Surface weather analysis of the storm nearing New England
Meteorological history
Formed
September 2, 1954
Dissipated
September 15, 1954
Category 3 major hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds
125 mph (205 km/h)
Lowest pressure
943 mbar (hPa); 27.85 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities
29
Damage
>$42.8 million (1954 USD)
Areas affected
Puerto Rico, Bahamas, North Carolina, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Atlantic Canada
IBTrACS
Part of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season
Hurricane Edna was a deadly and destructive major hurricane that impacted the United States East Coast in September of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season. It was one of two hurricanes to strike Massachusetts in that year, the other being Hurricane Carol. The fifth tropical cyclone and storm of the season, as well as the fourth hurricane and second major hurricane, Edna developed from a tropical wave on September 2. Moving towards the north-northwest, Edna skirted the northern Leeward Islands as a tropical depression before turning more towards the west. The depression attained tropical storm status to the east of Puerto Rico and strengthened further to reach hurricane status by September 7. The storm rapidly intensified and reached its peak intensity of 125 mph (205 km/h) north of the Bahamas before weakening to Category 2 status near landfall in Massachusetts on September 11. Edna transitioned into an extratropical cyclone in Atlantic Canada before its remnants dissipated in the northern Atlantic.
Edna caused 29 fatalities throughout its lifetime as a tropical cyclone, as well as a moderate amount of damage. It first caused rainfall-induced flooding in Puerto Rico, and it later brushed the Bahamas. High waves affected the coastline of North Carolina. Edna resulted in the heaviest day of rainfall in New York City in 45 years, while strong waves cut off Montauk from the remainder of Long Island. There were six highway deaths in the state, and $1.5 million in crop damage. There were widespread evacuations in southern New England, after Hurricane Carol struck the same area only 11 days prior. Strong winds caused extensive power outages for 260,000 people, including nearly all of Cape Cod. Edna became the costliest hurricane in the history of Maine, where the hurricane caused flooding that washed out roads and rail lines. There were 21 deaths in New England, eight of whom in Maine due to drownings. Later, high winds severely damaged crops in Atlantic Canada.
HurricaneEdna was a deadly and destructive major hurricane that impacted the United States East Coast in September of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season...
weeks, hurricanes Carol and Edna followed similar paths before both striking New England as major hurricanes. The latter became the costliest hurricane in...
Atlantic hurricane season was an active season, with fourteen tropical storms, six of which developed into hurricanes; four of the hurricanes attained...
begun by the United States Weather Bureau in 1955, after major hurricanes Carol, Edna, and Hazel struck the Northeastern United States during the previous...
the state's history. Carol lost this distinction 10 days later when HurricaneEdna caused $15 million in damage in the state. Rainfall in Canada peaked...
The name Edna has been used to name seven tropical cyclones worldwide. Atlantic Ocean: HurricaneEdna (1953) – a Category 3 hurricane that impacted Bermuda...
Loretta Black, a single mother whose New Orleans home was destroyed by HurricaneEdna. When Larry and Cheryl take in Loretta and her family, Leon moves in...
entirety causes $460 million (1954 USD) in damage. September 10, 1954: HurricaneEdna tracks to the east of Long Island producing 9 inches (230 mm) of rain...
of the 1938 hurricane. September 11, 1954 – HurricaneEdna made landfall on Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard as a strong Category 2 hurricane, just two weeks...
are a family of African-American victims of HurricaneEdna, a category 5 hurricane reminiscent of Hurricane Katrina. The Blacks consist of single mother...
1954 – HurricaneEdna hits New England (United States) as a Category 2 hurricane, causing significant damage and 29 deaths. 1961 – Hurricane Carla strikes...
in 2005, Edna Karr earned the National Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence Recognition. All of this changed in the autumn of 2005 after Hurricane Katrina...
hurricane in 1869, the 1938 New England hurricane, and Hurricane Carol in 1954. Strong Category 2 storms, such as the 1869 Saxby Gale, HurricaneEdna...
rainfall disrupt telephone service. September 17, 1953 – Category 3 HurricaneEdna passes about 50 mi (80 km) to the northwest with torrential rains and...
in 1968. Also, the name Edna was used this season after a 14 year retirement from the naming list on account of HurricaneEdna in 1954; the name was later...
August 31, 1954 – Hurricane Carol caused gusty winds along the coastline and moderate damage. September 10, 1954 – HurricaneEdna skirted the coastline...
Fogarty, Chris (2004). "A Comparison of the Wind Fields of HurricaneEdna (1954) and Hurricane Juan (2003)" (PDF). Meteorological Service of Canada. Archived...
and remained near to the current lighthouse until it was damaged by HurricaneEdna in 1954 and was removed. The lighthouse was automated in 1958. Since...
intensity, which took a track similar to the Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944 and HurricaneEdna of 1954. The storm's eye would have struck Long Island before...
Prevention "Hurricane Costs". www.coast.noaa.gov. Retrieved May 30, 2018. "Ascertainment of the estimated excess mortality from Hurricane María in Puerto...
The list of United States hurricanes includes all tropical cyclones officially recorded to have produced sustained winds of greater than 74 mph (119 km/h)...
2013. David R. Vallee; Michael R. Dion. HurricaneEdna. Southern New England Tropical Storms and Hurricanes, A Ninety-eight Year Summary 1909–1997 (Report)...
Maine, along with Hurricane Carol in 1953, HurricaneEdna in 1954, Hurricane Donna in 1960, Hurricane Gerda in 1969, and Hurricane Gloria in 1985. In...
The Atlantic hurricane season is the period in a year, from June 1 through November 30, when tropical or subtropical cyclones are most likely to form...
Hurricane Camille was a powerful, deadly and destructive Category 5 major hurricane which became the second most intense tropical cyclone on record to...
during the early-mid 20th century. However, events such as a fire during HurricaneEdna in 1954, vandalism, and neglect have seen the building fall into disrepair...
Olson read at the Charles Street Meeting House on Beacon Hill during HurricaneEdna. He decided to enroll at Black Mountain College where he studied under...
they are named. Any member of the World Meteorological Organization's hurricane, typhoon and tropical cyclone committees can request that the name of...
Director worries that Leah's past background in losing her parents in HurricaneEdna has clouded her judgment, a concern that Leah's psychiatrist Dr. Johnson...
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