Hurricane Helene (1958)

Hurricane Helene

Category 4 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Radar image of Hurricane Helene on September 27, 1958
Formed	September 21, 1958
Dissipated	September 29, 1958
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 150 mph (240 km/h)
Lowest pressure	930 mbar (hPa); 27.46 inHg
Fatalities	0 direct, 1 indirect
Damage	$11.4 million (1958 USD)
Areas affected	United States East Coast, Atlantic Canada, British Isles
Part of the 1958 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Helene was the most intense tropical cyclone of the 1958 Atlantic hurricane season. The eighth tropical storm and fourth hurricane of the year, Helene was formed from a tropical wave east of the Lesser Antilles on September 21, 1958. Moving steadily westward, the storm slowly intensified, attaining hurricane strength on September 24. As conditions became increasingly favorable for tropical cyclone development, Helene began to rapidly intensify. Nearing the United States East Coast, the hurricane quickly attained Category 4 intensity on September 26, before it subsequently reached its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (240 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 930 mbar (hPa; 27.46 inHg). The intense hurricane came within 10 mi (15 km) of Cape Fear, North Carolina before recurving out to sea. Accelerating northward, Helene gradually weakened, and transitioned into an extratropical cyclone as it passed over Newfoundland on September 29. Helene's extratropical remnants traversed eastwards across the Atlantic Ocean before dissipating near Great Britain on October 4.

Despite not making landfall on North Carolina, its close proximity to land caused extensive damage across the US East Coast. Strong winds resulted in widespread power outages, cutting telecommunications along the coast. A weather station in Wilmington, North Carolina reported a wind gust of 135 mph (215 km/h), setting a new record for fastest wind gust reported there. Though mostly concentrated in North Carolina, rainfall was widespread, reaching as far north as Maine. In the United States, damages reached $11.2 million and there was one indirect death. After impacting the US, Helene produced strong winds and heavy rain across much of Atlantic Canada. In Cape Breton Island on Nova Scotia, the storm was considered the worst in at least 21 years. Power outages cut most communications from the island to the mainland, and property damage in Sydney, Nova Scotia totaled to C$100,000. At Helene's landfall in Newfoundland, strong gusts peaking at 82 mph (132 km/h) in Naval Station Argentia were reported, and loss of power severed communications. Damage across there totaled to at least C$100,000. Total damages associated with Helene in the United States and Canada amounted to $11.4 million, making Helene the costliest storm of the season.