Irene Stats

[RobS]

Here's a good summary of Irene.

Although Irene is now history, she won't be forgotten in the minds of millions of Easterners who dealt with her wrath this past weekend.

At least 21 deaths have been attributed to Irene, which is now barreling across southeastern Canada as a post-tropical storm.

Wind gusts above 100 mph, rainfall totals north of a foot and battering waves that poured ashore along coastlines from the Carolinas to Maine has left millions, if not billions, of dollars in damage for residents and officials to clean up in the days to come.

It will also take days to restore power, and for swollen rivers to recede to bankfull after swallowing buildings and bridges whole in some communities. Record inland flooding, especially throughout interior New England, will end up being the legacy of this storm.

The first images of Irene's destruction came as the storm was making landfall in eastern North Carolina early on Saturday morning.

Water from Irene rushed inland along the Pamlico and Ablemarle sounds, leading to more than 200 water rescues from those who chose to stick around and ride out the storm.

Along the Outer Banks, battering waves destroyed at least five portions of Route 12, cutting off Hatteras from the mainland.

Scores of structures suffered at least some wind damage from the storm, with wind gusts above 100 mph recorded.

Excessive rainfall totals were found well inland across North Carolina and north into southeastern Virginia and along the Delmarva Peninsula, flooding out numerous homes and closing roadways.

The megalopolis along I-95 from Washington to New York braced for Irene's impact, which came later on Saturday and early Sunday.

Public transit ground to a halt in Philadelphia and New York and thousands of flights were canceled as New York's five major airports shut down.

For the first time ever, low-lying areas of New York City were ordered to evacuate, while a state of emergency was declared in Philadelphia for the first time since 1986.

The combination of soggy ground and strong winds brought down numerous trees over the mid-Atlantic, even as far west as York, PA.

Jersey Shore points and even New York City dealt with a storm surge of around 4 feet, including along the boardwalk at Battery Park, NY, where the surge coincided with high tide. On Long Island, whole structures were pushed ashore by the force of the water.

Perhaps some of the worst destruction from Irene was felt across interior parts of New England, where excessive runoff from rainfall led to severe flooding.

According to Meteorologist Evan Duffey, at least 10 rivers or creeks were at or above record flood levels from New Jersey to Vermont, with most centered over eastern New York and in the Green Mountain state.

Montpelier, VT., was also especially hard hit. The Winooski River washed out bridges that connected the town to other areas, while residents across portions of the capital city were told to evacuate.
Forecasts call for major flooding to continue across rivers in the Northeast for days.

Irene's Historic Landfalls
When Irene moved ashore near Cape Lookout, NC, on Saturday at 8:00 a.m. EDT, she became the first hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. since Ike plowed ashore in Galveston, Texas, on Sept. 13, 2008.
A second landfall occurred nearly 24 hours later at Little Egg Inlet, NJ, marking the first time since 1903 a hurricane made a direct landfall along the Jersey Shore.

Even more impressive, the center of Irene, although weaker as a tropical storm, passed directly over New York City, marking the first time that has happened since 1821.

Irene has caused damaging wind and excessive rains from the Carolinas to New England. Here are the highest rainfall and wind totals that we have seen from the storm:

Rainfall
1. Bunyan, N.C., 14.00 inches
2. Plum Point, Md., 12.96 inches
3. Ft. Eustis, Va., 12.52 inches
4. Ocean City, Md., 12.09 inches
5. Perry Hall, Md., 12.00 inches
6. Washington, N.C., 11.31 inches
7. Camp Springs, Md., 11.21 inches
8. New Bern, N.C., 11.13 inches
9. Suffolk, Va., 10.71 inches
10. Grifton, N.C., 10.53 inches

There was an unofficial measurement of 19.00 inches at Aurora, N.C., which would sit at the top of this rainfall list if confirmed.

Wind Gusts
1. Cedar Island, N.C., 115 mph
2. Fort Macon, N.C., 92 mph
3. Hatteras, N.C., 88 mph
4. Conimicut, R.I., 83 mph
5. Barrington, R.I., 82 mph
6. Buxton, N.C., 79 mph
7. Cape Lookout, N.C., 78 mph
8. Oregon Inlet, N.C., 78 mph
9. Cobb Island, Md., 73 mph
10. Chesapeake Beach, Md., 72 mph
11. Here are the top three for each state affected: (Source: AccuWeather.com)

South Carolina
Rainfall Wind
Myrtle Beach, 3.62 inches Springmaid Pier, 62 mph
Murrells Inlet, 3.15 inches North Myrtle Beach, 49 mph
Pawley's Island, 2.95 inches Myrtle Beach, 44 mph

North Carolina
Rainfall Wind
Bunyan, 14.00 inches Cedar Island, 115 mph
Washington, 11.31 inches Fort Macon, 92 mph
New Bern, 11.13 inches Hatteras, 88 mph

Virginia
Rainfall Wind
Ft. Eustis, 12.52 inches Williamsburg, 76 mph
Suffolk, 10.71 inches Richmond, 70 mph
Fentress, 8.82 inches Dahlgren, 67 mph

Maryland
Rainfall Wind
Camp Springs, 11.31 inches Cobb Island, 73 mph
California, 9.76 inches Chesapeake Beach, 72 mph
Ridge, 8.96 inches Gaithersburg, 72 mph

Delaware
Rainfall Wind
Federalsburg, 8.50 inches Lewe's 56 mph
Blackbird 8.41 inches Delaware City, 51 mph
Ellendale 8.34 inches Georgetown, 43 mph

New Jersey
Rainfall Wind
Jefferson Township, 9.66 inches Tuckerton, 69 mph
Newark, 8.92 inches Ocean City, 66 mph
Caldwell, 8.65 inches Brick Township, 66 mph

Pennsylvania
Rainfall Wind
Chadds Ford, 7.41 inches Philadelphia, 52 mph
Springtown, 7.26 inches Fort Indiantown, 52 mph
Doylestown, 7.06 inches Mount Pocono, 52 mph

New York
Rainfall Wind
Slide Mountain, 8.62 inches East Moriches, 71 mph
Yonkers, 8.15 inches New York, LaGuardia, 67 mph
Staten Island, 7.12 inches Bayville, 67 mph

Massachusetts
Rainfall Wind
Auburn, 5.50 inches East Milton, 81 mph
South Natick, 5.00 inches Fairhaven, 72 mph
Worthington, 4.86 inches Norwood, 66 mph

Rhode Island
Rainfall Wind
Pawtucket, 2.98 inches Conimicut, 83 mph
Providence, 1.92 inches Barrington, 82 mph
Westerly State Arpt., 0.86 inches Warwick, 64 mph

Connecticut
Rainfall Wind
Burlington, 7.45 inches Groton, 67 mph
North Granby, 7.17 inches Thompson, 66 mph
Danbury, 7.02 inches Bridgeport, 63 mph

[jleonard]

Some additional Connecticut information.
Rainfall total in Torrington 11 1/2 inches
The highest wind I recorded was only about 25 mph (sheltered from the east)

[Engineer6]

Thanks for the very thorough stats; puts perspective on this one. Went through several in FL when living there.
As we were driving on Westbound PA turnpike Sat. PM we passed over 80 tree company bucket trucks and electrical company pole trucks headed Eastbound. Then on southbound I-81 southbound hit a lot of wind and passed even more of the tree and electrical trucks headed north. Stayed in VA and on Sunday we still saw truck convoys headed north - - help is on the way to get power back on . good wishes to all