500 Years of Hurricane History

[CentralFlGal]

Use our timeline to learn more about some of the most important dates in hurricane history.

Hurricane timeline: 1495 to 1800
Hurricanes played an important role during the European exploration and colonization of the Americas. New settlements were established, battles were lost and geography was changed by these monster storms.

Hurricane timeline: The 1800s
Scientists began to understand hurricanes during the 1800s, and forecasters were able to issue warnings as storms approached. Despite this growing knowledge, hurricanes continued to cause incredible destruction throughout the century.

Hurricane timeline: 1900 to 1950
The most intense and the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history occurred during this period as forecasters began to understand the danger of flooding and storm surge.

Hurricane timeline: 1950 to 1990
Satellites, computer models and improved transportation ushered in the modern era of hurricane forecasting.

Hurricane timeline: 1990 to 2000
Despite improvements in forecasting, hurricanes continued to cause death and destruction in the 1990s. In 1992, Hurricane Andrew caused $26.5 billion in damage when it hit South Florida. Then in 1998, Hurricane Mitch killed over 11,000 people in Central America -- the deadliest Atlantic hurricane since 1780.

Copyright © 2005, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/weather/hurricaneguide/sfl-hc-canehistory1,0,3765974.special?coll=orl-weather-hurr-utility

[yoda]

Interesting... thanks for the link!

[CentralFlGal]

NP! I'm still perusing the site, too.

[Trader Ron]

WOW! Great Link. Thank you.

[CentralFlGal]

YVW

I found a broken link for "1938 -- New England storm slams Long Island and Connecticut".

Took a special interest in this one because we had visitors from Mass. last month persistently harping on how silly we were to live in Florida due to hurricanes.

Found other links on this storm:

http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/mandias/38hurricane/

Except for Charlie Pierce, a junior forecaster in the U.S. Weather Bureau who predicted the storm but was overruled by the chief forecaster, the Weather Bureau experts and the general public never saw it coming. Later that day, the greatest weather disaster ever to hit Long Island and New England struck in the form of a category 3 hurricane. Long Island, New York and New England were changed forever by the Long Island Express.

http://www.hurricaneville.com/1938_hurricane.html

In Scott Mandia's web site, The Long Island Express: The Great Hurricane of 1938, the Long Island Express Hurricane of 1938 as it has been called, struck Long Island and New England on September 21, 1938. It had sustained winds of 121 mph, and a peak wind gust of 186 mph in Massachussetts. The lowest pressure recorded with the storm was 27.94 inches of Hg while it generated a peak storm surge of 17 feet above normal in Rhode Island. Waves as high as 50 feet came crashing ashore near Gloucester, Massachussetts.

As Long Islanders, many of us may not feel threatened by hurricanes considering we survived Gloria, Floyd and others. However, given our location as an island left vulnerable to the Atlantic Ocean, Nassau County is very susceptible to the powerful and destructive nature of hurricanes.

http://www.co.nassau.ny.us/OEM/hurricane.html

Long Island has been threatened by, and at times hit with, hurricanes. And while it is estimated that 80-90% of people living in hurricane prone areas think they have experienced the worst of a major hurricane, most likely they have not. This can give people a false sense of what a major hurricane actually is or the potential damage it can cause. This is why it is important for residents to understand what a hurricane is, how hurricanes can affect our lives, and ways to better prepare in the event one strikes our area.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/hurricane38/maps/
<Has track from Sept 10 through Sept 23, 1938>

Before the system of assigning names to hurricanes was initiated during the early 1950s, tropical storms and hurricanes were often named with reference to the year of their occurrence and the area they devastated. Thus the name --The New England Hurricane of 1938 -- although some people still refer to this storm as the "Long Island Express," referring to its remarkable forward speed. For those who lived through the storm it remains the weather event of their lifetimes.