|
Four Short Blasts by Peter Dow Bachelder & Mason Philip Smith Gale of 1898 Steam
Four Short Blasts by Peter Dow Bachelder & Mason Philip Smith
The gale of 1898 and the loss of the Steamer Portland Soft Cover
127 pages
Copyright 1998
CONTENTS
Acknowledgmentsvii
Introductionix
CHAPTER ONE: Anatomy of the Great November 1898 Gale1
CHAPTER Two: The Portland Saga, New England's Worst Sea Disaster6
CHAPTER THREE: Disaster and Devastation at Sea33
CHAPTER FOUR: The Storm's Effects Ashore56
CHAPTER FIVE: The Portland Sinking: More Questions Than Answers64
CHAPTER SIX: The Aftermath85
CHAPTER SEVEN: The Legend Grows93
Appendix One: List of victims of the Portland disaster108
Appendix Two: List of vessels lost or damaged in the Great November 1898 Gale 111
Bibliography 121
Illustration Credits 122
Index123
INTRODUCTION
New England's Weather: Its Origins and Influences
Air masses affecting New England's weather originate hundreds, often even thousands of miles away. Some are born in marine environments such as the stormy North Pacific Ocean and the ever-warm Gulf of Mexico; others develop in continental climes, including the cold reaches of northern Canada and the Arctic, the blazing deserts of the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico. En route to the northeast they are typically modified to some extent, either by interacting with contrasting air masses or by the terrain over which they pass.
These weather systems are propelled by powerful steering currents several miles up in the atmosphere. Where the flow is strongest, weathercasters refer to the core as the jet stream-a powerful ribbon of air that typically speeds along at well over one hundred knots.
When the jet stream moves in an essentially west-to-east fashion, the resulting movement of systems is called zonal and is mostly storm-free. In a zonal flow, contrasting air masses-necessary to create stormy conditions-are kept apart. Colder, drier air is contained to the north, and warmer, moister air is prevented from flowing north. But when the jet develops undulations-a southerly dip is called a trough; a northerly bent, a ridge-warm and cold air frequently reach well beyond their normal ranges. Then, contrasting systems clash and the general weather pattern takes on more turbulent characteristics.
New England's more vigorous weather is frequently triggered when tropical air surges northward from the Gulf of Mexico or is drawn in from the Gulf Stream, a warm ocean current off the Atlantic seaboard. As these moisture-laden streams override outbreaks of dry, polar air spilling down from northern and east-central Canada, storminess is the inevitable result.
Storm Tracks and the Northeast
The northeastern U.S. has the dubious distinction of being a favorite area for differing air masses to do battle. Sometimes, an area of low pressure riding across the western U.S. will descend a trough in the mid-section of the country and tap Gulf moisture that sustains and strengthens it as it recurves toward the east coast. On other occasions, a low reaches a position near the Great Lakes, where it transfers energy to a secondary development off the mid-Atlantic states. In the latter case, the newly formed system-if the critical conditions come together at the right moment-will wind itself into a powerful ocean storm. When this happens, winds near the center of circulation sometimes reach hurricane force and, depending on the time of year and the amount of cold air north and west of the storm track, precipitation wrapping around the system falls as drenching rains or blinding snows.
America's Weather Pioneers
Mark Twain usually gets the credit for coining the phrase,"Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody ever does anything about it." Actually, it was his associate, Charles Dudley Warner, who penned the expression as part of an 1897 Hartford Courant editorial. Long before then, however, many Americans had shown a keen interest in trying to understand the atmosphere and what makes it tick, even if they couldn't influence it.
In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, John Jeffries, John Winthrop, and William Plumer were among the country's more prominent "weather scientists." Jeffries compiled two sets of detailed weather notes in Boston between 1774 and 1816 and was aboard the first scientific balloon ascent to measure the characteristics of free air from aloft. Winthrop and Plumer kept extensive diaries and journals at various locations around New England and in Washington, D.C.
Even such luminaries as Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson were significant contributors to the developing body of early weather knowledge. Franklin's experiments with lightning are well known, although few realize it was he who first recognized how storm systems move-a significant step in forecasting. Jefferson studied the nation's climate at length, routinely taking observations of temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and direction, and sky conditions. George Washington faithfully kept a weather diary until the week he died.
Weather Forecasting Comes of Age
Soon after the founding fathers created a federal government, the study of weather became a part of the country's ongoing business. In 1814, the first American weather observer network was established within the U.S. Army's Medical Department. In 1870, Congress authorized a national weather service, as a branch of the Army Signal Service, and organized a network of reporting stations. Twenty-one years later, it created the U.S. Weather Bureau, which took over and expanded the duties of the Signal Corps.
Even with all this attention and activity, the science of meteorology was still in its relative infancy in the late nineteenth century. Forecasters had developed a basic understanding of how high and low pressure areas interact, but were largely limited to studying them in two dimensions. They knew little of what went on above the earth's surface, where the steering currents that move weather systems are located.
Prior to 1900, Weather Bureau headquarters in Washington gathered the latest conditions and issued forecasts twice a day, via electric telegraph, to each of its regional offices and branches. It also put out special statements, warnings, and advisories whenever threatening conditions warranted. The local offices, in turn, relayed the individual predictions and directives to neighboring subscribers such as railroads, steamship lines, and a host of commercial interests whose businesses served the public welfare.
Until the advent of wireless communication, daily newspapers brought the latest local weather news into America's homes. Most printed it on the front page of each edition. The popular byline included the current forecast and the next day's outlook, as well as brief statistics about the previous day's happenings, such as high and low temperatures and the amount of rain or snow that had fallen. Often, a paper captioned the forecast with an appropriate, single-descriptive word, ornamented by a cartoon image. One illustration showed a small child in Santa-style cap and mittens, holding a placard with the word Snow boldly displayed, while large flakes danced in the background.
Forecasting the Great Gale of November 26-27, 1898
The great gale of November 26-27, 1898, affected New England on Thanksgiving weekend-late Saturday through much of Sunday. While Weather Bureau prognosticators had no advance inkling of the storm's ultimate intensity and duration, nor a real sense of when it would affect the northeast, they did gauge its formation and movement with a fair amount of accuracy. On Friday evening, November 25, it was the timing of the forecast which left something to be desired:
Forecast for Saturday: For New England, fair, continued cold, brisk westerly, shifting to southerly winds. For eastern New York, increasing cloudiness and rain or snow by Saturday night, rising temperature, winds shifting to brisk southerly.
Outlook for Sunday: The weather in New England Sunday will be unsettled, and rain or snow is possible, most likely in the afternoon or night. The foul weather depends on the movement and development of a storm now apparently in the gulf of Mexico. The temperature will not change decidedly.
Saturday morning's early prediction was similar, but in light of rapidly changing conditions, Washington forecasters perceived a dramatic weather event in the making. Prior
to noon, they issued special wind and snow advisories for "maritime, commercial, and traffic interests" and amended the previous advisory for the general public:
Forecast for Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, heavy snow and warmer tonight; Sunday, snow and much colder; southeasterly winds shifting by tonight to northeasterly gales.
For Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, heavy snow tonight; Sunday, snow, followed by clearing and much colder weather; southeasterly, shifting to northeasterly gales tonight, and northwesterly gales by Sunday.
A Storm for the Ages
The Saturday forenoon prognosis would prove all too true. What it did not-indeed, could not-take into account were the extreme conditions and accompanying destructiveness the approaching storm would unleash. The great gale of November 1898 would prove to be one for the record books-and one most New Englanders would not soon forget.
All pictures are of the actual item. There may be reflection from the lights in some photos. We try to take photos of any damage. If this is a railroad item, this material is obsolete and no longer in use by the railroad. Please email with questions. Publishers of Train Shed Cyclopedias and Stephans Railroad Directories. Large inventory of railroad books and magazines. Thank you for buying from us.
Shipping charges
US Shipments: Ebay will add $1.25 each additional items, there are a few exceptions.
Ebay Global shipping charges are shown. These items are shipped to Kentucky and forwarded to you. Ebay collects the shipping and customs / import fees. Refunds may be issued if you add multiple items to your cart and pay with one payment. For direct postage rates to these countries, send me an email. Shipping varies by weight.
Payment options
Payment must be received within 7 days. Paypal is accepted.
Terms and conditions
All sales are final. Returns accepted if item is not as described. Contact us first. No warranty is stated or implied. Please e-mail us with any questions before bidding.
Thanks for looking at our items.
| 
