The Great New England Hurricane of 1938 is the most devastating tropical cyclone of all time to affect the region. Only two other comparable storms have been documented before or since. The effects of the storm were all encompassing and affected the entire region and its surroundings, and those that experienced it found many ways to document it (scrapbooks, photographic collections, objects made with fallen wood, songs, poems, fictional stories, as well as a massive number of historical accounts, and technical reports. Dr. Lourdes Avilés has been studying the storm for more than ten years and published a book on its science and history that weaves an interdisciplinary account of the storm and its effects. During that time, she has collected many artifacts, stories, and other pieces of interest that she will be sharing during her talk. She will also put the storm in the context of previous New England Hurricanes and what climate change means for such storms. www.takenbystorm1938.com

Dr. Lourdes Avilés, a Trustee of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, is Professor of Meteorology at Plymouth State University.

This program is part of the Community Project Grants-funded series, "Weather-Wise: Historical Records, Contemporary Conversations." For more information, please visit www.shakermuseum.org.