Hurricane of 21 September 1938 upon the north Atlantic coast from Long 

 Island, New York, to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, were described by several 

 researchers (Wilby et al. 1939 and Howard 1939). The storm made landfall in 

 southwest Rhode Island, with an estimated tide of 4.9 m at Point Judith 

 (Wilby et al. 1939). Although this storm was of short duration, with the 

 rise and fall of the storm force ending in 5 to 6 hr , total destruction of 

 coastal communities occurred. The significance of overwash in widening the 

 islands and importance of storm-induced inlet formation was noted by these 

 authors. Wilby et al. (1939) concluded that barrier dunes provide some 

 protection for coastal buildings during storms, and wider beaches may afford 

 protection to landward areas. 



4. Many of the earlier, qualitative studies of overwash were completed 

 along the gulf coast (Morgan 1959, Fisk 1959, Scott, Hoover, and McGowan 

 1969, and Hayes 1967). In this microtidal setting (tidal range less than 



2 m) , barriers are typically long and linear, with few permanent tidal 

 inlets. Deposition of continuous overwash aprons (coalescing washover fans) 

 occurs on the landward sides of barriers during storm passage. More recent 

 work has revealed that complete overwash of low profile Gulf barriers may 

 occur during hurricane passage (Otvos 1979 and Nummedal 1982), resulting in 

 poststorm submergence. Years later, emergence and redevelopment may occur in 

 more landward positions, as documented by Otvos (1979) for portions of the 

 Chandeleur Island chain of Louisiana. 



5. One of the first detailed analyses of a single washover fan was 

 conducted by Andrews (1970) at St. Joseph Island, Texas. This washover fan, 

 measuring 6.9 by 6.4 km, was semicircular in plan, and wedge-shaped in 

 vertical section, thinning and decreasing in mean grain size toward the bay. 

 Andrews noted that the site of this washover was predated by a much earlier 

 flood-tidal delta. This observation, along with work by Kraft (1971), 

 demonstrated the importance of closed inlet locations, which are topo- 

 graphically lower than adjacent island areas, as future sites of increased 

 overwash activity. Geomorphic (Fisher 1967) and stratigraphic (Knowles and 

 Davis 1983) studies indicate that past inlet locations are frequently sites 

 of inlet reopening during storms. 



6. One of the first quantitative investigations of overwash effects 

 was completed by Pierce (1969) along the Outer Banks of North Carolina. 

 Historical maps, charts, and surveys were used to estimate the backbarrier 



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