In 1991, there was a storm that surpassed all others in all of recorded history – that of what Sebastian Junger coined in his book title, the Perfect Storm. Most probably remember that name today as a movie in 2000, which was also based upon the book. I never watched the movie, but I do remember several years back as reading the book. Here, I revisit the topic, and bring to you what some of us may perhaps never experience as best as I possibly can – the terrifying and awe-inspiring power of Mother Nature.

This topic was first revived by a recent post I saw in Otaku.fm over at Nagato’s blog, talking about Hurricane Ike (incidentally it has an awesome picture explaining what a hurricane is in just 4 words). So that set me to some reminiscence as to the Perfect Storm, which was left unnamed; even in Wiki’s article, it is listed as the “1991 Halloween Nor’easter”, and also quoted from other sources as “the unnamed hurricane” (of 1991).

A few notes about the area I live in. Singapore virtually has no natural disasters whatsoever; people actually make a hullabaloo over a small waterspout. It may be rare here, but I hardly see the need to go all goo-goo-ga-ga over it. Anyway, Singapore is surrounded by a lot of landmass, making it difficult for anything such as a tropical storm to even survive long enough to touch the island with its effects. Further, we are nearly on the equatorial line itself, and this is part of the reason why no earthquakes occur in our region, as well as volcanoes and what-not.

To be able to live in such a peaceful area could be called a blessing, but sometimes people get complacent and it is always good to visit the idea of just how powerful Mother Nature can be when she chooses to be. And so, let us talk about the “Perfect Storm”.
 

A satellite image of the Perfect Storm in 1991, shown in black and white. The outline of the East Coast of the United States is shown for reference as to its size. Source.

According to CNN’s archives’ post on the storm itself (and this is a very good read for everyone not versed in meteorological terminology), as well as Wiki’s article quoted above, the storm first began almost inconspicuously. But it was called the Perfect Storm not for its size, magnitude, or power – it was called so because it still is the only storm in recorded history to have formed from such a lucky combination of factors. This small and inconspicuous “low-pressure system” met up with an “icy-cold high-pressure” mass of air coming down from Canada. The two collided and became a storm, though nothing approaching the scale of a hurricane.

If you know your meteorology, you would understand why these two systems would have formed a storm. Long story short, low and high-pressure systems do not go well together, even if the temperature is the same. Details-wise, I am not too sure either (rusty in the subject), but suffice to say that the different pressure systems created chaos within the air masses, leading to the storm’s creation.
 

This storm might perhaps have faded into normal oblivion, dissolving itself slowly but surely as rainfall, had not a third player arrive onto the scene. A late-season hurricane, called Grace, came from the south, colliding and merging with this storm…or as one would rather put it, they “collided, exploding in weather terms”. It was a merger of two seasons, according to David Vallee in CNN’s article, that of winter and summer, and different temperatures and different pressurized systems, when forced together like that, are bound to have drastic effects.
 

Hurricane Grace, though not clearly visible, is shown being absorbed here – the start of the Perfect Storm, as it were/ From the Wiki article.

The storm became a full-fledged hurricane, and as Junger notes in his book, “”A mature hurricane is by far the most powerful event on earth; the combined nuclear arsenals of the United States and the former Soviet Union don’t contain enough energy to keep a hurricane going for one day. A typical hurricane encompasses a million cubic miles of atmosphere and could provide all the electric power needed by the United States for three or four years.” This is the energy a hurricane possesses, and it was unleashed in full force over a period of a few days at the end of October, 1991.
 

When the Perfect Storm first formed, it smashed the northeastern coast of the United States, but during its development stages was already moving out to sea, hence its remaining unnamed. However, even in its infancy, the Perfect Storm caught a boat out at sea, the inspiration of which was the driving force behind the book, and later the film. The Andrea Gail and its crew of six foundered before the storm reached its peak intensity, though by then they were reporting winds that were tearing equipment off the deck that had been bolted down with steel nuts. Wave heights were probably around 19 feet (6.3 meters) at the time, and that was not the worst to come.

The book also tells of the story of the Coast Guard desperately racing to save more lives in the midst of the storm, in further detail. There was even a part of a Navy Seal who, after reported missing, was described by mates as “being able to walk in, and be confused by all that was going on for his search”. He was never found – the best analysis and conclusion was that when he dropped from the chopper he was in, he had hit the sea flat-on instead of being able to dive (he might have been unable to turn his body, I was not sure how it had happened), and thus lost consciousness from the force of the splat, and therefore drowning him. Not many lives were lost in the entirety of the storm however, largely thanks to it being out at sea for its full intensity.
 

The Perfect Storm at peak intensity, taken from the Wiki article.

The Perfect Storm lost power after reaching landfall, dealing damage in excess of 500 million USD. Wave buoys out at sea were describing wave heights in its most intense period as “at least 100 feet” (30 meters), and it must have been near impossible to record an actual height. The formation and sustenance of such waves remain a mystery to scientists, who have so far been unable to get experimental and observational data for obvious reasons.
 

Truly, the Perfect Storm of 1991 was a very lucky (or unlucky, however you prefer to see it) combination of weather factors that might happen once in a lifetime. Its freak formation, pristine serenity (from a satellite image), and its perhaps almost mystical image hides one of the most destructive forces of nature to date, one that we all should hope we will never meet in our lifetimes.
 
 
The Perfect Storm,
Panther

Sources & Further Reading

CNN.com – The actual “Perfect Storm”
NCDC: Satellite Events Art Gallery: Cyclones (The Perfect Storm, 1991)
Wikipedia – The 1991 Halloween Nor’easter

Related posts:

1. Perfect Blue (>9000)> Chaos;Head