the most destructive storm of the 1955 Atlantic hurricane season, formed on August 7 and reached peak sustained winds of 105 mph (170 km/h) as a Category 2 hurricane five days later. Gradually weakening, it made landfall near Wilmington, North Carolina, as a strong tropical storm on August 17, just five days after Hurricane Connie struck near the same area. After Diane turned northeast, its rain clouds were amplified by moisture coming off warm Atlantic waters. Eastern Pennsylvania suffered record floods, largely in the Poconos and along the Delaware River, that killed 101 people and breached or destroyed 30 dams. Damage was heaviest in Connecticut, where rainfall peaked at 16.86 inches (428 mm); the storm effectively split the state in two
