1938 - The Great New England Hurricane or The Long Island ExpressThe Long Island Express was a fast-moving Category 3 hurricane that struck Long Island and New England with little warning on September 21. The center made landfall at the time of astronomical high tide, bringing a storm surge of 10 to 12 feet (storm tide of 14 to 18 feet). This surge inundated the coasts of Rhode Island, Connecticut, southeastern Massachusetts, and Long Island, NY. The area from New London to Cape Cod saw tides of 18 to 25 feet. Narragansett Bay reported a maximum surge of almost 14 feet (storm tide of 19 feet), while downtown Providence, RI, was submerged under a storm tide of nearly 20 feet. Sections of Falmouth and New Bedford, MA, were submerged under as much as 8 feet of water. Even Sandy Hook, NJ, reported tide of 8.2 feet above mean low water. Deaths from the hurricane were reported at 564, with 8,900 homes destroyed and another 15,000 damaged, while damage estimates were set at $308 million.
1936 - Hurricane (North Carolina, Virginia)This hurricane reached Category 3 status while threatening coastal North Carolina and Virginia, brushing
the Nags Head-Corolla area and passing within 25 miles of Virginia Beach, in mid-September. Tide levels
at Sewells Point, VA, were pushed to 9.3 feet above mean lower low water, and downtown Norfolk was severely flooded. Because of advanced warning, only 1 person was killed in this hurricane.
1935 - Labor Day Hurricane (Southern Florida/Florida Keys)The Labor Day Hurricane was a Category 5 when it hit the Florida Keys on September 3, bringing a storm surge of 18 to 20 feet. This very compact hurricane forged a path of near complete destruction, with much
of the damage caused by the overwhelming depth and strong flow of the storm tide that piled up on the Keys. The storm surge was described in reports as a "wall of water" in regard to how fast the water rose. The Labor Day Hurricane caused more than $6 million in damage, including the destruction of the Florida East Coast Railroad tracks and an 11-car train. The Labor Day Hurricane was responsible for 423 deaths.
1933 - Hurricane (North Carolina, Virginia)
This hurricane made landfall on September 16 in the Cape Lookout, NC, area at a Category 3 intensity, bringing tides in the western Pamlico Sound of 10 feet above mean lower low water, severely flooding the area. The hurricane then made a turn more to the north-northeast, moving into the Atlantic near Corolla, NC, on the Virginia-North Carolina border. Tides at Sewells Point, VA, crested at 8.3 feet above mean lower low water. Much damage was seen from south of New Bern, NC, to the Virginia Capes, with water reaching a height of 3 to 4 feet in some of New Bern's streets. The intensity and direction of the winds as the hurricane moved back out to sea resulted in "blow-out" tides along the north shore of the Albemarle Sound from Elizabeth City, NC, westward, resulting in the lowest tides ever recorded for the northern banks of the Albemarle Sound. According to reports, 21 lives were lost due to this hurricane.
1933 - Chesapeake-Potomac Hurricane (North Carolina, Virginia, Washington DC)
The Chesapeake-Potomac Hurricane made landfall in the Nags Head, NC, area on August 23, moving across South Norfolk (northern Chesapeake) as a minimal Category 2 hurricane in terms of storm surge and central pressure (winds only reached the level of a Category 1 hurricane). Tides at Sewells Point, VA, reached a full 9.8 feet above mean lower low water. Downtown Norfolk and Portsmouth, VA, recorded tide levels of 9.0 and 9.3 feet above mean lower low water respectively, flooding the downtown business section of Norfolk. A large portion of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries showed tide levels of 6 to 9 feet above mean lower low water, while the tidal Potomac River crested at 12 feet above mean lower low water, severely flooding Alexandria, VA, and Washington, DC. This hurricane was responsible for 18 deaths, and damage was estimated to be more than $17 million, with most of that due to high tides.
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