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N0KFQ > TODAY 21.09.14 16:34l 99 Lines 4735 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 36394_N0KFQ
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Subj: Today in History - Sep 21
Path: IW8PGT<IZ3LSV<IR1UAW<IQ5KG<I0OJJ<N6RME<N0KFQ
Sent: 140921/1430Z 36394@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.60
Sep 21, 1938:
The Great New England Hurricane
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.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.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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