On the anniversary of ’38 storm, Atlantic hurricane season of 2015 quiet so far

Today marks the 77th anniversary of the Great New England Hurricane of 1938, one of the most powerful and destructive hurricanes in recorded history.

Eastern Long Island bore the brunt of this powerful storm on the island. It was not predicted and most locals were taken by surprise when it made landfall near Bellport on the afternoon of Sept. 21 as a category three storm with winds in excess of 120 mph.

The storm left 700 people dead and 63,000 homeless across Long Island and New England. It destroyed nearly 9,000 homes and other buildings and did $620 million in damage (1938 dollars).

The fast-moving storm, with a forward speed of 47 mph, had an approximate pressure of 27.79 inches (941 mb) when it crossed the island. The hurricane produced a destructive storm surge flooding coastal communities, as well as producing three to seven inches of rainfall, according to the National Weather Service. Its force created the Shinnecock Inlet and widened Moriches Inlet and decimated coastal communities from Long Island to Massachusetts.

We’re just past the halfway mark of the Atlantic hurricane season and it’s been a quiet one so far, with only one major hurricane, Danny (Aug. 18-24). Danny did not make landfall as a hurricane, however, crossing the Leeward Islands as a tropical storm and dwindling to a tropical depression before it brought rain to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Aug. 25.

Currently Tropical Storm Ida is gaining strength over the open Atlantic. “Ida is moving toward the north-northwest near 8 mph, and this general motion accompanied by a decrease in forward speed is expected today,” according to the National Hurricane Center. “A slow meandering motion is forecast to occur on Tuesday.”

Ida’s maximum sustained winds have increased to near 50 mph with higher gusts. Additional strengthening is forecast during the next day or so, followed by slight weakening on Wednesday, according to the weather service. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles from the center.

Hurricane activity this season, which ends Nov. 30, is just 40 percent of normal for this time of year, according to the weather service. Forecasters say that’s the result of El Niño, which is defined by the presence of warmer than normal ocean temperatures in the tropical Pacific. Its influence on the upper-level wind patterns over the Atlantic Ocean suppresses the number of tropical cyclones forming there.

Riverhead Free Library is offering a hurricane preparedness seminar on Wednesday at 7 p.m.