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Hurricane Donna Doesn’t Get the Credit She Deserves.

By M.L.Baron westislandweather.com

When SouthCoast refers to hurricanes past, the big three usually take the front row seat. The 1938, 1944 and 1954 hurricanes are rubber stamped as a reference point for powerful hurricanes that have impacted southern New England. It is rare that Hurricane Donna that struck the area on Sept 12, 1960 ever gets mentioned up in this neck of the woods. Maybe its because there wasn’t a souvenir hurricane photo book published about it, at least that I know of.

However Donna remains as one of the most volatile hurricanes on record. Donna developed off the Cape Verde Islands, a notorious breeding ground for tropical storms in late August. The storm quickly intensified into a Category 3 hurricane. A Category 3 hurricane is considered intense with wind ranging from 111 mph to 135mph. Tidal surges reach up to 12 ft.

On a westerly track, Donna eventually passed north of Puerto Rico and intensified further. It soon became the main focus of attention to The National Weather Service and meteorologists around the world. Hurricane Donna began its historical trek into infamy as it impacted both sides of the Florida peninsula bringing Category 4 force destructive wind gusts of 150 mph and 13 ft tidal surges. The low lying land mass areas of Florida weren’t enough to down grade Donna.
The hurricane remained a Category 3 as it crashed into the Carolinas with 120 mph wind and headed straight for Long Island with nothing to impede or divert its track. Block Island reported wind gusts to 130 mph and New Bedford 90+ mph sustained. Tidal surges ranged from 5 to 10 feet.

Donna still holds the title as the only hurricane to impact the most states in a single hurricane event. The storm is also the 5th strongest on record with the barometer bottoming out at 27.46 inches.

So with all this information put forth, Donna deserves to be part of the legendary group of SouthCoast hurricanes past. While we’re at it, we have a special place in hurricane history for Hurricane Bob as well. The 20th anniversary from southern New England’s last major hurricane is on August 19, 2011. I will soon be putting together a special on Bob for FNN. For more information visit our expanded hurricane features at westislandweather.com.