Coastal flood of February 7, 1978, in Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire

Abstract

The storm produced record snowfall in many areas of Rhode Island and Massochusetts. Spring high tides (sun and moon in such alinement as to cause the highest tides of the month), a stationary storm center, and hurricane force winds combined to produce record high flood levels along much of the Massachusetts to Maine coastline on February 7. Tidal gages recorded new highs of 10.4 feet in Boston, Massachusetts, and 9.6 feet in Portland, Maine. Fifty-four lives were lost because of the storm. Property damage was greatest along the Massachusetts coastline north of Cape Cod. The total cost of the storm-principally property damage, snow removal, and economic losses-approached $1 billion. This report contains data which document the flooding along parts of the New England coast. E levat i ons of 203 floodmarks in Massachusetts, 104 in Maine, and 46 in New Hampshire are given. Also included are some historical coastal flood data and a li st of other storm-related studies.. This report contains elevations of 203 high-water marks in Massachusetts, 104 in 0atne, and 46 in New Hampshire. The high-water marks were found along the tmmediate coast, in sheltered bays, and in estuaries of selected rivers. possible through funding by the U.S. Army Corps of Eng 1neers. Surveys of high-water marks were made by the Massachusetts Department of Public Works and the New Engl and Division of Corps of Engineers. Photographs of flooding and damage were provided by The Boston Globe and Boston Herald American. THE STORM AND ITS EFFECTS The storm, called "The Blizzard of 1978," formed in the Carolinas and moved northward along the Atlantic seaboard. By Monday morning, February 6, its center m<J reached a positipn between Long Island and Cape Cod. It remained in that position almost 48 hours before finally moving slowly out to sea on Wednesday. Winds accompanying the storm were of hurricane force. Peak wind velocities o! 79 mi/h at Logan Airport in Boston and 92 mi/h at Chatham Weather Station on Cape Cod were recorded, and winds in excess of 100 mi/h were unofficially reported elsewhere in Massachusetts. Most of the New England coastline from Provincetown, Cape Cod, to eastern Maine received the full effects of northeasterly winds. That coastline was flooded during the evening of February 6 and midmorning of February 7. On F ebruory1, tidal gages recorded new highs of 10.4 feet in Boston and 9.6 feet in Portland. The predicted highs at these gages were 6.6 feet and 6.4 feet, respectively. The tide level o! 10.1 feet recorded in Boston during the evening of February 6 equaled the previous record set in 1851. In Portland, the previous high of 8.7 feet occurred in 1944 and 1945. The storm produced record snowfall in many areas. Parts of Rhode Island on Massachusetts received more than 30 inches of snow, and most of southern New England received more than 20 inches. Vehicles were banned from highways in most o Massachusetts and Rhode Island for as long as a week, while local and State agencies cleared snow-clogged streets. The storm took 54 I ive...

Total water level data from the January and March 2018 nor’easters for coastal areas of New England

“…The eastern coastline of New England has been affected by many nor'easters. Before the January and March 2018 nor'easters, some of the most damaging nor'easters since the February 1978(Gadoury, 1979 nor'easter have been the October 1991 (Kedzierski, 1992), December 1992, and January 2015 (Massey and Verdi, 2015) nor'easters. All 6 of these nor'easters have total water level elevations that rank in the highest 10 peak total water level elevations at the NOAA tide gage in Boston (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2018a).…”