Hurricane Helene (1958)
Hurricane Helene was the most intense tropical cyclone of the 1958 Atlantic hurricane season. The eighth tropical storm and fourth hurricane of the year, Helene was formed from a tropical wave east of the Lesser Antilles on September 21, 1958. Moving steadily westward, the storm slowly intensified, attaining hurricane strength on September 24. As conditions became increasingly favorable for tropical cyclone development, Helene began to rapidly intensify. Nearing the United States East Coast, the hurricane quickly attained Category 4 intensity on September 26, before it subsequently reached its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of and a minimum barometric pressure of . The intense hurricane came within of Cape Fear, North Carolina before recurving out to sea. Accelerating northward, Helene gradually weakened, and transitioned into an extratropical cyclone as it passed over Newfoundland on September 29. Helene's extratropical remnants traversed eastwards across the Atlantic Ocean before dissipating near Great Britain on October 4. Despite not making landfall on North Carolina, its close proximity to land caused extensive damage across the US East Coast. Strong winds resulted in widespread power outages, cutting telecommunications along the coast. A weather station in Wilmington, North Carolina reported a wind gust of , setting a new record for fastest wind gust reported there. Though mostly concentrated in North Carolina, rainfall was widespread, reaching as far north as Maine. In the United States, damages reached $11.2 million and there was one indirect death. After impacting the US, Helene produced strong winds and heavy rain across much of Atlantic Canada. In Cape Breton Island on Nova Scotia, the storm was considered the worst in at least 21 years. Power outages cut most communications from the island to the mainland, and property damage in Sydney, Nova Scotia totaled to C$100,000. At Helene's landfall in Newfoundland, strong gusts peaking at in Naval Station Argentia were reported, and loss of power severed communications. Damage across there totaled to at least C$100,000. Total damages associated with Helene in the United States and Canada amounted to $11.4 million, making Helene the costliest storm of the season. Meteorological history The origins of Hurricane Helene can be traced back to an easterly wave that formed near Cape Verde on September 16. Moving towards the west due to trade winds associated with the Hadley cell, the disturbance gradually intensified. On September 20, ships in the system's vicinity reported widespread shower activity and generally low barometric pressures. Early the following day, a reconnaissance flight reported evidence of a weak circulation, with gusts of in heavy squalls surrounding the circulation center. At 0200 UTC later that day, the United States Weather Bureau office in San Juan, Puerto Rico began issuing bulletins on the system for public interests. In HURDAT, the tropical wave was first classified as a tropical depression at 0600 UTC on September 21, well east of the Leeward Antilles. At the time, the depression had maximum sustained winds of . Moving on a west-northwest track at roughly early on September 22, the storm initially changed