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Seven Superstorms of the Northeast: And Other Blizzards, Hurricanes, and Tempests
Seven Superstorms of the Northeast: And Other Blizzards, Hurricanes, and Tempests
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Seven Superstorms of the Northeast takes readers on a genuine wild ride
through some of the region's historically most destructive storms - in a
pre-Weather Channel, pre-satellite, pre-Doppler radar world.
The book's title stems from seven monster storms including the blizzards of
1888, 1899, and 1914, the Snow Cloudburst of 1947, the Great Appalachian
southeaster of 1950, and the hurricanes of 1938 and 1944. Sprinkled around the
jaw-dropping accounts of these superstorms are stories of lesser, but no less
impressive, storms such as the two August hurricanes of 1893 and other storms of
the winter of 1913-1914.
These days, a storm receives a "super" prefix if news stations deem it worth
colorful graphics and tense music in their coverage. There seem to have been
more "superstorms" and "storms of the century" over the past two decades than
there were during the two centuries prior. But Seven Superstorms may change that
perception. This book offers historical perspective that sets the record
straight. It reveals that a true superstorm meant enough wild weather to shut
down entire regions of the country, blizzards so devastating they could
disfigure a man's face, hurricanes so powerful they swept tidal waves onto Main
Streets. A climatological Cooperstown, this book is the Hall of Fame of
Northeast weather.
Although most of the accounts are from a time when meteorology was more of a
guessing game than the forecasting industry it is today, there is still
something familiar about the settings. The beaches and the boardwalks are still
there and the familiar pubs, department stores, and cultural facilities of the
big cities that can still lift spirits today. This leads us to the eye of this
storm book - its humanity. The human experience takes this book from being
simply a chronicle of storm facts to a narrative about how people come together
when confronted with natural crises.
When it came to man versus the storm, man put up a good fight, and it is
amazing to read how long the daily grind held on before it collapsed under the
clutches of the storms. People would be defiant in the face of danger. Some
would emerge victorious. But some would end their epic struggle against forces
beyond their control and they would perish, lost on the same streets they walked
every day. Some would brave the harshest weather just to do their daily jobs -
even if that job wasn't exactly a priority at the moment (as one intrepid
ice-delivery man discovered during a blizzard). Even in the darkness of calamity
there are wonderfully ironic tales which honor humanity's ability to find humor
in even the most hazardous situation.
The book is soundly based on reports found in newspaper accounts and
historical archives, but, as the author admits, a few period tales from within
the tempests border on exaggeration. Yet these fierce weather fish stories only
add to the pleasure of this book, and the author gives a detailed meteorological
explanation of each storm's development. Anyone who enjoys man-versus-nature
suspense - and the accompanying devastating results - will find these stories
exhilarating. This is a book where storms become legends.
There are certain aspects of life that connect all human beings. We love, we
hate, we eat, we sleep, we breathe, we die - and we experience the weather.
Occasionally, in ways both blessedly good and biblically tragic, we experience
some of these existential things at the same time. From the joy of feeling the
first warm rays of the spring sun to the terror of watching homes being
destroyed by a hurricane - and in every condition in between - we all can
appreciate the weather. And, sometimes, the weather can bring us together in a
manner we would have never thought possible. Often, out of massive tragedy and
destruction comes an outpouring of faith and a unity of purpose among man. But
one thing is for sure, as we discover in Seven Superstorms of the Northeast,
when dealing with Mother Nature there is nothing we can count out as
impossible.
Author James Lincoln Turner is a man who loves storms. He loves them in the
abstract way that a meteorologist appreciates the nuances of science; he loves
them in the way a poet appreciates the beauty and the sensory experience of
weather; and he loves them in the way that an adventurer feeds off of the
adrenaline-charged fear they generate. The author's accounts will grip you as he
describes the inception of the storm. You follow along as unsuspecting towns are
overturned with little warning while the storm grows and casts its tumultuous
hold on the masses. You find yourself holding your breath until the last gust of
wind blows.