New England Hurricane of 1938

The New England Hurricane of 1938 (or Great New England Hurricane or Long Island Express or simply The Great Hurricane of 1938) was the first major hurricane to strike New England since 1869. The storm formed near the coast of Africa in September of the 1938 Atlantic hurricane season, becoming a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale before making landfall as a Category 3 hurricane http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/mandias/38hurricane/ on Long Island on September 21. The hurricane killed 500-700 people and caused $6.0 billion (2004 US dollars) in damages.

The hurricane storm surge caused immense damage in New England because it hit at high tide. It is the strongest hurricane to hit New England in recorded history.

Storm history

The storm formed as a Cape Verde-type hurricane in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It reached Category 5 status east of the Bahamas around September 20 before turning northward. This storm was extremely unusual in that its forward speed approached 70 mph (110 km/h); this speed has an additive effect on the wind speeds in the right hand quadrant of the storm and allowed the hurricane to travel far to the north before it had a chance to weaken (much like Hurricane Wilma in 2005).

The hurricane was forecast by the U.S. National Weather Service to curve out into the Atlantic Ocean but instead continued almost due north. It made landfall in Suffolk County on Long Island, New York on September 21, 1938 as a strong Category 3 hurricane on the present-day Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale with a central pressure of 946 mbar (hPa) http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastint.shtml. It then traveled across Long Island Sound into Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and finally into Canada while still moving at an unusually high speed.

The hurricane hit Long Island around 3:30 p.m., which was just a few hours before astronomical high tide. At this time the eye was about 50 miles across and the hurricane was about 500 miles wide. High tide was even higher than usual because of the Autumnal Equinox and new moon. The hurricane produced storm tides of 14 to 18 feet across most of the Long Island and Connecticut coast, with 18 to 25 foot tides from New London east to Cape Cod. http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/mandias/38hurricane/weather_history_38.html

Impact

While hurricanes sometimes cause extensive freshwater flooding, this one did not because it did not spend much time over any one place. The majority of the damage was from storm surge and wind damage.

The hurricane also devastated the forests of New England. Damage is estimated at $6 billion (2004 USD) http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastcost2.shtml, making it among the most costly hurricanes to strike the U.S. mainland. It is estimated that if an identical hurricane struck today it would cause $23.5 billion (2004 USD) in damage http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/costliesttable3.html.

It is estimated that 600 people died in the storm in New England, most in Rhode Island, and up to 100 people elsewhere in the path of the storm.http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastdeadlyapp1.shtml An additional 708 people were reported injured.http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/mandias/38hurricane/damage_caused.html

In total, 4,500 cottages, farms, and other home were reported destroyed. An additional 15,000 were damaged. 26,000 automobiles were destroyed, and 20,000 electrical poles were toppled.

This hurricane is remembered locally as "The Long Island Express" for its unprecedented forward speed when it first made landfall on Long Island.

New York

On Long Island, the storm obliterated the Dune Road area of Westhampton Beach, New York resulting in 29 deaths. There were 21 other deaths through the rest of the east end of Long Island. The storm surge temporarily turned Montauk, New York into an island as it flooded across the South Fork at Napeague, New York and obliterated the tracks of the Long Island Railroad. Ironically, the surge rearranged the sand at the Cedar Point Lighthouse so that the island became connected to what is now Cedar Point County Park. The surging water created the present-day Shinnecock Inlet by carving out a large section of barrier island separating Shinnecock Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. The storm toppled the landmark steeple of the tallest building in Sag Harbor, New York (the Whalers Church). The steeple still has not been rebuilt.

Rhode Island

The storm surge hit Westerly, Rhode Island at 3:50 p.m. EDT, resulting in 100 deaths there alone.http://www.geocities.com/hurricanene/hurr1938.htm

The right hand quadrant of the storm travelled up to the west of Narragansett Bay, causing a high storm surge to the east of Long Island. Winds also forced a storm surge up into the capital city of Providence, Rhode Island, where several motorists were drowned in their autos.

Many homes and structures along the coast were destroyed as well as many structures inland along the hurricane's path. Entire beach communities on the coast of Rhode Island were obliterated. http://www.thetranscript.com/Stories/0,1413,103~9044~3042528,00.html

New Hampshire

In New Hampshire, the damage was minimal. Only one inch of rain fell in Concord. But Peterborough was worse; total damage there was stated to be $500,000 (1938 USD) and swept away ten bridges. In all of New Hampshire, thirteen people met their deaths.http://www.nhoem.state.nh.us/Mitigation/NH%20Hurricane%20Overview.htm#The%20Hurricane%20of%201938

External links

An episode of the PBS documentary series American Experience originally aired in 2001 was dedicated to this hurricane.
State University of New York: Suffolk County Community College - History of Storm
Damage from the hurricane

Bibliography

Allen, Everett S.. A Wind To Shake The World. 1976. ISBN 0-316-03426-6.
Burns, Cherie The Great Hurricane: 1938. 2005. ISBN 0-87113-893-X
Scotti, R. A.. Sudden Sea : The Great Hurricane of 1938. 2003 ISBN 0-316-73911-1

Notes

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