September 21

Hurricane season opened on June 1 and this year, if you live near the water on Long Island or New England, I suggest that you make certain that your homeowner’s insurance policy is paid for and in force. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has determined that those two locales are in 100-year zones, meaning that once a century a storm will hit the areas with devastating force. A Category 3 hurricane hit Long Island on the 21st in 1938. The force of the storm broke the island into pieces before heading for New England. Montauk became, briefly, an island when the Napeague Stretch was washed away. A bit to the west, the storm tore through the island in Southampton. The Shinnecock Canal is only there today because the Army Corps of Engineers decided to keep the channel that the storm created open. The tallest structure on the East End was the Whalers Church in Sag Harbor. Its steeple was toppled by the wind and has yet to be replaced. As happens every time there is a big storm, Dune Road in Westhampton was washed away. All reports that I have read say that in all likelihood, this was NOT the hundred-year storm everyone is anticipating.