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Great New England Hurricane

The 1938 New England Hurricane, also known as the Great New England Hurricane or the Long Island Express, made landfall on Long Island on September 21, 1938. The Hurricane had previously reached Category 5 status while in the Atlantic, but had fallen to a Category 3 by the time it made landfall. The storm would pass through New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont before crossing into Canada after losing most of its strength. The storm left over 600 people dead and nearly $400 million in damages.

Most of the damage and loss of life can be attributed to the lack of warning throughout the region. New England is not considered a "hurricane-prone" area to begin with, and the storm was predicted to veer back into the Atlantic like many had done before it. It was far too late to send out proper warning when the storm accelerated towards New England, a "surprise blow" to the region. While the public had been expecting mild effects from the passing storm, Long Islanders were greeted with 150 mph winds and a storm surge 25-35 feet high.

The winds brought in by the storm had the most devastating effects. An estimated 2 billion trees were lost throughout New England and New York in the wake of the storm, blocking many trails throughout the region. Parts of the Appalachian Trail were completely impassable. One account of Bob Ohler, theĀ hut master at the Appalachian Mountain Club's Madison Spring Hut at the time, described how he tried to descend the trail the day after the storm with nothing but his ax. By nightfall, he had only made it through three quarters of a mile down the trail. The destruction of wooded areas compounded with land slides caused by the storm left the region in a state of clean-up for months afterwards.