1938 new england hurricane was the strongest hurricane to hit long island.
1938 new england hurricane was the strongest hurricane to hit long island.
what was the strongest hurricane to hit long island?
1938 new england hurricane
long island is somewhat vulnerable to tropical cyclones. while it lies north of where most tropical cyclones turn eastward and out to sea (most landfalls on the east coast of the usa occur from north carolina southward), several tropical cyclones have struck long island, including a devastating category 3, the 1938 new england hurricane (also known as the "long island express"), and another category 3, hurricane carol in 1954. other 20th-century storms that made landfall on long island at hurricane intensity include the great atlantic hurricane of 1944, hurricane donna in 1960, hurricane belle in 1976, and hurricane gloria in 1985. also, the eyewall of hurricane bob in 1991 brushed the eastern tip. in august 2011, portions of long island were evacuated in preparation for hurricane irene, a category 1 hurricane which weakened to a tropical storm before it reached long island.
long island
a tropical storm developed east of trinidad and tobago on august 12, and began moving northwestward. originally it was thought the storm became a category 1 hurricane the next day but re-analysis now shows it remained as a tropical storm until august 14. on the evening of august 15 it reached the island of hispaniola. after crossing the south of that island as a category 1 hurricane, it struck southeastern cuba on august 16 as a category 2 hurricane. the storm briefly weakened over land and entered the gulf of mexico near matanzas on august 18 as a category 1 storm. as the hurricane crossed the gulf of mexico it strengthened further, first to a category 2 then to a category 3 cyclone. as it approached the coast of texas, it intensified to a 150 mph (240 km/h) category 4 hurricane. at the time, it was tied for the strongest hurricane ever recorded (the first reported, and confirmed, category 5 hurricane would be in 1924). on august 19, winds increased in indianola, and, on august 20, it made landfall as a catastrophic category 4 hurricane. pressure at landfall is estimated to be 925 mbar, which would make it the sixth strongest hurricane known to have hit the united states, and by winds, it is tied for the fifth most powerful hurricane to hit the u.s. mainland. the hurricane moved inland and eventually dissipated on august 21 in northeast texas.
1886 indianola hurricane