OK New England DUers tell us about

[malaise]

New England hurricanes over the years.

Jeff Masters thinks Earl may be a New England hurricane.
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/article.html
<snip>
Intensity forecast for Earl
Wind shear as diagnosed by the latest SHIPS model forecast is nearly non-existent over Earl--just 4 knots--but is expected to increase to the moderate range, 10 - 15 knots, tonight through Thursday afternoon, due to upper level winds out of the southwest from a trough of low pressure to Earl's west. This shear should not appreciably affect Earl between now and Thursday, since the hurricane is so large and strong. Ocean temperatures are a near-record 30°C, and very warm waters extend to great depth, resulting in a total ocean heat content highly favorable for continued intensification. Earl should continue to intensify until reaching Category 4 or 5 strength on Tuesday, and will probably maintain major hurricane status through Thursday, when it will make its closest approach to North Carolina. The hurricane will probably undergo at least one eyewall replacement cycle during that period, which will diminish its winds by 20 - 30 mph for a day or so. By Friday, when Earl will be making its closest approach to New England, wind shear will rise to a high 20 - 30 knots and ocean temperatures will plunge to 20°C, resulting in considerable weakening. Earl will still probably be a Category 2 hurricane on Friday, when it could potentially make landfall in Massachusetts. Earl is more likely to be a Category 1 hurricane on Saturday morning, when it could potentially make landfall in Maine or Nova Scotia, Canada.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

1. The one in the 1930s was one of our worst national disasters

Fortunately it can never happen again that way -- that disaster was largely one of zero-preparedness out-of-the-blue... no radar and satellite.

[malaise]

We sure have come a long way

Hope the RWs know that it was governments who improved the warning systems.

[Sisaruus]

9. My mother was 10 and watched her family's farm blow away.

The problem is that the New England coastline is now over-built. We would have the advance warnings to get out of the way but a hurricane like the one in 1938 could still do lots of property damage.

[malaise]

12. Wow

The entire farm was blown away?

[Sisaruus]

15. Not like agribusiness of today.

It was a small New England farm in the 30s - not the size of Iowa. Just two or three buildings. Some WPA workers were working in the neighborhood and were stranded at her house through the storm. They all stood on the porch with and watched the roofs on the barn and coops blown off and eventually the rest of the buildings just blew away. One neighbor was killed by flying debris while trying to walk home. Her brothers never made it home from high school that day - they were stranded in the town's center when the roads became impassable. It was a couple of days before they knew were her brothers were. Her parents never rebuilt that farm. They bought some land in the next town and built a new farm there.

That was the storm that destroyed Katharine Hepburn's family summer house in Saybrook - she barely escaped.

A long time ago... mom was 10 then, she's 81 now.

[malaise]

17. What a story

Hurricanes cause so much pain and suffering.
Bet you don't know I adored Katharine Hepburn and still watch her movies.

[Sisaruus]

19. She was a Hartford girl.

I was friends with her sister Marion but I never got to know Kate. She did donate to one of my charitable projects (on women's history) though.

[suffragette]

27. Found some photos of Hepburn

Wasn't aware of that before.
http://www.katharinehepburntheater.org/blog/katharine-hepburn/kate-picks-up-the-pieces-of-the-1938-hurricane/

[malaise]

31. What a great link

lovely photos - Thanks

[NutmegYankee]

18. The advance notice would save lives...

But a repeat of the Great Hurricane of 1938 would just obliterate the shoreline.

[Sisaruus]

22. I work in one of the coastline towns.

I work for one of the regional food banks. We're part of the state's emergency response system with FEMA supplies in our warehouses. I have to make sure our crisis manual is up-to-date this week - just in case. It was due for the quarterly check of phone contacts anyway.

I just don't have good feelings about Earl. I hope I'm very wrong.

[NutmegYankee]

28. I live on the Coast.

I'm concerned as well.

[Sisaruus]

29. I live inland up near Bradley airport but have family on the coast.

If we go into crisis management mode I will have to stay at the office on the coast. Hope you stay safe and thers is no property damage along the coast.

[NutmegYankee]

34. Thanks. I'm about 78 feet above the sound, so waves won't get me.

And as long as the trees cooperate, wind shouldn't be an issue.

[virgogal]

21. I actually remember it. Our windows blew out.

[Mariana]

42. My grandmother went into labor during that one

in Providence. My dad was born shortly after midnight September 22, 1938. It's a hell of a story - my grandfather found a truck driver to take them to the hospital because the car couldn't get through, but the truck just went over/through/around the debris, driving through people's backyards in some places. At the hospital, they had a man on either side of her hold her arms and ran her up four flights of stairs. They had to yank my dad out with the forceps. It was her first child. Can you imagine?

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. Time to tie down the lawn furniture, I guess.

Seems like a long time since we had to think about preparations, but..........

[pipi_k]

6. I don't really have much that needs to be tied down, but

I do still worry a lot because my house is surrounded by pine trees.

The root systems on them are shallow, so lots of rain loosens the soil enough so that high winds could blow them down. There's a huge one to the west, just off my property that I'm always afraid is going to come crashing through my sun room one of these days.

[TheCowsCameHome]

8. Yep, I have a guy lined up to remove five big locusts

but he won't be here before Earl passes.

(Shallow roots, they tip over like dominos - Bob, back in 1991, took a lot down)

*sigh*

[pipi_k]

11. Uh, oh...

Are they close enough to hit the house?


We had a microburst overturn a nice Mountain Ash one day in 2001. It fell over on the electrical/phone wires. Insurance wouldn't pay for its removal because it didn't fall on top of the house.

[TheCowsCameHome]

13. Yes, unfortunately. And the barn. And the garage.

Auggggh!

[pipi_k]

3. Hurricane Gloria, 1985

Was a Category 1 when it came straight up the middle of CT and over Mass. It wasn't particularly strong where I was, but the thing I remember most about it was that the eye passed right over my house.

It was awesome

[Sisaruus]

7. I was living in Storrs when Gloria hit that part of the state.

Streets in our section of town were covered with downed trees and wires. We were without power for two days - other streets went for 4 or 5 days without power.

[pipi_k]

10. I believe it...

It had lost most of its steam by the time it got to us in Chicopee.

[Nite Owl]

36. I was living on Long Island

for Gloria. Hit us really hard. We had no electricity or water for over a week. Trees were down everywhere, schools were closed. It was a bad one.

[NewEngland4Obama]

4. Hurricane Bob in 1991 was pretty nasty. Think it was a cat 3

18 people died durring the storm and the name Bob has been retired. The eye came in around New Bedford Ma...

[Ineeda]

5. I remember a few big ones from my childhood...

Carol and Donna, especially. Lots of big trees down atop homes and blocking roads, no power for days, etc. Very scary during the storm with all the noise, but being a kid, fun afterward, climbing trees that were horizontal instead of vertical.

[musette_sf]

26. I remember Donna too

[northernlights]

14. I was in central mass for gloria and Bob

Gloria did nothing on my street, but took down a lot of limbs around the corner. I don't remember a thing about Bob, but I was further inland.

Now I'm about 3-4 miles from the Maine coast, high on a ridge. The waters have been record-warm this year. Gulp.

[Sisaruus]

16. This summer's never-ending heat wave has me concerned.

I figure the New England waters are warmer than what we would normally expect. This whole week is supposed to be in the 90s here in CT. That can't be good.

[northernlights]

25. I think it hit the 90s today on the Maine coast

and it was forecast to be in the 90s inland. We had a break last week with cool nights. But now we're back into the extreme heat and it's supposed to last all week. Earl and Fiona won't be cooling anything off, either.

I'm pretty far up, too, midway between Portland and Ellsworth/Bah Habah.

[Maine-ah]

20. I'm mid-coast Maine

and the hurricanes tend to die out by the time they reach our shores. The last one I remember was Bob in 1991 - and that didn't do much damage in my area. The few boats that hadn't been brought in from their morings got tossed around a lot, and a couple got pulled from their moorings and washed up on rocky beaches. Water coming over the seawall. Police not allowing people down to the public landings for safety. Other areas of the state were not so lucky.

edited to add:

http://www.pivot.net/~cotterly/bob.htm

[malaise]

32. Where's the Bush residence

:evilgrin:

[eShirl]

35. southern coast

[Warpy]

23. While New England hurricanes are never as strong

as the monsters that hit the Caribbean and the Gulf coast, they're strong enough to do a hell of a lot of damage and cause a huge amount of inland flooding as there is no place for water to go in that thin, flinty soil sitting on top of granite bedrock.

Earl is now supposed to hit the Outer Banks of NC and then rake up the coast of Delaware and New Jersey before it heads out to sea south of New England. This is a radical departure from its path just a few hours ago, so the thing certainly bears watching all up and down the east coast.

Once it leaves the Gulf Stream, it'll run out of steam fairly quickly.

On edit: behind Fiona, just east of Earl, lookie what's happening out toward Africa, right edge of the map:

[malaise]

33. That one will be Gaston

He sure looks organized already. Why do I think he has Jamaica in his sights.

[annabanana]

24. Hurricane Carol, 1954

Small child, I in Lexington Mass.

Power out, gas off.

We had a fireplace so the neighbors came over & we cooked in it.
Watched out the window as a small tree was uprooted and blown away.

[malaise]

38. Was that a September or October hurricane? n/t

[Posteritatis]

30. Juan in 2003 kinda sucked in Nova Scotia

Very few injuries or deaths, but the province was basically preindustrialized for a couple of weeks until the power grid could be repaired. There was some argument for awhile afterwards whether it was a 2 or a 3, based on a combination of windspeed, damage, etc.

(Then we got a nor'easter equivalent of the thing in the winter. Ow.)

[malaise]

39. That power grid is always the problem

Several islands have no power tonight and people are missing in the British Virgin islands.

[Posteritatis]

41. We're usually built pretty solid but definitely not *that* solid

After the hurricane the first snowfall of the season - which was a light dusting by our standards - finished off half the power lines that were still officially in place but weakened by Juan, so a dose of what we didn't consider weather at all blacked out half the province for another couple of days.

Nova Scotia Power wasn't popular that year.

[Dappleganger]

37. If you have old trees or awnings on your property

take care of them now. If rain becomes an issue the ground will become water-logged and the wind could push those old trees right over.

There's also the issue of tornadoes which accompany hurricanes.

[molly77]

44. Upper state ME here

Our soil is so dry, from record breaking heat without rain, that it would take a lot of rain for it to become water logged.

[malaise]

45. Well forecasters are saying Outer Banks and New England

so you'd better start preparing rather than assuming that you're safe.

[Dappleganger]

46. If it is that dry...

if sudden downpours happen it will flood due to the ground being too hard to soak up the sudden influx of all that rain.

[edbermac]

40. Most famous was The Perfect Storm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Perfect_Storm

[malaise]

43. That was one hell of a storm

:hi: