88 years since the 1938 Category 3 hurricane hit New England

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Warning areas and potential impact

When we think of hurricanes striking the Northeast, they are usually Category 1 or 2 storms at most.

A Category 3 landfall is rare, but that is exactly what happened in 1938.

The storm began as a tropical wave that moved off the coast of Africa near the Cape Verde Islands on Sept. 9, 1938.

It tracked westward across the Atlantic and strengthened into a hurricane over the central Atlantic on Sept. 15. By Sept.

18, it had reached Category 4 strength, and it peaked as a Category 5 storm on Sept. 20 as it turned northward near the Bahamas.

The hurricane weakened back to Category 4 later on Sept. 20 as it paralleled the East Coast.

It then continued north and eventually made landfall on Long Island, New York as a major Category 3 hurricane on Sept. 21.