| has gloss | eng: Hurricane Belle was the third tropical storm and first hurricane of the 1976 Atlantic hurricane season. The system formed as a tropical depression northeast of the Bahamas and strengthened as it moved northward towards New York and New England. Belle became a major hurricane that threatened much of the East Coast of the United States. However, the storm weakened prior to landfall and struck Long Island, New York, as a Category-1 hurricane, spreading moderate to heavy rainfall from eastern North Carolina through New England. The system evolved into an extratropical cyclone as it passed through New England. Belle caused $100 million (1976 US dollars) in damage. |