Imagine the traffic on the turnpike the day before the hurricane hits

Yes. Providence made special steel barriers to lower for future disasters.

There may still be watermarks on period buildings there. The damage was made worse because the ground was saturated from prior rain.

There may still be a few nurse logs in forests that are carcasses of that storm.

I mean, jeeze this wrecked the saw timber industry in southern New England decades. We had insurance companies and damage assement capabilities back then and by all accounts it was the worst thing to hit eastern New England since independence.

Maybe there are some exculpatory technicalities about just how rootin tootin bitchin it was compared with whatever but it was well lodged in the memories of those in its path.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1938_New_England_hurricane

The majority of the storm damage was from storm surge and wind. Damage was estimated at $308 million, (the equivalent of $4.8 billion adjusted for inflation in 2011 dollars), making it among the most costly hurricanes to strike the U.S. mainland. It is estimated that if an identical hurricane struck in 2005 it would have caused $39.2 billion (2005 dollars) in damage, due to changes in population and infrastructure.

Approximately 600 people died in the storm in New England, most in Rhode Island, and up to 100 people elsewhere in the path of the storm. An additional 708 people were reported injured.

In total, 4,500 cottages, farms, and other homes were reported destroyed. An additional 25,000 homes were damaged. Other damages included 26,000 automobiles destroyed and 20,000 electrical poles toppled. The hurricane also devastated the forests of the Northeast, knocking down an estimated 2 billion trees in New York and New England. Freshwater flooding was minimal, however, as the quick passage of the storm decreased local rainfall totals, with only a few small areas receiving over 10 inches (250 mm).

Over 35% of New England's total forest area was affected. In all, over 2.7 billion board feet of trees fell because of the storm. 1.6 billion board feet of the trees were salvaged. The Northeastern Timber Salvage Administration (NETSA) was established to deal with the extreme fire hazard that the fallen timber had created. In many locations, roads from the fallen tree removal were visible decades later and in some cases, became trails still used today. The New Haven Railroad from New Haven to Providence was particularly hard hit, as countless bridges along the Shore Line were destroyed or flooded, severing rail connections to badly affected cities (such as Westerly, Rhode Island) in the process.

More than 50 people perished on Long Island in the storm’s wake. All the shore lines were very vulnerable to the high winds and flooding waves, and anyone who was along or near the shores was directly in harm's way. Due to the lack of technology back in 1938, Long Island residents were not warned of the hurricane's arrival,[18] leaving little to no time to prepare or evacuate. Long Island was struck first, before New England, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Quebec, earning the storm the nickname the "Long Island Express."

The winds reached up to 150 mph with waves surging to around 25–35 feet high. Ten new inlets were created on eastern Long Island. The surge rearranged the sand at the Cedar Point Lighthouse so that the island became connected to what is now Cedar Point County Park. The surging water created the present-day Shinnecock Inlet by carving out a large section of barrier island separating Shinnecock Bay from the Atlantic. The storm toppled the landmark steeple of the tallest building in Sag Harbor, the Old Whaler's Church. The steeple has not been rebuilt. Wading River suffered substantial damage. In Greenport, on the North Fork of Long Island, the storm blew down the movie theater located on Front Street. The fishing industry was destroyed, as was half of the apple crop.

The BPL has photos from both the 1938 storm and Hurricane Carol in '54. I don't think Boston got off lightly.