Hurricane Gustav (2002)

Hurricane Gustav (2002)

Hurricane Gustav was a Category 2 hurricane that paralleled the East Coast of the United States in September 2002. Gustav was the seventh named storm and first hurricane of the season. The storm was responsible for one death and USD 100,000 in damage, mostly in North Carolina. Gustav made two landfalls in Atlantic Canada as a Category 1 hurricane.

About Hurricane Gustav (2002) in brief

Summary Hurricane Gustav (2002)Hurricane Gustav was a Category 2 hurricane that paralleled the East Coast of the United States in September 2002 during the 2002 Atlantic hurricane season. Gustav was the seventh named storm and first hurricane of the season. Initially a subtropical depression north of the Bahamas, Gustav passed slightly to the east of the Outer Banks of North Carolina as a tropical storm before moving northeastward and making two landfalls in Atlantic Canada as a Category 1 hurricane. The storm was responsible for one death and USD 100,000 in damage, mostly in North Carolina. Gustav reached its peak intensity of 100 mph later that day. The hurricane began to slowly weaken and lose tropical characteristics on early September 12 as it moved over colder waters and encountered increasing wind shear. The extratropical low continued moving slowly to the northeast before dissipating over the Labrador Sea on September 15. The cyclone was also the latest-forming first hurricane since 1941 and was the first to be named from the current lists by the National Hurricane Center. It is the only hurricane to have been named by the NHC since Hurricane Michael in 2000.

Gustav caused USD 240,000 in damage in New England, but this damage was not directly attributed to the hurricane. Although the center of Gustav remained well offshore, high pressure area over the central United States caused strong winds and storm surges in New Jersey on September 11. One person died at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina after suffering injuries from high surf, and 40 other people had to be rescued from riptides and high winds. Gustav made a second landfall in Newfoundland and became extatropical shortly after. It was the last hurricane to make a landfall in the Atlantic Ocean in 2002, and the first since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The last warning was discontinued on September11. Although Gustav passed just to theEast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina and southeastern Virginia experienced heavy rain and tropical storm force winds. The center of the storm produced storm surges of 3–6 feet along the Outer banks and 1–3 feet, mainly along the southeastern coast of Virginia.