Edward Herrmann narrates this gripping documentary originally aired on the
History Channel in
2006. It depicts the horrifying, unexpected hurricane that blasted through
New England on a late September day,
1938, killing hundreds caught in its vicious path of destruction.
Violent Earth: New England's
Killer Hurricane:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0867472/combined
More from weather.gov:
The
Great New England Hurricane of 1938
CAT 3 -
September 21, 1938
The Great New England Hurricane of 1938 was one of the most destructive and powerful storms ever to strike
Southern New England. This system developed in the far eastern
Atlantic, near the
Cape Verde Islands on
September 4. It made a twelve day journey across the Atlantic and up the
Eastern Seaboard before crashing ashore on September 21 at
Suffolk County, Long Island, then into
Milford, Connecticut. The eye of the hurricane was observed in
New Haven, Connecticut, 10 miles east of
Milford. The center made landfall at the time of astronomical high tide, moving north at 50 mph. Unlike most storms, this hurricane did not weaken on its way toward Southern New England, due to its rapid forward speed and its track. This kept the center of the storm over the warm waters of the
Gulf Stream.
Sustained hurricane force winds occurred throughout most of Southern New England. The strongest winds ever recorded in the region occurred at the
Blue Hill Observatory with sustained winds of 121 mph and a peak gust of 186 mph. Sustained winds of 91 mph with a gust to 121 mph was reported on
Block Island.
Providence, Rhode Island recorded sustained winds of
100 mph with a gust to 125 mph. Extensive damage occurred to roofs, trees and crops. Widespread power outages occurred, which in some areas lasted several weeks. In
Connecticut, downed power lines resulted in catastrophic fires to sections of
New London and
Mystic. The lowest pressure at the time of landfall occurred on the south side of
Long Island, at
Bellport, where a reading of 27.94 inches was recorded. Other low pressures included 28.00 inches in
Middletown, Connecticut and 28.04 inches in
Hartford, Connecticut.
The hurricane produced storm tides of 14 to 18 feet across most of the Connecticut coast, with 18 to 25 foot tides from New London east to
Cape Cod. The destructive power of the storm surge was felt throughout the coastal community.
Narragansett Bay took the worst hit, where a storm surge of 12 to 15 feet destroyed most coastal homes, marinas and yacht clubs.
Downtown Providence, Rhode Island was submerged under a storm tide of nearly 20 feet. Sections of
Falmouth and
New Bedford, Massachusetts were submerged under as much as 8 feet of water. All three locations had very rapid tides increased within 1.5 hours of the highest water mark.
Rainfall from this hurricane resulted in severe river flooding across sections of
Massachusetts and Connecticut. Three to six inches fell across much of western Massachusetts and all but extreme eastern Connecticut. Considerably less rain occurred to the east across
Rhode Island and the remainder of Massachusetts. The rainfall from the hurricane added to the amounts that had occurred with a frontal system several days before the hurricane struck. The combined effects from the frontal system and the hurricane produced rainfall of 10 to 17 inches across most of the
Connecticut River Valley. This resulted in some of
the worst flooding ever recorded in this area. Roadways were washed away along with sections of the
New York, New Haven, and
Hartford Railroad lines. The
Connecticut River, in Hartford reached a level of 35.4 feet, which was 19.4 feet above flood stage. Further upstream, in the vicinity of
Springfield, Massachusetts, the river rose to 6 to 10 feet above flood stage, causing significant damage. A total of 8,900 homes, cottages and buildings were destroyed, and over 15,
000 were damaged by the hurricane. The marine community was devastated. Over 2,600 boats were destroyed, and over 3,
300 damaged. Entire fleets were lost in marines and yacht clubs along Narragansett Bay. The hurricane was responsible for 564 deaths and at least 1,700 injuries in Southern New England.
Damage to the fishing fleets in Southern New England was catastrophic. A total of 2,605 vessels were destroyed, with 3,
369 damaged.
http://www.weather.gov/box/1938hurricane
- published: 07 May 2016
- views: 420