What if the 1821 Long Island Hurricane happened today?
The details of this storm remain fuzzy. Based on first hand accounts and somewhat spotty meteorological data, we can only know one thing — the Long Island Hurricane of 1821 was a big deal. It was one of only four known tropical cyclones to make landfall in New York City. It made landfall just several hours prior, near Cape May, New Jersey as what would now be defined a strong Category 3 Hurricane. And then, it tracked northward essentially along the Garden State Parkway, briefly back out into open water and then through New York Harbor. The storm struck at low tide, but still produced a near-30 foot storm surge along much of the New Jersey Coast, obliterating any development there and causing significant overwash past the shores.
Obviously, this storm occurred in 1821 — way, way before any major development by modern standards. Areas which were hammered with unprecedented wind, rain and storm surge from the Hurricane of 1821 now are populated by the millions — with incredible development and modernization. A new report, from the ReInsurance behemoth SwissRe, details what would happen if a storm similar to the Hurricane of 1821 occurred today. And the results are not good.