HURRICANi; TIDAL FLOODS OF RECORD 



2U. HISTORICAL HURRICA^fES 



Narragansett Bay, T^dth its axis north and south and its mouth 

 open to the Atlantic Ocean, lies in the path of the j^reat hurri- 

 canes which api~ro?ch the New Enrrland coast. Since 1620, there have 

 been recorded 25 damc^^ins hurricanes and 38 hurricones that narrowly 

 missed the area. >ri. thoiit inflicting important flood damage. 



Records indicate that durine the period from l635 to 1900 

 h\rrricane floodinf^ of drnpglng proportions occurred nine times, 

 in Aur^ust l63^, Au<Tust I63B, October 1723, October 1761, September 

 1815)', October 1866, September I869, October 1878 and December l878. 

 Detailed data on hurricanes producing tidal flooding along the 

 southern New England coast are civen in Appendix A. 



The earliest hurricanes recorded in New Enecland, including 

 the Narragansett Bay area, aptiear in Governor William Bradford's 

 "History of Plymouth Plantations, 1620 - l6li7," and in Governor 

 John Winthrop's "History of New England," which describe violent 

 storms in l63i> and 1638 that created flood levels apparently higher 

 than the recent floods of 1938 and 195U. Referring to the hurri- 

 cane of Au,?ust 1635, Governor Winthrop wrote: "The tide rose at 

 i^arragansett fourteen feet higher than ordinary and drowned 8 

 Indians flyinp; from their wigwams," Of the storm of August I638, 

 Governor Winthrop wrote: "It flowed twice in 6 hours and about 

 Narragansett Bay it raised the tide lii or 15 feet above the ordi- 

 nary s},ring tide, upright," 



During the Great Gale of September 23, l8l^, the flood waters 

 rose to a height of liLj.2 feet above mean sea level or 11.8 feet above 

 mean high water at Providence. 



25. RECENT HUtffilCANES 



Very early accounts of hurricanes in the area are brief, but 

 since I815, and particulrrly in the last 50 years, accoxmts have 

 become increa singly more complete because of the growing number 

 of trained observers and rapid advances in the knowledge of 

 meteorolof^ical phenomena. The contemporary period from 1901 to 

 the present is mrrked by fairly complete and scientific accoxmts 

 of hurricanes. 



Hi 



