Hurricane of '38 Revisited, Could It Happen Again?; One of the Northeast's
Most Destructive Storms Explored in Intellicast.com Article
BILLERICA, Mass., Aug 3, 2000 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Most people in the Northeast
have never experienced a major hurricane. That could change. It's not a matter
of "if" but "when" one will hit, according to veteran meteorologist Joe D'Aleo.
And this year, the risk is greater because some of the same climate and weather
patterns are in place that brought some great hurricanes like that of 1938. Both
were La Nina years, and the same unusual jet stream pattern that has produced
the rain and cooler temperatures this summer helped steer that infamous storm to
the northeastern states in 1938.
"It couldn't sneak up on us like in 1938 because of today's technology, but even
with good storm tracking and forecasts, the results would be nothing short of
catastrophic," said D'Aleo, chief meteorologist at Intellicast.com. "It would be
the ultimate test of emergency preparedness plans developed in the 52 years
since that horror."
The Hurricane of '38, also in a La Nina summer in which more atmosphere
disturbances tend to organize into tropical storms, caught forecasters and
Northeast residents by total surprise. It had been many decades since the region
felt a major hurricane and that storm's early path indicated it would curve
harmlessly out to sea. But while out of sight from observation ships (before the
satellite age), it re-curved back to land, slamming into New York and New
England with 20-foot tides, and the equivalent of three 10- megaton bombs
exploding each hour. The devastating results included 564 dead, 1,700 injured
and an incredible 2 billion trees downed along with utility lines. The flooding
in parts of New England was the worst in history.
With all the development in the region since 1938, it has been estimated that a
repeat storm today would produce over $19 billion dollars total damage.
"Anyone living, working or vacationing in vulnerable regions should recognize
the danger, monitor advisories and know what to do when watches and warnings are
issued," said D'Aleo. "We may not be able to significantly reduce the damage it
would inflict, but hopefully we could reduce the death toll when another storm
like that in 1938 inevitably happens again."
For a blow-by-blow, 6-page history written by D'Aleo on the Hurricane of '38 and
more background on other La Nina storms over the past half century, visit
www.intellicast.com.
About WSI
Weather Services International (WSI Corporation), a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Landmark Communications, is one of the world's largest suppliers of real-time
weather data, imagery, programming and weather forecast services to customers in
the broadcast, aviation, utilities, and government markets. More information
about WSI can be found at www.wsicorp.com. WSI's premier online weather site for
outdoor recreation enthusiasts including golfers, sailors and boaters can be
found at www.intellicast.com.
Landmark Communications is a privately held multi-media company with national
and international interests in newspapers, broadcasting, cable programming,
interactive media and other interests. Landmark, based in Norfolk, Va., employs
more than 5,000 people in 20 states and Europe. Landmark owns The Weather
Channel Networks, which include The Weather Channel, headquartered in Atlanta;
weather.com; El Canal del Tiempo, broadcasting to Latin America; and O Canal do
Tempo, serving Brazil. It owns CBS-TV affiliates NewsChannel 5 Network in
Nashville and KLAS TV in Las Vegas; and the Travel network based in London. More
information about Landmark can be found at www.landmarkcom.com.
CONTACT: Weather Services International LNS Communications
Janet Knudsen Amy Farrell
(978) 262-0715 (617) 577-9777
jknudsen@wsicorp.com afarrell@LNScom.com
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