Hurricane Ginny - Meteorological History

Meteorological History

The origins of Hurricane Ginny were from a trough that extended from the Bahamas to Bermuda in the middle of October. On October 16, a depression formed near the Turks and Caicos islands after a tropical wave interacted with the trough, although initially it was not tropical in nature due to the widespread presence of cold air. The system initially moved generally northward, attaining gale–force winds on October 19 as it turned to the northwest. For several days, Ginny maintained a hybrid-type structure, and although it attained winds of 75 mph (121 km/h) on October 20, it was not a true hurricane. It closely approached the North Carolina coastline, passing 135 mi (220 km) southeast of Cape Lookout before turning abruptly to the northeast. It executed a small loop and began a steady motion to the southeast while located over the Gulf Stream. This motion was due to a large ridge located over New England. On October 21, the hurricane became better organized and began transitioning into a tropical cyclone. By early on October 22, Hurricane Hunters indicated that Ginny completed the transition into a fully tropical cyclone, observing an eye 20 mi (32 km) in diameter.

On October 23, Ginny briefly weakened to tropical storm status as it was moving toward Florida, although within 10 hours it regained hurricane intensity. Its motion to the southwest was unusual but not unique, and resembled the tracks of the 1935 Yankee hurricane and Hurricane Able in 1951. On October 24, it turned sharply northeastward off the northeast Florida coast, coming within 50 mi (80 km) of Daytona Beach. The hurricane continued paralleling the coast of the Southeastern United States, turning northeast away from Georgia and South Carolina. On October 26, Ginny turned to the east away from the United States, having been located within 250 mi (400 km) of the country's coast for eight consecutive days. The next day, the hurricane began a motion to the northeast, accelerating in advance of an approaching trough. It gradually intensified, reaching peak winds of 110 mph (175 km/h) on October 29. Later that day, Ginny became extratropical before making landfall on southwestern Nova Scotia; its remnants dissipated on October 30 in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.