The following are some of the storms featured in the book,
Hurricanes and the Middle Atlantic States:

The "Year of the Hurricane" 1667
The Great Gust of 1724
Benjamin Franklin's Hurricane of 1743
The Great Hurricane of 1749
The Great Chesapeake Bay Hurricane of 1769
The Independence Hurricane of 1775
George Washington's Hurricane (1788)
Norfolk and Long Island Hurricane of 1821
The Expedition Hurricane (1861)
Saxby's Gale (1869)
The Centennial Gale (1876)
The Great October Gale (1878)
The New Jersey flood of 1882
The Great Windstorm of 1896
San Ciriaco Hurricane (1899)
The New Jersey flood of 1903
Chesapeake and Potomac Hurricane of 1933
The Morro Castle Storm (1934)
The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935
The Great New England Hurricane (1938)
New Jersey's heaviest rainstorms (1939 & 1940)
The Great Atlantic Hurricane (1944)
Hurricane Hazel (1954)
Hurricanes Connie and Diane (1955)
Hurricane Donna (1960)
Hurricane Camille (1969)
Hurricane Agnes (1972)
Hurricane Eloise (1975)
Hurricane David (1979)
Hurricanes Gloria and Juan (1985)
Hurricane Hugo (1989)
Hurricane Fran (1996)
Hurricane Floyd (1999)
Hurricane Isabel (2003)
Hurricanes of 2004
Fall 2008
    The following is a list of some of the conclusions and observations found in
the book, Hurricanes and the Middle Atlantic States:

  •  The East Coast is in an active hurricane cycle, which  began in 1995. Active cycles
    typically last 25-30 years. During that time, there are often two or three relatively quiet
    years, followed by significant hurricane activity lasting one to four years. The Middle
    Atlantic states have well-defined cycles of increased hurricane activity. It is as if someone
    turns on and off a faucet. Previous active cycles in the region occurred from 1876 until
    1904 and from 1933 until 1961. The period from 1969 until 1979 brought the Mid-Atlantic
    several notable hurricane-related floods.

  •  The region's climate is highly cyclical. Extremes are often followed by extremes. A
    drought, for example, may be followed by a hurricane-related flood.        

  •  Coastal sections are due for a major hurricane. Hurricane Gloria in 1985 was the last to
    cause significant losses to Mid-Atlantic shore areas. The Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944
    was the last to cause severe damage along the shoreline from Virginia to New Jersey.
    The Mid-Atlantic coast has had a dearth of major coastal hurricanes since the early
    1960s. Similar relatively quiet periods occurred from the late 1820s until the late 1870s,
    and for about three decades during the early 20th century. These less active periods
    were followed by many violent hurricanes affecting shore areas (and several destructive
    nor'easters).

  •  Interior sections are due for a highly destructive hurricane-related windstorm. Hurricane
    Hazel in 1954 was the last tropical cyclone to carry actual hurricane-force winds through a
    large section of the Mid-Atlantic interior, from Virginia to Pennsylvania. The region's
    climatological  history suggests that inland hurricanes such as Hazel occur about twice
    each century. Similar events occurred in 1667, 1724, 1769, 1775, 1821, 1878 and 1896.  

  •  The popular Saffir-Simpson hurricane intensity scale understates the potential for wind
    damage in the Mid-Atlantic region. A Category 1 hurricane (sustained one-minute winds
    of 74-95 mph) can be expected to do widespread Category 2 and 3-type damage.
    Isolated areas may see Category 4-type losses. Leafy trees and other vegetation, less
    wind-resistant structures and infrastructure, as well as, perhaps, other yet to be identified
    factors are responsible for the region's wind susceptibility.

  •  'Major' hurricane Mid-Atlantic style: Meteorologists define a 'major' hurricane as
    possessing at least Category 3 strength (sustained winds of at least 111 mph). Because
    of the Middle Atlantic states' susceptibility to wind damage, a Category 1 hurricane
    (sustained winds of 74-95 mph) tracking through interior sections will cause major
    destruction. Furthermore, a tropical cyclone that stalls off the Mid-Atlantic coast for more
    than a day may produce major shoreline damage even if it is something less than a
    Category 3.

  •  Tropical cyclones bring great variability in rainfall and winds over short distances.
    Tropical Storm Hanna (Sept 2008), for example, dumped less than two inches of rain to
    more than eight inches in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Hurricane Isabel
    (Sept. 2003) lashed Washington and its suburbs with peak gusts ranging from less than
    50 mph to nearly 80 mph.

  •  When evaluating the severe weather risk associated with a tropical cyclone, it is
    important to consider the possibility of violent storms in the air mass ahead of the storm,
    in adjacent weather systems, and in the air mass behind. The worst weather may occur
    indirectly, outside the hurricane's circulation, sometimes days ahead or days after.

  •   The total drownings from hurricanes that remain offshore, with little or no effect on land,
    exceeds those from the bigger storms written up in Hurricanes and the Middle Atlantic
    States. So says Jay Mann, managing editor of the Beachcomber, Long Beach Island, N.J.,
    and a long-time resident of the shore. Rip currents are to blame. They may form when a
    hurricane comes within 1,000 miles of the Mid-Atlantic coast, while the storm is out to sea.
    A sprawling hurricane will have the waters churning at 500 miles. The ocean claims lives
    even as the sun shines. Often, a swimmer doesn't realize he is in a rip current until his
    strongest efforts fail to bring him closer to shore. Swimming sideways perpendicular to
    shore may break the grip of the rip, but all bets are off with a hurricane sea.

  •    The Mid-Atlantic region boasts some of the most intense short-term downpours on
    earth. Some are related to tropical cyclones. Hurricane Camille, for example, dumped
    more than 27 inches of rain on sections of Nelson County, Va., within about five hours in
    August 1969. Thunderstorms stalled by a hurricane off the New Jersey coast bucketed
    Ewan, N.J., (just 20 miles south of Philadelphia) with more than 22 inches in about 10
    hours during September 1940.

  •    Hurricane deluges are of particular concern. Steep slopes in mountainous sections
    allow rapid runoff. An extreme event, such as occurred with Hurricane Camille, can liquefy
    the soil generating deadly mudflows. Meanwhile, urban sections, often situated on hilly
    terrain, are at risk of flash flooding. Concrete, asphalt and other impervious surfaces
    reduce the absorption of rainwater, increasing runoff. The monsoonal downpours of a
    tropical cyclone can quickly turn destructive and deadly, as occurred with Hurricane
    Gaston in 2004 when it pounded the Richmond, Va., metropolitan area with rainfall totals
    that topped 10 inches.

  •   Remnant systems tracking through the Mid-Atlantic region may spawn tornadoes.
    Pinpointing where a tornado will touch down is beyond our present knowledge. Eugene
    McCaul, a meteorologist and tornado researcher, puts the challenge and risk this way:
    "Tropical cyclone tornadoes are often spawned by unusually small storm cells that may
    not appear particularly dangerous on weather radar, especially if the cells are located
    more than 60 miles from the radar. In addition, these small storms often tend to produce
    little or no lightning or thunder, and may not look very visually threatening to the average
    person. Furthermore, the tornadoes are often obscured by rain, and the storm cells
    spawning them may move rapidly, leaving little  time to take evasive action once the threat
    has been perceived."