FRAMINGHAM, MA — A preliminary report about hurricane DIANE  from the U.S. Weather Bureau begins to tell the story of how more than a foot of water fell on Framingham one week during the summer of 1955.

“Hurricane DIANE was first detected Over the Atlantic Ocean on August 11, 1955, about 400 miles northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico. With winds of 50 to 60 mph over a small area near the center, DIANE moved in a northwesterly to northerly direction for about 24 hours. On August 12th, DIANE drifted slowly toward the north and northeast and increased in intensity to a full huricane, with winds of 115 mph near the center.”

What the report only touches on, and the residents of Saxonville found out all too well, is the fact that DIANE hit the northeast on the heals of hurricane CONNIE, a storm which had hit 5 days earlier dumping 5″ – 10″ inches of rain in a single day.