Studies of certain impacts of tropical storm Agnes on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries - A final report on activities

In the summer of 1972 Hurricane Agnes, spawned over the Yucatan Peninsula, developed in full force in the Gulf of Mexico, bulled its way ashore in Western Florida (and Southeastern Alabama) and spent its fury in the interior. It arrived in the Middle-Atlantic States as an Extratropical Storm. At every stage it was disruptive and destructive. In the Chesapeake Bay Drainage Basin, Agnes was particularly spectacular even though her wind velocities were markedly reduced. In particular, she poured vast amounts of rain on an already saturated land. In rapid succession the James, the Potomac and the Susquehanna were driven into raging torrents as were the lesser rivers of the Western Shore of the Bay. In the James, flood levels reached stages reportedly not observed in 200 years