Hurricane Agnes in 1972 was the costliest hurricane to hit the United States at the time, causing an estimated $2.1 billion in damage. The hurricane's death toll was 128. The effects of Agnes were widespread, from the Caribbean to Canada, with much of the east coast of the United States affected. Damage was heaviest in Pennsylvania, where Agnes was the state's wettest tropical cyclone. Due to the significant effects, the name Agnes was retired in the spring of 1973.
The 1972 Atlantic hurricane season was a significantly below average season, having only seven named storms, four fully tropical storms and three subtropical storms. It officially began on June 1, 1972, and lasted until November 30, 1972. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. The first storm, Subtropical Storm Alpha, developed on May 23 off the Southeast United States and struck Florida, causing minor damage and two fatalities. Although several other tropical depressions developed, only Tropical Depression Five is known to have affected land.
Hurricane Eloise was the most destructive tropical cyclone of the 1975 Atlantic hurricane season. The fifth tropical storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the season, Eloise formed as a tropical depression on September 13 to the east of the Virgin Islands. The depression tracked westward and intensified into a tropical storm while passing to the north of Puerto Rico. Eloise briefly attained hurricane intensity soon thereafter, but weakened back to a tropical storm upon making landfall over Hispaniola. A weak and disorganized cyclone, Eloise emerged into open waters of the northern Caribbean Sea; upon striking the northern Yucatan Peninsula, it turned north and began to re-intensify. In the Gulf of Mexico, the cyclone quickly matured and became a Category 3 hurricane on September 23. Eloise made landfall along the Florida Panhandle west of Panama City before moving inland across Alabama and dissipating on September 24.
Stephen Russell Reed was the longest-serving mayor of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Dubbed "Mayor-for-Life," he was re-elected to seven four-year terms, serving from 1982 to 2010. After leaving office, Reed faced charges on nearly 500 counts of theft, fraud and corruption. He pled guilty to 20 charges and was sentenced to probation. Reed died on January 25, 2020, in Harrisburg at the age of 70, after a long battle with prostate cancer.
Milton Jerrold Shapp was an American businessman and politician who served as the 40th governor of Pennsylvania from 1971 to 1979 and the first Jewish governor of Pennsylvania. He was also the first governor of Pennsylvania to be eligible for, and re-elected to, consecutive four-year terms per the 1968 Pennsylvania Constitution.
Hurricane Juan was a large and erratic tropical cyclone that looped twice near the Louisiana coast, causing widespread flooding. It was the tenth named storm of the 1985 Atlantic hurricane season, forming in the central Gulf of Mexico in late October. Juan moved northward after its formation, and was subtropical in nature with its large size. On October 27, the storm became a hurricane, reaching maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 km/h). Due to the influence of an upper-level low, Juan looped just off southern Louisiana before making landfall near Morgan City on October 29. Weakening to tropical storm status over land, Juan turned back to the southeast over open waters, crossing the Mississippi River Delta. After turning to the northeast, the storm made its final landfall just west of Pensacola, Florida, late on October 31. Juan continued quickly to the north and was absorbed by an approaching cold front, although its moisture contributed to a deadly flood event in the Mid-Atlantic states.
Hurricane Dennis caused flooding in North Carolina and the Mid-Atlantic states in early September 1999, which would later be compounded by Hurricane Floyd. The fifth tropical cyclone of the season, Dennis developed from a tropical wave to the north of Puerto Rico on August 24. Originally a tropical depression, the system moved west-northwestward and strengthened into a tropical storm despite unfavorable wind shear. The storm became a hurricane by August 26. After striking the Abaco Islands, conditions improved, allowing for Dennis to strengthen into a Category 2 on the Saffir–Simpson scale by August 28. Around this time, Dennis began to move parallel to the Southeastern United States. Early on August 30, the storm peaked with winds of 105 mph (165 km/h). By the following day, steering currents collapsed and the storm interacted with a cold front, causing Dennis to move erratically offshore North Carolina. Wind shear and cold air associated with the front weakened Dennis to a tropical storm on September 1 and removed some of its tropical characteristics. Eventually, warmer ocean temperatures caused some re-strengthening. By September 4, Dennis turned northwestward and made landfall in Cape Lookout, North Carolina, as a strong tropical storm. The storm slowly weakened inland, before transitioning into an extratropical cyclone over western New York on September 7.
The Walnut Street Bridge also known as The People's Bridge, is a truss bridge that spanned the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania until 1996. Built by the Phoenix Bridge Company in 1890, it is the oldest remaining bridge connecting Harrisburg's downtown and Riverfront Park with City Island. Since flooding in 1996 collapsed sections of the western span, it no longer connects to the West Shore. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. A 2014 Cross-River Connections Study notes that the bridge currently serves as an "important bicycle and pedestrian link between City Island and downtown Harrisburg, connecting the city and the Capital Area Greenbelt to special events on City Island."
The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the oldest and largest National Guards in the United States Department of Defense. It traces its roots to 1747 when Benjamin Franklin established the Associators in Philadelphia.
Shipoke (SHY-poke) is a neighborhood in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Shipoke is delineated by I-83 to the south, Washington Street to the north, Second Street to the east, and the Susquehanna River to the west. It is Harrisburg Ward number one. Compared to the area of Harrisburg's other neighborhoods, Shipoke is small.
Conodoguinet Creek is a 104-mile-long (167 km) tributary of the Susquehanna River in South central Pennsylvania in the United States. The name is Native American, and means "A Long Way with Many Bends".
The Mid-Atlantic United States flood of 2006 was a significant flood that affected much of the Mid-Atlantic region of the eastern United States. The flooding was very widespread, affecting numerous rivers, lakes and communities from upstate New York to North Carolina. It was widely considered to be the worst flooding in the region since Hurricane David in 1979. It was also one of the worst floodings in the United States since Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. At least 16 deaths were related to the flooding.
Coatesville station is an Amtrak intercity rail station located in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. It is served by most Amtrak Keystone Service trains. The station has two side platforms serving the outer tracks of the three-track Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line.
The history of Harrisburg, the state capital of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, has played a key role in the development of the nation's industrial history from its origins as a trading outpost to the present. Harrisburg has played a critical role in American history during the Westward Migration, the American Civil War, and the Industrial Revolution. For part of the 19th century, the building of the Pennsylvania Canal and later the Pennsylvania Railroad allowed Harrisburg to become one of the most industrialized cities in the Northeast.
Thomas Westerman Wolf is an American politician and businessman who served as the 47th governor of Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated Republican incumbent Tom Corbett in the 2014 gubernatorial election and was reelected in 2018 by a margin of 17.1%. Before his election as governor, Wolf was the secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue from April 2007 to November 2008 and Chairman and CEO of his business.
Tropical Storm Lee was the thirteenth named storm and fifteenth system overall of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, developing from a broad tropical disturbance over the gulf on September 1. It was designated as Tropical Storm Lee the next day. Prior to 2020, when Marco formed on August 22, Lee was tied with 2005's Maria as the earliest-forming 13th Atlantic tropical storm. The system was rather large, and due to drifting, Lee brought flash flooding to the Gulf Coast. Flooding associated with the rains caused significant property damage in the areas, with drowning deaths reported in both Mississippi and Georgia. Elsewhere, the storm helped spread wildfires that destroyed homes and killed two people in Texas, and a traffic accident in Alabama resulted in one death. Rough surf offshore drowned one person in each of these states. After becoming extratropical, Lee caused historic flooding in Pennsylvania, New York, and Canada, mainly Quebec and Ontario.
This is a timeline of the major events in the history of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and vicinity.
Hurricane Sandy was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as 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 $70 billion in damage and killed 233 people across 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.
Cannabis in Pennsylvania is illegal for recreational use, but possession of small amounts is decriminalized in several of the state's largest cities. Medical use was legalized in 2016 through a bill passed by the state legislature.
United States