EXTRA...

Groundhog Day hurricane remembered

A February surprise for Cape Cod and the entire East Coast

A "Freak Storm" three months after the close of Hurricane Season

Pressure map of Groundhog Day tropical storm as an extra-tropical storm off of the Eastern Seaboard.

Radar track of the Groundhog Day hurricane.The only hurricane to make landfall on the continental United States during the month of February occurred today on Groundhog Day when on the night of February 2 1952, an unnamed tropical storm moved northeast across South Florida and what was left of the storm raced up the eastern seaboard crossing Cape Cod late on February 4.

After leaving Florida, the storm continued rapidly northeastward, strengthening to peak winds of 50 mph. On February 4 it completed the transition into an extratropical cyclone off the coast of North Carolina.

Around that time, gale force winds extended 100 miles to the east of the center.  Later that day, it passed over Cape Cod, and early on February 5 it moved into eastern Maine.

The Hurricane Research Division assessed the storm as losing its identity shortly thereafter, over New Brunswick. However, a map produced by the U.S. Weather Bureau indicated the storm continued northward into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and later crossed eastern Quebec and Labrador. By February 6, it reached the ocean again, deepening to a minimum pressure of 988 mbar. At that point, the Weather Bureau track ended, and as such the ultimate fate of the storm is unknown.

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. Source: Wikipedia.

To see all the Xtras, click here, and to write a Letter to the Editor, write to