East Coast of the United States | |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Principal cities | Portland (Maine) Boston Providence Hartford New York City Newark Philadelphia Baltimore Washington, D.C. Richmond Virginia Beach Raleigh Charlotte Charleston Atlanta Jacksonville Orlando Tampa Miami |
Largest city | New York City |
Largest metropolitan area | New York metropolitan area |
Population (2017 estimate) | |
• Total | 118,042,627 [1] |
Time zones | |
most of East Coast | UTC−05:00 (Eastern) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (EDT) |
Florida panhandle west of the Apalachicola River | UTC-06:00 (Central) |
• Summer (DST) | -05:00 |
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean. The Thirteen Colonies, which formed the United States in 1776 were located on this coast, and it has played an important role in the development of the United States.
The region is generally understood to include the U.S. states that border the Atlantic Ocean: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia, as well as the federal capital of Washington, D.C., and non-coastline states: Pennsylvania, Vermont, and West Virginia. [2]
The place name East Coast derives from the idea that the contiguous 48 states are defined by two major coastlines, one at the western edge and one on the eastern edge. Other terms for referring to this area include the Eastern Seaboard, which is another term for coastline, [3] Atlantic Coast, and Atlantic Seaboard because the coastline lies along the Atlantic Ocean.
The 14 states that have a shoreline on the Atlantic Ocean are (from north to south): Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. [4] Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. border the Delaware River and the Potomac River, respectively, both of which are tidal arms of the Atlantic Ocean.
The original Thirteen Colonies of Great Britain in North America all lay along the East Coast. [a]
Two additional U.S. states on the East Coast were not among the original Thirteen Colonies: Maine became part of the English Colony of Massachusetts in 1677 [5] and Florida was held by the British from the end of the French and Indian War until 1781 and was part of New Spain until 1821.
In present-day Florida, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León made the first textual records of the state during his 1513 voyage. The state was initially named for Ponce de Ponce de León, who called the peninsula La Pascua Florida in recognition of the verdant landscape and because it was the Easter season. [6]
Delaware Colony and the provinces of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania had been colonized by the Dutch as New Netherland until they were ceded to the British in the mid- to late-17th century.[ citation needed ]Until 1791, Vermont was an independent nation as the Vermont Republic.
Three basic climate regions occur on the East Coast according to the Köppen climate classification and four occur according to the Trewartha climate classification from north to south based on the monthly mean temperature of the coldest month (January) and the number of months averaging above 50 °F (10 °C), respectively.
The region from northern Maine and Upstate New York south to almost all of Connecticut, most of northern New Jersey (except for areas close enough to New York City), most of Pennsylvania, and western Maryland has a humid continental climate (Dfa/Dfb/Dc), with warm-to-hot summers, cold and snowy winters with at least one month averaging below freezing, and four to seven months with mean temperatures warmer than 50 °F.
The area from Martha's Vineyard and extreme SW Rhode Island to southern Delaware and western North Carolina has a warm temperate climate ( Cfa Köppen/Do Trewartha) with long and hot summers with at least one month over 22°C (71.6°F), cool winters with all months over freezing, and six to seven months above 50°F. Although winter precipitation is more likely to fall as rain than as snow, occasional heavy snow is possible.
The area from the southern Delmarva Peninsula, southeast Virginia, and central North Carolina south to central Florida is humid subtropical (Cfa/Cf), with hot and rainy summers, mild and drier winters, and eight to twelve months above 50°F. Urban heat island exclaves of this zone are found north of this area in Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
The region of Florida from the south-central region of the state south to the Florida Keys has a tropical climate (Af/Aw/Ar) that is usually frost-free and warm to hot all year, and all of the 12 months of the year average above 18 °C (64.4 °F). This region of Florida is the only tropical climate in the continental U.S.
The least common climate on the East Coast is the oceanic (Cfb/Do), which is only found on Block Island, Nantucket, and the Outer Cape and Chatham on Cape Cod, and in areas of the southern Appalachian Mountains. This zone has all monthly averages between 0 and 22 °C and six to seven months above 50 °F. Although winter precipitation is more likely to fall as rain than as snow, occasional heavy snow is possible.
Although landfalls are rare, the Eastern Seaboard is susceptible to hurricanes in the Atlantic hurricane season, officially running from June 1 to November 30, although hurricanes can occur before or after these dates. [7] Hurricanes Hazel, Hugo, Bob, Isabel, Irene, and Sandy, and most recently Florence, Isaias, Henri, and Ida are some of the more significant storms to have affected the region.
The East Coast, with the exception of eastern Maine, is a low-relief, passive margin coast. [8] It has been shaped by the Pleistocene glaciation in the far northern areas in New England, with offshore islands such as Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, Block Island, and Fishers Island. From northern New Jersey southward, the coastal plain broadens southwards, separated from the Piedmont region by the Atlantic Seaboard fall line of the East Coast rivers, often marking the head of navigation and prominent sites of cities.
The coastal areas from Long Island south to Florida are often made up of barrier islands that front the coastal areas, with the long stretches of sandy beaches. Many of the larger capes along the lower East Coast are in fact barrier islands, like the Outer Banks of North Carolina and Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Florida Keys are made up of limestone coral and provide the only coral reefs on the U.S. mainland.
In 2010, the population of the states that have shoreline on the East Coast was estimated at 112,642,503 (about 36% of the country's total population). New York City is both the largest city and the largest metropolitan area on the East Coast. The East Coast is the most populated coastal area in the United States. [9]
City | City Population (2018 est.) | Metro Population (2018 est.) | State |
---|---|---|---|
Alexandria | 159,428 | 6,216,589 | Virginia |
Allentown | 125,845 | 861,889 | Pennsylvania |
Atlanta | 498,044 | 5,949,951 | Georgia |
Augusta | 196,939 | 600,151 | Georgia |
Baltimore | 602,495 | 2,802,789 | Maryland |
Boston | 694,583 | 4,628,910 | Massachusetts |
Bridgeport | 144,900 | 939,904 | Connecticut |
Charleston | 136,208 | 802,122 | South Carolina |
Charlotte | 872,498 | 2,636,883 | North Carolina |
Chesapeake | 244,835 | 1,672,319 | Virginia |
Columbia, MD | 103,467 | 6,216,589 | Maryland |
Columbia, SC | 133,451 | 838,433 | South Carolina |
Coral Springs | 133,507 | 5,762,717 | Florida |
Durham | 264,310 | 2,106,463 | North Carolina |
Edison | 100,693 | 19,979,477 | New Jersey |
Elizabeth | 128,885 | 19,979,477 | New Jersey |
Fayetteville | 211,657 | 526,719 | North Carolina |
Fort Lauderdale | 182,595 | 5,762,717 | Florida |
Germantown | 90,494 | 6,216,589 | Maryland |
Greenville | 70,635 | 920,477 | South Carolina |
Hampton | 134,510 | 1,672,319 | Virginia |
122,105 | 1,211,324 | Connecticut | |
Hialeah | 238,942 | 5,828,191 | Florida |
Hollywood | 154,823 | 5,762,717 | Florida |
Jacksonville | 903,889 | 1,523,615 | Florida |
Jersey City | 265,549 | 19,979,477 | New Jersey |
Miami | 470,914 | 6,158,824 | Florida |
Miami Gardens | 113,069 | 5,762,717 | Florida |
Miramar | 140,823 | 5,762,717 | Florida |
New Haven | 130,418 | 862,477 | Connecticut |
New York City | 8,398,748 | 19,979,477 | New York |
Newark | 282,090 | 19,979,477 | New Jersey |
Newport News | 179,225 | 1,672,319 | Virginia |
Norfolk | 244,076 | 1,672,319 | Virginia |
Orlando | 285,713 | 2,387,138 | Florida |
Palm Bay | 114,194 | 543,376 | Florida |
Paterson | 145,627 | 19,979,477 | New Jersey |
Pembroke Pines | 172,374 | 5,762,717 | Florida |
Philadelphia | 1,584,138 | 6,096,120 | Pennsylvania |
Pittsburgh | 302,971 | 2,370,930 | Pennsylvania |
Pompano Beach | 111,954 | 5,762,717 | Florida |
Port St. Lucie | 195,248 | 438,095 | Florida |
Portland | 66,417 | 538,500 | Maine |
Portsmouth | 94,632 | 1,672,319 | Virginia |
Providence | 179,335 | 1,604,291 | Rhode Island |
Raleigh | 469,298 | 1,337,331 | North Carolina |
Reading | 95,112 | 428,849 | Pennsylvania |
Richmond | 228,783 | 1,260,029 | Virginia |
Savannah | 145,862 | 389,494 | Georgia |
Springfield | 153,606 | 631,982 | Massachusetts |
Stamford | 129,775 | 916,829 | Connecticut |
Virginia Beach | 450,138 | 1,725,246 | Virginia |
Washington, D.C. | 705,749 | 6,216,589 | District of Columbia |
West Palm Beach | 111,398 | 5,762,717 | Florida |
Wilmington, DE | 70,635 | 6,069,875 | Delaware |
Wilmington, NC | 122,607 | 282,573 | North Carolina |
Woodbridge | 100,450 | 19,979,477 | New Jersey |
Worcester | 206,518 | 862,111 | Massachusetts |
The primary Interstate Highway along the East Coast is Interstate 95, completed in 2018, [10] [11] which replaced the historic U.S. Route 1 (Atlantic Highway), the original federal highway that traversed all East Coast states, except Delaware. [12]
By water, the East Coast is connected from the Annisquam River in Gloucester, Massachusetts to Miami, Florida, by the Intracoastal Waterway, also known as the East Coast Canal, which was completed in 1912. [13] [14] Amtrak's Downeaster and Northeast Regional offer the main passenger rail service on the Seaboard. The Acela Express offers the only high-speed rail passenger service in the Americas, by the lenient US definition of high speed rail. Between New York and Boston the Acela Express has up to a 54% share of the combined train and air passenger market. [15] [16]
Some of the largest airports in the United States are located along the East Coast of the United States, such as John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York City, Logan International Airport in Boston, Newark Liberty Airport in Newark, New Jersey, Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia, Baltimore–Washington International Airport near Baltimore, Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Miami International Airport in Miami, Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, Tampa International Airport in Tampa, and Orlando International Airport in Orlando, Florida.
As the first spot in the United States that immigrants arrived and the close proximity of Europe, the Caribbean, and Latin America, the East Coast is home to a diverse population and home to multi-cultures when compared to the rest of the U.S. From the strong Latin culture in southern Florida, to the 200-year-old Gullah culture of the low country coastal islands of Georgia and South Carolina, to the many historic cities in the Mid-Atlantic, where a strong English, German, Italian, Irish, and French culture are present, the East Coast is significantly more diverse than the rest of the United States. Numerous Chinatowns in New York City, and Little Havana in Miami, are examples of such cultural centers in the bigger cities.
The East Coast is home to much of the political and financial power and a center for resort and travel destinations in the United States. New York City is the most populous city in the country and a major world financial center. Seventy-one of the world's Fortune 500 companies have their corporate headquarters in New York City, while Midtown Manhattan, with 400 million square feet of office space in 2018, is the largest central business district in the world. Washington, D.C. is the federal capital and political nerve center of the United States. Many organizations such as defense contractors, civilian contractors, nonprofit organizations, lobbying firms, trade unions, industry trade groups and professional associations have their headquarters in or near Washington, D.C., in order to be close to the federal government.
Miami is one of the top domestic and international travel destinations in the United States. Miami is the warmest major city in the continental United States in winter, which contributes to it being a major tourism hub for international visitors. Miami has one of the largest concentrations of international banks in the United States, and the third-largest skyline in the U.S. with over 439 high-rises, 68 of which exceed 490 ft (149 m). Port of Miami is the busiest cruise port in the world in both passenger traffic and cruise lines, with over 5.5 million cruise passengers passing through the port each year. The center for tropical plant culture and research in the United States is based in Miami at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. The state of Florida is the second-largest producer of oranges in the world behind Brazil.
U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs 2,370 miles (3,810 km) from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making it the longest north–south road in the United States. US 1 is generally paralleled by Interstate 95 (I-95), though US 1 is significantly farther west and inland between Jacksonville, Florida, and Petersburg, Virginia, while I-95 is closer to the coastline. In contrast, US 1 in Maine is much closer to the coast than I-95, which runs farther inland than US 1. The route connects most of the major cities of the East Coast from the Southeastern United States to New England, including Miami, Jacksonville, Augusta, Raleigh, Richmond, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, Newark, New York City, New Haven, Providence, Boston, and Portland.
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The highway largely parallels the Atlantic coast and US 1, except for the portion between Savannah, Georgia, and Washington, D.C., and the portion between Portland and Houlton in Maine, both of which follow a more direct inland route.
The East Coast Greenway is a 3,000-mile (4,800 km) pedestrian and bicycle route between Maine and Florida along the East Coast of the United States. The nonprofit East Coast Greenway Alliance was created in 1991 with the goal to use the entire route with off-road, shared-use paths; as of 2021, over 1,000 mi (1,600 km) of the route (35%) meets these criteria. In 2020, the Greenway received over 50 million visits.
Hurricane Floyd was a very powerful tropical cyclone which struck the Bahamas and the East Coast of the United States. It was the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. Floyd triggered the fourth largest evacuation in US history when 2.6 million coastal residents of five states were ordered from their homes as it approached. The hurricane formed off the coast of Africa and lasted from September 7 to 19, becoming extratropical after September 17, and peaked in strength as a very strong Category 4 hurricane. It was among the largest Atlantic hurricanes of its strength ever recorded, in terms of gale-force diameter.
The Eastern United States, often abbreviated as simply the East, is a macroregion of the United States located to the east of the Mississippi River. It includes 17–26 states and Washington, D.C., the national capital.
Hurricane Donna, known in Puerto Rico as Hurricane San Lorenzo, was the strongest hurricane of the 1960 Atlantic hurricane season, and caused severe damage to the Lesser Antilles, the Greater Antilles, and the East Coast of the United States, especially Florida, in August–September. The fifth tropical cyclone, third hurricane, and first major hurricane of the season, Donna developed south of Cape Verde on August 29, spawned by a tropical wave to which 63 deaths from a plane crash in Senegal were attributed. The depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Donna by the following day. Donna moved west-northwestward at roughly 20 mph (32 km/h) and by September 1, it reached hurricane status. Over the next three days, Donna deepened significantly and reached maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (210 km/h) on September 4. Thereafter, it maintained intensity as it struck the Lesser Antilles later that day. On Sint Maarten, the storm left a quarter of the island's population homeless and killed seven people. An additional five deaths were reported in Anguilla, and there were seven other fatalities throughout the Virgin Islands. In Puerto Rico, severe flash flooding led to 107 fatalities, 85 of them in Humacao alone.
Hurricane Gloria was a powerful hurricane that caused significant damage along the east coast of the United States and in Atlantic Canada during the 1985 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the first significant tropical cyclone to strike the northeastern United States since Hurricane Agnes in 1972 and the first major storm to affect New York City and Long Island directly since Hurricane Donna in 1960. Gloria was a Cape Verde hurricane originating from a tropical wave on September 16 in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. After remaining a weak tropical cyclone for several days, Gloria intensified into a hurricane on September 22 north of the Lesser Antilles. During that time, the storm had moved generally westward, although it turned to the northwest due to a weakening of the ridge. Gloria quickly intensified on September 24, and the next day reached peak winds of 145 mph (233 km/h). The hurricane weakened before striking the Outer Banks of North Carolina on September 27. Later that day, Gloria made two subsequent landfalls on Long Island and across the coastline of western Connecticut, before becoming extratropical on September 28 over New England. The remnants moved through Atlantic Canada and went on to impact Western Europe, eventually dissipating on October 4.
Hurricane Carol was among the worst tropical cyclones on record to affect the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island in the United States. It developed from a tropical wave near the Bahamas on August 25, 1954, and slowly strengthened as it moved northwestward. On August 27, Carol intensified to reach winds of 105 mph (169 km/h), but weakened as its motion turned to a northwest drift. A strong trough of low pressure turned the hurricane northeastward, and Carol later intensified into a major hurricane. While paralleling the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, the storm produced strong winds and rough seas that caused minor coastal flooding and slight damage to houses in North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Delaware, and New Jersey. The well-organized hurricane accelerated north-northeastward and made landfall on eastern Long Island, New York, and then over eastern Connecticut on August 31 with sustained winds estimated at 110-mph and a barometric pressure near 956 mb. Carol later transitioned into an extratropical cyclone over New Hampshire, on August 31, 1954.
Hurricane Edna was a deadly and destructive major hurricane that impacted the United States East Coast in September of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season. It was one of two hurricanes to strike Massachusetts in that year, the other being Hurricane Carol. The fifth tropical cyclone and storm of the season, as well as the fourth hurricane and second major hurricane, Edna developed from a tropical wave on September 2. Moving towards the north-northwest, Edna skirted the northern Leeward Islands as a tropical depression before turning more towards the west. The depression attained tropical storm status to the east of Puerto Rico and strengthened further to reach hurricane status by September 7. The storm rapidly intensified and reached its peak intensity of 125 mph (205 km/h) north of the Bahamas before weakening to Category 2 status near landfall in Massachusetts on September 11. Edna transitioned into an extratropical cyclone in Atlantic Canada before its remnants dissipated in the northern Atlantic.
The 1944 Great Atlantic hurricane was a destructive and powerful tropical cyclone that swept across a large portion of the United States East Coast in September 1944. New England was most affected, though so were the Outer Banks, Mid-Atlantic states, and the Canadian Maritimes. The storm's ferocity and path drew comparisons to the 1938 Long Island Express, one of the worst storms in New England history.
The Northeast megalopolis, also known as the Northeast Corridor, Acela Corridor, Boston–Washington corridor, BosWash, or BosNYWash, is the most populous megalopolis exclusively within the United States, with slightly over 50 million residents as of 2022. It is the world's largest megalopolis by economic output.
Hurricane Bertha was the longest-lived Atlantic tropical cyclone on record during July, as well as the furthest east system to attain tropical storm intensity during the month. The second named storm, first hurricane, and first major hurricane of the active 2008 season, Bertha developed into a tropical depression on July 3 from a tropical wave that departed western Africa two days prior. On a west-northwest to northwest track, the depression intensified into Tropical Storm Bertha six hours formation and ultimately attained hurricane intensity on July 7. A period of rapid deepening brought the cyclone to its peak as a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 125 mph (205 km/h) late that afternoon. Changes in wind shear and the storm's internal structure allowed Bertha to fluctuate in intensity over the next week as it passed very near Bermuda, but a track over cooler waters eventually caused the system to become an extratropical cyclone by July 20. It continued northeast and was absorbed by another low near Iceland the following day. Rough surf propelled by Bertha killed three people along the East Coast of the United States; hundreds of other swimmers were injured and/or required rescuing. In Bermuda, some streets were flooded and strong gusts cut power to approximately 7,500 homes; only minor damage was observed.
Hurricane Sandy was an extremely large and devastating tropical cyclone which ravaged the Caribbean and the coastal Mid-Atlantic region of the United States in late October 2012. It was the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spanning 1,150 miles (1,850 km). The storm inflicted nearly US$70 billion in damage, and killed 254 people in eight countries, from the Caribbean to Canada. The eighteenth named storm, tenth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, Sandy was a Category 3 storm at its peak intensity when it made landfall in Cuba, though most of the damage it caused was after it became a Category 1-equivalent extratropical cyclone off the coast of the Northeastern United States.
Tropical Storm Andrea brought flooding to Cuba, the Yucatan Peninsula, and portions of the East Coast of the United States in June 2013. The first tropical cyclone and named storm of the annual hurricane season, Andrea originated from an area of low pressure in the eastern Gulf of Mexico on June 5. Despite strong wind shear and an abundance of dry air, the storm strengthened while initially heading north-northeastward. Later on June 5, it re-curved northeastward and approached the Big Bend region of Florida. Andrea intensified and peaked as a strong tropical storm with winds at 65 mph (105 km/h) on June 6. A few hours later, the storm weakened slightly and made landfall near Steinhatchee, Florida later that day. It began losing tropical characteristics while tracking across Florida and Georgia. Andrea transitioned into an extratropical cyclone over South Carolina on June 7, though the remnants continued to move along the East Coast of the United States, until being absorbed by another extratropical system offshore Maine on June 10.
The January 2016 United States blizzard produced up to 3 ft (91 cm) of snow in parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States during January 22–24, 2016. A weather system, evolving from a shortwave trough that formed in the Pacific Northwest on January 19, consolidated into a defined low-pressure area on January 21 over Texas. Meteorologists indicated that a resultant storm could produce more than 2 ft (61 cm) of snow across a wide swath of the Mid-Atlantic region and could "paralyze the eastern third of the nation", and regarded it as a "potentially historic blizzard". Winter weather expert Paul Kocin described the blizzard as "kind of a top-10 snowstorm".
The January 2018 North American blizzard caused widespread severe disruption and blizzard conditions across much of the East Coasts of the United States and Canada in early January 2018. The storm dropped up to 2 feet of snow in the Mid-Atlantic states, New England, and Atlantic Canada, while areas as far south as southern Georgia and far northern Florida had brief wintry precipitation, with 0.1 inches of snow measured officially in Tallahassee, Florida. The storm originated on January 3 as an area of low pressure off the coast of the Southeast. Moving swiftly to the northeast, the storm explosively deepened while moving parallel to the Eastern Seaboard, causing significant snowfall accumulations. The storm received various unofficial names, such as Winter Storm Grayson, Blizzard of 2018 and Storm Brody. The storm was also dubbed a "historic bomb cyclone".
Tropical Storm Fay was the first tropical cyclone to make landfall in the U.S state of New Jersey since Hurricane Irene in 2011. The sixth named storm of the very active 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, Fay was the earliest sixth named storm on record in the basin when it formed on July 9. Fay originated from a surface low that formed over the Northern Gulf of Mexico on July 3 and slowly drifted eastward, before crossing over the Florida Panhandle. The system subsequently drifted across the Southeastern United States as a well-defined low pressure system, before emerging off the coast of North Carolina on July 8. From there, the storm utilized favorable conditions for development, or tropical cyclogenesis, and coalesced into a tropical storm on July 9. The storm intensified, reaching its peak intensity on July 10, with maximum 1-minute sustained winds of 60 mph (97 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 998 millibars (29.5 inHg). While moving northward, Fay made landfall on New Jersey later that day. After making landfall, the storm quickly lost most of its organization and rapidly transitioned into a post-tropical cyclone over New York on July 11, before being absorbed by a larger extratropical low over Quebec on July 12.
Hurricane Isaias was a destructive tropical cyclone that caused extensive damage across the Caribbean and the East Coast of the United States while also spawning the strongest tropical cyclone-spawned tornado since Hurricane Rita in 2005. The ninth named storm and second hurricane of the extremely active and record-breaking 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, Isaias originated from a vigorous tropical wave off the coast of Africa that was first identified by the National Hurricane Center on July 23. The tropical wave gradually became more organized and obtained gale-force winds on July 28 before organizing into Tropical Storm Isaias on July 30. Isaias marked the earliest ninth named storm on record, surpassing 2005's Hurricane Irene by eight days. Isaias strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane on the next day, reaching an initial peak of 85 mph (140 km/h), with a minimum central pressure of 987 mbar. On August 1, the storm made landfall on North Andros, Bahamas and subsequently weakened to a tropical storm, before paralleling the east coast of Florida and Georgia. As Isaias approached the Carolina coastline, it reintensified back into a hurricane. Soon afterward, Isaias reached its peak intensity, with maximum 1-minute sustained winds of 90 mph (150 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 986 millibars (29.1 inHg), before making landfall near Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, at 03:10 UTC on August 4, at the same intensity. The storm proceeded to accelerate up the East Coast of the United States as a strong tropical storm, before transitioning into an extratropical cyclone over Quebec on August 4. Isaias's extratropical remnants persisted for another day, before dissipating on August 5.
Tropical Storm Ophelia was a strong but short-lived tropical storm that impacted the East Coast of the United States in September 2023. The fifteenth named storm of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season, Ophelia originated from a disturbance off the east coast of Florida before making landfall in North Carolina the next day as a strong tropical storm. Flood waters inundated coastal communities and roadways from North Carolina to New Jersey, and winds downed trees and power lines, and caused sporadic property damage.