N.J. hurricane history

HURRICANES have made landfall in New Jersey only twice in the past 200 years, but offshore storms have also wreaked havoc along the Shore.

Sept. 3, 1821 - Norfolk and Long Island Hurricane comes north from Cape Hatteras, striking near Cape May and moving north along the Shore.

Sept. 16, 1903 - Dubbed the Vagabond Hurricane by the Atlantic City Press, the storm rakes Atlantic City.

Storms passing close enough to do damage included:

Oct. 23, 1878 - The Great October Gale rakes southwestern New Jersey with hurricane-force winds.

Sept. 14, 1944 - Offshore winds up to 100 mph cause catastrophic damage to the shoreline.

Late September 1985 - Hurricane Gloria hovers off the East Coast and comes close enough to cause evacuations in Cape May County and close Atlantic City casinos before heading for Long Island, closing the New York Stock Exchange and the World Trade Center.

Sept. 16-17, 1999 - Remnants of Hurricane Floyd deluge western New Jersey before heading toward Long Island and New England.

- Gloria Campisi