Weather without Warning in 1938 Hurricane

SeacoastNH.com Presents 
Historic Portsmouth #435

Mother Nature is still in charge as Hurricane Sandy proved this week. But this time, thanks to high-tech weather forecasting and global communications, we were ready. Locals stocked up on batteries and water, charged laptops, fueled generators, and checked sump pumps in anticipation as we watched Sandy slowly encroaching on our turf. (Continued below)

 

As those who lived through the infamous hurricane of 1938 will tell you, most New Englanders were caught by surprise back in the day. At least 600 people died in the northeast in ‘38, mostly from drowning during the storm. An estimated 8,000 homes and 6,000 boats were lost as the brutal hurricane hit unsuspecting residents on September 21, 1938. But as with “Frankenstorm” of 2012, Portsmouth nearly dodged the bullet.  This photo shows damaged boats off the local coastline the morning after the 1938 surprsie storm. (Courtesy Portsmouth Athenaeum)

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