On the morning of September 21, 1938, the doorways to grammar schools opened to children in New England. By the afternoon hours, the children realized that they were playing witness to an historical meteorological event. The New England Hurricane, otherwise known as the Hurricane of 1938, produced a full-fledged attack upon the region. When all was said and done, the cyclone became the deadliest hurricane to strike New England in over one hundred twenty-five years.
The first atmospheric signs of the Hurricane of 1938 occurred across the Sahara Desert on September 4. Likewise with any tropical system, several days passed as the low-pressure moved off the African coastline. By September 19, the storm quickly developed and became a rare and monstrous system. Sustained winds of 160 M.P.H. spared the coastline of Florida when the system turned northeast. Forecasters at the Washington, D.C., Weather Bureau office predicted the storm to move outward into sea. Unfortunately, the storm proved otherwise as New Englanders soon experienced the surprise of their lifetime.
In the Mid-Atlantic States, heavy rainfall and a record low barometric pressure indicated that the hurricane was churning its way towards New England. The hurricane had responded to a trough of low pressure in the region. By the time the center of the hurricane reached Long Island, New York, the eye-wall was a phenomenal width of fifty-miles. Winds were sustained between 60 to 120 M.P.H. when Rhode Island became the next target. Unfortunately, nearly four hundred deaths occurred in the state, which was due to severe flooding. The eye-wall moved through central Massachusetts where the Blue Hill Observatory (northwest of Boston) recorded a record-breaking wind speed of 186 M.P.H.
Despite being over land, the hurricane maintained significant features as the center traveled into the Connecticut River Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire. During this time, our very own Mount Washington recorded a wind speed of 163 M.P.H. Sustained winds of 70 to 80 M.P.H produced severe damage in much of New Hampshire. Flash floods and fires erupted, forests and houses became damaged or destroyed, and many residents unfortunately perished or were injured. The storm then moved into Canada around 9PM, which was hours after it began to wreak havoc along the coastline of southern New England.
The morning of September 21 began with ordinary conditions. At the days conclusion, around seven hundred residents of New England had perished, nearly half a billion dollars in damage occurred, and the forecasting of meteorology had failed tremendously. Due to the significance of the mispredicted forecast, the error changed the science of meteorology forever.