and moved southwest across northeastern Pennsylvania eventually stalling and dissipating.
Agnes' track and rainfall totals. Courtesy NOAA.
High winds buffeted the Mid-Atlantic region on June 22 with gusts ranging from 40-55 mph. The highest gust of 67 mph was reported at Dover, De. Rainfall amounts varied throughout the region and in some cases was record breaking. Generally 6-10 inches was common, with as much as 19 inches reported in parts of central and eastern Pennsylvania. Record floods occurring once every 100 years were reported along the Schuylkill River Basin in Pennsylvania and the James River Basin in Virginia. Agnes still remains the greatest flooding event for the Susquehanna River Basin from central Pennsylvania southward. Some higher local amounts included: Dulles Airport: 13.65", Reagan National Airport: 8.16", Baltimore/Washington International: 6.41" and Andrews Air Force Base: 5.56".
Governor's Mansion, Harrisburg, PA
June 22, 1972. By Paul Vathis, AP file photo.Damage from the remnants of Agnes was extensive. Agnes remains the worst natural disaster to hit the state of Pennsylvania with $2.1 billion in damage and 48 deaths. Other reports include New York with over $702 million in damage and 24 deaths, Virginia with over $125 million in damage and 13 deaths and Maryland with over $110 million in damage and 19 deaths.
While June storms are rare across the Mid-Atlantic, they can occur. Are you prepared for hurricane season?
Charlie Wilson co-hosts programs "Weather Talk" with meteorologist Tony Pann and "Center of Circulation" with Michael Moss on Internet Partnership Radio.
By Capital Weather Gang |
June 11, 2008; 10:30 AM ET
Tropical Weather
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Posted by: dk in Alexandria | June 11, 2008 11:47 AM
Agnes was pretty nasty in western PA...I was 10 and vividly remember parts of Pittsburgh being flooded and the rivers amazingly high.
Posted by: More Cowbell | June 11, 2008 12:34 PM
I was 13 when Agnes hit, living in Kensington. The police came down the street telling everyone on their loudspeakers to evacuate to higher ground. My parents were stunned. I think the concern was from Lake Needwood, and having the water course down through Rock Creek which we lived about a half-mile from. We packed up the station wagon with some snacks and the two cats, and spent the night in the parking lot of Wheaton Plaza shopping center. Crazy.
Posted by: CSH | June 11, 2008 12:58 PM
My parents love to tell the story of how, as newlyweds, they bought their first dining room set from a store off Rt. 29 in MD. And, the store subsequently flooded during Agnes, whisking their new dining room set down Sligo Creek. They had to reorder the entire thing, and my mother still tells the story every time we drive down 29.
Posted by: DLM | June 11, 2008 3:32 PM
Lake Anna, covering 13,000 acres of central Virginia, is one of the largest freshwater inland lakes in the state. The Virginia Electric and Power Company created the lake by damming the North Anna River in 1971. Based on "normal" precipitation the lake was expected to take three years to fill. But the heavy rains and runoff from Hurricane Agnes in 1972 contributed to filling the lake in just a few months.
Lake Anna is now a first class area for boating, swimming, bass fishing, hiking trails - and just plain "flaking out", as I often do there at my lake front home.
Posted by: Steve Tracton, Capital Weather Gang | June 12, 2008 8:49 AM
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Growing up in Hagerstown, MD, I remember that storm - was 12 at the time. Our basement had 6 inches of water, which ever happened before or since, and I remember seeing a kid paddling a canoe around in a vacant lot.