It has been nearly a month since Tropical Storm Irene delivered heavy rain, damaging winds, and knocked out power for several days for many people across southwestern Connecticut. More than 800,000 customers of United Illuminating and Connecticut Light and Power were without electricity, setting a record in Connecticut. The previous record happned during Hurricane Gloria, which occurred 26 years ago today.
I was a rookie educator at the time, having just secured my first position as a seventh grade teacher at a private school in New Haven. Weather was my passion, naturally, and I was able to share my excitement at the upcoming storm with my students. Just three weeks into the profession, I received a week's vacation unexpectedly.
I was also a weekend newscaster and disc jockey at WMMM radio in Westport. I received a phone call from program director Gary Zenobia just after I returned home from school on Thursday afternoon requesting that I host an overnight newscast to inform our listeners about the impending storm and emergency measures which may have to be taken. WMMM was a daytime-only station, meaning it was on the air during daylight hours and signed off at sunset, but this time it was granted an exception by the Federal Communications Commission.
As my family was applying tape to picture windows, securing lawn furniture, stocking up on non-perishable food, and checking batteries for flashlights and portable radios, I was packing a bag for my overnight stay at the radio station. We had a few reporters "on location" at various shelters throughout town, and then-First Selectman William Seiden joined me on the air most of the night to reassure listeners that their safety was our primary concern.
The overnight hours were anxious moments for all of us as we awaited the arrival of the storm. Local shelters began to fill up quickly, and I remember answering the telephone every couple of minutes from town residents who were sharing their concerns and fears. Gloria struck fast and furiously. The hurricane hit New York and Connecticut as a moderate hurricane early the next day. At the time of landfall on Long Island, Gloria had sustained winds of 85 miles per hour, while rapidly moving forward at 35 miles per hour.
This combination of sustained winds and rapid forward motion produced major hurricane conditions and gusts to 115 mph across a narrow area of Eastern Long Island, New York. Although Gloria was not a major hurricane when it struck Connecticut, it was still the most damaging hurricane to strike the state since Carol in 1954. The rain began overnight, and before long the winds became a serious matter.
As the morning wore on, Gloria continued to accelerate northward off the Eastern seaboard, brushing the coastlines of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey with hurricane-force gusts. Later that morning, Gloria finally crossed the coast of the United States mainland near western Long Island about 10-miles East of Kennedy International Airport. Passing over central Long Island, Gloria crossed the Connecticut coast near Bridgeport about 40 minutes later with sustained winds of 80 mph. By that time, I was already home, but there was no way I was going to go to sleep.
I recall the eye of the hurricane passing almost directly overhead by midday. That's when the skies cleared, the winds calmed dramatically, and the damage was plainly visible. Downed trees, power lines, and debris scattered just about everywhere greeted us as we stepped outside. Naturally, the power was out, too, and we remained "in the dark" for almost six days. Needless to say, I didn't have to worry about any lesson plans for quite awhile.
There were very few wind reports near the area of landfall in New York and Connecticut due to the complete evacuation of Coast Guard personnel from stations across the region. The strongest official wind gust recorded on Long Island was 84 mph at Islip. In Connecticut, the National Weather Service at Sikorsky Airport in Stratford recorded sustained winds of 74 mph with a gust to 92 mph.
A barometric pressure of 28.37 inches was measured by aircraft when Gloria crossed Long Island. The National Weather Service at Kennedy International Airport recorded a minimum pressure of 28.57 inches, while Sikorsky Airport in Bridgeport, Connecticut, recorded a low pressure of 28.47 inches. This was the lowest barometric pressure recorded in Connecticut and New York since Donna in 1960, 25 years earlier.
Gloria produced weak Category Two hurricane conditions across southwestern Connecticut. The storm continued to lose intensity as it passed over Long Island. Peak wind gusts in south-central and southeastern Connecticut were close to 95 mph as the tropical cyclone swept over the region. The metropolitan New Haven area was hit with wind gusts of 90 mph and heavy rain. There were only a few reports of minimal structural damage in southwestern Connecticut. Tree damage in Connecticut was heavy within 10 to 20 miles of the coast, and along the coast from around Bridgeport to New London.
By late Friday afternoon, the storm was long gone, but the cleanup was just staring. Since the power was out, my family and I headed to nearby Bridgeport to have dinner at a restaurant which was operating on emergency generators. I still think of Gloria whenever I drive past that restaurant. In fact, I still have my framed certificate from Mr. Seiden thanking me for my service to Westport. It was a storm I'll never forget.
Paul
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