New York’s Hurricane History
New York: too far north to be affected by hurricanes, right? Wrong. The southern states and those lining the Gulf of Mexico are not the only ones affected by hurricanes. The state of New York, over the past few centuries, has seen about 84 hurricanes.
A Long, Long Time Ago
Before colonists even settled in the United States, native folklore tells us of a powerful storm of hurricane-force that made landfall in the area of present-day New York. Historians believe this happened between the years of 1278 and 1438, but do not know exactly when. Up until 1693, a couple of major tropical storms hit the state, but were reported without much detail.
In 1693, during the “Great Storm”, a hurricane hit Long Island. It is said the storm surge and waves caused by this weather event are what formed Fire Island Cut.
A couple more hurricanes affected the state before 1800, which caused damage to local business owners on Governors Island when their boats crashed onto the land.
The 1800’s
About twenty-three hurricanes affected the state of New York in the 1800’s. One of the strangest occurrences happened in 1804. Cold air entered the atmosphere and New York saw up to 30-inches of snow early in the month of October.
In 1821, a hurricane made landfall in Norfolk and Long Island. The storm surge of this storm was 13 feet; the flooding caused severe amounts of damage. Seventeen people were killed when a ship crashed into Long Island. The Norfolk Herald reported:
“The continuous cataracts of rain swept impetuously along darkening the expanse of vision and apparently confounding the heaven, earth and seas in a general chaos.”
The Great Havana Hurricane of 1846, estimated to be a Category 5, was a major storm to affect the northeast coast of the Atlantic Ocean. It is told that 100 yards of Battery was lost by the strong surf.
The 1900’s
The 1900’s was a busy century with about 46 hurricanes recorded. The rise in numbers can easily be attributed to better weather recording and measuring systems.
One of the most infamous and damaging hurricanes was the New England Hurricane of 1938. This Category 3 storm made landfall on Long Island and had wind gusts of 125 mph and a storm surge of 18 feet. Almost 9000 homes were destroyed and 60 lives were lost in the state of New York alone.
The 1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane, though not as strong as the hurricane in 1938, devastated many New York business owners. It was reported that about 1,000 businesses were destroyed by the 40 mph winds and 100 mph gusts.
In August and September of 1954, Hurricanes Carol and Edna made a back-to-back appearance in New York. The storm surge of Carol isolated the eastern side of Long Island and caused a total of $460 million in water damage. Edna dumped 9-inches of rain, caused $40 million in damages, and 20 people perished.
Hurricane Agnes (1972) brought up to 12 or more inches of water when it made landfall near New York City. This storm caused flooding and took the lives of 6 people. Later, Hurricane Belle (1976) made landfall and about 30,000 New York residents were evacuated. A lot of property and crops were damaged by flood waters.
After some minor hurricanes, Hurricane Gloria made landfall on Long Island (1985). The storm’s strong winds caused most of the damage, completely devastating 48 homes and damaging hundreds more. Piers and docks were swept away and 683,000 people were left without electricity for up to 11 days.
Residents of New York are still picking up and cleaning water-damaged items from Hurricane Floyd (1999), which produced 13-inches of torrential rain. The restoration process is still strong in many parts of Southeastern New York.
The 2000’s
In recent years, Hurricane Frances (2004) caused $6.5 million in flood damage in the central part of the state. The residents witnessed up to 6-inches of rain. Frances was such a devastating storm along the Atlantic coast that the name was officially retired by the World Meteorological Organization.
New York gets its fair share of extreme weather. Recent hurricanes and storms have been so devastating that the storm restoration process continues today.
~Flora Richards-Gustafson, 2009
