Date: December 19, 1951

Location: Stephenville Crossing – Summerside

Easting: 393400

Northing: 5373400

Latitude: 48° 30′ 00″ N

Longitude: 58° 26′ 00″ W

Fatalities: 0

Injuries: 0

Source: Western Star, Dec 28, 1951

A severe storm at Stephenville Crossing washed out the rail bed and 15 telegraph poles were blown down. The train station was also flooded along with the Avalon Telephone exchange. The rail line was closed for three days. Over 600 people were evacuated. West Street was under 1.2 m of water. Winds of 110 miles per hour were recorded. The Minister from St. John’s visited the area and decided it would be necessary to build a breakwater 3-5 miles long. Damage was also reported at Summerside, Bay of Islands, where George Ruth lost his fishing stores and boat. A sawmill at Summerside was also destroyed, and many fishermen lost boats and gear. This was reported as the worst storm since since the Burin tidal wave. The storm washed thousands of lobsters ashore.