The Great Storm of 1962 Remembered, More Than a Half-Century Later

If you’re a baby boomer and you were a coastal Delaware resident in the early 1960s, you almost certainly remember the events that occurred during the first week of March in 1962.

Even if you were born and raised in the area, but weren’t yet with us 55 years ago, you’ve almost certainly heard stories about the monster storm that ripped through the area during that time. Nearly all of them are no doubt true.

Located on the eastern seaboard of the United States, tiny Delaware is targeted frequently by Atlantic hurricanes, but the prime season for these devastating storms doesn’t begin until the warm weather season is upon us.

And that certainly isn’t the first week of March.

But if you’ve lived in Delaware long enough, you know it’s the dreaded nor’easters that tend to hit us the hardest. And that’s exactly what transpired over three unforgettable days in early March, 1962.

As the anniversary of this “storm to end all storms” is nearly upon us, we felt it was appropriate to remember it here today, and to possibly introduce this historic event to a younger generation who may not have heard about it before.

And for the older readers among us, it’s likely to jog a few memories, not only of the storm itself, but also of the way the community came together and rebuilt afterwards.

So, on the 55-year anniversary of this historic weather event, let’s look back on the dreaded storm of 1962, via the latest entry in our historic blog series on theoldfathergroup.com.

The morning of March 6, 1962 started simply enough, with the weather report calling for a bit of stormy weather. However, no one expected the type of devastating storm that would soon ravage all of coastal Delaware.

But, in much the same way that Superstorm Sandy turned into a major weather event when two storms collided at just the right time, the Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 was created via an unusual and perfectly timed meteorological event.

It began innocently enough, via two low pressure systems that developed off of the Atlantic coast. In and of itself, this created a strong storm that would have blown through coastal Delaware and likely wreaked a little bit of havoc on its way.

If only that was what had actually happened.

But there was trouble brewing over eastern Canada, and it was anything but a good development for the Delmarva Peninsula. It was the real catalyst for the storm, a high pressure system that really laid the groundwork for the devastation that was to follow. 

Instead of blowing through quickly and with reckless abandon, this third system stalled the storm over Sussex County for three very long and extremely difficult days.

To say the area was caught off guard would be an understatement. Not one weather forecaster foresaw what was to occur over the next few days as the storm relentlessly pounded the Delaware beaches for 72 hours and not one, not two, but five consecutive high tides.

When all was said and done, boardwalks were destroyed, homes had toppled into the sea, feet of sand filled structures and overtook roadways and more than $70 million (more than $579 million if it were to happen in 2017) in damage was sustained in coastal Delaware.

The storm is considered by the United States Geological Survey to be one of the most destructive storms to ever hit the mid-Atlantic region of the country. And the facts bear it out.

During the storm, winds reached 60 miles per hour and waves crested at 40 feet just off the coast. And again, the most important fact – this continued for three long days!

Read the rest of our story about the Great Storm of 1962 by clicking HERE.