History
Worst Hurricanes in New England History
Hurricanes rarely reach in New England, but when they do, they can be deadly. Here are some of the worst hurricanes to hit New England.
By Aimee Tucker|Sep 07 2021|
Edgewood Yacht Club in Cranston, Rhode Island withstands the storm surge from Hurricane Carol.
Photo Credit: Public DomainWorst Hurricanes in New England History
Photo Credit : Public Domain
The Great Hurricane of 1938
The 1938 storm endures as New England’s most devastating hurricane of recent memory. Striking at an especially high tide on September 21, 1938, the Category 3 hurricane (dubbed “The Long Island Express”) devoured the Long Island and Connecticut coastline and surrounding areas. Storm surges and heavy rainfall caused massive flooding throughout the region, in particular Massachusetts and Connecticut, while the Blue Hill Observatory near Boston measured sustained winds of 121 mph, with gusts of 183 mph. In the end, the Great Hurricane is one of the worst hurricanes in New England history for causing 564 deaths and over 1,700 injuries. Nearly 9,000 homes and businesses were destroyed and over 15,000 damaged. The boating community was equally devastated with over 6,000 boats destroyed or damaged. SEE MORE: Hurricane of ’38: Wind that Shook the WorldPhoto Credit : Public Domain
Hurricanes Carol and Edna (1954)
Considered the most destructive storm since 1938, Carol touched down as a Category 3 on August 31, 1954. With 100 mph winds, sometimes gusting up to 135 mph, Carol caused 68 deaths and over $460 million in damage, including destroying 4,000 homes, 3,500 cars, and over 3,000 boats. In downtown Providence water depths reached 12 feet, and strong winds knocked down the spire of the historic Old North Church in Boston. The name ‘Carol’ was the first Atlantic hurricane name to be retired. Just days later on September 11, Hurricane Edna made landfall in Maine and went on to cause another 2 deaths and $40 million in damage, earning its own spot on the retired name list.Hurricanes Connie and Diane (1955)
Hurricane Connie formed on August 3, 1955 starting as a tropical storm. It hit North Carolina on August 13, 1955 as a Category 2 hurricane. Bands of heavy rain and wind reached southern New England and damages totaled nearly $86 million. Days later, Category 2 Diane made landfall, causing significant flooding and damage throughout southern New England. Diane still holds the record for wettest hurricane to hit Massachusetts, with rain accumulation reaching 19.75 inches. It is recorded as the 2nd wettest hurricane in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Connecticut sustained $350 million in damages and had 77 deaths. In Massachusetts, damages totaled close to $110 million and at least 12 deaths were recorded. Rhode Island suffered $21 million in damages and had at least 3 deaths. Diane was the costliest hurricane of the 1950s, solidifying its place among the worst hurricanes in New England history. The names “Connie” and “Diane” have been retired.Hurricane Gloria (1985)
On September 27, 1985, Hurricane Gloria landed in Connecticut during low tide as a Category 1 storm. The timing helped, but as the storm churned northeastward it did drop heavy rainfall and enough wind to knock out power to 2,000,000 residents. Overall, casualties were relatively low with 8 deaths, but damage reached $900 million. The name ‘Gloria’ has been retired.Hurricane Bob (1991)
Making landfall in Massachusetts on August 19, 1991, Hurricane Bob hit with Category 2 status and 115 mph winds. Cutting a path across Southeastern Massachusetts towards the Gulf of Maine, the storm caused a 10- to 15-foot storm surge at Buzzards Bay and 50- feet of south-facing beach erosion on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. Bob was blamed for 18 storm-related deaths and $2.5 billion worth of damage. The name ‘Bob’ has been retired. SEE MORE: Hurricane Bob | The Hurricane Nobody Took Seriously
Hurricane Irene (2011)
Though Irene, one of the worst hurricanes in New England history, weakened to a tropical storm immediately after landfall in North Carolina on August 28, 2011, the storm produced high winds, heavy rains, and flash flooding as it moved north — especially in western New England, and specifically in Vermont. Tropical Storm Irene was blamed for at least 9 deaths in New England, and left thousands without power. Swollen rivers caused flooding that led to devastating damage for numerous roads, homes, and businesses. The name ‘Irene’ has been retired. SEE MORE: After The Flood | Tropical Storm IreneHurricane Sandy (2012)
Hurricane Sandy, the second-costliest hurricane in United States history, caused close to $70 billion in damages across the Eastern seaboard. While most people agree that New York and New Jersey were the most devastated by this storm, New England also suffered harsh winds and flooding. The hurricane made landfall in New Jersey on October 29th as a category 2 storm. It moved north, hitting Connecticut with gusts of wind up to 80 miles per hour and rain. Nearly 600,000 Connecticut residents were left without power and 4 people died. The state suffered over $350 million in damages. Massachusetts and Rhode Island also sustained power outages in many counties and experienced flooding, especially along their coasts. The rest of New England experienced gusts of wind over 70 miles per hour and some rain, resulting in power outages. The name ‘Sandy’ has been retired. Do you remember any of worst hurricanes in New England history? This post was first published in 2012 and has been updated.SEE MORE: The Worst Weather Disaster in New England History A Fatal Mistake | The Sinking of the El Faro Remembering September 21 and 22, 1938 | The ’38 Hurricane
We were high and dry in Irene, here in Vermont, but neighbors were hammered. Some are still trying to recoup. A lot of farmers are still waiting for federal funding to get fields back. We were without power for 4 days, and could not travel our road for 2.
Bangor, ME has just gotten a lot of wind and rain so far. Thunder and lightening on 10/30.
I was 3 when Carol hit in 1954. I still have a picture of my brother, age 4, sitting on the truck of a large tree that fell in our yard. Luckily did not hit the house, but that stump became my table for tea parties after that. memories!
You didn’t even mention the hurricanes Connie followed by Diane in 1955.From Torrington, Winsted, down through Waterbury,Naugatuck and and the Naugatuck Valley there was great devastation with loss of life and millions of dollars worth of damage.
Hi Diane. Thanks for your comment. While Hurricane Connie mostly missed New England in August 1955, you’re right that a few days later Hurricane Diane’s path did include southern New England, causing a great deal of flooding and devastation.
There’s a children’s fiction book about the effects of Connie & Diane, Lois Lenski’s FLOOD FRIDAY.
What about Sandy?
where is the info on Hurricane Sandy? That was a storm that did considerable damage all up and down the East coast.
Hi Brian. This post was first written in 2012 before Sandy hit. We updated the existing content this year for accuracy and did not add to the list, however, we agree that Hurricane Sandy deserves a spot. It will be added. Thanks for everyone that reminded us.
My memory is of the 1938 hurricane when my mother, fearful of breaking window pane put us children in a closet
I remember being on my Father’s shoulders surveying the mess on the beach at the Beach Club Quogue, L.,I. Two Bridges were out over the Canal and we had to go to Westhampton Beach to access the Dune Rd. My Aunt was the last one with her children to leave her cottage on the Dunes before the Quogue bridge went out.
We moved to NH during Hurricane Irene in August of 2011. We had been warned to avoid the coastal route from Tennessee so took an interior route which took us thru Vermont. What a mistake! We were ekpt getting re-routed and it went from bad to worse. We were driving in a large U-Haul truck and I was pulling a large U-Haul trailer on the car. We eventually just stopped at a gas station and waited for it to open. When we were told to take Deadman’s Curve, we were a little scared, then another fella said we couldn’t because it was gone, washed out. We eventually worked our way back south to the Mass Pike and headed to NH that way. Took us 3 days to make the trip. That is a hurricane I will never forget and we lived in Florida for a bit.
I remember Carol so very well. The tidal wave went over the CBA beach club in Craigville, Cape Cod and waves were lapping in the parking lot near my home in the village of Craigville. We were the only house in the village that maintained phone service throughout the power outage. Trees were bending like spaghetti and the winds seemed to never ease up not even for a moment. Many memories!
We were on the end of Long Island for Hurricane Gloria. We were without power and unable to get through our road for 9 days.
During Hurricane Carol, my father got the nickname of Hurricane Bill for walking across a causeway in chest deep water to bring diapers for three babies in our extended family.
I grew up in Mattapoisett, MA on Buzzards Bay. I remember a hurricane not mentioned above in 1944. We lived downstairs in a two family house. My parents moved most of our furniture upstairs where we rode out the hurricane with our neighbors. Water filled our basement to within about a foot of the first floor. We had several fish in our basement. Hurricane Carol hit Mattapoisett hard. Because it changed direction shortly before it hit, no one was prepared. My parents did not make it home from work, one in New Bedford and the other in Mattapoisett, until after the storm. A friend and I were alone in the house when the storm hit. Water came up in the street in front of our house. The neighbors across the street were considerably lower than we and flooded so my friend and I brought them to our house. I remember the eye passing over with sun and calm and then the howling wind resuming. After the storm we discovered a pile about 2 stories high of splintered boats and summer cottages in the middle of a major intersection about a block from our house. Martial law was declared and National Guardsmen were posted at the intersection of our street with Rt. 6. We were told 20% of the town had been destroyed.
I lived in Massachusetts in Fall River I remember all those names and most of the storm. Westport Ma. suffered a lot of damage. Boats were taken out of the water onto land. South Eastern Mass got hit hard with a lot of these storms. Their were no giant food stores only mom and pop stores. There were no big freezers to prepare or generators. It was days for some weeks for others to get power. I live in Fl. now over 15 years and seen one major hurricane since I moved to south Fl. I lived through more in Massachusetts and lived there for over 50 years. For some reason the hurricanes head to the Carolina’s
What about the “the Great Atlantic Hurricane” of 1944 and Hurricane Donna in 1960?
I remember Hurricane Donna, we lived on the North Shore. Schools were closed and it took out a huge tree from our back yard. Very impressive for a 7 year old!!
The only one I wasn’t around for was the 1938 hurricane. We lived on Belcher’s Cove in Warren RI during Hurricane Carol. The storm surge went right by the house and up several side streets. I can remember standing out on our 2nd floor porch watching the water. The house was like an island. We had no water for several days and no power. Lived near the bay for every one but the 1955 storms. Storm surges from Gloria, Bob, and Irene stopped at my driveway.
I am a Cape Cod girl and remember all these hurricanes except 1938. My family and I lived on Sias Point on the Cape Cod Canal, and I was ten years old in 1954 when Carol hit. My sister had a friend visiting for a week, and we all nearly perished. I still get nervous in a hurricane! We had no warning. When my Dad listened to the car radio, it was too late to leave – the water was already around the house. The water filled the basement, the first floor, and came to the top step of our second floor home. Daddy was building a raft of bureaus. We saw a house float by with people on it. We lost just about everything on the first floor and in the basement. Clean up took about a year – all windows were gone; our cars were lost, and two pets died. Very sad and scary time. The house next door at our smaller rental cottage at Hamilton Beach was swept away and never found. In later hurricanes in 1955 and others, I remember Buzzards Bay Main Street being flooded. When I married I lived in CT, and we were badly hit by Gloria and Bob, but only tree damage to car and house. These stories I am reading here bring back many frightening moments.
I was 7 when Hurricane Carol hit Natick, MA. We were way inland but my mother sent me and my brother to walk to the egg farm and buy cracked eggs( they were cheaper). The trees were bending in a half circle over the road and we had a blast splashing in all the puddles until the Policeman came along and told us to go home it was too dangerous!
My beloved mother was from Natick. My grandparents lived at 47 Marion street. I have photos my Gran took in Worchester of the 1938 hurricane
If you’re interested in reading a good book about the hurricane of 38, look for “A Wind To Shake The World”, by Everett S. Allen, who,by the way,was the son of Yankee’s erstwhile columnist known as “The Oracle”. What I carried away from it was the physical sense of loss felt throughout the storm’s path- beautiful old vistas obliterated overnight,a permanent void deeply felt and never reconciled.The closing chapter are masterfully poignant.
“To watch the only world I had ever known well writhe in torment for the few moments required to destroy it”….Everett S. Allen.
My mom was at work at Coro the afternoon the hurricane struck. She was 21 and on a break. Looking out the windows she saw the bricks from the chimney of the factory flying by the window. She was lucky that a co-worker’s husband took her home otherwise she would have had to walk through the storm up to Federal Hill. When she got home my grandmother was going crazy because my grandfather had gone up to their “lots” on Smith Street (past Rhode Island College) where they had a garden via the bus. He had to walk all the way home, drenched to the skin, because the buses had quit running, and didn’t realize everyone was worried about him until he got home.
I remember a hurricane around 1963? Debbie or something? I recall we lost power for three days and everything in the refrigerator was spoiled. Also that our TV antenna at the time was attached to our chimney and the force of the wind not only broke the antenna, but cracked the chimney. It was fixed, but you could see the crack in the bricks in the attic until the day my mom died and we had to sell the house.
Oh, I wanted to say the Everett Allen book is terrific, and SUDDEN SEA is also a good book about the 1938 hurricane. Has everyone seen the episode of AMERICAN EXPERIENCE about it?
I live in Ft Worth, Tx now & watching TV of all the rain (50 inches plus) in Houston area & now going in to LA. It is hard to watch the suffering. Pres. Trump has said WE are there for the long haul 100%. I lived through 2 storms nothing like here in Texas. I was born in Saco, Maine 1936 there was a flood & another in 1952. The Saco River took 4 blocks if I remember right. I remember rowing down Storer St. with a friend from Main to Elm St. Lets pray for those in South Texas & now LA. Thank You Yankee Magazine.
Back in 1960, my family owned a cottage out on Rockaway Point (Long Island) NY. There were very few year-round residents there at that time, and after we children left to go home and back to school, that year my grandmother decided to stay late into the season. She would have been about 70 years old then. The day Hurricane Donna hit she was laying down taking a nap, and she heard water gurgling up the pipes in the kitchen. Good thing for her that neighbors had seen her at church that week, because the bay and the ocean eventually met and both Rockaway and Breezy Points were under water. Someone came and took her out in a rowboat. We lived in Fairfield, CT at the time. I remember my Dad driving down to get her from the shelter they had set up. Among so many houses that were lost with that storm, Rockaway Point also lost it’s U.S. Post Office located right on Jamaica Bay. I was only about 7 years old but I remember coming back the following summer and seeing all the empty lots. It was my first encounter with how devastating Mother Nature can be.
The 1938 hurricane was on my 6th birthday! I remember standing at a window of the 2nd floor of our home in Waterbury, Ct. looking out at the wind blowing our very heavy Andirondack chairs around the yard. I remember being impressed with the strength of the wind. After the storm was over we took a ride down to the south shore of Ct. to see the horrific damage the storm had caused. What a birthday!
That’s funny….Hurricane Diane was on my 9th. Birthday and I remember it well in Danbury, Ct. My Dad was the head of the Local Civil Defence Organization in the Bethel/Danbury area and we went all around the area.
I recall the 1938 hurricane quite well. As a 6 year old it seemed a lot of excitement, with no sense of danger. I managed to escape from my parents and had a grand time racing up and down the sidewalk in front of our home in Augusta, Maine. My only scare came when a large tree limb came banging down, and my Father caught me and dragged me inside.
I enjoyed your spirited tale 🙂
I was 6 in Stonington ct in a small school house behind the school! The janitor came to take the class into the school when a wave came over the wall and practically destroyed the building! We were so lucky, that was just the one I remember the most! We lived at the top of a fishng Dock so we got water in the cellar at every hurricane! But we all survived them all, thank you God!!
I remember the hurricane of 1960 I was 8 years old we were dismissed from school early on my way home a power line came down right in front of me a friends aunt saw what happened came running out her house & saved my life I lived in Norwich Ct bk than but I’ll never forget that day
Even though I was only 5 years old–the two hurricanes, Carol and Diane left a few memories for me. It was the first time I saw a river of rain flowing down the street to my amazement–in mid-air! I was glued to the scene. Horizontal rain! I will never forget it. Then, suddenly, there was sunlight streaming through–my father explained it was the eye of the hurricane going over. He and my brother ran out to check the roof to make sure it was still holding up. Then, the rain came again only this time from the other side of the street. What a sight!
I remember Carol so well. We lived in Brookline in a 3 story 2 family. Woke up that morning to rain and news of impending storm. At 11 am the whole house shook as the old chestnut tree fell in front yard. That was followed by shaking as many other trees toppled. Surprisingly phone service stayed on but had no electricity for a week. We lost attic skylight which let some water into attic.
I’ve lived through all of them, even though I was only a year and a half old for the 1938. I particularly remember Carol, the flooding from Diane and Gloria. Weeks without power and in the case of Dianne in Northeast Connecticut, bridges gone everywhere. Carol flattened the corn fields to the west and after the eye passed did it again to the east. I live now in Southeast Connecticut and Gloria was the most recent to take out power for several weeks.
I was seven years old when hurricane Gloria hit, I lived in another part of the same town, and when I woke up that morning I kept looking out the window wondering why the bus wasn’t coming, school was canceled that day. I was very disappointed, because it was my birthday that day and there was suppose to have cupcakes in school, which never happened. So my family and I ate cupcakes up. They didn’t go to waste. I recall the power was out during day, there was a lot of wind and rain. I didn’t quite understand was going on because I was seven at the time. Also I lived by a brook too, and the brook was very high. If the brook had gotten any higher we would’ve had to evacuate the house. It never came to that. But it wasn’t good day either. Even at that age, I knew one thing I was not going to forget this hurricane. Hurricane Gloria struck on my seventh birthday, a birthday I hadn’t forgotten.
When Carol hit in 1954 I was 11 years old. I remember going outside and putting my arms out to fly because the wind was so strong. After a few minutes, my father came out and caught me trying to fly. Did I get a talking to. He explained how I could get hurt and how hurricanes are nothing to fool with. I remember the conversation to this day. Dad was so worried about us, and he was a great father. Carol will always be remembered to this day.
I was being born then. I love your story. I think it’s great you were trying to fly. How free is that? 🙂
This is story I’ve been told about my late father-in-law and the hurricane of ’38. He was living in Newton, Massachusetts with his folks and older sister and had recently turned seven. He and his mom had gone to meet his dad’s train and she decided to move their car a little because it had started to rain and it had gotten windy. Not long after she did so, a large tree crashed down in the spot where they had been parked.
Yankee Magazine had a wonderful article on the 1938 hurricane some years ago. We didn’t name them until the 1950’s. They didn’t have the fantastic weather forecasting we have now and they didn’t expect it. It was a very sad thing. I heard about it when I was 10. These storms are so devastating. I’ve lived in N.J. since I was 4 and we’ve had some pretty bad ones in our state, too. This IDA really left her mark. Every river in the state is flooding just about everything. Even living on a hill as we do, we still had flooding in our cellar, but the people in the Raritan Valley ,Somerville, Bound Brook, Bridgewater and especially Manville were devastated. We drove to town finally to help mop up some muck at the Somerset County Historical Society, on the way we saw all the damged stuff on the curbs waiting to be picked up. The townships are doing this as a service. God Bless Them, they are taking care of their people. It was more water than Hurricane Floyed from 1999. We had a tree marked then and this water from Ida was higher.
I was 4 years old when the 1938 hurricane hit. I can still remember it. We lived in a triple decker in Lynn MA next to the GE . Mom had to drag me off the porch because she was afraid the wind would blow me off the porch. I watched as the trees one by one tore up the sidewalk as the wind got wild.
Although I was only 4 at the time, I remember it well. I grew up in Holyoke on the Connecticut River in a large Victorian house built by my great-grandfather. The property consisted of 19 acres with the front in the city on Northampton Street and the back up the hill to the Easthampton Road, 19 acres in all. When the storm hit I remember my father directing us all out of the front of the house as he was afraid a large elm tree might fall (it didn’t). My banker great-grandfather who built the house loved trees and collected two of many unusual species. All in all we lost 88 trees. The house had five fireplaces, and when my parents sold the house in 1954, we were still using firewood from the fallen trees. My father also owned a 244-acre, 200-year-old farm in Cummington. The property included a pond with a dock, boat and an old dam. The storm knocked out the dam which drained the pond forever. It also knocked out the bridge off Route 9 which provided access to the farm in all seasons. From then on, we could only go to the farm via a hilly country road May thru early November (or the first snow). I’ve lived thru a number of hurricanes since then from New Hampshire, Virginia and now south Texas, but 1938 was the most memorable.
I will never forget Hurricane Diane. We lived in southern Connecticut at that time. My brother’s birthday was on August 18th and we were going to take him to the North Haven drive-in theatre to see “Lady and the Tramp.” En route, we heard on the car radio that a dam had broken near our home. We turned around and got back there as quickly as we could. I never got to see “Lady and the Tramp” until I got the DVD 50 years later!
Travlled through upstate ny after one of the hurricanes, sandy i think it was? Hit, and floods receded. Was gojng along a mountain road that had a steep drop off to the right. Like 30 feet down or so. I ran across a driveway that had st9ne wall that was retainer wall, and it was about 15 feet tall. The owners had a mark in spray paint showing how high the water got during the storm, and it was 3-4 feet above my car roof! As i dropped into the town, it was just wrecked. Lots of water damage. Th3 next day the red cross sent out folks to scour the neighboorhoods loo,ing for folks who lost their homes to offer them a place to stay, food, clothes etc. They were inundatedwith applicants. Anyway, could not beleive how high the water rose in that narrow mountain road b3side a small stream. Of someone was on the road when it happened, they surely would not have survived it. A hurricane went through ogunquit maine many years ago and tore the roof off an ogunquit inn/resteraunt down by the beach. Cant remember name of the storm though. Anoyher hit not long ago, but didnt do as much damage.