Hurricane Floyd

Hurricane Floyd

Category 4 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Hurricane Floyd at peak intensity on September 13 north of the Dominican Republic
Formed	September 7, 1999
Dissipated	September 19, 1999
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 155 mph (250 km/h)
Lowest pressure	921 mbar (hPa); 27.2 inHg
Fatalities	57 direct, 20–30 indirect
Damage	$6.9 billion (1999 USD)
Areas affected	The Bahamas, Eastern Seaboard from Florida to Maine (particularly New Jersey, and North Carolina), Atlantic Canada
Part of the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Floyd was a very powerful Cape Verde-type hurricane which struck the east coast of the United States. It was the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. Floyd triggered the third largest evacuation in US history (behind Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Rita) when 2.6 million coastal residents of five states were ordered from their homes as it approached. The Cape Verde-type hurricane formed off the coast of Africa and lasted from September 7 to September 19, peaking in strength as a very strong Category 4 hurricane—just 2 mph short of the highest possible rating on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale. It was among the largest Atlantic hurricanes of its strength ever recorded.

Floyd was once forecast to strike Florida, but turned away. Instead, Floyd struck The Bahamas at peak strength, causing heavy damage. It then paralleled the East Coast of the United States, causing massive evacuations and costly preparations from Florida through the Mid-Atlantic states. The storm weakened significantly, however, before striking the Cape Fear region, North Carolina as a very strong Category 2 hurricane, and caused further damage as it traveled up the Mid-Atlantic region and into New England.