Historic Storms of Cape Cod

by Donald Wilding

Cape Cod has always been in the path of deadly hurricanes and ferocious storms. Unwelcome summer visitors include the "Long Island Express" Hurricane of 1938, the Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944, the twin Hurricanes Carol and Edna in 1954, and Hurricane Bob in 1991. These storms destroyed countless homes and left several coastal communities under several feet of water. Surging tides carried away houses with residents inside who didn't survive and sank the Coast Guard lightship Vineyard in Buzzards Bay, killing all 12 crew members. Fall and winter brought the benchmark Blizzard of 1978, the nor'easter of January 1987, and the infamous "Perfect Storm" of October 1991 which delivered some of the highest tides ever seen on the Outer Cape. Local author Don Wilding revisits the Cape's most severe weather events and their devastating impact.

160 pages, Paperback

Published May 20, 2024

Reviews

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The facts are all here, with accounts of storms mostly culled from newspaper articles. Kind of dry, with some human interest stories about people who survived or perished.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed remembering several of the storms that author Wilding describes in Historic Storms of Cape Cod, even though I experienced some only through my parents and New England friends. After my parents passed I found their newspaper clippings about the 1938 Great New England Hurricane. Sheltering during Hurricane Donna is one of my first memories.

The blizzard of 1978 destroyed my beloved Outermost House , the setting of one of my favorite books. Hurricane Bob features in The Bobs’ hilarious Mopping, Mopping, Mopping (live performance is best) from way back when. The Perfect Storm became a cultural icon, and an excellent book. And yet, all of these short glimpses at storms didn’t add up to a cohesive whole, maybe because I was simultaneously reading Isaac’s Storm. I didn’t care for the last section, a series of comments on storms about which little is known. It seemed like the author was trying to pad the slim volume.

The book contains many good historical photos and commentary from locals on certain storms. And the poor Lighthouse Inn in Dennis, slammed time and again! Makes me want to go there! As an Outer and Lower Cape fan, I enjoyed reading about the Mid and Upper Cape. I hadn’t realized how vulnerable the southern shore is, and have a couple of new-to-me places on the Bay that I want to visit later this year. I might be a little obsessed with the Cape and with storms.

Probably a niche audience book, but worthwhile if you like storms and Cape Cod.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don Wilding does it again. Terrific book on all the big storms on the Cape. Very well researched and a great read. Looking forward to his 2026 book on rum running.