New England Severe Weather Hazards

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New England has a long history of severe weather events.

Floods are the most common and costly hazard to affect New England. Most communities have experienced floods after spring rains, thunderstorms, hurricanes and winter snow thaws. Floods can develop over a period of days or, in the case of flash floods, very rapidly. All types of flooding can be life threatening.

New England is susceptible to flooding because of its large coastline, major rivers, and large urbanized areas. This includes river flooding, coastal flooding from Nor'easters and hurricanes, and urban flooding from runoff that cannot be absorbed.

Throughout history, New England has experienced significant and recurring flooding. The Spring Floods of 1936 affected all of New England.

• Flooding caused $133 million in damage, killed 24 people and made 77,000 homeless
• During this flood, Main Street in Hookset, NH was under 18 feet of water
• Mills and factories in Lawrence, Haverhill and Lowell, Mass. were severely damaged
• Over 80 bridges in Maine required reconstruction and a large portion of downtown Hartford, Conn. was submerged.

Other floods occurred in September of 1938, August of 1955, June of 1978 and more recently in February of 1996. Each of these floods caused millions of dollars of damage and threatened human life.

New England is also highly susceptible to the potential loss of life and damage from hurricanes. The first recorded hurricane in New England was the Great Coastal Hurricane that struck in August of 1635.

Since that time, more than 60 damaging hurricanes have impacted New England.

• The Hurricane of 1938 struck on September 21, 1938, with wind gusts up to 138 mph.
• 700 people were killed and 2,000 injured
• More than $400 million in damages (1938 dollars) resulted from this and affected every New England state

More recent hurricanes affecting New England were Carol in 1954, Diane in 1955, Donna in 1960, Gloria in 1985 and Bob in 1991.

New England's history of severe weather includes a legacy of severe winter storms and blizzards.

Probably the most severe winter storm ever to strike New England was the Blizzard of 1888.

• This storm occurred on March 11-14, 1888 and dumped 30 - 50 inches of snow in the region
• In Boston, where the snow mixed with rain, the city was covered with 9 inches of heavy wet slush

In 1978 another great blizzard hit New England.

• The blizzard of '78 dumped 24 to 38 inches of the white stuff immobilizing the infrastructure and blocking major interstate highways
• Thousands of motorists abandoned their automobiles on the highways and in some areas upwards of 2 weeks were required to clear the snow

More recent blizzards and snowstorms occurred in March of 1993 and February of 1996. These events killed scores of people, caused millions of dollars in damage and left thousands of people without power for days.

Thunderstorms and lightning are severe weather hazards that are no strangers to New England. They have caused death and destruction throughout the region.

Perhaps the most famous New Englander to die from a lightning strike was James Otis, a revolutionary war hero. Legend has it that Otis told his friends and family that he wished to die from a strike of lightning. On May 23, 1783, his wish came true. Lightning struck his home in Andover, Mass. and killed him.

Most of the damage from thunderstorms results from straight line winds often referred to as microbursts or down bursts. These winds, although not classified as tornadoes, can exceed 100 mph and cause equivalent damage, injury and loss of life.

Thunderstorms have also been responsible for spawning tornadoes in many parts of New England. On average, six tornadoes per year touchdown somewhere in New England. Many of these are in rural uninhabited areas, but when one occurs in a densely populated area, disaster strikes.

The most devastating tornado ever to occur in New England was the Worcester Tornado of July 9, 1953.

• The tornado hit Worcester at 5:08 p.m. Within one minute more than 90 people were dead and over 1,300 injured
• Damage estimates were placed in excess of $52 million

Another damaging tornado occurred in Windsor Locks, Connecticut at about 3 p.m. on October 3, 1979.

• This twister lasted only about 45-60 seconds, but managed to kill 3 people, injure over 300, destroy 40 homes and cause $300 million in property damage

The most recent killer tornado to strike New England occurred on May 29, 1995, in Great Barrington, Mass.

• This tornado, with winds in excess of 200 mph, killed 3 people, injured 23 and caused an estimated $25 million in damage

Mark Twain once said something like: If you don't like the weather in New England wait a minute and it will change. We New Englanders, whether we live on the coastline or in the mountains, are a hearty breed. Nevertheless, with our increasing population and dependency on outside sources for electricity, heat and water, we can be severely impacted by our ever-changing weather.

Through the course of any given year we can experience severe weather conditions covering the full spectrum of Mother Nature's Fury. Heavy snow in the winter followed by floods in the spring; hurricanes, thunderstorms and tornadoes in the summer; and almost any type of severe weather can hit us in the fall.

So whether you reside on the coast, in our majestic mountains or somewhere in-between, please read and follow the recommendations contained in this New England Severe Weather Safety Guide. Then, if the worst should happen, you, your family and your friends will be prepared.

Prepared by the Northeast States Emergency Consortium