Hurricane Esther - September 19-26, 1961
On the afternoon of September 10th, an area of disturbed weather was
spotted in the eastern tropical Atlantic. The system
strengthened, becoming a hurricane by the time reconnaisance aircraft
investegated the system on the 12th to the west-
northwest of the Cape Verde Islands. The system continued moving
to the west-northwest, and maintained the strength of
a major hurricane as it made its way across the Atlantic. Passing
well north of Puerto Rico, Esther turned more to the northwest
in the direction of the Mid-Atlantic States. The system continued
to recurve offshore the East coast of the United States on 19th,
passing south of Cape Cod. As the storm moved into cooler waters,
it began to weaken. By the afternoon of the 21st, Esther was
moving slowly southeastward and has regained tropical storm
status. Completing its anticyclonic/clockwise loop offshore
New
England, Esther turned back to the north and moved through eastern New
England as a minimal tropical storm before moving
northward into Atlantic Canada. Below are the graphics showing
the
storm
total rainfall. Moderate rains fell along the Mid-
Atlantic coast as the large hurricane moved by to the east. Two
bouts of heavy rainfall fell across New England during Esther's
times of closest approach.