Henri is slowly churning in the western Atlantic and is forecast to make landfall in New England on Sunday as a Category 1 hurricane. The last time New England received a direct hit by a hurricane was 30 years ago, with Hurricane Bob.
Henri’s storm surge and heavy rain will cause dangerous flooding, and power outages are also possible because of the storm’s strong winds.
So, as New Englanders brace for Henri, here’s a look at past historic and memorable hurricanes that have affected that region since colonial days.
The Colonial Gale of Aug. 25, 1635
The Jamestown settlers first mentioned the storm on Aug. 24, 1635, when it passed near the Virginia Colony. The following day, it made landfall in New England near today’s state line between Connecticut and Rhode Island.
The storm, estimated at Category 3 strength on the Saffir-Simpson scale, may have been the strongest hurricane to have struck New England in recorded history. It produced a storm surge near 20 feet in Narragansett Bay; that is thought to be the highest storm surge ever measured in New England.
Advertisement
John Winthrop, governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and William Bradford, governor of the Plymouth Colony, described high winds, flooding, and extensive damage to trees and houses from the storm. Vast areas of woods were reported to have been leveled, and damage was visible 50 years later.
The Great Storm of Sept. 23, 1815
The Great Storm of 1815 made landfall near Providence, R.I., on Sept. 23 and produced a storm surge of 11 feet 9 inches that swept ships and small buildings into the city’s streets. It’s estimated that the storm was Category 3 strength, with winds that gusted over 150 mph, when it made landfall.
Many dwellings and piers on the east side of town were destroyed, and dozens of ships were deposited inland. The financial loss was estimated at $500,000 ($8.8 million in today’s dollars).
Advertisement
Several years later, John Farrar, a professor at Harvard University, suggested that the 1815 storm was a vortex, which gave birth to the idea of a hurricane as a rotating storm.
The New England Gale of Sept. 8, 1869
The hurricane of 1869 is thought to have been a Category 3 storm when it made landfall in southwestern Rhode Island. However, it was a small hurricane, estimated to be about 60 miles in diameter, and struck at low tide, reducing damage from the storm surge. Nevertheless, the surge was reported to have been 8 feet in Rhode Island.
High waves combined with the storm surge in Providence damaged wharves and produced flooding in much of the city. Farther inland, the storm downed many trees and cut all telegraph lines between New York and Boston.
The hurricane caught ships at sea and capsized a schooner near the coast of Maine, killing all but one sailor.
The Hurricane of 1938 — Sept. 21, 1938
The Hurricane of 1938 is the most catastrophic hurricane to have made landfall on Long Island and in New England. The Category 3 storm produced a storm surge in Providence that measured 13 feet 8½ inches, almost two feet higher than the surge in the Great Storm of 1815.
Advertisement
The storm surge combined with heavy rainfall also produced tremendous flooding in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Blue Hill Observatory near Boston measured sustained winds of 121 mph, with gusts of 183 mph.
The storm caused 564 deaths and more than 1,700 injuries. In addition, more than 9,000 homes and businesses were destroyed.
Hurricane Carol — Aug. 31, 1954
Carol was the most destructive storm to strike New England since the Hurricane of 1938. The hurricane first made landfall on eastern Long Island and then again on eastern Connecticut on Aug. 31, as a Category 3 storm with sustained winds estimated at 115 mph and a barometric pressure near 956 millibars.
The hurricane devastated crops and orchards, destroying nearly 40 percent of fruit and vegetable crops from eastern Connecticut to Cape Cod.
Advertisement
In downtown Providence, water depths reached 12 feet, and winds in Boston knocked down the spire of Old North Church. The storm caused more than 60 deaths and over $460 million of damage. Carol was the first Atlantic hurricane name to be retired.
Hurricane Gloria — Sept. 27, 1985
Hurricane Gloria affected much of the East Coast, from North Carolina to New England. After making landfall on Hatteras Island in North Carolina and Long Island in New York, Gloria made landfall again in western Connecticut on Sept. 27, 1985, near Westport, then moved north across New England.
Gloria brought strong wind gusts, which downed trees and left hundreds of thousands without power. Overall damage was estimated at $900 million, and 14 deaths were reported. More than 2 million residents lost power during the storm.
Hurricane Bob — Aug. 19, 1991
Hurricane Bob is one of the costliest hurricanes in New England’s history, producing damage estimated at $1.5 billion. The storm made landfall on Aug. 19 at Block Island, R.I., as a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds measured at 115 mph.
Bob produced a storm surge of 10 to 15 feet in Buzzards Bay, Mass., but weakened after moving inland, tracking northeast toward Maine. The storm also spawned six confirmed tornadoes.
There were 18 storm-related deaths reported from Bob. The name Bob has since been retired.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZMSmrdOhnKtnYmV%2FcnuPcWZraV%2Bjsrh5xKeepZmemXqpwdGroJyZnpp6qbXSraarsV8%3D