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Batten down the Hatches!


Riding out a Gale On this day in 1893, a devastating hurricane hit Savannah and Charleston.

On the Atlantic coast, the hurricane season lasts from June until November. These days, scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration use specially equipped airplanes to take measurements during hurricanes so that they can understand and predict these massive storms.

The fishermen in Edward Moran's Riding out a Gale seem less interested in studying the storm than in getting through it! The warm ochre tones of their boat and clothing contrast sharply with the bluish greens of the sea, just as the ocean's usual harmony with their profession contrasts with the violent tempest.

Pictured: Edward Moran, 1829 England–1901 USA, Riding out a Gale, 1889, oil, 22 1/4 x 27 7/8 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Clara L. Tuckerman.