2012 Hurricane Season's 12 Most Shocking Moments

A Hurricane Season to Remember

In some ways, the destructive 2012 Atlantic hurricane season was one of contradictions.

For the third year in a row, there were nineteen named storms.  Eight of these formed in August, tying a record from 2004, according to The Weather Channel Meteorologist Dr. Matt Sitkowski.  That said, none existed in the months of July or November.

Four of these storms eventually made landfall (Beryl and Debby as tropical storms, Isaac as a hurricane, and Sandy as a post-tropical "Superstorm").  

However, for the seventh year in a row, no Category 3 or stronger hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale made landfall in the U.S.  Hurricane Wilma in 2005 was the last to do so.  Dr. Sitkowski says the only other time in recorded history we've had a streak that long was between 1861 and 1868.  Yes, that's the decade of the Civil War, folks!  

Then again, this is just a wind scale.  Don't tell those affected that Sandy, Irene, or Ike didn't produce "major" impacts.

There were many stunning moments during the season, from a severe drought erased, to a massive tropical storm, to a three-week long tropical storm, to, of course, Sandy.

Watching this season unfold, we've come up with our list of the most shocking moments of the season. Click the next button above to kick off with #12, a season's first hurricane in an unusual place.

#12:  Season's First Hurricane...in June...Where?

This is quite early, as the average first hurricane of the Atlantic season typically forms by August 10.  But that's not what's so shocking about Chris.

The map above shows June named storm origin points from 1950 through 2011.  In June, the Gulf of Mexico is a "hot spot", with a few others clustering in the western Caribbean Sea near the coast of the Carolinas.  

Chris strengthened to a hurricane on June 21 over the open waters of the North Atlantic Ocean at a latitude of 41 degrees north, farther north than New York City (Eeesh...maybe that was an omen?)!  Only a single 1893 hurricane was farther north as a hurricane in June than Chris.

Our #11 shocker was a tropical cyclone that...just...wouldn't...quit.

#11:  Nadine's Three-Week Tour

The path of Hurricane Nadine in the map above may resemble a piece of art your two-year old proudly presented to you at some point.

Nadine formed in the tropical Atlantic Ocean on September 11 and spent a total of just over three weeks, 21.75 days to be exact, as a named tropical or subtropical cyclone.  

Nadine was the fifth longest-lasting Atlantic tropical/subtropical cyclone on record, according to the "best-track" historical database.  

(MORE:  Little impact, but history-making)

This rather haphazard path affected The Azores, a group of islands in the northeast Atlantic Ocean, west of Portugal, not once, but twice, producing wind gusts over 50 mph in a few spots each time.  Nadine strengthened to a hurricane three separate times!

Our #10 stunning moment this season was a stalled storm, with vastly conflicting forecast data.  

#10:  Debby's Stunning Model Forecast Disagreement

Most forecast, whether they involve winter storms, tropical cyclones, severe weather outbreaks, or even the chance of pop-up summer thunderstorms, have a degree of uncertainty.  Ask any meteorologist about Tropical Storm Debby, and you may induce a migraine headache.  

The challenge with Debby is one typical of slow-moving tropical cyclones in weak steering flow aloft. Debby was stuck between two areas of high pressure aloft over the southern U.S. and the Caribbean Sea. 

For awhile, the two primary forecast longer-range forecast models, the GFS ("American") and ECMWF ("European") models, were more divided than D.C. politicians, providing a perplexing problem for meteorologists and emergency managers, alike.   

The "European" model initially tracked Debby toward the Texas Gulf Coast while the GFS model favored a track toward the northeast Gulf Coast.  If the southern U.S. ridge, which, by the way, was absolutely baking parts of the country at that time, would build eastward, clockwise flow around that feature would grab Debby and track it west toward Texas or southern Louisiana.  That was the initial track forecast on June 23. 

The following day, a major shift in the track forecast occurred, based on new forecast model guidance and the continued barrage of hostile wind shear affecting Debby.  By the 4pm CDT advisory on June 24, the center of the forecast cone from the National Hurricane Center had shifted from pointing toward Texas and southern Louisiana to the Florida Gulf Coast near Apalachicola.

(MAP:  NHC Debby track forecast change loop)

Debby remained in a weak steering flow aloft before finally limping ashore near Steinhatchee, Fla. on June 26.

We'll stay with Debby for our #9 shocker of 2012, touching on the impressive impacts.

#9:  Debby Floods a Drought-Suffering Region

In early May, much of north and western Florida were in the grips of an "extreme" to "exceptional" drought.

Then, Tropical Storm Beryl, during Memorial Day weekend soaked northern Florida.  More about Beryl later.  

But, back to Debby.  For a sheared-out tropical storm, Debby had a large wind field.  And, as we said earlier, Debby was a slow-mover.  These two ingredients combined to produce both rainfall and storm surge flooding.

We watched with amazement Meteorologist Jim Cantore (Twitter) reporting live from Downtown Live Oak, Fla. standing in flood water.  According to the Suwannee Democrat newspaper, a flood on this scale hadn't been seen in that area since Hurricane Dora in 1964.  Again, this area was squarely in extreme drought just the previous month!

(MORE:  Recap | Photos)

Then, the storm surge flooding!  In hard-hit Wakulla County, Fla. (also picking up an unofficial rain total of over 28"), the surge from Tropical Storm Debby was greater than that of Hurricane Gustav in 2008. Perhaps this was a harbinger of storms to come this season?

Heavy rain and storm surge lead to major flooding in the Tampa-St. Petersburg metro area, flooding parts of Tampa's Bayshore Boulevard, and water rescues needed in Clearwater.  

For our #8 shocker, we're jumping back to an early-bird U.S. landfall, Tropical Storm Beryl.

#8:  Beryl's Early Landfall Ruins Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day weekend.  A time to remember the men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice serving our country.  It's also the unofficial kickoff to summer.  Time to grab the kids, pack up the car and head to the beach, particularly to the Sunshine State.  

In 2012, however, those plans were drenched from northern Florida to the Carolinas.  

Yes, before the "official" start of the Atlantic hurricane season, Tropical Storm Beryl made landfall near Jacksonville, Fla.  

Apart from the serious flooding in the Jacksonville metro, as well as other parts of north Florida and southeast Georgia, Beryl was the strongest tropical cyclone to make a U.S. landfall prior to June 1 on record!  

(MORE:  Recap | Photos)

Also, strangely enough, Beryl spun up in roughly the same area that Tropical Storm Alberto formed the previous week.  This was only the third year in which two named storms spun up in the Atlantic Basin prior to the June 1 "official" kickoff of the season.  

Sadly, our #7 shocking moment involved rescues eerily reminiscent of Hurricane Katrina.

#7:  Rooftop Rescues:  Braithwaite, La.

Rooftop rescues in New Orleans will remain forever remain burned in memory from Hurricane Katrina's assault on the Gulf Coast.

Thankfully, the fortified levee system held in the city of New Orleans during Hurricane Isaac in late August 2012, despite Isaac's painfully slow movement and heavier rainfall than Katrina.  Winds gusted over 30 mph at New Orleans Int'l Aiport for 51 straight hours, or just over 2 straight days.  

Others in southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi weren't so fortunate.

The persistent east to southeast winds produced an 11 foot storm surge at Shell Beach, La., higher than that of Hurricane Gustav in 2008.  Which brings us to the shocking moment of the storm.

A so-called back levee was overwhelmed by storm surge in Plaquemines Parish, La. on Aug. 29, sending water up to 12 feet high into the town of Braithwaite, La., areas that did not flood significantly in Hurricane Katrina.  Once again, authorities had to perform rescues by boat with water up to the rooftops of homes.  

Eventually, the levee was breached to allow water to drain out.  

Plaquemines Parish President, Bill Nungesser said that morning on The Weather Channel, "Listen, I rode out Katrina, and my home has more damage now."  Ironically, this was on the 7th anniversary of Katrina's landfall.  

Major surge flooding also affected the south side of Slidell, La., as well as St. John the Baptist Parish near La Place, at the west edge of Lake Pontchartrain.  

In all, roughly 59,000 homes were damaged or destroyed in Louisiana alone from Hurricane Isaac.  

(PHOTOS:  Hurricane Isaac)  

Want another shocker from Isaac?  According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Isaac's storm surge caused the Mississippi River in southeast Louisiana to run backwards for 24 hours.  At Belle Chasse, La., the river was running about 50% higher volume upstream in this period than its average downstream flow. The river rose to 8 feet above its previous height at Baton Rouge.

This phenomenon was also witnessed during Hurricane Katrina, according to the USGS.  

Our #6 shocker of the season involves a place that never took a direct hit, but faces an uncertain future.

#6 Rodanthe, N.C. Dune Erosion

Just a few weeks after Sandy hit the Northeast, a photo was sent out from the North Carolina DOT showing a severely damaged Highway 12 in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

With astronomical tides running high and an onshore flow at the time the photo was taken on November 13, water from the ocean was meeting up with the severely damaged road where large protective dunes once stood.

In the blog Ostro says, "I’m not sure how much of that extreme erosion was from Sandy, or other hurricanes in the past five years, or just a general combination of occasional strong onshore flows and sea level rise; regardless the present situation is that Route 12, which was breached along with the barrier island itself by Isabel and Irene, and is the only road access between the northern Banks (Nags Head, Kitty Hawk) and Hatteras, is hanging on by a thread near Rodanthe."

As Stu mentions, it's not clear how much of the erosion can be blamed on Sandy, but the before and after view of this location in the Outer Banks was another incredible moment related to the 2012 hurricane season.

For the #5 shocking moment, we look at Sandy's rare and very accurate path forecast.

#5 Sandy's Stunning Model Forecast

Above: an interactive map of the official National Hurricane Center forecast cone for Hurricane Sandy from the first advisory on Oct. 22 through the final advisory on Oct. 29. Mouse over the blue-shaded regions for details on each individual cone. Each cone describes the most likely future path for the center of the storm.

After struggling earlier this season to accurately forecast the path of Debby (see #10 shocking moment), the ECMWF computer forecast model shined in its track forecast for Sandy. Starting eight days in advance of Sandy's eventual hit on the Northeast, the model continued to forecast a path where Sandy would make a left hook into the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic after moving off the Southeast U.S. coast.

This track forecast was very unique and was a major anomaly from how we typically expect tropical systems to track that time of year. Never before had a strong tropical cyclone made a left hook into the Northeast, and in late October there's usually a strong jet stream over the U.S., ready to sweep hurricanes quickly out to sea.

For a computer model to persistently and accurately forecast this unique path around a week in advance is incredible as we look back at the storm.

The American "GFS" model, which was one of the models that initially suggested that Sandy would turn safely out to sea, eventually came into line with the track shown by the ECMWF model on the morning of October 25 and stuck with this path through the days ahead.

(MORE: Triumph of the models)

This meant around five days in advance that all of our forecast guidance agreed that Sandy would eventually take this shocking left turn westward into the Northeast on October 29.

Remarkable forecast accuracy for a remarkable hurricane.

The #4 shocking moment of the season came as Sandy moved northward off the Southeast coast, where its tropical-storm force wind field expanded to an eye-popping distance.

#4 Sandy's Extreme Size

Over the past few years, we've witnessed several cases illustrating that the size of a hurricane, not simply its intensity, plays a huge factor in the impact of storm surge, not to mention the wind impact.

As illustrated by the coastal destruction and the millions left without power, this was true in Sandy's case as well.

(MORE: Storm surge...size matters)

At one point on the evening of October 28, 2012, an advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center estimated that tropical-storm force sustained winds spanned a diameter of 932 miles. This eye-popping diameter is roughly the driving distance from New York City to Jacksonville, Fla.

For comparison, consider two recent large hurricanes, Isaac and Irene, which had tropical-storm force wind fields of 450 and 460 miles at their peak extent, respectively. Sandy's wind field was more than double the size of those two! The size of Sandy's tropical storm-force wind field even exceeded both Hurricanes Ike and Katrina, although those had much higher maximum wind speeds.

(MORE: Sandy vs. Irene)

We start off the top three shocking moments by examining the rare wintry side to this year's hurricane season. 

#3 Sandy and Snow!

Many days ahead of Sandy's eventual impact on the Northeast, meteorologists were faced with a question many of us had never seen in our hurricane-forecasting careers. The question was: How much snow?

Sure, we've made snow forecasts many times in normal winter weather situations, but to see what computer models were projecting in the Appalachians several days in advance from an entity of tropical origin (Sandy) was a bit hard to believe. As each day went by, it appeared that snow would indeed become a component to this story. 

Cold air supplied by a dip in the jet stream plus moisture hurled westward by Sandy led to some extremely heavy snow accumulations in the central and southern Appalachians. Blizzard conditions were reported in some areas. Total accumulations reached three feet in Richwood, W.V.

This wasn't the end of the snow story associated with Sandy.

Just a little more than a week after Sandy moved inland, Winter Storm Athena brought snow to the Northeast coast. New York City reported 4.7 inches from the storm. More than eight inches was reported on western Long Island near Albertson.

Images from the Jersey Shore showed snow piled on debris left behind by Sandy a little more than a week earlier.

(PHOTOS: Winter Storm Athena)

For our #2 shocking moment we head to the Big Apple.

#2 Flood Waters Enter Lower Manhattan

The first few images showing water inundating Lower Manhattan on the evening of October 29, 2012 were hard to believe. We all knew it could happen, but given the rarity of this event it was tough to imagine until you actually saw it with your own eyes.

The image on the left was one of the first we received through iWitness Weather of water in Lower Manhattan. Reports from the National Weather Service, including water inside 4 New York Plaza, verified the inundation we were seeing. This was followed by some of the first reports of flooding in the subways and tunnels.

(PHOTOS: Sandy's destruction)

Sandy's left turn path into New Jersey was a very bad scenario for coastal locations from New Jersey to New York City and Long Island. Making matters worse, this occurred around the time of high tide and during a full moon, which further increased the peak water levels.

The total water level rise of 13.88 feet at The Battery in New York City was a new record, topping the previous official record of 10.02 feet from Hurricane Donna in 1960.

(MORE: Visualizing Sandy's storm surge)

This was the second year in a row evacuations were triggered in Lower Manhattan due to an approaching hurricane. New York City was mostly spared from Irene in 2011 as it moved through as a tropical storm.

Our #1 shocking moment brought back memories of the coastal destruction we've seen in recent years along the Gulf Coast.

#1 Sandy's Stunning Aftermath at the Coast

In 2005, we saw the catastrophic images from Katrina's storm surge damage in coastal Mississippi. A few years later in 2008, it was Ike's surge that left incredible damage along the upper Texas coast on the Bolivar Peninsula.

The destruction caused by Sandy's storm surge and waves brought back memories of these two hurricanes with images from coastal New Jersey and Long Island revealing homes wiped out, new inlets carved along the coast and sand washed inland from the beach into streets nearby.

Even with the ominous storm surge forecasts prior to Sandy moving inland, it was still stunning to see once again what the power of water can do to a coastline.

(MORE: Visualizing Sandy's storm surge)

An extreme example of this damage can be seen by moving your mouse over the image above to see the destruction in Ortley Beach, N.J.

To see more shocking aerial images of the damage along the Northeast coast, click here.

(Image Credit: NOAA/Google Maps)