10.) Blizzard of 1996.

I was in the first grade when this nifty blizzard came through. I remember it well. The weather leading up to the blizzard, was cold, but not bitterly cold. We had just come back from Christmas Break, and the day after new years, it snowed. My father, who is an avid weather nerd, said that later in the week, there would be a blizzard. The snow that fell earlier in the week, was almost melted by the weekend. By the 6th, the skies had yet again clouded over, and a light flurry began to fall. The snow continued to fall for two days straight.

When all was said and done, two feet of snow fell. I recall going to school only one day that week, because the next day, more snow fell, as three smaller "Alberta Clipper's" passed by the island. I had a whole bunch of fun, sledding at dead horse valley, and the quaker cemetery.


9.) Great December Noreaster- Dec. 1992.

Nicknamed the "Storm that would not die", this noreaster ravaged the northeast. Its origins weren't even in the Atlantic, no they were thousands of miles away, out by Guam. Supertyphoon Gay, was a monster; this was evident when the Joint Typhoon Warning Center declared it dead. Over the northern pacific, it bombed out as a gale, but lost its punch when it made landfall in Vancouver Island, BC. It tracked over the USA, until it reached Cape Hatteras, there it bombed out again. It screamed northward, and by December 11, it became stalled over Nantucket and the cape. Several houses were lost. The picture I have shown here, is not from this storm, but you get the idea.

The storm was a "Curb Jumper" which means that the harbor came over the dock on Easy Street. It flooded the steamboat wharf area. Many water damage claims were filed.

8.) December 27th No Snow Snowstorm-1997

1997 was an odd year, weatherwise. I went up to see my cousins in Waltham, and everyone kept saying there was going to be a really bad snowstorm. On the way back, the rain began to fall, but that wasn't even until we got towards Nantucket. That night, there were a few large, sloppy flakes.


7.) Hurricane Danny-1997


1997 was even a bad year for hurricanes. Danny, formed in the Gulf of Mexico, and made landfall in Alabama, and moved northeastward. It wasn't until it got off of the Delmarva Peninsula, that people became nervous. On the 26th of July, it was south of nantucket.

The wind never got above 60 mph, but the erosion was intense. Several popular beaches on the island, were reduced to overwash through the dunes. I was heartbroken, due to the beach being gone, but over the summer, the beaches rebounded.

6.) Hurricane Edouard-1996

We were spared this one. While it was near Nantucket, it was a Category 4 hurricane. If it was to make landfall on the island, it would have been catastrophic. It was Labor Day, and the hurricane was bearing down on us, but due to a trough, Edouard was pushed away just in time, but not without 90 MPH wind gusts. Several boats were put on the shore by the storm


5.) Superstorm of 1993

The big one, the storm of the century; these are just a few words to describe this storm. It truly was a magnificent blizzard. Snow amounts on island, were in feet, not inches. Winds were recorded at a screaming 100 miles an hour, with gusts to 110. The superstorm, was like a category three hurricane. It started in the morning of the 12th of March, and it didn't stop until the 14th, when three feet had fallen on the island.

I seem to remember that we were snowed in on Old South Road. The town plows had cut us off from the main road, so my dad figured out how to get around the block; cut up to Hinsdale Road, then down to Old South. The airport was closed, and several airlines lost profit

My Grandmas house fared well, and was almost like a picture perfect snow castle. The drifts around her house were six feet high, and the snow around her privet, made tunnels.

4.) Hurricane Alex-2004

I was working on Nantucket's Harbor Launch, the summer this hurricane came through, and although it never made landfall on the island, its spiral bands were felt hundreds of miles away from the storm. I was on a return trip to town, luckily empty, when A large wave that had reflected from a yacht, had flipped the lauch over. Wow, did that suck. I was swimming like a fool for fifteen minutes, when I reached the beach. The boat was righted again, and continued use after an extensive overhaul.


3.) New Years Eve ocean effect snow-1998

While not a storm, this event was a nuisance. I was ill with the flu, and had nothing to do. The forecast for the day was for clouds, and not snow. Well, that night, it snowed hard. My dad said that when he got up at 4 AM, the snow was like whiteout. It fell quickly. By the time I got up, the snow was still falling, and in fact, I took a measurment,and there was four inches of snow on the ground. Luckily, the snow was the dry, powdery variety, and it could be swept off of the driveway. After that, dad and I went out to breakfast, at Hutch's, which is sadly gone.

2.) Perfect Storm-1991

This is something that the locals do not want to talk about. This storm, as many of us know,or think we know was created by the mixture of hurricane grace, a cold front, and a noreaster off of Sable Island.

Well, that is partly right.

Grace was a category two hurricane, not a category five, like shown in the movie. In fact, it was not even a hurricane when it merged with the low pressure system. The cold front, was a wall, that the two systems moved along. A high pressure zone over Canada, had prevented anything from moving, and things got stale real fast.

I went trick or treating the first time ever in that storm. It was very rainy. That year, I was a tomato. Nantucket's waterfront was ruined, and the storms pounding surf took 50 feet off of the cliffs on the eastern end of the island. Six men lost their lives on a fishing boat, that was wrecked near sable island
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After that, the storm made landfall in Nova Scotia
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1.) Hurricane Bob-1991

I know, Bob sounds like a dumb name, but don't let that fool you. It made landfall on the 19th of August, and I got to see the eye. My dad took me to see the eye of the storm. It was very bright, and just so calm and serene.
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The transformer across from our apartment blew during the storm, almost catching the forest across the road on fire. Suprisingly, there was little rain in the storm, and the next day, I learned that bees and wasps will sting anyone they feel like, because they don't realize it was a storm that knocked down their nests. We lost power for three days.


Well, there you have it, the top five storms of my childhood. Enjoy the article, and coming soon, there will be another article from me, so keep your eyes peeled.