Mighty Storms of New England

Bay State native Paul Della Valle lives on five acres of an old farm in Sterling, Massachusetts with his wife. Della Valle won dozens of writing and reporting awards in a thirty-year career as a journalist. He was an investigative reporter and featured columnist for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette between 1983 and 1993, where he won the New England Associated Press’s Best Feature Story award.

• 1.Introduction2.The Great Colonial Hurricane of 1635: Recognized as possibly the strongest hurricane to ever hit New England, many Native Americans perished in its 20-foot storm surge in Narragansett, RI. 3.The Great Snow of 1717: Sixteen foot drifts buried entire flocks of sheep and forced colonists to dig tunnels from their homes.4.The Snow Hurricane of 1804: The unprecedented tropical cyclone devastated crops and orchards and sunk ships off New England coast.5.1816: The Year of No Summer: The 1815 eruption of far-away Mount Tambora caused a frost every month, demolishing New England agriculture.6.The Blizzard of 1888: More than 400 died in New England’s “Granddaddy of All Storms.”7.The Hampton Beach Tornado of 1898: Two were killed and 120 injured in collapsed skating rink at the New Hampshire resort. 8.The Portland Gale of 1898: The storm killed more than 400 people and sank more than 150 ships, including the Portland. It also changed the course of the North River in Scituate MA.9.The Heat Wave of 1911: Sustained temperatures in the 90s and 100s for weeks in July killed 1,110 people in Massachusetts alone.10.The Vermont Floods of 1927: The flood destroyed 1,285 bridges and killed at least 84 people, including the lieutenant governor who was trapped in his car. 11.The Great New England Hurricane of 1938. The most famous of New England’s storms left 564 dead. Nearly 9,000 homes and businesses along with 6,000 vessels were destroyed.12. 1947: The Year Maine Burned: Nine towns across the Pine Tree state were completely destroyed as wildfires raged and burned thousands of acres in 90-percent forested Maine. 13.The Worcester Tornado of 1953. Ninety four died when a rare twister devastated New England’s second largest city. 14.Hurricane Carol and Edna of 1954: Carol caused 68 deaths and over $460 million in damage, including destroying 4,000 homes. The name “Carol” was the first Atlantic hurricane name to be retired. Just days later, Edna made landfall in Maine, killing two more and causing $40 million more in damage.15.Hurricanes Connie and Diane of 1955: Connecticut suffered 77 deaths and $350 million in lost property from the back to back storms.16.The Blizzard of 1978: The celebrated blizzard and historical high tides brought Boston to a standstill for weeks. 17.“The Perfect Storm” of 1991: Gloucester's Andrea Gail crew was lost at sea during the nor'easter.18.The “Storm of the Century” of 1993: Biblical snowfall—44 million acre feet—blanketed the Northeast.19.The Ice Storms of Northern (1998) and Southern (2008) New England: Thousands lose power for weeks as ice blanketed regions 10 year apart. 20.Hurricane Irene and the Floods of 2011: Record rainfall leads to the destruction of 2,400 roads, 800 homes, and 300 bridges--including historic covered bridges—in Vermont. 21.Hurricane Sandy of 2012: The second-costliest hurricane in United States history caused $70 billion in damages across the Eastern seaboard. Nearly 600,000 Connecticut residents were left without power. The Nutmeg State alone suffered more than $350 million in damages.