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N0KFQ > TODAY 30.10.13 17:38l 53 Lines 2326 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 6595_KB0WSA
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Oct 30
Path: IZ3LSV<ED1ZAC<VK2DOT<N0KFQ<KB0WSA
Sent: 131030/1456Z 6595@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.57
Oct 30, 1991:
Perfect storm hits North Atlantic
On this day in 1991, the so-called "perfect storm" hits the North
Atlantic producing remarkably large waves along the New England
and Canadian coasts. Over the next several days, the storm spread
its fury over the ocean off the coast of Canada. The fishing boat
Andrea Gail and its six-member crew were lost in the storm. The
disaster spawned the best-selling book The Perfect Storm by
Sebastian Junger and a blockbuster Hollywood movie of the same
name.
On October 27, Hurricane Grace formed near Bermuda and moved
north toward the coast of the southeastern United States. Two
days later, Grace continued to move north, where it encountered a
massive low pressure system moving south from Canada. The clash
of systems over the Atlantic Ocean caused 40-to-80-foot waves on
October 30_unconfirmed reports put the waves at more than 100
feet in some locations. This massive surf caused extensive
coastal flooding, particularly in Massachusetts; damage was also
sustained as far south as Jamaica and as far north as
Newfoundland.
The storm continued to churn in the Atlantic on October 31; it
was nicknamed the "Halloween storm." It came ashore on November 2
along the Nova Scotia coast, then, as it moved northeast over the
Gulf Stream waters, it made a highly unusual transition into a
hurricane. The National Hurricane Center made the decision not to
name the storm for fear it would alarm and confuse local
residents. It was only the eighth hurricane not given a name
since the naming of hurricanes began in 1950.
Meanwhile, as the storm developed, the crew of the 70-foot
fishing boat Andrea Gail was fishing for swordfish in the Grand
Banks of the North Atlantic. The Andrea Gail was last heard from
on October 28. When the boat did not return to port on November 1
as scheduled, rescue teams were sent out.
The week-long search for the Andrea Gail and a possible cause of
its demise were documented in Junger's book, which became a
national bestseller. Neither the Andrea Gail nor its crew_David
Sullivan and Robert Shatford of Gloucester, Mass.; William Tyne,
Dale Murphy and Michael Moran of Bradenton Beach, Fla.; and
Alfred Pierre of New York City_was ever found.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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