The Perfect Storm of 1991

"The technical name for the new storm was a 'midlatitude cyclone.' The people in its path, however, would later call it the No Name Hurricane, since it had all the force of a hurricane, but was never officially designated as one. And because the brunt of the storm would strike the eastern seaboard around October 31, it would also acquire another name: the Halloween Gale." - Sebastian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm

People in the Northeastern United States have been dealing with winter storms for centuries, band people in the South and on the East Coast have dealt with hurricanes and tropical storms for just as long, but it's rare for the weather systems that produce such storms to actually collide with each other and produce a more powerful storm. In fact, it's unusual enough that when it happened in late October 1991, one weatherman dubbed it the "Perfect Storm."

Indeed, the Perfect Storm of 1991 was unique in many respects. By feeding off of Hurricane Grace and another storm to the south, the Nor'easter that was hitting the Northeast and Canada became an incredibly powerful storm that struck the North Atlantic before swinging back south and again developing into a tropical storm. In the process, it produced waves in excess of 100 feet tall near Nova Scotia and caused substantial flooding across the East Coast. It was also responsible for a handful of deaths throughout the region.

The storm may have been one of those that residents in the area would remember and talk about in comparison to subsequent storms, but the Perfect Storm is well-known across the country thanks to Sebastian Junger's book, The Perfect Storm. In 2000, the movie The Perfect Storm dramatized Junger's book and the true story of the sinking of the Andrea Gail, a fishing ship based out of Gloucester, Massachusetts that got caught up in the storm and sank with all hands on board. Although there were other dramatic events that took place in relation to the storm, including the rescue of the crew of a downed helicopter in the midst of the storm, the tragedy of the Andrea Gail continues to provide the most human face to the infamous storm.

The Perfect Storm of 1991: The Story of the Nor'easter that Sank the Andrea Gail chronicles the storm from its formation to the devastating effects it had across the Atlantic. Along with pictures and a bibliography, you will learn about the Perfect Storm like never before, in no time at all.