The effect of known physical disturbances caused by hurricanes on chlorophyll-a concentration () is ascertained using remote sensing. This study focuses on all seven hurricanes which affected the northeast (NE) Coast of the U.S. during the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor's (SeaWiFS) lifetime. It is shown that increases significantly across the continental shelf of the eastern seaboard after the passage of a hurricane, with also a marked filamentation. The disturbances caused by hurricanes on the biological scale constitute strong and persistent events providing further evidence of the role that upwelling and mixing exert on variation.