25 Years Later: Remembering Hurricane Bob

Twenty-five years ago today, Tropical Storm Bob strengthened into a hurricane just east of Florida.

At its peak intensity, Bob was a category 3 hurricane and weakened to a category 2 at landfall in New England. We’ve seen fringe impacts from hurricanes since Bob, but that was the most recent land-falling hurricane in New England.

As you can see on the map (courtesy of Weather Underground), Bob made landfall in Rhode Island twice: first on Block Island, then in Newport.

Winds gusted to 125 MPH in Brewster and North Truro with sustained winds of 100 MPH. Those winds were strong enough to bring down trees and utility poles. At the peak of the storm, 60% of southeast Massachusetts was without power.

The storm surge was destructive and according to the Massachusetts Department of Energy and Environmental Affairs, “Mattapoisett was also hit hard, with 29 of 37 homes destroyed on Cove Street and 32 of 35 homes destroyed on Angelica Point.”

For this meteorologist – the power Hurricane Bob left me in awe and sparked my interest in meteorology.

Send your photos and memories about this powerful hurricane to shareit@www.necn.com, and it could be featured on air.

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