Remember when Hurricane Irene hit New England?

Fortunately, here in New England, we rarely get hit by hurricanes or tropical storms.

However, it happens.

In 2023, we were hit by two tropical storms back to back. This year, we’ve already had two close brushes with significant storms.

That said, it’s been a while since we’ve been hit directly by a hurricane or tropical storm. One of the last to hit us was Hurricane Irene in 2011.

Hurricane Irene

This week in 2011, Hurricane Irene made landfall in New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

According to the National Weather Service, Hurricane Irene first made landfall in Cape Lookout, North Carolina on August 27, 2011. The storm continued to move northeast, where it slammed into New York and Massachusetts.

By the evening of August 28, the storm was bringing winds of 60 knots per hour and rain to New Hampshire and Maine.

Much of the storm’s damage was caused by the insane flooding it caused.

During the storm, many New England rivers set flood records. According to the National Weather Service, rivers on this list include:

• This storm brought the seventh highest Pemigewasset River crest of all time in Holderness, NH to 21.35 feet.
• Pemigewasset River at Woodstock (flood stage 9.0 ft), which rose to 16.5 ft.
• Pemigewasset River at Plymouth (flood stage 13.0 ft), which rose to 21.7 ft.
• Ammonoosuc River at Bethlehem (flood stage 8.0 ft), which rose to 10.9 ft.
• Baker River at Rumney (flood stage 10.0 ft), which rose to 14.0 ft.
• Saco River at Conway (flood stage 9.0 ft), which has risen to 17.2.
• The Connecticut River at West Lebanon (flood stage 18.0 ft), which rose to 29.6 ft.
• Suncook River at North Chichester (flood stage 7.0 ft), which rose to 8.1 ft.

By the time the storm dissipated, it had killed 58 people and caused more than $14 billion in damage.

Irene wasn’t the only major storm to hit New England in the early 2000s.

Superstorm Sandy

Just over a year after Irene, the Northeast was hit by Hurricane Sandy (AKA Super Storm Sandy).

Sandy wreaked havoc on the East Coast during the third week of October 2012. The storm killed more than 250 people and caused nearly $69 billion in damage.