Pat Shingleton for Oct. 28, 2012

As Super Sandy takes aim on the New Jersey coast, New Englanders will be reminded of this date in 1991. Referred to as the Halloween Storm, it lashed the North Carolina coast for five days. Hurricane-force winds pounded New England and New Jersey causing the highest tides on the Eastern Seaboard since the Great Atlantic Hurricane of ’44. As noted in a previous column, it was the basis for the novel and the movie “The Perfect Storm,” and the sinking of the Andrea Gail. It was called “perfect” because of the events that resulted in the storm. An extra-tropical cyclone developed along a cold front; upper air support and Hurricane Grace making a hairpin turn to the east led to treacherous sea conditions over the western Atlantic. Fastcast: Super chilly.