New York’s Most Powerful Hurricane Occurred More Than 70 Years Ago

1938 HURRICANE
The most powerful hurricane known to have made landfall nearby — a category 3 hurricane — occurred in 1938. Its eye crossed over Long Island and into New England, killing nearly 200 people. The storm killed 10 people in New York City and caused millions of dollars in damage. Its floods knocked out electrical power in all areas above 59th Street in Manhattan and in all of the Bronx, the new IND subway line lost power, and 100 large trees in Central Park were destroyed.

Fortunately, New York City experienced the weaker “left side” of the 1938 hurricane — the City was 75 miles from the eye when it passed over Long Island. The hurricane could have caused far more deaths and damage if it passed closer to the five boroughs.

NYC Hazards: NYC Hurricane History

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4 Responses to New York’s Most Powerful Hurricane Occurred More Than 70 Years Ago

  1. ACR says:

    I know it’s not politically correct to ask questions about Sandy’s windspeed at landfall, but I’ll do it anyway. Were there any land based stations that recorded sustained hurricane force winds for Sandy in NY / NJ? I’m still of the belief that Sandy was only tropical storm strength at landfall.

  2. Chris says:

    This biggest problem with Sandy wasn’t so much the wind (even though I had a 90 mph gust and a tremendous amount of trees were downed where I live on Long Island) but the track the storm took, and the fact that it hit at the worst possible time during a high tide and a full moon. The flooding from the tide and storm surge is what devastated most areas. Hurricane Gloria in 1985 had stronger sustained winds but hit at dead low tide and at a different less damaging angle. Gloria also moved much faster (60 mph) as opposed to Sandy which moved much slower and lasted much longer. I don’t want to take away from the ferocity of Sandy, it was a tremendous storm, but God forbid a storm like the 1938 (186 mph peak gust) hurricane hits the the same area with the same angle and tide/moon features as during Sandy, then you will see devastation beyond most people’s comprehension!

  3. ACR says:

    I don’t deny that tropical storms can cause an immense amount of damage. I lived in SE Texas during T.S. Allison. I’m aware that Sandy caused 8x the damage that Allison did. I’m not minimizing Sandy’s $75 billion in damage because I know it was a catastrophic event for an entire region. But I’d like to discuss Sandy’s windspeed at landfall if possible. Were there any land-based stations that recorded sustained hurricane force winds for Sandy?

  4. Chris says:

    I don’t think there is an official reports that says there were sustained hurricane force winds but I know for sure that if not it was very close. I was called into work for emergency relief during the storm and with a hand held anemometer I personally measured winds consistently at 70 mph for hours on end with a maximum gust at 91 mph. It wouldn’t surprise me if a location did have at least 74 mph sustained winds but to answer your question I don’t believe there was an official report that verified that.

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