North Carolina's Hurricane History [Paperback]

Jay Barnes (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0807849693 | ISBN-13: 978-0807849699 | Publication Date: December 5, 2000 | Edition: 3

Now in its third edition, North Carolina's Hurricane History is a popular illustrated history of the more than fifty great storms that have battered the Tar Heel state from the days of the first European explorers through 1999's devastating hurricane Floyd, which caused $6 billion in damages. Jay Barnes examined newspaper reports, National Weather Service records, and eyewitness descriptions to compile this extraordinary chronicle, which also features nearly 300 photographs, maps, and illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The most complete North Carolina hurricane book just got better! (Greg Fishel, Chief Meteorologist, Capitol Broadcasting Co., Inc.)

Without doubt, this is the definitive reference book on the Carolinas' plight with tropical weather. In fact, I use it in my work as a broadcaster, meteorologist, and journalist to help put current storms into historical perspective. (Eric Thomas, Chief Meteorologist, WBTV-Charlotte)

Jay Barnes's new material on hurricanes that have recently made landfall along the North Carolina coast is well written and accurate. It is fascinating to read about the ordeal of hurricane Floyd. (Steve Lyons, Tropical Program Manager, The Weather Channel)

Fascinating. . . . With compelling words and images, Barnes chronicles the destruction seen and the lessons learned from the storms.""--Raleigh News and Observer

This is arguably the best book ever produced about hurricanes--what they are, what they do, and how to avoid the brunt of them. (Southern Book Trade)

About the Author

Jay Barnes is director of the North Carolina Aquarium in Atlantic Beach. He lives in Pine Knoll Shores.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press; 3 edition (December 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807849693
• ISBN-13: 978-0807849699
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,647,197 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jay Barnes, a lifelong resident of the North Carolina coast, is a regular contributor to a variety of popular regional magazines and is author of several books on hurricanes, including North Carolina's Hurricane History (third edition), Florida's Hurricane History (second edition), and Faces From the Flood: Hurricane Floyd Remembered, co-authored with former State Treasurer Richard Moore (all from UNC Press). His latest work is Hurricane Hazel in the Carolinas (Arcadia Publishing). As a hurricane historian, he lectures widely on U.S. hurricanes, and has appeared in various productions for The Weather Channel, The Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, The History Channel, MSNBC, The NBC Nightly News, National Public Radio, and others. Barnes lives in Pine Knoll Shores, N.C.

He is Director of Development for the North Carolina Aquarium Society. He has worked with the NC Aquariums since 1980, and was Director of the Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores for more than twenty years. He is a graduate of N.C. State University's College of Design, and holds a master's degree in advertising from Syracuse University.

Jay Barnes can be scheduled for lectures and presentations on hurricane history. His presentations can be customized to focus on particular regions, hurricanes or hurricane-related topics. For inquiries, contact [e-mail].

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rich Reference on the Tarheel State's Hurricanes, July 3, 2001

By 

Roger Edwards (Norman, OK United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: North Carolina's Hurricane History (Paperback)

The author, an aquarium director in coastal North Carolina, does a remarkable job (especially for a non-meteorologist) of documenting the impact of every hurricane which affected North Carolina since 1875. Each storm -- including some hurricanes that made landfall elsewhere but passed across the state -- gets its own narrative which variews in length according to the storm's impact. Fran (1996), the costliest and fifth deadliest hurricane in state history, gets big coverage with 32 pages. The chronological stories of each storm are spread across several chapters covering most of the book, which are in turn sandwiched between a general introduction to hurricanes and a chapter on Nor'easters. The final few chapters -- on Nor'easters (cold core winter cyclones), hurricane effects on fauna, potential for future danger, and hurricane safety -- appear roughly cobbled together as if there were no logical order for them. Still, the collection of stories of animals' life and death in North Carolina hurricanes is quite interesting, and unique among books dealing with the impact of weather phenomena.

For a historical volume, the writing style is engaging, vividly descriptive and occasionally humorous. Nowhere else in weather related literature have I read about local speech patterns ("Hoigh toide on the sound soide") together with graphic descriptions of mayhem's aftermath, like "...battered caskets and bones lay scattered, unearthed by the hurricane's menacing storm surge."

Some of the stories of human survival, heroism and death in hurricanes are more bizarre and ghastly than fiction could conjure. These tales, together with an accurate factual record of the storms and a rich collection of black and white photos, show the tremendous effort and attention to detail by Barnes in his historical research.

The book does suffer aesthetically from its drab printing, with only cover color, by UNC Press. Such obvious parsimony, unfortunately, exemplifies the policies of many university-affiliated presses. But since substance trumps form; I deem this to be a fine non-technical addition to the literature of any hurricane enthusiast.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, but would like more detail., August 11, 2010

By 

Weather collector - See all my reviews

This review is from: North Carolina's Hurricane History (Paperback)

I figured that before I bought this book that it would be on the same level as the Florida's Hurricane History. I was somewhat disappointed as the this book does not contain nearly as much detail as the one on Florida. Some of the hurricanes mentioned just have a brief little blurb about them and it is hard to believe that more information couldn't have been found to elaborate on them. Some of the the storms such as Donna and Hazel were extremely destructive in other parts of the Atlantic but any mention of that is brief unlike in Florida's Hurricane History where although the main focus is on the storm's effects in Florida, the storm's effects elsewhere are more detailed. Still a good book if you want to get info on North Carolina's hurricanes.

4.0 out of 5 stars NORTH CAROLINA AND HURRICANES, August 11, 2007

By 

Severin Olson (Hyattsville, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: North Carolina's Hurricane History (Paperback)

Anyone interested in the history of hurricanes anywhere in this hemisphere will enjoy this book. North Carolina is the focus and subject, of course, but Barnes includes some information on other areas and storm lore in general. Animal lovers will enjoy one of the last chapters, where we hear how the state's dogs and horses make out when the storms come.

Mostly this is, as advertised, a history of North Carolina's hurricanes. Particular attention is given to storms like Hazel and Fran, in 1954 and 1996, respectively, that did extensive damage. Readers may notice the long breaks in time between storm activity. Time that allows overconfidence, overbuilding and disaster memory to fade.