On This Day in 1972: Costly Hurricane Agnes Formed

Fifty years ago today, Hurricane Agnes, one of the most devasting and historic hurricanes the United States had experienced, formed near Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Hurricane Agnes made landfall as a Category 1 storm in Florida and delivered significant and widespread damage throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
After Hurricane Agnes made landfall along the Florida Panhandle as a Category 1 hurricane on June 19, the system weakened as it moved through Georgia but regained strength as it tracked through eastern North Carolina and into the Atlantic Ocean on June 21. Agnes made landfall again as a strong tropical storm near New York City on June 22 and merged with another low pressure on June 23. The system affected the Mid-Atlantic to Northeast regions through June 25.
Hurricane Agnes generated the third-deadliest tropical cyclone-related tornado outbreak in the United States since 1900 on June 18 and 19, as well as the deadliest such tornado outbreak on record in Florida. The outbreak produced at least 19 confirmed tornadoes and 7 fatalities.
The unusual track of Agnes and merging with an extratropical system led to very heavy rain from the Carolinas northward to New York. Agnes dropped about 6 to 10 inches of rain over North Carolina with much higher amounts farther north. Between 10 to 14 inches fell over a broad area that included Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York. The highest amounts occurred in western Schuylkill County, Pa., where 19 inches was measured. This torrential rain followed the abnormally wet May weather in the Middle Atlantic and Northeast States, so soils were saturated and stream flow was high. The already wet conditions, combined with the system’s heavy rainfall, caused rivers to rise rapidly. This set the stage for severe and record-breaking flooding throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
Damage was particularly high in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia due to devastating flooding, especially in the Susquehanna River Basin. The worst urban flooding occurred in Corning and Elmira, N.Y., and Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Levees failed or were topped in places such as Corning, Elmira and Wilkes-Barre, causing cities and towns to be under feet of water. Hundreds of thousands of people either lost their homes or were without services such as water or electricity. Tens of thousands of homes and buildings were flooded, and hundreds of roads, bridges, and railroads were damaged or washed away.
Rivers crested at record levels, some of which haven’t been topped since. Agnes’ water levels remain the highest on record for several sites, including the Chemung River at Elmira, N.Y., (crested at 25.20 feet, more than double flood stage), the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, Pa., (crested at 33.27 feet, more than 16 feet above flood stage), the Genesee River at Portageville, N.Y., (crested at 33.25 feet, more than 16 feet above flood stage), and the Schuylkill River at Pottstown, Pa., (crested at 29.97 feet, nearly 9 feet above its previous highest crest).
Tragically, 128 people lost their lives across eight states, including 50 in Pennsylvania, 24 in New York, 19 in Maryland, 14 in Virginia, and one in Delaware. Total damages from Hurricane Agnes were around $2.1 billion (1972 USD) making it the most costly U.S. hurricane at the time. The vast majority of the damage was due to flooding, especially in Pennsylvania, where $2 billion in damage occurred.
The name Agnes was retired following the storm, and because the tropical cyclone naming lists were changed in 1979, there was no replacement name selected. Hurricane Agnes was the first Category 1 hurricane in the Atlantic basin to have its name retired and is one of only seven Category 1 hurricanes whose names have been retired.
Sources: fema.gov, weather.gov, nrcc.cornell.edu, Mid-Atlantic River Forecast Center
Story Image: View from Erie Lackawanna train tracks, looking down Water Street in Elmira, New York during the Flood of 1972. The Elmira Savings and Loan bank building can be seen in the background (Wikimedia Commons)