The Great New England Hurricane of 1938 was one of the most destructive and powerful storms ever to strike southern New England. This system developed in the far eastern Atlantic, near the Cape Verde Islands on September 4. It made a 12-day journey across the Atlantic and up the Eastern Seaboard before crashing ashore on September 21 as a Category 3 Hurricane at Suffolk County Long Island, then into Milford, CT. The center made landfall at the time of astronomical high tide, moving north at 60 mph. Unlike most storms, this hurricane did not weaken on its way toward southern New England due to its rapid forward speed and its track. This kept the center of the storm over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream.

Sustained hurricane force winds occurred throughout most of southern New England. Sustained winds of 91 mph, with a gust to 121 mph, were reported on Block Island. Providence recorded sustained winds of 100 mph with a gust to 125 mph. Extensive damage occurred to roofs, trees and crops. Widespread power outages occurred, which in some areas lasted several weeks. 

This hurricane was also known for the extensive flooding. While the worst of the rainfall fell west Rhode Island, the state’s felt the destructive power of storm surge flooding. Narragansett Bay took the worst hit, where a storm surge of 12 to 15 feet destroyed most coastal homes, marinas and yacht clubs. Downtown Providence, was submerged under a storm tide of nearly 20 feet. Storm surge also fed northward into the lower portions of rivers feeding into Block Island Sound and Narragansett Bay, bringing storm surge flooding inland. 

The marine community was devastated. Throughout southern New England, over 2,600 boats were destroyed, and over 3,300 damaged. Entire fleets were lost in marinas and yacht clubs along Narragansett Bay. The hurricane was responsible for 564 deaths and at least 1,700 injuries in southern New England. Damage to the fishing fleets was catastrophic. A total of 2,605 vessels were destroyed, with 3,369 damaged. A total of 8,900 homes, cottages and buildings were destroyed, and over 15,000 were damaged by the hurricane.

This information was taken from "Southern New England Tropical Storms and Hurricanes, A Ninety-eight Year Summary 1909-1997", by David R. Vallee and Michael R. Dion, National Weather Service, Taunton, MA

Image of the destruction along the Connecticut coastline. The remains of houses with one lone house at far right: source, NOAA	Response of the Connecticut River at Hartford, CT, to rains before and during the passage of the 1938 Hurricane

Learn More:

• Wikipedia History of 1938 Great New England Hurricane Map, from the NOAA Coastal Services Center
• NWS Boston, MA 1938 Hurricane Commemorative Website

Torrential rains affected Connecticut from June 4 to 7, 1982. A large low pressure system moved up from the Gulf Coast and moved slowly up to the northeast United States, producing an exceptional amount of rainfall in the state. Up to 16 inches of rain fell in the region over 4 days, with the heaviest amounts occurring in south central Connecticut. Rainfall on Saturday, June 5, accounted for over half of that total when up to 10 inches fell. 

Preceding conditions of soil moisture and river levels were hampered by a storm the previous week, which had left up to 4 inches of rain in many of the same areas.

The rainfall resulted in numerous floods and flash floods on smaller streams though the central part of the state. The larger rivers in Connecticut, the Housatonic and Connecticut, were not as greatly impacted because their headwaters in the more northern parts of New England were not impacted by heavy rain with this event. The smaller rivers, such as the Yantic, Farmington, and Shetucket, all received significant flooding as well as many smaller streams.

The floods caused the loss of at least 11 lives. Specific reports regarding some of the deaths from this event follow. According to the June 1982 NOAA National Climatic Center Storm Report, a woman drowned as a truck was swept into Roaring Brook in East Haddam. In Putnam a woman died as a pickup truck was swept away. In Salem, a woman died as she tried to escape her stalled truck. In New London, an 8 year old was drowned in his flooded basement. In Clinton, a pedestrian was swept away to his death.

One of the ironies of this event was that one of the facilities impacted by this event was the Northeast River Forecast Center. The NERFC offices, which at that time were in Bloomfield, were flooded for a day. Forecasters had to move to other locations to work.

Estimated damages from the flooding were more than $276 million (1982 dollars). Thousands of homes were damaged.  The floods also caused significant damage to roads and bridges. This event caused over a dozen dam failures; additional dams required repairs due to the floodwaters.

Rainfall across southern New England during June 4-7, 1982

Learn More:

• Northeast River Forecast Center
• Additional damage information was taken from the information from CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
• NOAA/National Climatic Center Storm Data, June 1982, Volume 24, Number 6
• June 1982 article about floods and Northeast River Forecast Center: