Today in 1898, after two relentless days of wind and snow, a massive storm that became known as The Portland Gale finally moved off the Connecticut shoreline, but not before bringing the state to a stand-still. The storm had formed on November 26th, when two large storms intersected over New York state, then marched…
Tag: weather
October 25: The Fateful, Fatal, and Final Voyage of the Bounty
The HMS Bounty is undoubtedly one of the most famous and storied sailing vessels in history, capturing the world’s imagination ever since the original British ship was the site of a famous mutiny against Captain William Bligh in 1789 in the South Pacific. Even though the original HMS Bounty was destroyed in 1790, a…
October 3: Massive, Freak Tornado Devastates Windsor Locks
Today in 1979, one of the most devastating freak storms in state history spawned a massive F-4 tornado that tore through north-central Connecticut. Just after 3:00pm, a funnel cloud touched down in the Poquonock area of Windsor and carved a path four miles long and a quarter-mile wide northward through Windsor Locks, Suffield, and…
September 23: The Great September Gale of 1815, the First Connecticut Hurricane in 180 Years
On the morning of September 23, 1815, the first major hurricane to hit New England in 180 years made landfall at Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Since the word “hurricane” was virtually unknown in early America, residents later identified the monstrous storm as the “Great Storm” or “Great Gale” of September 1815. With estimated sustained winds…
August 31: Hurricane _______ , A Storm So Devastating They Stopped Using Its Name
After living through 10 consecutive years without a single hurricane, complacent Connecticans and all New Enganders received a rude and disastrous awakening the morning of August 31, 1954, when giant Category 5 hurricane Carol, with winds gusting to 130 miles per hour, moved swiftly across Long Island, and then slammed into the area between…
August 19: Back-to-Back Hurricanes Cause Catastrophic Statewide Flooding
Today in 1955, torrential rains from Hurricane Diane — the second hurricane to hit Connecticut in five days — wreaked flood-borne death and devastation across the state. After Hurricane Connie dumped six inches of water on Connecticut earlier in the week, the 14 – 20 additional inches of rain from Diane proved too much…
August 9: The Worst Tornado Ever to Hit Connecticut
On the afternoon of August 9, 1878, the worst tornado ever to touch down in Connecticut roared through Wallingford, wreaking unimaginable destruction across the entire town. In the late 19th century, most Connecticans lived under the impression that the monster tornadoes that annually devastated the Great Plains could never happen in New England. So…
July 10: The Worst Tornado Outbreak in Connecticut History
Today in 1989, the worst recorded tornado outbreak in state history tore through the state, as multiple twisters devastated a historic forest, left behind numerous swaths of destruction, killed two people, and injured hundreds more. Local meteorologists had warned residents about the high potential for severe weather on July 10, 1989, but no…
July 9: A Hard Overnight Freeze in “The Year Without a Summer”
The winters of the early 19th century — the last decades of the “Little Ice Age” that chilled North America and Europe for over five centuries (1300-1850) — were among the coldest in Connecticut’s recorded history. Salt-water harbors froze over months at a time, and blizzards regularly dumped several feet of snow on the…
March 12: The “Great White Hurricane” Paralyzes Connecticut
When snow started falling across the state in the early hours of March 12, 1888, Connecticut residents thought nothing of it. It wasn’t unusual to have light to moderate snowfall in early March, and the forecast for that day called for “fair weather, followed by rain.” Later that morning, amid moderate snowfall, most Connecticans…
February 22: The Great Ice Storm of 1898
February 22, 1898 marked the third and final day of one of the worst ice storms ever seen in Connecticut. It was a storm for the ages, that decimated the northwest corner of the state not even 10 years after it reeled from the infamous Blizzard of 1888. While the storm brought rain to…
March 12: The “Great White Hurricane” Paralyzes Connecticut
When snow started falling across the state in the early hours of March 12, 1888, Connecticut residents thought nothing of it. It wasn’t unusual to have light to moderate snowfall in early March, and the forecast for that day called for “fair weather, followed by rain.” Later that morning, amid moderate snowfall, most Connecticans…