Jeff Bennett's Blog

I remember as a kid always hearing about the “big” hurricanes that hit New England back in 1938 and 1954.  There was no sophisticated forecasting and monitoring to prepare the citizenry.  No matter those were monster storms that were both Category 3 when they hit land, making them the most powerful hurricanes to hit New England in the last 150 years.

The New England Hurricane of 1938 formed near the coast of Africa and became a Category 5 hurricane at its peak.  The hurricane was estimated to have killed between as many 800 people, damaged or destroyed over 57,000 homes, and caused property losses estimated at nearly $5 billion in 2010 dollars.  To date it remains the most powerful, costliest and deadliest hurricane in New England history.

Hurricane Carol of 1954 developed from a tropical wave near the Bahamas, and gradually strengthened as it moved northwestward.  On August 27, Carol intensified to reach winds of 105 mph (169 km/h), but weakened as its motion turned to a northwest drift. Low pressure turned the hurricane northeastward, and Carol intensified to attain Category 3 status.  The well-organized hurricane made landfall on Long Island and Connecticut   near peak intensity, and quickly became extratropical over land.

In my lifetime I really only remember a couple of Hurricanes.

The first was Hurricane Gloria in 1985.  I was in college and remember going home for the storm.  It surely was a windy, rainy and stormy couple of days.  I distinctly remember the “eye” passing over us which was followed by an intense back of the storm.  Gloria was billed as potentially similar to 1938 or 1954 “big ones,” and it packed a punch but did not rival the larger storms in the end.

The second was Hurricane Bob in 1991.  I remember driving home from a weekend in Maine to celebrate our first Anniversary just in time to experience this storm.  There was speculation that Bob could rival the “big ones” that hit earlier in the century, though thankfully it did not rival these deadly storms.

So here we sit with the speculation about what Hurricane Earl of 2010 will bring to New England?  Earl has intensified to a Category 4 hurricane at this point.  It has potential to be a bad one.  I know the forecasters seam pretty certain for a near direct hit on Cape Cod and the Islands.  We will not know until we get closer.  I am hoping that Mother Nature will spare us a devastating storm.

What are your memories of hurricanes from the past?  Share your stories in our comments.