30th Anniversary of the Infamous Groundhog Day Gale of 1976

On this date in 1976 an extremely intense, but quick moving, 'Nor'Easter' known as the Groundhog Day Gale struck New England and the Maritimes. Blizzard conditions briefly encompassed the interior of the region. Coastal sections were hardest hit. Peak wind gusts reached 118 mph at Greenwood NS, 116 mph at Saint John NB, 115 mph at Bear Island ME, 101 mph at Yarmouth NS, and 98 mph at Chatham MA. Record low pressure readings included 965 mb at Boston, MA (their second lowest ever recorded), and an all time record low of 957 mb at Caribou, ME (since records started being kept their in 1939). Waves up to a height of 36 ft, with a storm surge of up to 12 ft occurred. Eastport, ME lost most of it's waterfront structures to the gale. Locals in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia claimed that no storm since the Legendary "Saxby Gale" of October 1869 (a possible cat. 3 hurricane) had caused so much destruction and havoc. A 20 to 30 C (40 to 50 F) degree temperature drop followed in the wake of the massive storm.


Sources:


http://www.intellicast.com/Almanac/Northeast/February/

http://www.eastportforpride.org/pdf/emdcactionplan.pdf

http://atlantic-web1.ns.ec.gc.ca/climatecentre/default.asp?lang=En&n=7A6129C7-1

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/2700/story76.htm