Hurricane Isabel

Hurricane Isabel was the ninth named storm, the fifth hurricane, the second major hurricane, and the only Category 5 hurricane of the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. It made landfall on September 18, 2003 just south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Official reports state that 53 people died as a result of the storm (16 directly), with an official damage estimate of $3.37 billion (2003 US dollars).

Storm history

On 1 September 2003, a small tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa. It organized itself over the next few days, becoming a tropical depression on the evening of 5 September. The storm continued strengthening and became Tropical Storm Isabel early on the 6th.

While churning in the western Atlantic, winds peaked at 165 mph (270 km/h), classifying it as a very intense Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, the highest possible rating. Clouds associated with Isabel covered an area of 275,000 mi² (712,000 km²), roughly the size of Texas.

Isabel made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 100 mph (160 km/h) on September 18. Hurricane force winds extended out to 120 miles (200 km) from the center of the storm, and tropical storm force winds extended out up to 350 miles (560 km) from the center of the storm. ^* At landfall, it was moving to the northwest at 14 mph (23 km/h), but as it began to weaken over land it accelerated. That evening, Isabel's sustained wind speed decreased to 70 mph (110 km/h), and the system was downgraded to a tropical storm, moving to the northwest at around 24 mph (39 km/h).

By 8 a.m. on September 19, the storm center was 25 miles east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and rain from the storm was falling as far north as Ontario. Early the next day, Isabel was absorbed by a larger extratropical low pressure system over south-central Canada.

Preparations

By September 16, a stable and consistent series of tracking forecasts indicated Isabel was most likely to strike Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and possibly bring hurricane- or near-hurricane-force conditions to the Chesapeake Bay region, central Virginia, and Washington, D.C. by midnight that night. It was later expected to bring tropical storm conditions to Buffalo, New York, Lake Erie, and Toronto and to become extratropical over the southern Hudson Bay by late Saturday.

The U.S. military began moving ships out to sea, including 40 based in the Norfolk, Virginia area to avoid being battered against piers. The United States Air Force began moving planes from its bases along the coast to bases further inland.

All 921 residents of Ocracoke Island along North Carolina's vulnerable Outer Banks were ordered to begin evacuating on the afternoon of September 15. On that same day, the state of Virginia declared a state of emergency to allow emergency services to prepare for the expected landfall of Isabel^*. Schools and businesses in Washington, D.C., Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and other Mid-Atlantic states closed prior to Isabel's arrival to allow time to prepare; hardware and home improvement stores reported brisk business of plywood, flashlights, batteries, and portable generators, as residents prepared for the storm's potential impact.

The federal government was closed to all non-essential personnel in Washington, D.C., as employees and residents stayed home and prepared for the storm's fury. This was the first time that the federal government was closed due to the threat of a hurricane, in part due to the decision by officials of the Washington Metro subway and bus system to suspend service at 11 a.m. on September 18. ^*

On September 18 and the 19th as Isabel moved ashore, over 5,700 flights were canceled at 20 airports along the Eastern seaboard as airlines sought to move their planes out of the hurricane's path. The cancellations and delays rippled across the country. Washington, D.C.'s transit system shut down bus and rail service Thursday morning, and Amtrak suspended rail service south of the capital city.

Impact

Country	Total	State or region	Regional total	County	County total	Direct deaths
Deaths from Hurricane Isabel
Canada	1	Ontario	1	Unknown	1	0
USA	52	District of Columbia	1	Washington	1	0
		Florida	1	Nassau	1	1
		Maryland	8	Anne Arundel	3	0
				Baltimore	1	1
				Calvert	1	0
				Prince George's	2	0
				Queen Anne's	1	0
		New Jersey	2	Cape May	1	1
		New Jersey	2	Warren	1	0
		New York	1	Nassau	1	0
		North Carolina	4	Carteret	1	0
				Chowan	1	1
				Pasquotank	2	0
		Pennsylvania	1	Lancaster	1	0
		Pennsylvania	1	Unknown	1	0
		Rhode Island	1	Washington	1	1
		Virginia	10	Accomack	1	1
				Albemarle	2	0
				Chesterfield	4	1
				Fluvanna	3	0
				Gloucester	1	0
				Harrisonburg	1	1
				Henrico	1	1
				Hopewell	1	1
				Isle of Wight	1	1
				Mathews	2	0
				New Kent	2	1
				Richmond	3	1
				Rockingham	2	2
				Staunton	1	0
				Unknown	7	0
Totals	53					17
Because of differing sources, totals may not match.
Sources: ^^^^^^" target="_blank" >[http://www.nbc17.com/weather/2506061/detail.html

Isabel unleashed its fury over a wide region from South Carolina to central Ontario and between the eastern Ohio Valley and the Hudson Valley. In total, over 4.3 million people were reported to be without power. This included 525,000 homes and businesses in North Carolina, 78,000 in the District of Columbia, 160,000 in New Jersey, 500,000 in Pennsylvania, 50,000 in Delaware, 40,000 in New York, 21,000 in West Virginia and 40,000 in Ontario. Maryland suffered tremendous damage to its power infrastructure with power lost to nearly half of the state: around 1,250,000 customers. Virginia was the hardest hit, though, with more than 1.6 million customers without power on the night of September 18 and damage in the billions. The large size of the storm was the main factor that led to the widespread damage.

Because of the storm's speed, flooding was not as bad as originally anticipated (in fact, a packed Virginia Tech football game with Texas A&M was played as scheduled in Blacksburg, Virginia during the peak of the storm in that area, and despite being far from the storm center, the winds were up to tropical storm force at the time there).

President George W. Bush declared major disasters in North Carolina and Virginia, ordering federal aid to both states. The governors of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Delaware declared state emergencies.

Isabel was the first major hurricane to threaten the Mid-Atlantic States and the South since Hurricane Floyd in September 1999. Isabel's greatest impact was due to flood damage, the worst in some areas of Virginia since 1972's Hurricane Agnes. More than 60 million people were affected to some degree — a similar number to Floyd but more than any other hurricane in recent memory.

In the days following Isabel, the atmosphere remained unstable, prompting an outbreak of tornadoes in many areas including the Lawrenceville Tornado of Lawrenceville, New Jersey, which was actually more than 250 miles (400 km) from the center of Isabel but clearly still in its enormous impact area.

North Carolina

The storm surge along the North Carolina coast measured approximately five feet (1.5 m), less than expected. Nevertheless, Isabel caused significant coastal flooding and damaged homes along the coast. Isabel also decimated part of Highway 12, which was damaged earlier by Hurricanes Dennis and Floyd back in 1999, the end result was a 50 ft channel that cut off much of Hatteras.In Bertie County, about 80% of the homes sustained considerable damage.^* Damage in North Carolina totaled 720 million dollars (2003 USD).

Virginia

Parts of the Old Town area of Alexandria, Virginia were flooded to varying depth, as was the nearby New Alexandria community between Alexandria and Mount Vernon. In Norfolk, Isabel caused 6 feet of storm surge in the historic district. Isabel also left 1 million people without electricity.Isabel was the worst storm to hit Virginia since 1933. In addition to the power outages, about 90% of cable reception was disrupted because of the storm.^*" target="_blank" >The heavy rains and storm surge also flooded the Midtown Tunnel in Portsmouth[http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=980&id=1038782003

In Franklin, there were reports of flooding, but it wasn't similar to what Hurricane Floyd brought back in 1999.^*

Maryland

Parts of Baltimore were extensively flooded, including the Inner Harbor and Fells Point. In Annapolis, Maryland, Isabel created the largest storm surge in the city's history, cresting at 7.58 feet. Other areas of Maryland on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay also suffered from extensive flooding.

New Jersey

Some areas in New Jersey (slightly north and west of New York City) were forecast prior to the storm's landfall to receive torrential downpours. When the storm actually passed the area, there was a light drizzle in some areas while others received no rain at all; the heaviest impacts were to the west.

Retirement

The name Isabel was retired after the 2003 season, and will never again be used for an Atlantic hurricane. It was replaced by Ida for the .

Trivia

Isabel is associated with an urban legend surrounding the Tomb of the Unknowns. According to a commonly received e-mail, the soldiers guarding the Tomb "deliberately disobeyed" orders to abandon their posts in the wake of Isabel's arrival. In reality (according to snopes.com), a contingency plan did exist for the soldiers to retreat to a nearby "trophy room" (which allowed for full view of the Tomb) in the event winds exceeded 120 mph; however, the plan was never implemented. The soldiers continuously guarded the Tomb as per standing orders. ^*

External links

NHC Tropical Cyclone Report for Hurricane Isabel
NHC advisory archives for Hurricane Isabel
NWS Service Assessment
National Geographic article - Hurricane Isabel one of the strongest to hit the US?
State-by-State Look at Isabel's Effects - Associated Press
Laying Data Traps for Isabel
The Hurricane Hut - Detailed Summary of Hurricane Isabel

Orkanen Isabel | ハリケーン・イザベル

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