View source for Hurricane Ione

{{Short description|Category 4 Atlantic hurricane in 1955}}
{{Hatnote group|
{{Distinguish|Hurricane Hone|Hurricane Ioke}}
{{Other hurricanes|List of storms named Ione|the 1955 Atlantic hurricane}}
}}
{{Infobox weather event
| image = Ione 1955-09-19 weather map.jpg
| caption = September 19, 1955, weather map, featuring Ione
| alt = A weather map of the whole eastern section of the United States. Ione is in the extreme left half near North Carolina. Ione is represented by multiple [[Isobar (meteorology)|Isobars]].
| formed = September 10, 1955
| dissipated = September 21, 1955
}}{{Infobox weather event/NWS
| winds = 120
| pressure = 938
}}{{Infobox weather event/Effects
| year = 1955
| fatalities = 7 direct
| damage = 88000000
| areas = [[Leeward Islands]], [[North Carolina]], [[Virginia]], [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]]
| refs = 
}}{{Infobox weather event/Footer
| season = [[1955 Atlantic hurricane season]]
}}
'''Hurricane Ione''' ({{IPAc-en|aɪ|ˈ|oʊ|n}}) was a strong, [[Category 4 hurricane|Category&nbsp;4 hurricane]] that affected the U.S. state of [[North Carolina]] in September 1955, bringing high winds and significant rainfall.{{Atlantic hurricane best track}}<ref name="rainfall">{{cite web|last=Roth|first=David M.publisher=Hydrometeorological Prediction Center|title=Hurricane Ione Rainfall Data|url=http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical/rain/ione1955.html|access-date=1 October 2010}}</ref> It came on the heels of Hurricanes [[Hurricane Connie|Connie]] and [[Hurricane Diane|Diane]],<ref name="HURDAT"/> and compounded problems already caused by the two earlier hurricanes.  Spawned by a [[tropical wave]] which left the [[Africa]]n coast on September 6, the system became a tropical depression in the tropical North Atlantic, before turning northwest and developing into a hurricane.  After turning back to the west east of the Bahamas, Ione turned northwest and northward, moving across eastern North Carolina before moving east-northeastward out to sea.  Ione caused $600&nbsp;million (2005&nbsp;USD) in damage, much of it to crops across North Carolina. As a result of Ione's impacts seven people died.<ref name="mwr">{{cite journal|last=Dunn|first=Gordon E.|author2=Davis, Walter R. and Moore, Paul L. |title=Hurricanes of 1955|journal=Monthly Weather Review|volume=83|issue=12|date=December 1955|pages=315–326|url=http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/083/mwr-083-12-0315.pdf|access-date=1 October 2010|bibcode=1955MWRv...83..315D|last3=Moore|first3=Paul L.|doi=10.1175/1520-0493(1955)083<0315:HO>2.0.CO;2}}</ref>

==Meteorological history==
{{storm path|Ione 1955 track.png|alt=The storm forms east if the Lesser Antilles. The storm path of Ione takes it over the Lesser Antilles as a tropical storm and then it heads between west-northwest towards North Carolina. It becomes a major hurricane north of The Bahamas and makes landfall in North Carolina as a Category&nbsp;1. The storm then hooks sharply northeast overland then races off the coast of North Carolina toward the extreme Northern Atlantic.}}
A tropical wave moved through [[Cape Verde]] on September 6. On September 11, Ione developed into a tropical depression.<ref name="rainfall"/> Ione remained weak for the next few days, and then began to steadily intensify as it moved north of the [[Lesser Antilles]], reaching hurricane strength on September 15.<ref name="rainfall"/> Conditions were favorable for additional development, and Ione peaked with winds of {{convert|140|mph|km/h}} on September 18 while north of the [[Bahamas]].<ref name="mwr"/>

Drier and cooler air gradually became entrained in Ione's circulation, and the storm weakened into a Category 2 hurricane at the time of its [[Wilmington, North Carolina]], landfall on September 19, which made Ione the third hurricane to hit the state in six weeks and fourth in 11&nbsp;months.<ref name="rainfall"/>  Ione was the first tropical cyclone to be observed on the Cape Hatteras radar during landfall and was one of the first observed to make small-scale oscillations within its track.<ref name="smallscale">{{cite journal|last=Jordan|first=Harold M.|author2=Stowell, David J.|title=Some Small-Scale Features of the Track of Hurricane Ione |journal=Monthly Weather Review|volume=83|issue=9|date=September 1955|pages=210–216|url=http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/083/mwr-083-09-0210.pdf|access-date=2 October 2010|bibcode=1955MWRv...83..210J|doi=10.1175/1520-0493(1955)083<0210:SSFOTT>2.0.CO;2}}</ref>  The storm weakened to a tropical storm over land but restrengthened to a Category&nbsp;2 hurricane over the northwestern Atlantic.<ref name="HURDAT"/>  Ione continued northeastward and became an [[extratropical cyclone]] on September 21. The extratropical storm crossed over [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]] and was last seen on September 24 moving across the North Atlantic.<ref name="advisories">{{cite web|title=Ione's Bulletins and Advisories|url=http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/hurricanes/Qc9452i66b81955.pdf|publisher=US Weather Bureau|access-date=2 October 2010}}</ref>

==Preparations==
Hurricane warnings were in effect from the Virginia Capes to Morehead, North Carolina and a Hurricane alert was issued northward to [[Atlantic City, New Jersey]]. Dump trucks loaded with dirt were ready to make earthen dikes around the Riegel paper mill, due to the severe damage caused to it by hurricanes earlier that year which caused the 1955 Delaware River flood.<ref name="nj.com">{{cite news|last=Robbins|first=Gene|title=Delaware River ran wild 50 years ago|url=http://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-democrat/index.ssf?/news/hunterdon/stories/delaware_081105.html|access-date=1 October 2010|newspaper=NJ.com|date=August 11, 2005|archive-date=14 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110114181743/http://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-democrat/index.ssf?/news/hunterdon/stories/delaware_081105.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Recent flooding, from [[Hurricane Diane]], along the [[Delaware River]] kept residents along its banks alert should the storm strike, business owners were also ready to move their merchandise if the need arose.<ref name="nj.com"/> [[New York City]] officials prepared for the worst, with police officers filling gas tanks of their patrol cars and extra patrol men being called to duty in advance of the hurricane.<ref name="Time">{{cite news|title=Hurricane's Way|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,807702,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081215063720/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,807702,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 15, 2008|access-date=1 October 2010|newspaper=Time|date=October 3, 1955}}</ref>  Flights were canceled in New York, firemen stood at the ready in [[Staten Island, New York|Staten Island]], and the [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] warned shipping companies of the impending storm.<ref name=Time />  A boxing match between [[Rocky Marciano]] and [[Archie Moore]] was delayed, which allowed the promoters to sell an additional $150,000 (1955) in tickets, which is ${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US|150000|1955|r=2}}}} in present-day figures.<ref name=Time />

When one of the first [[tropical cyclone forecast model]]s was developed, Ione was chosen as one of the candidates to test out its reliability. The errors associated with Ione were significant, as the model did not forecast Ione to make landfall in North Carolina, forcing the storm eastward to the south of the state.<ref>Lcdr. William E. Hubert, [[U. S. Navy]]. [http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/085/mwr-085-03-0083.pdf Hurricane Trajectory Forecasts From a Non-Divergent, Non-Geostrophic, Barotropic Model.] Retrieved on 23 February 2008.</ref>

==Impact==
[[File:Ione1955filledrainblk.GIF|thumb|right|United States rainfall from Ione|alt=A rainfall graphic showing the eastern seaboard of the eastern seaboard of the United States. There is a track line entering central North Carolina then curves to the Northeast and the track line exits the coast near the Virginia border. The highest rainfall amounts, {{convert|15|in|mm|lk=on}}, are to the southeast of the track. The further southwest and north you go the lesser the rainfall amounts in those areas.]]
September 18 was a gloomy day in  Swan Quarter, North Carolina and winds did not significantly increase until between 2 and 3 p.m.<ref name="history">{{cite web|last=Berry|first=Merlin S.|title=History of Northeastern North Carolina Storms|url=http://www.ncgenweb.us/hyde/maps/HURICANE.HTM|access-date=2 October 2010}}</ref> By 9:30&nbsp;p.m., strong winds buffeted the area from the east-northeast and the electricity went out at around 10:50&nbsp;p.m.<ref name="history"/>   Area homes flooded for the first time since Barbara of the [[1953 Atlantic hurricane season]] and the tides increased until 8:45&nbsp;a.m. on September 19 before rapidly rising between 2:00 and 2:30&nbsp;p.m.<ref name="history"/> The Lake Causeway was partially washed out towards New Holland.  The Diamond Shoals lightship was reported to have broken loose during the hurricane.  Tides did not fully recede at Swan Quarter until 3 a.m. on September 20, with winds finally dying down after 7 a.m. the same day.<ref name=history /> Cherry Point recorded a maximum sustained wind of {{convert|75|mph|km/h}}, with gusts to {{convert|107|mph|km/h}}.  Prolonged easterly winds forced the tide to increase to levels {{convert|3|ft|m}} to {{convert|10|ft|m}} above normal, which resulted in one of the largest inundations in North Carolina history.<ref>{{cite report|title=Town of Wrightsville Beach Hazard Mitigation Plan |date=March 2010 |pages=27 |url=http://www.towb.org/Portals/0/HazardMitigationPlan.pdf |access-date=2 October 2010 |publisher=Holland Consulting Planners, Inc. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313072016/http://www.towb.org/Portals/0/HazardMitigationPlan.pdf |archive-date=13 March 2012 }}</ref> The storm surge from Ione was recorded at {{convert|3.6|ft|m}} at Morehead City, North Carolina, while a storm tide of {{convert|5.3|ft|m}} was measured at [[Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina]].<ref name="surge">{{cite journal|last=Conner|first=W. C.|author2=Kraft, W. H. and Harris, D. Lee|title=April 1957 Monthly Weather Review Storm Surge Methods|journal=Monthly Weather Review|date=April 15, 1957|volume=85|issue=4|url=http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/085/mwr-085-04-0113.pdf#search=%22hurricane%20ione%201955%20effects%22|access-date=2 October 2010|doi=10.1175/1520-0493(1957)085<0113:emfftm>2.0.co;2|pages=113–116|bibcode = 1957MWRv...85..113C |citeseerx=10.1.1.394.7945}}</ref> It was reported that the storm lasted for nearly two days in North Carolina.<ref name="history"/>
HMTS&nbsp;''Monarch'', which had departed from Newfoundland, was laying telephone cable across the [[Atlantic]] ocean when Ione crossed its path.<ref name=monarch />  The ship weathered the storm, and managed to reach Scotland to complete its mission by September 26.<ref name="monarch">{{cite web|last=Varney|first=Alan Leon|title=A chronology of Telegraph, Telephone and Radiotelephone, the three services reaching across the Atlantic before the 1960 Echo satellite.|url=http://www.netvalley.com/archives/mirrors/telegraph__radio_timeline-3.htm|access-date=2 October 2010}}</ref>

Ione caused $600&nbsp;million (2005&nbsp;USD) in damage, much of it to crops across North Carolina.<ref name=mwr />  The rest came from flooding in an area already devastated by Hurricanes [[Hurricane Connie|Connie]] and [[Hurricane Diane|Diane]] six weeks earlier.<ref name="hurricanes">{{cite web|title=Hurricanes Connie, Diane, and Ione|url=http://www.csc.noaa.gov/products/nchaz/htm/1955.htm|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|access-date=2 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100729085924/http://www.csc.noaa.gov/products/nchaz/htm/1955.htm|archive-date=29 July 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>  Along the Trent River near [[Trent Woods, North Carolina|Trent]] and the New River near Gum Branch, North Carolina, the river stage reached heights not seen again until [[Hurricane Floyd]] of the [[1999 Atlantic hurricane season]].<ref name="USGS">{{cite web|title=Two Months of Flooding in Eastern North Carolina|url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/wri/wri004093/flooding.html|publisher=United States Geological Survey|access-date=2 October 2010|author=Bales, Jerad D.|author2=Oblinger, Carolyn J.|author3=Sallenger Jr., Asbury H.}}</ref> Ione caused seven deaths in North Carolina, a low number attributed to well-executed warnings and effectiveness of relief groups such as the [[Red Cross]].<ref name=mwr /><ref name=hurricanes />

Ione made landfall in Newfoundland, Canada during the evening of September 21 as a tropical storm and as a result cause wind and rain damage.<ref name="Canada">{{cite web|title=1955-Ione|url=http://www.ec.gc.ca/hurricane/default.asp?lang=En&n=733122F7-1|publisher=Environment Canada|access-date=2 October 2010|date=2008-01-11}}</ref> That day the storm became extratropical, yet still had negative effects on Canada.<ref name=advisories /><ref name=Canada /> In [[Carbonear]] a boy broke his leg after being blown into a car and thousands of dollars in damage, as well as broken poles, uprooted trees, interrupted telephone service, damaged chimneys and power outages were reported in [[St. John's, Canada]].<ref name=Canada /> There were also reports of roof damage and a trailer being torn for its foundation.<ref name=Canada /> Three flights were cancelled, schools were closed and the ferry service between [[Bell Island (Newfoundland and Labrador)|Bell Island]] and [[Portugal Cove – St. Philip's|Portugal Cove]] was disrupted.<ref name=Canada /> On September 23 there were reports of boats that had been lost and in [[Harbour Grace]] and [[Harbour Main]].<ref name=Canada /> There was also a report of a garage being flipped with a car still in it.<ref name=Canada /> There were also reports of a street and two mines being flooded in [[Corner Brook]] and it was reported that there was $2 million damage to the province.<ref name=Canada /> There was extensive damage to waterfront property on the southern coast of Newfoundland.<ref name=Canada /> On September 24 there were reports of fishermen losing gear, a house being blown off its foundation in [[Foxtrap, Newfoundland and Labrador|Foxtrap]], damage to the phone company, a washed out road in [[Swift Current, Newfoundland and Labrador|Swift Current]] and damage to the power company.<ref name=Canada /> On September 27 it was reported that buoys were destroyed in Harbour Grace, [[Fortune, Newfoundland and Labrador|Fortune]] and [[Stag Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador|Stag Harbour]].<ref name=Canada /> There was also damage done to a freighter in Conception Bay.<ref name=Canada />

==Retirement==
{{See also|List of retired Atlantic hurricane names}}
Due to the damage it caused, the name ''Ione'' was retired by the U.S. Weather Bureau after the 1955 season. The name will never again be used for a North Atlantic basin tropical cyclone.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tropical Cyclone Naming History and Retired Names|url=https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames_history.shtml|publisher=National Hurricane Center|location=Miami, Florida|access-date=March 27, 2024}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Tropical cyclones}}
* [[Hurricane Bonnie (1998)]]
* [[List of Atlantic hurricanes]]
* [[List of wettest tropical cyclones in the United States#North Carolina|List of wettest tropical cyclones in North Carolina]]
* [[List of North Carolina hurricanes]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100729085924/http://www.csc.noaa.gov/products/nchaz/htm/1955.htm NOAA page on the three 1955 North Carolina hurricanes]
* [http://www.ncgenweb.us/hyde/maps/HURICANE.HTM History of North Carolina storms, including excerpts from diary entries on Ione]
* [http://www.ec.gc.ca/hurricane/default.asp?lang=En&n=733122F7-1 The Canadian Hurricane Centre's page on storms in 1955]
{{Category 4 Atlantic hurricanes}}
{{Retired Atlantic hurricanes}}
{{1955 Atlantic hurricane season buttons}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Good article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ione (1955)}}
[[Category:1955 Atlantic hurricane season]]
[[Category:Cape Verde hurricanes|Ione]]
[[Category:Category 4 Atlantic hurricanes]]
[[Category:Retired Atlantic hurricanes]]
[[Category:Hurricanes in North Carolina]]
[[Category:1955 natural disasters in the United States|Hurricane Ione]]