# Perfect storm > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Perfect_storm > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Perfect_storm.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_storm > Source revision: 1328014516 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Phrase For other uses, see [Perfect storm (disambiguation)](/source/Perfect_storm_(disambiguation)). Satellite image of northeast U.S. coast on November 1, 1991. Depicted is the [1991 Perfect Storm](/source/1991_Perfect_Storm). A **perfect storm** is a meteorological event aggravated by a rare combination of circumstances.[1] The term is used by analogy to an unusually severe [storm](/source/Storm) that results from a rare combination of [meteorological phenomena](/source/Meteorology). Before the early 1990s, the phrases "[storm of the century](/source/Storm_of_the_Century_(disambiguation))" or "perfect storm" were generally used to describe unusually large or destructive storms.[2] The term **superstorm** was employed in 1993 by the US [National Weather Service](/source/National_Weather_Service) to describe [a nor'easter in March of that year](/source/1993_Storm_of_the_Century).[3] The term is most frequently used to describe a [weather pattern](/source/Weather_pattern) that is as destructive as a [hurricane](/source/Hurricane), but which exhibits the cold-weather patterns of a [winter storm](/source/Winter_storm).[4] ## Origin The Oxford English Dictionary has published references going back to 1718 for "perfect storm", though the earliest citations use the phrase in the sense of "absolute" or "complete", or for emphasis, as in "a perfect stranger". The phrase appears in [William Makepeace Thackeray](/source/William_Makepeace_Thackeray)'s novel *[Vanity Fair](/source/Vanity_Fair_(novel))* (1847-1848) I have heard a brother of the story-telling trade at Naples preaching to a pack of good-for-nothing honest, lazy fellows by the sea-shore, work himself up into such a rage and passion with some of the villains whose wicked deeds he was describing and inventing, that the audience could not resist it; and they and the poet together would burst out into a roar of oaths and execrations against the fictitious monster of the tale, so that the hat went round, and the bajocchi tumbled into it, in the midst of a perfect storm of sympathy. The first known use of the expression in the meteorological sense is on May 30, 1850, when the Rev. Lloyd of [Withington](/source/Withington) describes ″A perfect storm of thunder and lightning all over England (except London) doing fearful and fatal damage″ when recording monthly rainfall measurements for that year. This record is kept by the UK Meteorological Office.[5] The next recorded instance is in the March 20, 1936, issue of the *[Port Arthur News](/source/Port_Arthur_News)* in Texas: "The weather bureau describes the disturbance as 'the perfect storm' of its type. Seven factors were involved in the chain of circumstances that led to the flood."[6] In 1993, journalist and author [Sebastian Junger](/source/Sebastian_Junger) planned to write a book about a fishing boat caught in the [1991 Halloween Nor'easter](/source/1991_Perfect_Storm) storm. Technically, this storm was an [extratropical cyclone](/source/Extratropical_cyclone). In the course of his research, he spoke with [Bob Case](/source/Robert_Case), who had been a deputy [meteorologist](/source/Meteorologist) in the Boston office of the [National Weather Service](/source/National_Weather_Service) at the time of the [storm](/source/Storm). Case described to Junger the confluence of three different weather-related phenomena that combined to create what Case referred to as the "perfect situation" to generate such a storm: - warm air from a low-pressure system coming from one direction - a flow of cool and dry air generated by a high-pressure from another direction - tropical moisture provided by tropical storm (or hurricane) From that, Junger keyed on Case's use of the word *perfect* and coined the phrase *perfect storm*, choosing to use *The Perfect Storm* as the title of his book. Junger published his book *[The Perfect Storm](/source/The_Perfect_Storm_(book))* in 1997 and its success brought the phrase into popular culture. Its adoption was accelerated with the release of the [2000 feature film adaptation](/source/The_Perfect_Storm_(film)) of Junger's book. Since the release of the movie, the phrase has grown to mean any event where a situation is aggravated drastically by an exceptionally rare combination of circumstances.[1] Although the [1991 Halloween Nor'easter](/source/1991_Perfect_Storm) was a powerful storm by any measure, there have been other storms that have exceeded its strength. According to Case, the type of convergence of weather events to which he was referring, while unusual, is not exceptionally rare or unique, despite the way the phrase is commonly used.[7][8] ## Other uses From the beginning, the phrase was in heavy use during the [2008 financial crisis](/source/2008_financial_crisis), even to the point of pundits anticipating "another perfect storm".[9] The phrase was awarded the top prize by [Lake Superior State University](/source/Lake_Superior_State_University) in their 2007 list of words that deserve to be banned for overuse.[1] ## See also - [ARkStorm](/source/ARkStorm) - [Blizzard](/source/Blizzard) - [Bomb cyclone](/source/Bomb_cyclone) - [Butterfly effect](/source/Butterfly_effect) - [Hypercane](/source/Hypercane) - [Spring tide](/source/Spring_tide) - [Synergy](/source/Synergy) Look up ***[superstorm](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/superstorm)*** in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Rts20080101_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Rts20080101_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Rts20080101_1-2) Andrew Stern (2008-01-01). ["Wordsmiths, avoid these words"](https://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0160393320080101). Reuters. Retrieved 2008-06-19. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Chameides, Bill (29 October 2012). ["What Makes a Storm 'Super'"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170428053434/http://blogs.nicholas.duke.edu/thegreengrok/what-makes-a-storm-super/). *TheGreenGrok*. Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. Archived from [the original](http://blogs.nicholas.duke.edu/thegreengrok/what-makes-a-storm-super/) on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** National Weather Service, U.S. Department of Commerce. [National Disaster Survey Report: Superstorm of March 1993](https://www.weather.gov/media/publications/assessments/Superstorm_March-93.pdf) (PDF) (Report). Retrieved 27 April 2017. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Conklin, Al (2013). ["What's in a Name? Sandy: Hurricane or Superstorm?"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170428052342/http://www.wsfa.com/story/21807734/whats-in-a-name-sandy-hurricane-or-superstorm). WSFA. Archived from [the original](http://www.wsfa.com/story/21807734/whats-in-a-name-sandy-hurricane-or-superstorm) on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [The Met Office](/source/The_Met_Office), UK 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["The Grammarphobia Blog: The imperfect storm"](http://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2008/05/the-imperfect-storm.html). Grammarphobia.com. 2008-05-08. Retrieved 2013-10-29. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Meteorologists say 'Perfect Storm' not so perfect"](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/06/000628101549.htm). *ScienceDaily*. Retrieved 2023-03-31. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** West, James. (2000, July 6). "[[https://www.usatoday.com/weather/movies/ps/psname.htm](https://www.usatoday.com/weather/movies/ps/psname.htm) The naming of ("The Perfect Storm"), *[USA Today](/source/USA_Today)* 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** "[Prepare for another perfect storm](http://www.moneymanagement.com.au/article/Prepare-for-another-perfect-storm/520467.aspx) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20100727211443/http://www.moneymanagement.com.au/article/prepare-for-another-perfect-storm/520467.aspx) 2010-07-27 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)" ## External links Look up ***[perfect storm](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/perfect_storm)*** in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. - [National Climate Data Center](http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/satellite/satelliteseye/cyclones/pfctstorm91/pfctstorm.html) v t e Cyclones and anticyclones of the world (centers of action) Concepts Anticyclonic storm Storm High-pressure area Low-pressure area Rapid intensification Explosive cyclogenesis Central dense overcast Annular tropical cyclone Bar (tropical cyclone) Superstorm Hypercane Tropical cyclones and climate change Post-tropical cyclone Sting jet List Rainband Anticyclone Northern Hemisphere North Polar High Siberian High Azores High North American High North Pacific High Ridiculously Resilient Ridge Subtropical ridge Southern Hemisphere Bolivian High South Polar High South Atlantic High South Pacific High Kalahari High Australian High Subtropical ridge Cyclone Synoptic scale Surface-based Polar North Polar low South Polar low Great Arctic Cyclone of 2012 Extratropical North America Continental Lee Cyclone Alberta clipper Colorado low Great Basin low Bighorn Low Other Panhandle hook November gale Oceanic Aleutian Low Hatteras low Nor'easter Gulf low Pacific Northwest windstorm Europe Icelandic Low Genoa low European windstorm Asia Asiatic Low Western Disturbance Continental North Asian storms East Asian-northwest Pacific storms Southern Hemisphere Southern Ocean cyclone Sudestada Subtropical Kona storm Australian east coast low Black nor'easter Lake Huron cyclone Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone Thermal Tropical (Outline) Northern Hemisphere Atlantic hurricane Cape Verde hurricane Pacific hurricane Typhoon North Indian Ocean tropical cyclone Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone Black Sea tropical-like cyclone Southern Hemisphere South-West Indian Ocean tropical cyclone Australian region tropical cyclone South Pacific tropical cyclone South Atlantic tropical cyclone Upper level Cold-core low Cut-off low Polar vortex Upper tropospheric cyclonic vortex Mesoscale Mesoscale ocean eddies Catalina eddy Haida Eddies Mesoscale convective system Wake Low Mesohigh Mesoscale convective vortex Line echo wave pattern Whirlwind Major Mesocyclone Supercell Low-topped supercell Wall cloud Funnel cloud Tornado Multiple-vortex tornado Satellite tornado Anticyclonic tornado Landspout Waterspout Minor Gustnado Dust devil Steam devil Fire whirl Tropical cyclones portal Tornadoes portal --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Perfect storm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_storm) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_storm?action=history)). 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