Hurricane of 1938: 74 Years Ago Today

[Ginx snewx]

C. Storm Surge

The Great New England Hurricane of 1938 produced the greatest storm tides this century in southern New England. The storm tide reached 19.01 feet (MLLW) at the State Street Station Dock on the upper part of Narragansett Bay during the 1938 Hurricane, associated with a 13.7 foot storm surge. Hurricane Carol brought a slightly higher storm surge, 14.4 feet over the upper portions of Narragansett Bay, but produced a slightly lower storm tide of 17.51 feet (MLLW), due to its arrival shortly after high tide.

[CT Rain]

C. Storm Surge

The Great New England Hurricane of 1938 produced the greatest storm tides this century in southern New England. The storm tide reached 19.01 feet (MLLW) at the State Street Station Dock on the upper part of Narragansett Bay during the 1938 Hurricane, associated with a 13.7 foot storm surge. Hurricane Carol brought a slightly higher storm surge, 14.4 feet over the upper portions of Narragansett Bay, but produced a slightly lower storm tide of 17.51 feet (MLLW), due to its arrival shortly after high tide.

Ginxy I've seen a few places that the estimated surge around New London was nearly 20 feet which is remarkable.

[Ginx snewx]

Landsea's reanalysis places first landfall in Bellport, NY at 105kt/943mb. Second landfall at New Haven, CT at 100kt/946mb.

Hey do you have a link to that 38 reanalysis I could not find it.

[CT Rain]

Hey do you have a link to that 38 reanalysis I could not find it.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCQQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aoml.noaa.gov%2Fhrd%2Fhurdat%2F10_US_hurricanes.pdf&ei=-tZcUMfgCqvG0AHAnoHYDw&usg=AFQjCNGakqkgTCgWd30zn77uwnpPGEswMg

[Ginx snewx]

Ginxy I've seen a few places that the estimated surge around New London was nearly 20 feet which is remarkable.

When I worked at Harris Graphics/Cottrells on the Pawcatuck River in Ct there was a mark on this out building that marked the high water level and it said 16 feet 6 inches above the river. When they tore that out building down I remember thinking, there goes a lot of history.Of course some of that was fresh water flood water but that far inland was an unreal surge up river.

[CT Rain]

When I worked at Harris Graphics/Cottrells on the Pawcatuck River in Ct there was a mark on this out building that marked the high water level and it said 16 feet 6 inches above the river. When they tore that out building down I remember thinking, there goes a lot of history.Of course some of that was fresh water flood water but that far inland was an unreal surge up river.

The surge on the Thames up to Norwich too.

CT River flooding up through Essex/Hamburg Cove was also devastating and that was nearly all surge.

[CoastalWx]

Needless to say, an SOS kind of storm.

[CT Rain]

Needless to say, an SOS kind of storm.

Complete with freshwater bagging necessary!

[CT Rain]

Imagine Ginx's excitement... sandbagging for fresh water flooding prior to the hurricane, then for surge, then AGAIN for freshwater flooding.

[Ginx snewx]

http://www.google.co...zn77uwnpPGEswMg

Thanks,

[Damage In Tolland]

Man I wish i had been alive to live thru that. That would be a dream come true for me

[Ginx snewx]

Imagine Ginx's excitement... sandbagging for fresh water flooding prior to the hurricane, then for surge, then AGAIN for freshwater flooding.

you on the rocks filming spray in Hammonasset missing the tidal surge in New London

[CoastalWx]

Imagine Ginx's excitement... sandbagging for fresh water flooding prior to the hurricane, then for surge, then AGAIN for freshwater flooding.

Double the pleasure...double the fun.

[CT Rain]

you on the rocks filming spray in Hammonasset missing the tidal surge in New London

Hammonasset was wiped away lol

[CoastalWx]

Man I wish i had been alive to live thru that. That would be a dream come true for me

You'd be homeless.

[Damage In Tolland]

You'd be homeless.

Probably, but that's what homeowners insurance is for. With all these trees hanging over and near the house..it's certain some would fall on it

[HoarfrostHubb]

Insurance companies will go belly up the next time

[CT Rain]

People aren't living on farms anymore in towns like Tolland. The amount of devastation in subdivisions like Kevin's would be hard to fathom.

[Ginx snewx]

Hammonasset was wiped away lol

yea I know, Many many years ago I saw an old video from a home in Weekapaug on the ocean on a very high spot where they stayed the entire storm, wish I knew where that video was. On the you tube clips you get to see pieces of the video. The house was fine and is still here,

[CT Rain]

yea I know, Many many years ago I saw an old video from a home in Weekapaug on the ocean on a very high spot where they stayed the entire storm, wish I knew where that video was. On the you tube clips you get to see pieces of the video. The house was fine and is still here,

The pictures from towns like Guilford and Madison are hard to believe. The winds in the eyewall in the NE quad must have been ferocious.

[Damage In Tolland]

People aren't living on farms anymore in towns like Tolland. The amount of devastation in subdivisions like Kevin's would be hard to fathom.

Yup..Devastation.

[billgwx]

Must-read thread in the NYC Metro subforum:

[ORH_wxman]

The airport wasn't up and taking weather obs yet in ORH for that storm...which is disappointing because a SE/SSE wind there would have been ridiculous. The current record wind gust of 94mph would be annihlated.

[dendrite]

I went back looking through some old hourly obs, but data was sparse then. Anyways...here are the best obs I could find.

BOS (Logan):

9/22 00z...S 50mph sustained...992.9mb

ACK:

9/22 00z: S 38mph sustained...1001.1mb

BTV (intl):

9/22 13z: SSE 33mph sustained

BTV (old site):

9/22 6z: 30mph sustained...992.9mb

HFD:

9/21 20z: ENE 39mph sustained...974.6mb

9/21 21z: no ob except for 959.0mb

9/21 22z: SW 47mph sustained...961.7mb

PVD:

9/21 20z: ESE 40mph sustained...989.2mb

9/21 21z: ESE 81mph sustained...982.1mb

9/21 22z: ESE 101mph sustained... 984.4mb

9/21 23z: SSW 60mph sustained...993.9mb

9/22 00z: S 40mph sustained...995.3mb

CON:

9/21 21z: SE 45mph sustained...988.1mb

Mitchel Field, NY:

9/21 19z: NE 52mph sustained...967.8mb

HFD and PVD had the most thorough (and impressive) hourly data sets for those days that I could find.

[Ginx snewx]

I went back looking through some old hourly obs, but data was sparse then. Anyways...here are the best obs I could find.

BOS (Logan):

9/22 00z...S 50mph sustained...992.9mb

ACK:

9/22 00z: S 38mph sustained...1001.1mb

BTV (intl):

9/22 13z: SSE 33mph sustained

BTV (old site):

9/22 6z: 30mph sustained...992.9mb

HFD:

9/21 20z: ENE 39mph sustained...974.6mb

9/21 21z: no ob except for 959.0mb

9/21 22z: SW 47mph sustained...961.7mb

PVD:

9/21 20z: ESE 40mph sustained...989.2mb

9/21 21z: ESE 81mph sustained...982.1mb

9/21 22z: ESE 101mph sustained... 984.4mb

9/21 23z: SSW 60mph sustained...993.9mb

9/22 00z: S 40mph sustained...995.3mb

CON:

9/21 21z: SE 45mph sustained...988.1mb

Mitchel Field, NY:

9/21 19z: NE 52mph sustained...967.8mb

HFD and PVD had the most thorough (and impressive) hourly data sets for those days that I could find.

did they use 2 cup Anemometers then?

[dendrite]

did they use 2 cup Anemometers then?

I would assume it was cups, but don't hold me to that.

Here's the PVD obs for you Ginxy. I think this data order will only stay up on NCDC for 7 days.

http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/orders/72507014765-1938-09_4535895914208dat.html

[Ginx snewx]

I would assume it was cups, but don't hold me to that.

Here's the PVD obs for you Ginxy. I think this data order will only stay up on NCDC for 7 days.

http://www1.ncdc.noa...5914208dat.html

Thanks, saved.

[Typhoon Tip]

"Isaac's Storm" (Erik Larson), is a docudrama novel about the Great Galveston Disaster of 1900. Spoken in 1st person it wonderfully describes the cat 4 hurricane also catching people without warning. Isaac Monroe Cline had an epiphany about what was about to happen, but only mere hours before landfall - i.e., too late. He rode his horse screaming in vein, up and down the causeways along the shores, pleading with people to flee inland - few to none heeded his warning. It was partially his fault - he was none committal to any bad weather the day(s) before, but then realized within hours of landfall - oops.

One passage in the book describes kids frolicking in the warm splash over from waves incurring along the bases of seawalls - this was like 2 or 3 hours before that same area was under a 20 foot mixture of storm surge and flotsam, while winds made voices inaudible.

[Sugarloaf1989]

I saw a TV special about this hurricane where it was stated that the Weather Bureau refused to take responsibility for the deaths and massive destruction caused in part by the lack of hurricane warnings preceeding the storm, by stating that New Englander's where not "hurricane savy" and would not have believed in a warning for such an intense storm anyway.

[CT Rain]

I saw a TV special about this hurricane where it was stated that the Weather Bureau refused to take responsibility for the deaths and massive destruction caused in part by the lack of hurricane warnings preceeding the storm, by stating that New Englander's where not "hurricane savy" and would not have believed in a warning for such an intense storm anyway.

Probably true