Three Elements in a Perfect Storm

Threes are popularized by events and episodes as well.  The idea of a perfect storm is a recurring theme that today helps to explain the combination of three elements that create a result far greater than each one has the potential to produce by itself or even when two are combined.  The Perfect Storm started as a depiction of a meteorological oddity.

As we await the arrival of the “Frankenstorm” that is about to pummel the Mid-Atlantic states, we can recall another similar scenario.  The powerful nor’easter of October 1991 that formed off the coast of Massachusetts became the antecedent for the currently popular term.  Eventually to be described in a best-selling book by journalist Sebastian Junger and then depicted in a movie, the storm perfected itself as warm air from a low-pressure system arriving from the southwest met cool, dry air generated by high-pressure to the north and tropical moisture provided by Hurricane Grace, which was dying out off the East Coast of the United States as it moved into the colder waters of the north Atlantic.  The three ingredients produced rain, strong winds and 100 foot waves in the ocean.  

Now we use “Perfect Storm” as a metaphor to describe situations that result from a combination of three ingredients in a potent mix.  We see the reference often.

From Threes, Chapter One, “The Wonder of Threes”