Cause And Effect Essay On Hurricane Joaquin

Hurricane Joaquin manifested in the Atlantic Ocean on September 27 and made its way to the Eastern United States, constantly growing in size and intensity. The hurricane eventually reached the strength of a category four hurricane with wind speeds up to a 155 mph, only two mph shy from becoming a category five hurricane (Hurricane Joaquin Recap, 2015). Though many meteorologists suspected that the hurricane would make landfall in the mainland United States, it made a drastic turn to Bermuda, but, in turn, sent a low pressure system through all of South Carolina sending down torrential rainfall starting on October 1, 2015 (Hurricane Joaquin Recap, 2015). The rain continued through October 6, 2015, breaking precipitation records throughout South Carolina causing massive flooding in Charleston, Columbia, Myrtle Beach, and other surrounding cities. Charleston received 16.33” amount of rain in a period of five days, from October 1 to October 5, while Myrtle Beach received 15.5”, shattering both previous records for rainfall (Wiltgen, 2015). While neither of these compared to the devastation in Columbia where residents received 12.22” of rain which caused massive flash flooding in the ill equipped low lying areas

Just a week before Joaquin caused torrential rain and wind to sweep through Charleston, the area was already at risk for coastal flooding due to the Perigean Spring Tide. According to the Weather Nation, “About three or four times a year, the new or full moon coincides closely in time with the perigee of the moon- the point when the moon is closest to the planet” (Hurricane Joaquin, 2015). The proximity of the moon increases gravitational pull, which consequently increases the severity of the tides. When the Perigea coincides with onshore winds and changes in barometric pressure, there is a major increase in the probability of coastal