1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class. It's a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:11,480 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:15,200 Speaker 1: a show that charts the storms of history, one day 4 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: at a time. I'm Gaye Lousier and today we're hunkering 5 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 1: down for some bad weather as we revisit the time 6 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:28,160 Speaker 1: when a triple threat storm arrived just in time for Halloween. 7 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:40,599 Speaker 1: The day was October. After days of build up, a 8 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 1: devastating storm reached peak intensity as it battered the North Atlantic. 9 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:51,519 Speaker 1: The resulting waves and high winds toppled buildings, sank boats, 10 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: and caused extensive coastal flooding. It was such a notable 11 00:00:56,480 --> 00:01:01,440 Speaker 1: storm that had actually received two nicknames, the Halloween Storm 12 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:04,560 Speaker 1: because it had traveled along the East coast for several 13 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 1: days in late October, and the Perfect Storm because of 14 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 1: its unusual status as a hybrid composed of three separate 15 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 1: storm systems. It's believed that meteorologist Bob Case was the 16 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:22,400 Speaker 1: first to call it the Perfect Storm, and then other 17 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:27,200 Speaker 1: weather forecasters quickly jumped on board with that nickname. According 18 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,240 Speaker 1: to Case, the storm was the result of a very 19 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 1: particular and very rare set of circumstances. First, a high 20 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:39,400 Speaker 1: pressure system and a low pressure system had to collide 21 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:44,040 Speaker 1: over the Atlantic Ocean. That happens fairly frequently, and when 22 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:47,920 Speaker 1: it does, it results in a massive offshore storm called 23 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 1: a nor easter. The unusual thing, the part that happens 24 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: only once every fifty to a hundred years, is that 25 00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:00,880 Speaker 1: the nor easter then collided with a hurricane. On October, 26 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:06,760 Speaker 1: Hurricane Grace formed near Bermuda and began moving north along 27 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:10,680 Speaker 1: the east coast of the United States. A few days later, 28 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 1: the low and high pressure systems crashed together with the 29 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:19,360 Speaker 1: remnants of Hurricane Grace, and these perfect conditions created a 30 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:24,640 Speaker 1: deadly Halloween storm. Nor easters are known to sink ships 31 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 1: on their own, and the one that joined with Hurricane 32 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 1: Grace was no exception. On October, a seventy two foot 33 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: long fishing boat named the Andrea Gale encountered the powerful 34 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:42,720 Speaker 1: winds and huge waves created by the storm's convergence. Many 35 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:46,480 Speaker 1: of the waves were between forty to eighty feet high, 36 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,240 Speaker 1: but in some locations they were said to be over 37 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:54,360 Speaker 1: a hundred feet high. The Andrea Gale never returned to port, 38 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:58,640 Speaker 1: and despite numerous rescue missions, the ship and its six 39 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:03,040 Speaker 1: crew members were never found. The story of The Andrea 40 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:06,799 Speaker 1: Gale was told with artistic license and a book by 41 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:11,800 Speaker 1: Sebastian Younger called The Perfect Storm, which was later adapted 42 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:15,680 Speaker 1: as a blockbuster movie of the same name. The Halloween 43 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:20,400 Speaker 1: Storm caused substantial damage and coastal flooding from as far 44 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: south as Jamaica to as far north as Nova Scotia. 45 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:29,560 Speaker 1: Hundreds of homes and businesses were swept from their foundations, 46 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:35,360 Speaker 1: and countless piers, boardwalks, sea walls and bulkheads were completely destroyed. 47 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:40,840 Speaker 1: Strong winds tore down power lines, tree limbs, and street signs, 48 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:45,000 Speaker 1: and New England was hit especially hard. The storm surge 49 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:48,920 Speaker 1: in Boston produced waves as high as the three story building, 50 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:53,240 Speaker 1: and seven people lost their lives in the chaos. The 51 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 1: storm reached its peak on October when it was about 52 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:01,880 Speaker 1: three hundred and forty miles south of Halifax, Nova Scotia. 53 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:05,080 Speaker 1: It continued to churn in the Atlantic over the next 54 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 1: few days, eventually coming ashore along the Nova Scotia coast 55 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:15,520 Speaker 1: before moving northeast away from land. The storm's unusual evolution 56 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:19,560 Speaker 1: continued as it moved over the Gulf Stream waters, and 57 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:24,400 Speaker 1: a new hurricane formed inside of it. Although its winds 58 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:29,159 Speaker 1: exceeded eighty miles per hour. The hurricane strength. Storm was 59 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:34,039 Speaker 1: never assigned a human name like other tropical cyclones. This 60 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 1: is because emergency officials and weather forecasters were still trying 61 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:41,960 Speaker 1: to assess the damage from the Halloween Storm, and they 62 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:45,760 Speaker 1: didn't want to alarm the already distressed public by jumping 63 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:50,640 Speaker 1: to coverage of a full blown hurricane. Thankfully, the hurricane 64 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:55,040 Speaker 1: that formed inside the Perfect Storm proved to be short lived, 65 00:04:55,279 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 1: so its lack of a name didn't make much difference. 66 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:02,440 Speaker 1: It's rare for storm to leave a legacy like this one's, 67 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:06,680 Speaker 1: especially since it didn't have the strongest winds, the highest 68 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:10,760 Speaker 1: level of precipitation, or even as much destructive force as 69 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:15,800 Speaker 1: other powerful storms. Part of its legendary status is due 70 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 1: to the noteworthy way the storm developed, as well as 71 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:22,240 Speaker 1: the pop culture impact it had through The Perfect Storm 72 00:05:22,279 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 1: book and film. But I think the real reason it's 73 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:29,120 Speaker 1: remembered as such a scary storm is that it arrived 74 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:32,880 Speaker 1: around Halloween, a time of year when people are most 75 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:36,839 Speaker 1: inclined to believe the worst can happen, and for the 76 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:41,000 Speaker 1: thirteen victims of the Halloween Storm, the worst did happen. 77 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:45,560 Speaker 1: So as the holiday approaches once again, be sure to 78 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:50,520 Speaker 1: keep an eye on the weather. I'm Gabe Lousier and 79 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:54,120 Speaker 1: hopefully you now know a little more about history today 80 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:58,240 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. If you enjoyed the show, consider 81 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 1: following us on Twitter, Acebook, and Instagram at t d 82 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:06,800 Speaker 1: i h C show. You can also send your comments, suggestions, 83 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:10,159 Speaker 1: and any other feedback to This Day at I heart 84 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:14,799 Speaker 1: media dot com. Thanks to Chandler May's for producing the show, 85 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:17,920 Speaker 1: and thank you for listening. I'll see you back here 86 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:22,360 Speaker 1: again tomorrow for one more spooky day in History class. 87 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:35,799 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I Heeart Radio, visit the iHeart 88 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:38,360 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 89 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:39,000 Speaker 1: favorite shows.