1933 Chesapeake Potomac hurricane

Chesapeake-Potomac Hurricane

Category 4 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Surface weather analysis of the hurricane shortly after landfall on August 23
Formed	August 13, 1933
Dissipated	August 28, 1933
(Extratropical after August 25, 1933)
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 140 mph (220 km/h)
Lowest pressure	940 mbar (hPa); 27.76 inHg
Fatalities	47 total
Damage	$41.2 million (1933 USD)
Areas affected	North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Delaware, Mid-Atlantic States, and the Northeastern United States
Part of the 1933 Atlantic hurricane season

The 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane was among the most damaging hurricanes in the Mid-Atlantic states in the eastern United States. The sixth storm and third hurricane of the very active 1933 Atlantic hurricane season, it formed in the eastern Atlantic, where it moved west-northwestward and eventually became a Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale. A strong ridge over New England allowed a continued northwest course, bringing the storm south of Bermuda and later toward the middle coast of the eastern United States. Advance warning allowed hundreds of people to evacuate ahead of the hurricane making landfall. It did so in northeastern North Carolina on August 23 with winds of about 90 mph (150 km/h). Soon after, the eye crossed over Norfolk, Virginia, the first time that happened since 1821. The hurricane weakened into a tropical storm over northern Virginia shortly before passing near Washington, D.C., becoming the worst tropical cyclone there since 1896. Curving northward, the storm moved through Pennsylvania and New York before losing tropical characteristics on August 25. Now extratropical, the former hurricane moved across Atlantic Canada, dissipating on August 28.

Across the eastern United States, the hurricane left widespread damage amounting to over $40 million and causing 47 deaths. Although the storm struck North Carolina, damage in the state totaled only about $250,000, largely to crops and transport. Along the Chesapeake Bay, the storm produced 100-year flooding from its storm surge, setting records that remained for over 80 years. In Virginia, flooding covered downtown portions of Norfolk in the southeast and Alexandria in the north. Damage in the state was estimated at $17.5 million. Similarly heavy damage occurred in Maryland, including over $7 million to crops. High waves along the coast eroded beaches and created a new inlet at Ocean City. The highest rainfall associated with the hurricane was 13.28 in (337 mm) at York, Pennsylvania. In the state, the rains flooded several rivers which forced thousands to evacuate. In neighboring New Jersey, high waves wrecked boats and destroyed a fishing pier, while in New York, flooding caused traffic jams. In Atlantic Canada, heavy rainfall assisted firefighters in combating wildfires, and the associated winds caused isolated power outages.