Esther began to weaken while approaching New England and fell to Category 3 intensity on September 21. The storm surge caused minor flooding and beach erosion in the Outer Banks,[7] where road damage was extensive. Additionally, some areas observed more than 8 inches (203 mm) of rainfall, flooding basements, low-lying roads, and underpasses. Minor to moderate damage was reported along the New Jersey coast. Take control of your data. [3], In North Carolina, the outer edges of Esther brought sustained winds of 35 mph (56 km/h) with gusts up to 60 mph (97 km/h). On September 10, the Television Infrared Observation Satellite observed an area of convection, or thunderstorms, to the southwest of the Cape Verde islands, suggesting the possibility of tropical cyclogenesis. [1] At 18:00 UTC that day, a tropical depression formed and subsequently moved on a northwest trajectory. [2] The aircraft returned the next day to seed again, but the seeding canisters fell outside the eyewall with no effect on its structure, and the hurricane continued to strengthen. The only other such occasions were in 1893 and 1998. Esther was the first of four cyclones in the Northern Region for the season. Storm Activity: Feb 23, 2020 - Feb 24, 2020. Esther was the first of four cyclones in the Northern Region for the season. Because of uncertainty about the storm's future path, the Weather Bureau advised residents along the east coast of the United States to closely follow the storm.
The storm remained a Category 3 hurricane for about four days and gradually moved in a west-northwestward direction.
[1] The storm separated Smith's Point from the rest of Nantucket Island, creating what came to be known as Esther's Island (which has since re-connected in 1988,[16] re-separated, and re-connected again in 2009). [10] All hurricane watches were discontinued on September 21 as Esther moved away from the New England coast, and all hurricane warnings were downgraded to gale warnings later that day as Esther passed near Nantucket and weakened to a tropical storm, and all warnings were discontinued on September 22 after the storm moved away from the coast. [1] Another trough from the west steered Esther to the northeast and was expected to cause the storm to accelerate,[3] potentially bringing it over Cape Cod. "Inside Hurricane Esther", photos by NOAA: This page was last edited on 19 October 2020, at 16:22. [13] Damage to property, however, was minimal, and the storm's effects in the Wilmington area were compared to those of "a good nor'easter" by the local weather bureau. The agency later issued a hurricane watch from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to Norfolk, Virginia on September 18. There is no tracking data for this storm. Before the crew could close the bomb bay doors manually, the plane crashed in shark-infested waters and broke apart; three of the crewmen were able to get out of the downed plane, but the other seven were unable to escape. A wind gust of 69 mph (111 km/h) was observed in Atlantic City. © Copyright TWC Product and Technology LLC 2014, 2020. The storm turned eastward early on the following day, and rapidly weakened to a tropical storm. [1] Tides as high as 35 ft (10.7 m) damaged many pleasure boats.
Rainfall totals ranged from 1 inch (25 mm) in southern Maine to around 6 inches (152 mm) in the Boston area.