CAPE MAY — While all eyes are on Hurricane Lee, some locals will tell you Cape May County avoids direct hits from severe hurricanes. Unfortunately, history proves them wrong.
No one is alive today to recall it, but Cape May experienced a Category 4 hurricane in 1821. Old newspapers and military logs carry accounts of the event.
Hurricanes were not named in the 1800s, but the 1821 storm is referred to as the Norfolk and Long Island hurricane or the Great September Gale.
Prior to Superstorm Sandy in October 2012, the 1821 hurricane was the last major one to make a direct hit on New Jersey. The storm struck Sept. 3 with winds of 135 mph.
According to Hurricaneville.com, hurricane winds extended as far as Philadelphia, with some wind gusts reaching 200 mph. The storm followed a path similar to a driver going north on the Garden State Parkway, hugging the coast to New York City. It originated off the coast of Africa.
The hurricane of 1821 struck Guadeloupe on Sept. 1. It then turned north, passing the Bahamas. At that point, it was believed to be as intense as a Category 5. In their logs, captains of ships near Grand Turk Island in the Turks and Caicos made mention of the hurricane. Moving at great speed, by dawn Sept. 3, it was off Cape Haterras, N.C.
Remarkably, the hurricane reached Delaware Bay by mid-afternoon the same day and New York City by 7:30 p.m. The storm’s forward motion was estimated at 50 mph. It was likely the eye passed directly over Cape May since calm winds were reported for a period of 15 to 30 minutes during its passage over Cape Island.
The worst-case scenario occurred when water from the ocean crossed land and flowed into the bay. Fortunately there were few residents here to report the damage from the storm.
One newspaper account said Cape May was physically cut off from the rest of the county by storm surge of more than 10 feet.
Writer Robert Roy Britt for LiveScience.com stated storm surge pushed the tide up 13 feet in one hour in New York City and inundated wharves, causing the East River and the Hudson River to merge across lower Manhattan as far north as Canal Street.
In a Washington Post story, Weather Editor Jason Samenow quoted re-insurer Swiss Re, which analyzed the 1821 storm and estimated such a storm today would cause more than $100 billion in damages and prove 50 percent more costly than Superstorm Sandy.
A New York newspaper account reported roofs flying off buildings, chimneys collapsing, trees falling and wharves breaking from their foundations, with the worst of the storm raging for four hours.
A number of boats and ships were badly damaged or sunk. One account speaks of ships swept onto the streets.
Trees from the hurricane were discovered buried in marshes along the construction route of the Garden State Parkway in the early 1950s.
Other storms
Hurricane Sandy struck the East Coast in October 2012, causing widespread flooding, eroded beaches and property damage along coastal communities from the Bahamas to New York.
Hundreds of homes and businesses were inundated with water and sand when the ocean and bay met in the lower-lying areas of Ocean City, displacing residents and merchants from their homes and livelihoods.
According to National Geographic, an unusual combination of hurricane conditions and cold fronts made the storm particularly potent. Over nine days, the storm caused the death of almost 150 people in the United States and another 70 in the Caribbean.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates Sandy caused at least $70 billion in damages, among the costliest storms in U.S. history.
More than 8 million people lost power during the storm and outages were seen for days in some major cities, while outlying areas were without power for weeks.
Through the use of flood elevation certificates, the city learned the hardest-hit area was from West Avenue to the bay between Second and 18th streets.
While barrier island municipalities in northern and central New Jersey suffered greater losses, Sandy’s after-effects in Ocean City were significant.
Debris and sand clogged the streets, numerous power lines were down and the protective dune system was washed away.
Water flooded the ground floors and garages at low-lying vacation homes and full-time residences. Beachfront properties had sand in their living rooms after the dunes were breached.
A number of county residents remember the 1944 storm known as the Great Atlantic Hurricane. A story has been retold countless times of a grand piano washing out to sea from Cape May Convention Hall. According to Margaret Buchholz and Larry Savadore in their book “Great Storms of the Jersey Shore,” the 1944 hurricane had winds of 96 mph along the New Jersey coast.
The storm is credited with the final destruction of the town of South Cape May, the current stretch of beach and nature preserve between the Third Avenue Jetty in Cape May and Cape May Point State Park.
In Cape May, portions of the boardwalk were destroyed, and, in its aftermath, Beach Avenue was filled with sand.
In his book “Historic Cape May, New Jersey: The Summer City by the Sea,” Emil Salvini states more than 200 houses suffered roof or chimney damage and 200 trees were felled.
According to HurricaneScience.org, the storm cost more than $100 million in damages and killed 390 people total.
Cape May County residents received minimal warning of the approaching hurricane due to limited radio communication amid World War II.
In 1960, Hurricane Donna remained offshore but caused substantial damage to coastal areas in the county. The hurricane was reported to have generated 100 mph winds in Wildwood.
By JACK FICHTER/Sentinel staff