Hurricane Dora
Around 12:20 a.m. EST on September 10, Hurricane Dora made landfall about north of St. Augustine, Florida, with sustained winds between 115 and 125 mph (185 and 205 km/h). Although estimated to have been a Category 3 at landfall, the highest winds onshore were believed to have been in the Category 2 range. Striking northeastern Florida, Dora became the first tropical cyclone on record to make landfall in the region. Once onshore the storm gradually weakened, losing hurricane status about 24 hours later, and began a gradual turn towards the northeast. During the morning of September 12, Dora became almost stationary over the southern border between Alabama and Georgia. However, the storm rapidly accelerated and re-emerged into the Atlantic Ocean on September 14 near the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Hours after moving over water, the system transitioned into an extratropical cyclone. The remnants of Dora were last mentioned on September 16 off the northeast coast of Newfoundland.
1976 Atlantic hurricane season
Threatening much of the East Coast of the United States, hurricane warnings were issued from Georgia to Maine. An estimated 500,000 people evacuated coastal areas accordingly. Five people lost their lives in a car accident on a rain-slicked highway near the North Carolina–Virginia state line; another person died due to a car accident in Norfolk, Virginia. In New York, damage on Long Island reached $8 million, of which $3 million stemmed from erosion at Rockaway Beach. One person was killed in New York when a branch snapped off a tree due to high winds and fell on her. Approximately 36,000 residents in the lower Hudson Valley lost electricity. In Connecticut, strong winds in Bridgeport downed trees, which fell on barns, porches, and homes. About 247,000 people lost electricity throughout the state. Three deaths occurred in Connecticut, one from an accident caused by slippery roads and the other two from carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator. Flooding was reported across New England and was especially severe in Vermont. The hardest hit town was Chester, where 35 of its 85 roads flooded and 5 bridges were washed out. Two people died in Huntington after the footbridge they were crossing collapsed into the Huntington River. A total of 12 people lost their lives and damage reached an estimated $100 million. In Canada, heavy rains fell across New Brunswick, amounting to in Edmundston, triggering flooding that damaged crops, homes, and roads. Damage estimates reached at least $1 million.
An area of low pressure in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico developed into a tropical depression early on August 18. The depression drifted east and northeastward over the next day, before beginning to accelerate on August 19. The cyclone further intensified into Tropical Storm Dottie by 12:00 UTC. Shortly thereafter, Dottie made landfall in Florida over mainland Monroe County. The cyclone quickly proceeded northeastward before re-emerging into the Atlantic near Palm Beach. Dottie moved northward and peaked with winds of 50 mph (85 km/h) at 06:00 UTC on August 20, before subsequently weakening due to wind shear. By the time Dottie made landfall in Charleston, South Carolina, early on August 21, it was barely of tropical storm intensity. It deteriorated into a tropical depression on August 21 and dissipated shortly thereafter. The remnant low pressure system turned southward and once again entered the Atlantic before turning westward and crossing the Florida peninsula.