In an example of spectacularly bad timing, landfall occurred at the same time as high tide, maximizing the height of the deadly surge of seawater that was pushed ashore by the storm. The storm's rapid northward motion amplified the wind speeds on the east side of the storm, and buildings disintegrated under the force of wind-driven waves and rain. When the storm plowed across Long Island and slammed into Connecticut, it was a Category 3 hurricane. Essentially unwatched, the hurricane abruptly tripled its northward speed, and traveled the 425 miles (700 km) from Cape Hatteras to Long Island in less than 8 hours. Most of the ships that might have reported the storm's location had retreated to shore, waiting for the hurricane to spin itself out in the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Forecasts issued for the eastern seaboard that day contained high wind and gale advisories, but made no mention of a hurricane. As the storm seemed to be heading out to sea, most of them breathed a sigh of relief and went home. Late in the day on September 19, 1938, weather forecasters who had alerted Floridians of the possibility of a hurricane landfall saw that the storm had turned north. Instead, the storm accelerated northward, reaching forward speeds of up to 50 miles (80 kilometers) per hour, on a beeline for the southern shore of New England. After threatening Florida on September 20, it moved north, and most forecasters believed it would head northeast to spin itself out in the North Atlantic Ocean. The Great New England Hurricane of 1938 started as a tropical cyclone off of Cape Verde, Africa, on September 10.
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