On This Date 376 Years Ago

[Hybridstorm_November2001]

The Great Colonial Hurricane of 1635 made landfall in SE Massachusetts. The system was likely a category 3 at landfall, and likely caused a record storm surge in Narragansett Bay. The storm is still consider the benchmark event for the region:

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/Landsea/12Tides.pdf+*

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Colonial_Hurricane_of_1635

http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/events/gh1635.htm

http://www.hurricanescience.org/history/storms/pre1900s/1635/

http://familyhistorian.blogspot.com/2007/11/great-colonial-hurricane-of-1635.html

+ Most recent government study/reanalysis of the event.
* Warning PDF file

[Hurricaneman]

The fact that in these articles that 1635 hurricane was a cat 3\4 is incredible and almost unheard of

[WeatherLovingDoc]

[quote="Hybridstorm_November2001"]The Great Colonial Hurricane of 1635 made landfall in SE Massachusetts. The system was likely a category 3 at landfall, and likely caused a record storm surge in Narragansett Bay. The storm is still consider the benchmark event for the region:

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/Landsea/12Tides.pdf+*

Thank you for posting this pdf, Hybridstorm. It is very appropriate historical reading of NorthEast Hurricanes as Irene approaches the NE.

From above source regarding the four NE Hurricanes of 1635, 1815, 1938 and 1954 (Carol) the author wrote:

CONCLUSIONS

"Intense hurricanes in the northeast are rare, occurring on average about every 80 years. We know
from history, however, that this interval may be as short as 16 years between storms, or as long
as 180 years. Of particular concern to residents and emergency management officials are the
areas at the heads of Buzzards and Narragansett Bays. These vulnerable areas should expect to
face very high storm tides sometime in the future. The question is not if, but when. Emergency
management agencies at all levels should redouble their efforts to have viable evacuation plans
in these locations as well as educational programs at all age levels to highlight this potentially
catastrophic problem. Many generations may come and go before the next intense hurricane hits,
but the potential will always be there.

2011 is 57 years since Hurricane Carol, and 73 years since the New England Hurricane of 1938.
-WLD