North Carolina's Hurricane History (Paperback)

~ (Author), Barnes Jay (Author) "There is nothing in our atmosphere that compares with their awesome fury..." (more)
Key Phrases: next great storm, extensive beach erosion, hurricane alley, North Carolina, Outer Banks, Cape Fear (more...)

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) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

From the early days of European explorers to the storms of Bertha and Fran in 1996, more than 50 hurricanes are known to have struck the Tar Heel state. This text examines weather records, eyewitness accounts and newspaper reports to produce a history of this devastating weather condition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: University of North Carolina Press; Rev Upd edition (June 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807847283
• ISBN-13: 978-0807847282
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,848,187 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book on Hurricanes, June 6, 2001

By	Buddy and Ellen (Miami, Fla) - See all my reviews

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

We have read Jay Barnes' Florida's Hurricane History and enjoyed it so much that we wanted to read the NC book. We found the newest edition that includes Floyd in 1999. What a disaster! The book reads very well, and is full of interesting facts and amazing stories about Floyd and other storms. The photos are incredible (one of the things I liked about the Fla. book). I also like the charts in the back that list data for each storm. Weather buffs need both of these books.

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.