Great September Gale of 1815
| Category 4 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS) | |
The Great Storm of 1815 sends ships and water into downtown Providence, Rhode Island
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| Formed | before September 22, 1815 |
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| Dissipated | September 24, 1815 |
| Highest winds |
1-minute sustained: 135 mph (215 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | ≤ 947 mbar (hPa); 27.96 inHg (Estimated ) |
| Fatalities | 38+ direct |
| Damage | $12.5 million (1815 USD) |
| Areas affected | New England |
| Part of the 1815 Atlantic hurricane season | |
The Great September Gale of 1815 (the word "hurricane" was not yet current in American English at the time) is one of five "major hurricanes" (Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale) to strike New England since 1635. At the time it struck, the Great September Gale was the first hurricane to strike New England in 180 years.
After striking on Long Island, the hurricane caused major damages in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Rhode Island suffered the worst damage, as the storm surge flooded towns along Narragansett Bay up to and including Providence.
The hurricane first struck the Turks Islands near the Bahamas on September 20, with a strength estimated to have been equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane.
The storm struck Long Island on September 23, 1815, probably coming ashore near Center Moriches (Ludlum) around 7:00 A.M. On the south shore of Long Island it broke through the barrier beach and created the inlet that still isolates Long Beach, which had previously been an eastward extension of The Rockaways.
Around 9:00 A.M. the storm came ashore at Saybrook, Connecticut with the force of what would now be considered a Category 3 hurricane. Waves of up to six feet were reported in New London.
The "Great Storm" (or "Great Gale"), as it was known there, hit Providence, Rhode Island on the morning of September 23. From about 10:00 A.M. to noon, the storm delivered a storm surge that funneled up Narragansett Bay where it destroyed some 500 houses and 35 ships. Dozens of ships were deposited on the streets of Providence. The bowsprit of the ship "Ganges" was smashed into the third-story of the Washington Insurance Company building. The Second Baptist Meeting House was destroyed. Most of the buildings on the east side from south of the Market House to India Point were destroyed. At India Point, houses and wharves were destroyed. Both the Washington Bridge and the Central (Red) Bridge were uprooted from their piers and destroyed.
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