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On September 21st 1938, a tremendous hurricane hit the northeastern United
States. For three days the hurricane traveled north along the
eastern seaboard, just offshore. Without warning, this tempest slammed
the coasts of Long Island, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Six hundred people were
tragically killed, making the hurricane the most deadly in history to hit the
Northeast. The storm immediately became known as The Great New England
Hurricane.
A Damaged Building in Boston
The storm traveled north at almost 50 miles per hour. At land fall, wind speeds were estimated at 115 mph in some areas.
Wind gusts hit 150 mph. The result was tremendous property damage,
with roofs ripped off and airborne debris thrown about with
tremendous velocity.
Boats Tossed in South Boston
Wind speeds at Boston were about 100 mph, with
significantly higher gusts. Leisure boats were tossed about in
marinas, with many trees blown down. Roofs were blown off, and windows
shattered by debris. The hurricane initially made land fall more than 100 miles
to the south, so Boston was thankfully spared the full brunt of the storm.
Flooded Downtown Providence RI
The most destructive consequence of the hurricane was
damage caused by the storm surge. The hurricane struck at high tide, and the
surge was about 12 to 15 feet greater than normal. Napatree Point, a
barrier island in Rhode Island that had many vacation homes, was washed flat
by the surge. Misquamicut Beach in
Westerly Rhode Rhode was also washed clean, and about 100
people lost their lives in this area alone. Downtown Providence was
flooded with several feet of water, as Narragansett Bay acted as a funnel
for the storm surge, concentrating its energy. Due to the tremendous
rainfall from the storm, areas of Hartford on the Connecticut River and more
than 35 miles inland from the coast, were also flooded.
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