Irene the Latest in a Long Line of Lady Hurricanes to Hit State

As Irene barrels down on us folks here in Middletown, it is useful to take a historical perspective on past hurricanes that have affected us in the past. We’ve had 10 hurricanes strike the area since 1850, eight of which were Category 1. The big ones (Category 2 and 3) stand out as the most destructive and the most talked about.

Every conversation about hurricanes in our area must start with The Great New England Hurricane of September 21, 1938. This Category 3 cyclone snuck in during an era when meteorologists couldn’t predict the path or intensity of a storm. (Cyclone, by the way, is the broad term for tropical storms. Not all cyclones are hurricanes; sometimes they are typhoons.)

The 1938 hurricane hit Middletown hard and continued its way northward, causing death and destruction along the Interstate 91 corridor (before the roadway existed). My mom was in high school at Northfield Seminary for Girls in Massachusetts (now Northfield-Mount Hermon School), and her roommate died when the chimney collapsed on their dining room table at the height of the storm. Needless to say, I grew up with the ’38 Hurricane.

The Hurricane of ’38, considered the worst natural disaster to hit the state, had 115 mph sustained winds during its Connecticut visit and caused 125 death, widespread flooding, and significant property damage. Middletown did not suffer loss of life, but Guida’s Farm on Coleman Road lost 19 cows when the roof of a dairy barn collapsed. Rain that preceded the hurricane contributed to the collapse of roads and bridges. Mill Hollow and Randolph Road both experience major flooding.

The greatest damage to property was from uprooted trees. In a town known as the Forest City, the devastation Middletown folks woke up to on Sept. 22 was remarkable. Wesleyan University lost a significant number of trees. Mature trees along South Main Street fell on houses, and it was decades before the town restored its tree-lined streets.

Flooding over the course of several days brought the Connecticut River up almost 30 feet, to only two feet from the record-breaking 1936 flood stage.

Hurricane Gloria has been on everyone’s lips this week. It was the last significant hurricane to visit Middletown. A Category 1 storm, Gloria came to town on Sept. 27, 1985. She was large but not tremendously powerful, bringing winds of about 85 mph. At the time, I lived close to downtown and was one of the few to never lose power from the storm.

It was my first year of teaching at The Independent Day School in Middlefield and the majority of my students were without power for close to a week. This was the storm's major impact. Toppled trees brought down utility lines, and almost 700,000 Connecticut residents were in the dark for what felt like forever. Seven people died in Connecticut, most from falling tree limbs.

I must have slept through Hurricane Bob. He came ashore on Aug. 19, 1991, but only gave Middletown a glancing blow, focusing on Rhode Island and neighboring islands, where it was a Category 2 storm. It was an expensive storm for the places it hit and caused 17 deaths, none in Connecticut.

For old-timers, Hurricane Carol lives on in memory. This was only one of two Category 3 storms in Connecticut since the 1850s. It caused significant damage and fatalities, 65 in New England. Carol focused her energy on the coast and was less powerful in Middletown and other inland localities, where it was (only?) a Category 2. Carol’s arrival came at high tide, which invariable increases the damage from flooding. She took hundreds of boats, cars and cottages out to sea with her storm surge.

Middletown and inland towns witnessed greater impact from Hurricanes Diane and Connie, who hit the central region within a week of each other in August of 1955. Connie came first, bringing up to 6 inches of rain. When Diane delivered almost 20 inches, she made the record books for rainfall amounts in the Farmington Valley area. Places like Winsted saw significant damage, and more than 100 Connecticut people died. Again, Middletown was spared the worst, suffering from flooding on the Connecticut River and along local brooks and rivers.

There were a few other hurricanes that snuck in there that few talk about, suggesting that they impacted significantly less lives in our neighborhood. Hurricane Donna in 1960 was no weakling. She holds the record for maintaining Category 3 status longer than any other storm in the Atlantic Ocean. She hit the southeast Connecticut coast and brought lots of rain and a powerful storm surge.  She was big enough to retire the name “Donna.”

The Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944 was one I had never heard of until I went exploring. It coincided with World War II and had an impact on the Atlantic fleet. Most of its damage was at sea.

Snow was reported to fall during the Great September Gale of 1815. It was the first hurricane recorded in New England since 1635, and it came ashore at Saybrook with Category 3 winds. The word "hurricane" was not yet common in America. It skimmed the Connecticut coast and headed north to Massachusetts. This cyclone is often compared to the 1938 hurricane in terms of strength and path. The difference, of course, was the increase in population and built environment in the 20th century.

Who knows what Hurricane Irene will deliver us tonight and tomorrow? It is following a path similar to Bertha (1996), which never reached New England. Other comparisons are being made to Bob, the last to visit New England. Most weather forecasters say Irene is tracking more westerly than either Bob or Bertha, which is a significant detail for us in Middletown! The comparisons are changing by the hour!

I suspect memories will be made … we will talk about where we were and how we struggled. My daughter finds our plight somewhat insignificant from her perch in New Orleans, but any storm like this is dangerous and can cause destruction to us personally and to our property. So everyone be careful out there.

Please add your personal families photos of any of the above mentioned hurricanes as you or your family experienced them in Middletown.