After Hurricane Igor in 2010, Newfoundland has resisted the wrath of full-blown hurricanes and has only experienced one tropical storm. As Hurricane Larry raced through the ocean as a Category 1, it demonstrated that even a small hurricane can be devastating.
“Hurricane Larry caused a significant amount of tree and property damage throughout our city,” St. John’s Mayor Danny Breen said at a news conference on September 11th, 2021. Still, he said, “it could have been a lot worse.”
Hurricane Larry left Newfoundland to deal with tens of thousands of power outages, dozens of uprooted trees, and varying property damage. It delivered storm surges, serious winds, and high floodwaters that led to the damage.
CTV News interviewed Alex Best, an 86 year-old retired fisherman, who lives right where the hurricane passed through. Mr. Best “hasn’t seen high water conditions like those wrought by Larry in many decades,” as the waters were so high they nearly washed away his dock and boat. Barstow students might not have to deal with lots of hurricane damage like Mr. Best, but they should still care about their devastating impacts.
As sea levels rise, storms such as hurricanes will become more frequent and more damaging. Warmer sea temperatures will increase tropical storm wind speeds and hurricane precipitation. As climate change gets worse, tropical storms and hurricanes will do more damage to coastal cities and those cities surrounding them.
Hurricane Larry, along with all other tropical storms, proves environmental decline. The more we let our environment decline, the worse any storm system will get. Just like hurricanes, tornados will get worse as well. According to Climate Science, “the number of tornadoes in large tornado outbreaks is on the rise,” which Barstow students are aware of, due to the number of tornadoes in the past couple of years.
Larry is just one more example of how devastating hurricanes are. Barstow students almost never have to deal with them, and probably have never experienced one, especially on an island like Newfoundland. Newfoundland is an island in Canada, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Hurricane Larry passed Bermuda on Thursday, September 10th, 2021, and delivered extremely high winds and waves to the East Coast. Bermuda did not get hit too hard and only experienced high winds, semi-rough surf, and heavy rain. Instead, Larry headed directly for Newfoundland on September 11th, 2021, and delivered intense winds, waves, and damage. Approximately 60,000 people were left without power. That number was cut in half by about noon and gradually lowered as the day went on. Trees and power lines were uprooted and downed in the region, and thousands of homes were damaged, ranging from slight peeling all the way to caved-in roofs.
According to AccuWeather, “The storm remained a massive one with hurricane-force winds of 74 mph (119 km/h) or greater extending 105 miles (165 km) outward from the center. Tropical-storm-force winds of 39 mph (63 km/h) or greater extended outward from the center to 255 miles (405 km).”
A city statement from the capital of Newfoundland, St. John’s, urged residents to “avoid travel unless for essential reasons, which crews “clean up streets, sidewalks, parks, and open spaces. Lanes were reduced on many streets due to debris; the public are advised to proceed with extreme caution, especially in areas where pedestrian walk lights may also be out of service, or where construction work is ongoing.”
For the most part, only trees and power lines blocked streets. Smaller amounts of house debris and other items line the metro area’s sidewalks and roads. It seems that the worst-hit areas nearby are the parks, including Bannerman Park, Victoria Park, and Bowring Park, as they have a “significant amount of debris that needs to be removed.”
Starting on Sunday, September 12th, residents dropped off debris like branches and miscellaneous items to help crews in the cleanup process. Roads and highways may be flooded or covered by debris, and if one has to leave their home, citizens are urged to exercise extreme caution while driving.
Hurricane Larry then barreled northeast towards Greenland, but not as a normal hurricane. Instead, it hit as a winter storm which brought high gusts of wind and about four or five feet of snow to parts of Greenland.
According to Sci-Tech Daily, Hurricane Larry arrived in Greenland on September 12th, 2021, and dropped insane amounts of snowfall upon entry. Greenland’s summer melt season was supposed to be ending around then, but unfortunately, Larry decided to extend that deadline. Parts of the country received only a few inches of snow, whereas others received up to eight or more inches.
During the winter storm, cities in Greenland, Kulusuk and Tasilaqq, saw winds reach upwards of 90 mph. For reference, that would be around the same wind speed as an F-1 tornado. “A storm like that is quite unusual for Greenland,” according to Lauren Andrews, a glaciologist with NASA, in an interview with Sci-Tech Daily. “They generally dissipate well before reaching as far north as Greenland,” she added.
Hurricane Larry left a sour taste in Newfoundland and Greenland’s mouth. It left lots of property damage, uprooted trees, and downed powerlines, as well as tens of thousands of power outages. Fortunately, it’s nothing the community cannot fix. As Newfoundland continues to clean up and re-build, Greenland tries to end its melting season, and Larry dissipates in the Atlantic.
