63 years ago this week: The Ash Wednesday Storm
Relive the terrifying impacts of the 20th century’s strongest nor’easter that struck the Outer Banks 63 years ago this week in a mini-documentary titled, “The Ash Wednesday Storm in Nags Head.”
Funded by a grant from CurrentTV, produced by Rayolight Productions, in collaboration with the Town of Nags Head and the Outer Banks History Center, the documentary released in 2023 features several never-before-documented stories of survival of the storm, which is estimated to have destroyed, or significantly damaged, thousands of homes along the East Coast.
Over several days in March 1962, an unusual combination of weather elements caused a massive storm to slowly churn off the East Coast. Over five high tide cycles, Nags Head residents fought for their lives.
Storm survivor Juanita Wescott explains in the video that, during the storm, her family wasn’t thinking about the future and whether they would have a home or jobs to return to; instead, they were wondering if they were going to survive.
Her story is just one of several that explain what it was like to live through the life-changing event.
