Options
The Great New England Hurricane of 1938
DesertRat
Posts: 1,791 ✭
Not necessarily off topic since such a rare storm as this has without a doubt contributed to many valuables being buried along its' path.
THE GREAT NEW ENGLAND HURRICANE:
September 21, 1938
Without warning, a powerful Category 3 hurricane slams into Long Island and
southern New England, causing 600 deaths and devastating coastal cities and
towns. Also called the Long Island Express, the Great New England Hurricane of
1938 was the most destructive storm to strike the region in the 20th century.The
officially unnamed hurricane was born out a tropical cyclone that developed in
the eastern Atlantic on September 10, 1938, near the Cape Verde Islands. Six
days later, the captain of a Brazilian freighter sighted the storm northeast of
Puerto Rico and radioed a warning to the U.S. Weather Bureau (now the National
Weather Service). It was expected that the storm would make landfall in south
Florida, and hurricane-experienced coastal citizens stocked up on supplies and
boarded up their homes. On September 19, however, the storm suddenly changed
direction and began moving north, parallel to the eastern seaboard.Charlie
Pierce, a junior forecaster in the U.S. Weather Bureau, was sure that the
hurricane was heading for the Northeast, but the chief forecaster overruled him.
It had been well over a century since New England had been hit by a substantial
hurricane, and few believed it could happen again. Hurricanes rarely persist
after encountering the cold waters of the North Atlantic. However, this
hurricane was moving north at an unusually rapid pace--more than 60 mph--and was
following a track over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream.With Europe on the
brink of war over the worsening Sudetenland crisis, little media attention was
given to the powerful hurricane at sea. There was no advanced meteorological
technology, such as radar, radio buoys, or satellite imagery, to warn of the
hurricane's approach. By the time the U.S. Weather Bureau learned that the
Category 3 storm was on a collision course with Long Island on the afternoon of
September 21, it was too late for a warning.Along the south shore of Long
Island, the sky began to darken and the wind picked up. Fishermen and boaters
were at sea, and summer residents enjoying the end of the season were in their
beachfront homes. Around 2:30 p.m., the full force of the hurricane made
landfall, unfortunately around high tide. Surges of ocean water and waves 40
feet tall swallowed up coastal homes. At Westhampton, which lay directly in the
path of the storm, 150 beach homes were destroyed, about a third of which were
pulled into the swelling ocean. Winds exceeded 100 mph. Inland, people were
drowned in flooding, killed by uprooted trees and falling debris, and
electrocuted by downed electrical lines.At 4 p.m., the center of the hurricane
crossed the Long Island Sound and reached Connecticut. Rivers swollen by a week
of steady rain spilled over and washed away roadways. In New London, a short
circuit in a flooded building started a fire that was fanned by the 100 mph
winds into an inferno. Much of the business district was consumed.The hurricane
gained intensity as it passed into Rhode Island. Winds in excess of 120 mph
caused a storm surge of 12 to 15 feet in Narragansett Bay, destroying coastal
homes and entire fleets of boats at yacht clubs and marinas. The waters of the
bay surged into Providence harbor around 5 p.m., rapidly submerging the downtown
area of Rhode Island's capital under more than 13 feet of water. Many people
were swept away.The hurricane then raced northward across Massachusetts, gaining
speed again and causing great flooding. In Milton, south of Boston, the Blue
Hill Observatory recorded one of the highest wind gusts in history, an
astounding 186 mph. Boston was hit hard, and "Old Ironsides"--the historic ship
U.S. Constitution--was torn from its moorings in Boston Navy Yard and suffered
slight damage. Hundreds of other ships were not so lucky.The hurricane lost
intensity as it passed over northern New England, but by the time the storm
reached Canada around 11 p.m. it was still powerful enough to cause widespread
damage. The Great New England Hurricane finally dissipated over Canada that
night.All told, 700 people were killed by the hurricane, 600 of them in Long
Island and southern New England. Some 700 people were injured. Nearly 9,000
homes and buildings were destroyed, and 15,000 damaged. Nearly 3,000 ships were
sunk or wrecked. Power lines were downed across the region, causing widespread
blackouts. Innumerable trees were felled, and 12 new inlets were created on Long
Island. Railroads were destroyed and farms were obliterated. Total damages were
$306 million, which equals $18 billion in today's dollars, making the Great New
England Hurricane the sixth costliest hurricane in U.S. history.
THE GREAT NEW ENGLAND HURRICANE:
September 21, 1938
Without warning, a powerful Category 3 hurricane slams into Long Island and
southern New England, causing 600 deaths and devastating coastal cities and
towns. Also called the Long Island Express, the Great New England Hurricane of
1938 was the most destructive storm to strike the region in the 20th century.The
officially unnamed hurricane was born out a tropical cyclone that developed in
the eastern Atlantic on September 10, 1938, near the Cape Verde Islands. Six
days later, the captain of a Brazilian freighter sighted the storm northeast of
Puerto Rico and radioed a warning to the U.S. Weather Bureau (now the National
Weather Service). It was expected that the storm would make landfall in south
Florida, and hurricane-experienced coastal citizens stocked up on supplies and
boarded up their homes. On September 19, however, the storm suddenly changed
direction and began moving north, parallel to the eastern seaboard.Charlie
Pierce, a junior forecaster in the U.S. Weather Bureau, was sure that the
hurricane was heading for the Northeast, but the chief forecaster overruled him.
It had been well over a century since New England had been hit by a substantial
hurricane, and few believed it could happen again. Hurricanes rarely persist
after encountering the cold waters of the North Atlantic. However, this
hurricane was moving north at an unusually rapid pace--more than 60 mph--and was
following a track over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream.With Europe on the
brink of war over the worsening Sudetenland crisis, little media attention was
given to the powerful hurricane at sea. There was no advanced meteorological
technology, such as radar, radio buoys, or satellite imagery, to warn of the
hurricane's approach. By the time the U.S. Weather Bureau learned that the
Category 3 storm was on a collision course with Long Island on the afternoon of
September 21, it was too late for a warning.Along the south shore of Long
Island, the sky began to darken and the wind picked up. Fishermen and boaters
were at sea, and summer residents enjoying the end of the season were in their
beachfront homes. Around 2:30 p.m., the full force of the hurricane made
landfall, unfortunately around high tide. Surges of ocean water and waves 40
feet tall swallowed up coastal homes. At Westhampton, which lay directly in the
path of the storm, 150 beach homes were destroyed, about a third of which were
pulled into the swelling ocean. Winds exceeded 100 mph. Inland, people were
drowned in flooding, killed by uprooted trees and falling debris, and
electrocuted by downed electrical lines.At 4 p.m., the center of the hurricane
crossed the Long Island Sound and reached Connecticut. Rivers swollen by a week
of steady rain spilled over and washed away roadways. In New London, a short
circuit in a flooded building started a fire that was fanned by the 100 mph
winds into an inferno. Much of the business district was consumed.The hurricane
gained intensity as it passed into Rhode Island. Winds in excess of 120 mph
caused a storm surge of 12 to 15 feet in Narragansett Bay, destroying coastal
homes and entire fleets of boats at yacht clubs and marinas. The waters of the
bay surged into Providence harbor around 5 p.m., rapidly submerging the downtown
area of Rhode Island's capital under more than 13 feet of water. Many people
were swept away.The hurricane then raced northward across Massachusetts, gaining
speed again and causing great flooding. In Milton, south of Boston, the Blue
Hill Observatory recorded one of the highest wind gusts in history, an
astounding 186 mph. Boston was hit hard, and "Old Ironsides"--the historic ship
U.S. Constitution--was torn from its moorings in Boston Navy Yard and suffered
slight damage. Hundreds of other ships were not so lucky.The hurricane lost
intensity as it passed over northern New England, but by the time the storm
reached Canada around 11 p.m. it was still powerful enough to cause widespread
damage. The Great New England Hurricane finally dissipated over Canada that
night.All told, 700 people were killed by the hurricane, 600 of them in Long
Island and southern New England. Some 700 people were injured. Nearly 9,000
homes and buildings were destroyed, and 15,000 damaged. Nearly 3,000 ships were
sunk or wrecked. Power lines were downed across the region, causing widespread
blackouts. Innumerable trees were felled, and 12 new inlets were created on Long
Island. Railroads were destroyed and farms were obliterated. Total damages were
$306 million, which equals $18 billion in today's dollars, making the Great New
England Hurricane the sixth costliest hurricane in U.S. history.
0
Comments
My Dad was born in PA, in the fall of '38.