Historedia
AmericasEvent

Portland Gale blizzard strikes coastal New England

When
1898
Where
India Wharf; Cohasset harbor and Nantucket
Episodes
2

The Portland Gale was a storm that struck the coast of New England on November 26 and 27, 1898. The event is notably associated with the steamship SS Portland, which departed Boston for Portland, Maine, on November 26. The storm resulted in the loss of the ship and its 192 passengers and crew, as well as significant damage to coastal areas including Cohasset and Nantucket.

Episodes

  1. November 26–27, 1898 · India WharfLoss of the SS Portland

    The steamship SS Portland departed Boston for Portland, Maine, on November 26, 1898, during the Portland Gale. None of the 192 passengers and crew survived the storm.

  2. November 26–27, 1898 · Cohasset harbor and NantucketCoastal Damage and Geographic Changes

    The storm produced a storm surge of about ten feet in Cohasset harbor and hurricane-force winds in Nantucket, killing more than 400 people and sinking more than 150 boats.

Background and detail

Background. The Portland Gale formed when two low pressure areas merged off the coast of Virginia and travelled up the coast. At its peak, the storm produced a storm surge of about ten feet in Cohasset harbor and hurricane-force winds in Nantucket. The event killed more than 400 people and sank more than 150 boats and ships.

Maritime Impact. On November 26, 1898, the steamship SS Portland left India Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts, for Portland, Maine, on a regularly scheduled run. She never made it to port. None of the 192 passengers and crew survived the massive storm that wreaked havoc on New England's coast.

Geographic Changes. The storm changed the course of the North River, separating the Humarock portion of Scituate, Massachusetts, from the rest of Scituate. This alteration to the local geography was a direct result of the storm's intensity and impact on the coastal landscape.

People involved

Sources

  1. Portland Gale Wikipedia, revision of 2026-04-06

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.