Hurricane Irene roared into the Northeast early on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011. It was the first significant storm to hit our region since the Great New England Hurricane of 1938 that left devastating floods in its wake.
Rainfall Totals
Inches
SAVOY
9.10
SHELBURNE FALLS
8.50
HEATH
7.70
CHARLEMONT
6.48
CLARKSBURG
6.00
BECKET
5.70
NORTH ADAMS
5.10
WILLIAMSTOWN
4.90
PITTSFIELD
4.71
ADAMS
4.25
National Weather Service
Fast Facts
Irene is the fifth costliest recorded hurricane in the U.S. at $15.9 billion.
The name Irene was retired from the Atlantic hurricane list in early 2012.
Irene resulted in 56 deaths.
National Weather Service
Our readers posted more photos and videos of the storm on our Facebook page. Go to the August 2011 part of our timeline.
Historical Crests for Hoosic River Flood stage is 9 feet
(1) 14.85 ft on 12/31/1948
(2) 13.85 ft on 11/26/1950
(3) 13.75 ft on 08/28/2011
(4) 13.02 ft on 08/10/1976
(5) 12.44 ft on 04/05/1987
(6) 12.35 ft on 10/08/2005
National Weather Service
Rivers in Berkshire County have proved powerful - both in creating industry and destructive floods. At left is a photograph of the Hoosic River at Union Street during the 1948 flood. The image was provided courtesy George Betourney; see more of his flood photos here. Congress approved $20 million in funding in 1950 to build the flood control system in North Adams and Adams. They were completed in 1959. A past article noted in 2004 that "Ironically, since 1949, there have been no major flood-flow events to protect against."
