Marine High Wind — Cp Henlopen To Fenwick Is De Out 20nm, Atlantic North

2008-05-12 · near Dewey Beach, Cp Henlopen To Fenwick Is De Out 20nm, Atlantic North

Event narrative

The extreme weather broke apart the research vessel Russell W. Peterson about 14 miles off the coast of Rehoboth Beach. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued two crew members from the sea within three hours of getting the distress signal (7:56 AM on the 12th). By 10:30 AM EDT, a Coast Guard rescue team had the two crew members aboard the helicopter. The pair was rescued in high seas by a U.S. Coast Guard rescue squad and hoisted from the ocean by a helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City, New Jersey. One of the victims did not have vital signs upon arrival at a Salisbury, Maryland hospital, and later died. The vessel then ran ashore in Bethany Beach due to the strong winds and higher tides.

Wider weather episode

A low pressure system, which was tracking eastward, was centered over the Illinois/Indiana border during the early morning hours of May 11th. A secondary low pressure system began to develop over eastern North Carolina during the late afternoon on the 11th. As this storm intensified and became more organized, the earlier storm to the west weakened considerably. The main storm began to slowly track up the Middle Atlantic coastline late on the 11th into the 12th, however it rapidly intensified over far southeastern Maryland. During the early morning hours of the 12th, the storm was centered over the southern Delmarva with yet another low forming offshore. With the two lows in close proximity, one of which was rather potent, a strong northeast wind developed and persisted through the evening of the 12th. The prolonged northeast flow combined with higher than normal tides caused tidal flooding in Delaware. There was limited moisture further inland from the center of the system but an abundance of moisture was ushered into portions of Delaware. By the evening of the 12th, what was named the Mother's Day Nor'easter of 2008, began moving away from the region, which brought an end to the strong winds and tidal flooding problems.

The potent storm, which generated very strong winds and high seas, broke apart a research vessel named Russell W. Peterson, 14 miles off the coast of Rehoboth Beach. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued two crew members from the sea within three hours of getting the distress signal (7:56 AM EDT on the 12th). By 10:30 AM EDT, a Coast Guard rescue team had the two crew members aboard the helicopter. The pair was rescued in high seas by a U.S. Coast Guard rescue squad and hoisted from the ocean by a helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City, New Jersey. One of the victims did not have vital signs upon arrival at a Salisbury, Maryland hospital, and later died. The vessel itself ran ashore in Bethany Beach due to the strong winds and higher tides.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.6800, -74.8500)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 104047. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.