Before it was a Hollywood movie, the 1991 "Perfect Storm" was a real event-a powerful hybrid cyclone that pounded the Atlantic coast with massive waves, hurricane-force winds and tragic loss of life.

In late October 1991, a powerful storm known as the 'perfect storm' formed off the northeast coast of the United States. The system developed when a storm moving down from Nova Scotia combined with Hurricane Grace, resulting in a large and intense weather event that battered the eastern seaboard from New England to the Carolinas.

The storm produced winds over 70 miles per hour and waves exceeding 100 feet, leading to significant flooding and millions in damages, particularly in Boston Harbor. The event claimed 12 lives, including six fishermen aboard the Andrea Gale, whose loss became widely known. The National Weather Service later referred to this unique event as the 'perfect storm.'

The 1991 Halloween 'Perfect Storm'

The perfect storm, as it's known by the book and the movie, was a powerful storm in late October of 1991 that formed off the northeast coast of the United States. As October drew to a close, the storm began pounding the eastern seaboard, an enormous system churning waves and wind from New England to the Carolinas. A storm system moved down from Nova Scotia and combined it with Hurricane Grace that was moving up from the south. The result, a very, very powerful and large storm that formed off the coast of New England. That combination and its unusual path led to a disaster for New England's coastline. It actually moved back, moved back west towards New England, and then did a bit of a loop before moving out to sea at the start of November. Winds over 70 miles an hour battered Cape Cod and the islands. Along the coast, waves more than 100 feet high crashed south of Nova Scotia, and in Boston Harbor, storm surge pushed seawater into streets and businesses, flooding parts of the city and causing millions in damage. The Halloween storm also claimed lives, including six fishermen aboard the Andrea Gale, whose story became world famous. The storm was also responsible for the sinking of the Andrea Gale, a fishing boat that left out of Gloucester, Massachusetts, that was lost out at sea during that storm. In all, 12 lives were lost as the 1991 Halloween storm earned its place in weather history, a storm so unique the National Weather Service dubbed it the perfect storm. For AccuWeather, I'm meteorologist Tony Loback.

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