Weather

Hurricane of 1938, Niantic
– Archives & Special Collections, University of Connecticut Libraries and Connecticut History Illustrated

From headline-making events, such as blizzards, tornados, and droughts, to the prevailing climactic conditions that helped make the Connecticut River Valley suitable for growing a specialty crop like shade tobacco, weather has played a persistent role in shaping the state’s fortunes. In earlier centuries, foul weather could bring starvation, death at sea, and other grave consequences. Among those who have advanced our knowledge of atmospheric phenomena is William C. Redfield. This self-taught scientist from Middletown earned world-wide acclaim in the mid-1800s for his theories on the rotating wind dynamics of tropical storms. Today, Western Connecticut State University offers one of the few degree granting programs meteorology in the Northeast.

Featured

The Flood That We Forget: October 15 and 16, 1955

When we speak of the “Flood of 1955,” we should remind ourselves that two separate floods, one in August and a second one in October, occurred.  …[more]

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Websites

Connecticut History Online. “The Blizzard of 1888 - The Eye of the Storm: A Journey into the Natural Disasters in Connecticut,” 2012. Link.

Video

Blizzard of 1888, Eye Witness Account on a Webster Wire Recorder 1949, 2011. Link.

Documents

Connecticut State Library. “Aerial Survey of the 1938 Hurricane - Digital Collections,” 2107. Link.

Robert N. Dennis Collection of Steroscopic Views. “Stereoscopic Views of the Tornado at Wallingford, Connecticut, August 9, 1878.” NYPL Digital Gallery, 1878. Link.

Books

Strong, Nehemiah. An Astronomical Diary, Kalendar, or Almanack, for the Year of Our Lord 1792 ... Calculated for the Meridian and Horizon of Hartford, Lat. 41 Deg. 56 Min. North: Longit. 72 Deg. 56 Min. West of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich: But May Serve Indifferently for All the Towns in Connecticut and the Adjacent States. Hartford: Nathaniel Patten, 1791. Link.

Goldstein, Mel. Dr. Mel’s Connecticut Climate Book. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2009.

Kendrick, John. History of the Wallingford Disaster. Hartford, CT: Case  Lockwood & Brainard Company Printers, 1878. Link.

Redfield, William C. On Whirlwind Storms, with Replies to the Objections and Strictures of Dr. Hare. New York: J. S. Redfield, 1842. Link.

Prindle, Charles. The Connecticut Almanack, or Astronomical Calendar, for the Year of Our Lord 1822: ... Calculated for the Meridian of New Haven. New Haven, CT: A.H. Maltby & Company, 1822. Link.

McCain, Diana Ross. “The Great Blizzard, 1888.” In It Happened in Connecticut. Guilford, CT: TwoDot, 2008.

Pearson, Edmund Lester. The Old Librarian’s Almanack: A Very Rare Pamphlet First Published in New Haven, Connecticut in 1773 and Now Reprinted for the First Time. Edited by John Cotton Dana and Henry W. Kent. Woodstock, VT: Elm Tree Press Company, 1909. Link.

Articles

Shea, Jim. “Blizzards: By Any Tally, 1888 Is First.” Hartford Courant. January 23, 2014, sec. Monents In History | Courant 250. Link.

Shea, Jim. “Connecticut’s Past Checkered With Tornado Deaths.” Hartford Courant. January 12, 2014, sec. Moments In History | Courant 250. Link.

Shea, Jim. “Devastating Winds Raked Connecticut During Historic Hurricanes.” Hartford Courant. January 26, 2014, sec. Moments In History | Courant 250. Link.

Shea, Jim. “Floods: Connecticut Knows The Power Of Water.” Hartford Courant. January 5, 2014, sec. Moments In History | Courant 250. Link.