1952 Groundhog Day Tropical Storm - Impact and Records

Impact and Records

Residents and tourists in southern Florida were unprepared for the unusual off-season storm. Winds of up to 65 mph (105 km/h) spread across the area, causing damage to windows and power lines. The storm dropped 2–4 inches (50–100 mm) of precipitation along its path; the combination of unseasonable rainfall and winds resulted in crop damage in Miami-Dade County.

After the storm moved into the western Atlantic, the Miami U.S. Weather Bureau issued storm warnings for the North Carolina coastline from Wilmington to Cape Hatteras; the region was warned to prepare for strong winds. The agency also issued a small craft advisory southward through Charleston, South Carolina. Offshore, the storm produced winds of up to 85 mph (140 km/h), as well as waves up to 35 feet (10 m) in height. The combination of the winds and rough waves drove a freighter ashore along Portsmouth Island in the Outer Banks, after the engine was damaged when water entered the fuel line. The 26 person crew initially planned to evacuate, but they later decided to stay on the freighter as the U.S. Coast Guard were deployed to assist. The seas damaged a portion of the ship, but the entire crew was rescued without any injuries. The storm later brushed New England, bringing rain, fog, warmer temperatures, and gusty winds. The combination resulted in downed power poles and tree limbs, leaving 10,000 houses without electricity.

The storm was described as a "freak", forming about three months after the end of the hurricane season. The chief forecaster at Miami U.S. Weather Bureau, Grady Norton, remarked that he was unsure how the cyclone developed. It is the only tropical or subtropical storm on record during the month of February, and was the earliest tropical cyclone to strike the United States. Its structure initially was uncertain, and the storm was not included in the 1952 Atlantic hurricane season summary published by the Miami Weather Bureau office. Ultimately it was included in the tropical cyclone database. Had it been operationally treated as a tropical cyclone, it would have been named Tropical Storm Able.