Called after the fact, the Long Island Express, this hurricane 80 years ago today did a number on the unsuspecting fisherman and inhabitants of New England.
Without all the technology we have today, this hurricane emerged “out of the blue” literally and ravaged the region:
Not only did this CAT3 hurricane make it to New England feeding on the warm Gulf Stream waters on the way in September (without “Global Warming”), there were people in the Weather Bureau that forecast this BUT was not allowed to share this possibility as shown in this article from The Burning Platform. Come to find out, government bureaucracy stunk back then as well:
Charlie Pierce, a junior forecaster in the U.S. Weather Bureau, was sure that the hurricane was heading for the Northeast, but the chief forecaster overruled him. It had been well over a century since New England had been hit by a substantial hurricane, and few believed it could happen again. Hurricanes rarely persist after encountering the cold waters of the North Atlantic. However, this hurricane was moving north at an unusually rapid pace–more than 60 mph–and was following a track over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream.
The news of the day was more focused on the tensions in Europe in the pre-WWII era, and so this major hurricane stayed out of the news until September 21st:
With Europe on the brink of war over the worsening Sudetenland crisis, little media attention was given to the powerful hurricane at sea. There was no advanced meteorological technology, such as radar, radio buoys, or satellite imagery, to warn of the hurricane’s approach. By the time the U.S. Weather Bureau learned that the Category 3 storm was on a collision course with Long Island on the afternoon of September 21, it was too late for a warning.
Between 2:30pm and 11pm that night, the Long Island Express made its impression on New England:
In Milton, south of Boston, the Blue Hill Observatory recorded one of the highest wind gusts in history, an astounding 186 mph. Boston was hit hard, and “Old Ironsides”–the historic ship U.S.S. Constitution–was torn from its moorings in Boston Navy Yard and suffered slight damage. Hundreds of other ships were not so lucky.
The hurricane lost intensity as it passed over northern New England, but by the time the storm reached Canada around 11 p.m. it was still powerful enough to cause widespread damage. The Great New England Hurricane finally dissipated over Canada that night.
So what to do with this? For one, do your own research when the “news” says anything. For two, know your history so you can counter the prevailing voices that insist that they are the experts for all current events. For three, don’t just accept the “news”, for your sake, your friends’ sake or for your kid’s sake .. they all need to know the truth, be that beacon of light.
