Today is the 40th Anniversary of the ferocious nor'easter, The '62 Storm as we call it around here (otherwise known as "The Ash Wednesday Storm," "The March Storm," or "The Great Storm of '62"), that devastated the Middle Atlantic coastline of the United States from the Carolinas to Long Island, with New Jersey bearing the brunt of it. In New Jersey alone it was estimated that the storm destroyed or severely damaged 45,000 homes. Western Virginia recorded its worst snowfall in modern history, 33 inches in some places. The storm hit on a rare Spring Tide, an astronomically high tide on the equinox acommpanied by the pull of the new moon. It stalled over the mid-Atlantic, unexpectedly trapped under a Canadian high-pressure system, for over 3 days, each successive high tide packing more destruction. The flood was recorded at over 9 ft above mean high tide. In many places on the barrier islands, the ocean met the bay. 20 ft. swells crashed over and swept away houses. It is recorded as the 6th worst storm of the century. From brief discussion about this in past hurricane and nor'easter threads, I know there's some interest, so here's some links to the full story. The first is the most comprehensive (4 pages) with photos. The second is a first-hand New Jersey account from a special section in our local rag, The Press of Atlantic City, published about the storm last Sunday...life here would never be the same. We hope we never see the likes of it again. But there is a place in every shore-dweller's soul that knows that living here is like playing Russian Roulette with the sea. Unfortunately, the best pictures that show the magnitude of the devastation aren't all available online. But if I find some more, I'll edit them in:

Storms of the Century:
http://www.weather.com/newscenter/specialreports/sotc/storm9/page1.html

First-hand account:
http://www.pressofac.com/news/newjersey/030302STORMOF62_03.html