346 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 193 8 



tropical cyclone, to general convergence of the tropical wind in New 

 England, to ascent, and convection touched off by it, both over high- 

 lands and a cold air mass banked up behind the Green Mountains. 



With the passage of the tropical cyclone the night of the 3rd-4th, 

 a narrow belt of excessive rain drove northward through Rhode Island 

 and eastern Massachusetts. Orographic plus frontal effects caused 

 more than 7 inches of rainfall in western Massachusetts and up to 

 9.65 in Vermont, of which 8.77 fell in one day. Still heavier rains 

 evidently occurred in the mountains, judging from the tremendous 

 quantities of water discharged both from the Green Mountains and 

 from the White Mountains, possibly up to 15 inches. 33 Minor floods 

 of the same type, occurred in Vermont and New York later in the 

 same month. 



The New England and New York floods of September 1938 resulted 

 from a close duplication of the conditions of November 1927, only 

 this time the tropical cyclone was a major hurricane. 34 



The New York State flood of July 1935, 35 had many features in 

 common with the New England flood. Western New York, also a 

 portion of Pennsylvania, received rains in excess of 8 inches in con- 

 nection with a slowly moving cold front meeting active streams of 

 tropical air, July 7-8. The maximum in 24-hours rainfall was 9.00 

 inches at Pottsville, Pa., 8.52 inches at Delhi, and 8.50 inches at 

 Burdett, which had 10.50 in 2 days and 11.70 in 4. Cortland, near-by, 

 had 11.54 inches July 7-10. Record-breaking floods occurred in spite 

 of dry ground and low streams. Very moist tropical Atlantic and 

 tropical Gulf air streams rapidly converged over this region and were 

 forced upward by converging polar continental and polar Atlantic air 

 streams in an evenly balanced action which held the polar Atlantic 

 front with attendant thunderstorms stalled near the crest of the divide 

 for about 24 hours. 



" For an account of the flood in the Connecticut Valley see Goldthwait, J. W., The gathering of floods in 

 the Connecticut River System, Oeogr. Rev., vol. 18, pp. 438-445, 1928. For details as to the causes of the 

 November floods see Weber, J. H., and Brooks, C. F., The weather-map story of the flooding rainstorm of 

 New England and adjoining regions, November 3-4, 1927, Journ. New England Water Works Assn., vol. 42, 

 pp. 91-103, 1928, reprinted in vol. 20, pp. 106-118, 1930. For the rainfall and comparison with other flooding 

 storms in New England see Goodnough, X. H., Rainfall in New England during the storm of November 3 

 and 4, 1927, vol. 42, pp. 150-188, vol. 44, pp. 119-156, 1927. For a general account, see Frankenfleld, H. C, 

 November floods in New England and eastern New York, Monthly Weather Rev., vol. 55, pp. 496-499, 

 maps, 1927. Cf. also Byers, loc. cit., p. 212. 



** Brooks, C. F., Hurricanes into New England: Meteorology of the storm of September 21, 1938, Oeogr. 

 Rev., vol. 29, pp. 119-127, 1939. Cf. also Byers, loc. cit., pp. 212-213. 



»' Johnson, Hollister, The New York State flood of July 1935, U. S. Geol. Surv. Water-Supply Paper 773-E, 

 Washington, pp. 233-268, 1936. The meteorological history of this storm was fully discussed by T. E. Reed , 

 in the Binghamton (N. Y.) Press, July 23, 1935, maps and diagrams, and by C L. Mitchell in Monthly 

 Weather Rev., vol. 63, p. 231, 1935, and (reprinted) in Johnson's paper, loc. cit., in which is also a discussion 

 by J. C. Fisher of the rainfall. Mr. Fisher also has an account in Climatological Data, U. 8. Weather 

 Bureau, New York Section, July 1935. 



