This Date in Weather History

San Bernardino, CA sits between Los Angles and the Sierra that run to the east. Located in an almost desert like region San Bernardino, California still manages to get 13 inches of rain, on average, per year from a combination of showers that drift westward from the mountains and large-scale winter storms that move in off the Pacific Ocean. In the period from 2018-2020 several inches of rain have fallen in the city each year after a very dry decade that led to water restrictions across the state of California, that of course was before this extreme drought year of 2021. But back on August 16, 1909, dry weather ensued after a rain shower the day before. The next day the residents of San Bernardino saw rain was May 6, 1912. A total of 884 days, or almost 2 1/2 years later in one of the driest periods in California history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The winter of 1978-1979 had been particular cold and snowy across the mid-west and eastern states. The summer remained cool and autumn seemed to come early on August 15 1979 when an unusual August chill hit – the temperature in Detroit, MI dropped to 46 degrees - new record low, breaking an 1885 record. Kansas City, MO reached down to 56 degrees and broke a 1929 record low. Also, on August 15 the high temperature only reached 63 degrees in Kansas City the lowest August high temperature ever in the city. Cincinnati, OH reached a low of 49 degrees, Indianapolis, IN - 45 degrees, Fargo, ND – 43. Many folks in that part of the county we left wondering if the cold was here to stay, after all the previous few summers had also been chilly and now this record cold on August 15. The winter that followed was also on the cold side – but the chill did not continue in what would become one the greatest reversals in United States climate history – just months later the summer of 1980 turned out to be one the hottest ever recorded in America, rivaling the intense heat of the Dust Bowl. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Huge billowing thunderstorms are commonplace across the Great Plains and often times just to the east of the Rockies. Fueled by tropical moisture flooding northeastward out of the Gulf of Mexico the humid weather provides the moisture needed for the storms the build. The catalyst is chilly air in the high atmosphere that has its origins in the artic regions. That cold air high aloft comes spirting down along the east slopes of the Rockies out of Canada. The swirling and twisting motion in the high atmosphere where they clash is fertile ground for storms. Many times, winds blowing down off the Rockies tend to suppress the biggest storms – but when those winds subside monster storms can form. On August 14, 1890 Thunderstorms with torrential rain and massive hail hit Colorado Springs, Colorado; 3.15” of rain fell in a little over an hour, hail lasted 15 minutes and covered the ground to 6”. The mercury plunged from 75 to 47 degrees in just 4 minutes after the hail began. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The appearance of a blue sun is triggered by volcanic dust, smoke from forest fires, desert dust, smog and other forms of pollution. Wavelengths of visible light that are blue in color become scattered from the rays of the sun reflected off of smog, smoke, or ash particles. The phenomena are extremely rare because the particles suspended in the air scatter blue wavelengths only when they are of a particular size. Smoke, volcanic ash and smog often provide clouds that are gray in color, setting the perfect backdrop for blue light to scatter off the particles composing the cloud. The size of these particles must be less than 0.85 micrometers, which is very tiny (0.03 thousandths of an inch!). The sun can take on a greener hue when the particles are larger than 1.1 micrometers. Reports of a blue sun have occurred in Egypt in December 2006, as a result of smoke from farmers burning brush. According to the AccuWeather.com Almanac, that notes historical weather events, the southern U.S. observed a blue sun that continued for several days in August of 1831 centered on August 13. This event likely happened as a result of local forest fires in Virginia, but the August 13 blue sun is said to have been "a signal" taken by Nat Turner to begin his rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia. Nathanial “Nat” Turner was an enslaved man who led the rebellion of enslaved people on August 21, 1831. His action set off a massacre of up to 200 black people and a new wave of oppressive legislation prohibiting the education, movement, and assembly of enslaved people. The rebellion also stiffened proslavery, anti-abolitionist convictions that persisted in that region until the American Civil War. The blue sun that prompted the rebellion, hardened positions and helped hasten the conflict between slaver holder and abolitionists that brought about the Civil War and ultimately emancipation. Reports of a blue sun came from Egypt in 2006, as a result of smoke from farmers burning brush. In 1978, dust storms in Mongolia are said to have caused a blue sun to be visible in Beijing, China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert. It is one of the hottest places on Earth, along with deserts in the Middle East and the Sahara. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the point of lowest elevation in North America, at 282 feet below sea level. Interestingly it is only 85 miles east-southeast of Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States, with an elevation of 14,505 feet. On the afternoon of August 12, 1933, the mercury reached 127 degrees making it the highest temperature ever recorded in the United States in the month of August, but it was not close to the hottest it has ever been there. On July 10, 1913, a recorded and verified a high temperature of 134 ° was reached at Furnace Creek in Death Valley, that stands as the highest air temperature ever recorded at the surface of the Earth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hurricane Allen was a rare and extremely powerful Cape Verde hurricane that struck the Caribbean, eastern and northern Mexico, and southern Texas in August 1980. The first named storm and first tropical cyclone of the 1980 Atlantic hurricane season, it was the fifth most intense Atlantic Hurricane on record in terms of barometric pressure, behind Hurricane Rita, the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, Hurricane Gilbert, and Hurricane Wilma. It was one of the few hurricanes to reach Category 5 status on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale on three separate occasions, and spent more time as a Category 5 than all but two other Atlantic hurricanes. Allen is the only hurricane in the recorded history of the Atlantic basin to achieve sustained winds of 190 mph thus making it the strongest Atlantic hurricane by wind speed. Until Hurricane Patricia in 2015, these were also the highest sustained winds in the Western Hemisphere. In Texas, the storm surge was reported as high as 12 feet at Port Mansfield, though it may have been higher elsewhere along the Texas coast. A peak wind gust of 129 mph was also measured at Port Mansfield. Tropical storm-force winds in Corpus Christi, Texas blew roof gravel through the city, which led to substantial glass breakage to the 18-story Guarantee Bank Building and a 12-story wing of Spohn hospital. The storm caused seven deaths in Texas and 17 in Louisiana, most resulting from the crash of a helicopter evacuating workers from an offshore platform. Allen spawned several tornadoes in Texas. One tornado caused $100 million in damage when it hit Austin, Texas, making it the costliest tropical cyclone-spawned tornado in recorded history. Overall, however, the storm caused limited damage in the United States due to its suddenly diminished power and because its highest tides and winds hit a sparsely-populated portion of the Texas coast when it came ashore on August 11, 1980. Allen dumped 10 inches to 20 inches of rain in south Texas, ending a summer-long drought during the Heat Wave of 1980. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Battle of Saratoga occurred in September and October, 1777, during the second year of the American Revolution. It included two crucial battles, fought eighteen days apart, and was a decisive victory for the Continental Army and a critical turning point in the Revolutionary War. It was the first major victory for the colonists and led to the signing of The Treaty of Alliance with France on February 6, 1778, creating a military alliance between the United States and France against Great Britain. Benjamin Franklin had been in Paris working to secure the alliance and the Battle had help swing opinion to the side of the Americans and exhibited their ability to take the fight to the British. So, it then happened that on August 10, 1778 a slow moving hurricane headed up the east coast of the Colonies. The storm resulted in extensive damage in eastern NC, and then moved up the coast offshore. At the time the French and British were ready to square off in a pitched naval battle off the coast near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. This is was to be one of the first battles that the French took an active part in after the signing of the French-American alliance. As the Hurricane battered the ships the French ships were larger and sustained the heaviest damage. The smaller British ships had a chance to capitalize on the situation avoiding the worst of the storm by their greater maneuverability but because of the severity of the storm they were blown away from the French fleet and had to re-group over the next few days. The severity of the hurricane cost the British precious time to press their advantage of maneuverability and greater numbers. By the time the British squadron had come back together on the 13th more French ships had arrived on the scene and an opportunity lost,. The French now controlled that part of the coast in a significant aide to the American Revolution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hurricane Belle was a Category 3 Atlantic Hurricane in August 1976. The storm, at one point, had winds around 120 miles per hour before it moved northward up the East Coast of the United State. The storm formed on August 6; it became Tropical Storm Belle on August 7. Later on, August 7, it became a hurricane. On August 9, Belle's winds peaked at 120 miles per hour. Because of Hurricane Belle's proximity to the United State, hurricane watches were issued from Georgia all the way up to Maine. The hurricane brushed the North Carolina coast with. Unlike most storms that threaten the Northeastern United States, Belle didn't accelerate as it came closer to land. In the late-night hours of August 9, Belle came ashore as a minimal hurricane near Jones Beach on Long Island then crossed Long Island Sound and hit New England, with gusts hit 87 mph at Bridgeport, CT. Belle took twelve lives when it struck the East Coast of the United States. Damage was $100 million ore almost half a billion in 2021 dollars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The War of 1812 that is often called the Second War of American Independence and is viewed as an American invasion by Canada. Americans recall the “Star Spangled Banner,” and the Battle of Fort McHenry and the Battle of New Orleans. But there were significant naval actions on the Great Lakes. The catastrophic sinking of USS Hamilton and Scourge 200 years ago by a sudden squall turned the advantage to the British for a time. Both ships came to rest intact on their keels in 90 meters below the surface of Lake Ontario. On 7 August 1813 on Lake Ontario, the British and American forces engaged in a deadly maneuvering. Commodore Chauncey commanded the American squadron of at 13 sailing ships – many poorly re-outfitted formed commercial vessels, and Sir James Yeo commanded six British vessels; both maneuvered their ships to gain the weather advantage. While outnumbered by the Americans, Yeo had the advantage of commanding purpose-built naval vessels crewed by seasoned men and commanders. He was however, at the disadvantage of being armed primarily with carronades, leaving him half the firing range of his American opponent. Yeo sought to cut off one or two of Chauncey’s schooners, while his opponent sought to engage him with full force. Neither succeeded, however and only a few shots were actually exchanged. The winds shifted and failed throughout the day; Scourge’s crew employed sweeps to maintain position in the line. At nightfall, Chauncey grouped his fleet, and kept men at quarters in case of attack. With the wind from westward, Chauncey took his ships up wind to avoid falling in with the enemy during the dark. This indicates that both schooners Hamilton and Scourge had some sail employed when the squall came upon them, the just after midnight on August 8 1813, as the sudden squall ensued and hit the squadron it sunk both the USS Hamilton and Scourge and turned the tide of domination to the favor of the British on the lake for several months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On August 7, 1918 World War I was stalemated in Europe. The Allies, including the United States, Britain and France and the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary had been deadlocked in trench warfare for several years. The fields of northeast France were no-man’s lands. Unbeknown to the Germans the flood of a million American troops who had recently entered the war were preparing with their Allies to launch the great 100 days offensive that would sweep the Germans before them and end of the war by November. It had been hot summer across Europe, but that did not compare to the heat building in the northeastern United States that August. Factories had been running at breakneck speed in the US to produce war material, but for a few days at the end of the first week in August 1918 those production lines were put on hold as extreme heat held the region in its blast furnace grip. On August 7, 1918 the mercury topped out at 107 in Wilmington, DE, the hottest ever there and 106 in Philadelphia, also the highest temperature ever recorded in the City of Brotherly love. Flemington NJ reached 108 degrees, an August state record. Cooling didn’t arrive for several more days when the factories resumed production to supply the armies that were fighting at what was called at the time “the war to end all wars.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Storms often times carry birds and insects over long distances. Some people often believe that they carry odors as well. Those hundreds of miles inland in the northeast can swear they can smell the ocean when a brisk east wind brings moisture in from the Atlantic Ocean or when a tropical system sweeps up from the Gulf of Mexico people believes that it’ seems tropical. We certainly all know the impacts of dust and dirt that can be deposited hundreds of miles from a correct fire or dirt raised up from parched farm lands. On August 5, 1983 A powerful storm moved west from India all the way to the Arabian Peninsula. 3 species of Indian butterflies were observed at Abu Dhabi several days later. The butterflies were "carried" more than 625 miles across the open water by the storm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The rain started in the morning of August 5, 1843 around 7:30 AM and increased in intensity all day in southeastern Pennsylvania. Area residents reported that by 3:00 PM winds had reached gale force and the rain continued at a furious pace. In the evening about 7:00 PM a wall of water, fueled by water levels that rose 5.5 inches in 40 minutes, came rushing down both the Crum and Ridley Creeks without warning. The water overflowed the banks of Crum Creek by more than 20 feet and Ridley Creek by 21 feet. From reconstructed records it appears that a hurricane or strong tropical storm hit the region and was responsible for the rain and wind. An excerpt from George Smith’s History of Delaware County from 1862 states: “At daybreak, the sky indicated rain, and about seven o’clock a moderate fall set in, which, while it slackened, never entirely ceased until between the hours of two and six o’clock that afternoon, when the extraordinary opening of “the windows of heaven” took place which made such extended ruin and misery in a brief period of time. The rain, when falling most abundantly, came down in such showers that the fields in that part of the county removed several miles back from the river are said to have been flooded with water almost immediately, and where the road was lower than the surface of the ground on either side, the water poured into the highway in a constant stream of miniature cascades. The lightning played incessantly through the falling torrents, reflected from all sides in the watery mirrors in the fields producing a weird and spectral appearance, such that those who witnessed it could evermore recall.” As most of the area’s commerce was centered around waterways the storm wreaked havoc with the many mills located along the creeks, and it was reported that no mill or milldam escaped destruction or severe damage. As many as 52 county bridges were swept away by torrents of water. The water carried away homes, dams, bridges, factories, livestock and people, in total 19 Delaware County residents perished during the storm. Delaware County has been visited by monster storms with names like Irene, Agnes, Hugo and Gloria over the years. But none, it seems, was more destructive than the Great Flood of 1843 that was also likely the result of a tropical system. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Seville, Spain has a climate that features very hot, dry summers and mild winters with moderate rainfall. Like most Mediterranean climates, Seville is drier during summers and wetter during winters. Summer is the dominant season and lasts from May to October. Seville has the hottest summer in continental Europe among all cities with a population over 100,000 people, with average daily highs in July of 97 °F. Average daily lows in July are 67F and every year the temperature exceeds 104 °F on several occasions. A historical record high for all of Europe of 50.0 °C (122 °F) was recorded on 4 August 1881. This record is somewhat disputed as several in the science community believe that the thermometer used wasn’t officially calibrated and measured. Some say a high of 118 in Athens in the summer of 1977 was really the all-time record. I know that was a hot season in Europe first hand, as my wife and I, spent the summer months there that year. Interestingly in the summer of 2019 more national temperature records where reached than any other year when among other countries the temperature maxed out at 102 in Cambridge England, 109 in Lingen, Germany and also 109 in Paris France for an all-time city record. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A succession of storms unleashed 5.77 inches of rain in the Erie area between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. Aug. 3, 1915. Four inches of rain fell between 4 and 7 p.m. All of that water was funneled from the Mill Creek watershed into Mill Creek, which flowed through central Erie. As its waters rose, Mill Creek overflowed its banks into farmlands and yards in the Glenwood Hills area, according to historical accounts. Saturated soil along the creek’s banks collapsed, sending trees, barns, chicken coops, outhouses and other structures into the rapidly rising Mill Creek. Debris collected near a culvert at 26th and State streets, where Mill Creek flowed under State Street. Soon, a reservoir formed that extended south for several blocks. Police and firefighters unsuccessfully tried to clear the dam with dynamite. At about 8:45 p.m., the culvert broke and a wall of water, estimated in newspaper accounts as high as 25 feet, tore through the central city, moving in a northeasterly direction toward Presque Isle Bay. Written accounts estimate the floodwaters’ path of destruction at four blocks to six blocks wide and nearly 3 miles long. The wave knocked trains and street cars off their tracks. During the height of the flood, every available firefighter and police officer frantically worked to save lives in the stricken areas. Men, women and children were taken from endangered buildings by rope, ladders and pieces of lumber thrown together. Erie Fire Chief John McMahon and firefighter John Donovan lost their lives from the flood. The Mill Creek flood destroyed about 250 houses, damaged about 300 other buildings and left several hundred families homeless. A final death toll was never settled, but casualty reports ranged from 36 to more than 40. It wasn’t until dawn arrived the next day, that stunned Erieites caught their first glimpses of the scope of destruction: Streets clogged with mud, remnants of houses and barns, twisted and smashed automobiles, broken machinery, tree trunks, clothing, cattle and chicken carcasses, and human remains. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 1922 Swatow Typhoon was a devastating tropical cyclone that caused thousands of deaths in the Chinese city of Swatow, less than 200 miles north of Hong Kong on the Pacific Coast of China, in August 1922. Striking the city on August 2, 1922. The death totals make it one of the deadliest known typhoons in history. A tropical depression located near the Caroline Islands was first spotted July 27. It moved slowly to the northwest, gradually intensifying. On July 31, it crossed northern Luzon, in the Philippines. Due to the typhoon passing through a lightly-inhabited part of the Philippines, no reports of significant impact were received. In Swatow in China, the typhoon caused a storm surge of at least 12 ft above normal on August 2. The rain was heavy, and left enough water to leave the land saturated for a few days. Swatow was an unfortunate city, as around 50,000 people out of a population of about 65,000 perished in the storm. Some nearby villages were totally destroyed. Several ships near the coast were totally wrecked. Other ones were blown as far as two miles inland. The area around the city had around another 50,000 casualties. The total death toll was above 60,000. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On August 1, 1985 severe thunderstorms formed over the high plans of Wyoming as a result of a southeast flow of warm and humid air all the way from the Gulf of Mexico and a cold front slicing southward out of Canada and through Montana. Cheyenne, Wyoming received just over 6” of rain on that day more than 1/3 their average rainfall for an entire year. Many areas were flooded and power and telephone outages were widespread. Before the heavy rain, funnel clouds and tornadoes spotted in about every direction although no damage resulted. 1" of hail fell, that made parts of the city look like winter with hail covering the ground in drifts. Twelve people were killed including 10 along Dry Creek as people were swept away in cars while trying to cross flooded roads. The 6.06" that fell in Cheyenne broke the 24-hour state record. The resulting floods were reported as the costliest in state history - of more than $65 million. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the month of July 1861 came to a close on July 31 Cherrapunji, India recorded a total of 366.14" of rain during July 1861, a world record for 1 month. Cherrapunji also holds world record rainfall for a 12-month period; 1,041.78" from August 1, 1860 to July 31, 1861. To put that into perspective, the rainest major city in the United states, New Orleans, record for one year’s worth of rain is 102” in 1991 or slightly more than 25% of the record rainfall for one month in Cerrapunji. Cerrapunji sits as the base of the Himalayas at an elevation of 5000 feet. The prevailing wind from the Bay of Bengal brings an almost constant stream of tropical moisture northward and as the air is lifted over the foot hills leading from the vast plans of Bangladesh that sit below it cools, and the moisture is squeezed out in copious amounts. Cherrapunji occupies a unique geographical position in the world because of this and the rainfall that would normally cause widespread disastrous flooding is actually drained without the impacts, because of the lay of the land and the natural drainage systems that have built up over the eons. On July 31, 1861 the record books were closed on the rainiest month in recorded world history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 1933 Florida–Mexico hurricane was the first of two Atlantic hurricanes to strike the Treasure Coast region of Florida in the very active 1933 Atlantic hurricane season. It was one of two storms that year to inflict hurricane-force winds over South Texas, causing significant damage there. The fifth tropical cyclone of the year, it formed east of the Lesser Antilles on July 24, rapidly strengthening as it moved west-northwest. As it passed over the islands, it attained hurricane status on July 26, producing heavy rains and killing at least six people. Over the next three days, it moved, paralleling the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas. The storm produced extensive damage and at least one drowning as it crossed the Bahamas. On July 29, the cyclone came under the influence of changing steering currents in the atmosphere, which forced the storm into Florida on July 30, 1933. A minimal hurricane at landfall, it caused negligible wind damage as it crossed Florida, but generated heavy rain along its path, causing locally severe flooding across the state. The storm turned west, weakened to below hurricane status, and later exited the state. Once over the eastern Gulf of Mexico the storm shifted its course to the west-southwest and gradually recovered its intensity. The path of the storm brought it close to the mouth of the Rio Grande River in early August. Few ships encountered the small storm as it regained hurricane status on August 4, just a day before striking northern Mexico with winds of 90 mph —making it close to a modern-day Category 2 hurricane. Striking close to the border between the US and Mexico, the storm caused extensive damage in both countries. Winds caused heavy losses to citrus production in the Rio Grande Valley. While only one person died in the United States, heavy rains led to catastrophic flooding that claimed at least 31 lives in northern Mexico. The storm that struck Florida on July 30 took one of the most unusual paths for a hurricane in the last 100 years crossing the state and then heading southwest to strike extreme southern Texas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

July 29th is traditionally known as a “Rain Day” in Waynesburg, PA. It all began in 1878 when a farmer casually told drug store clerk William Allison that it always seemed to rain on July 29th in this southwestern PA town. The clerk made a note of it and started keeping a yearly tabulation. It has rained 112 out of the past 136 years. The day is celebrated in Waynesburg each year with a Rainy-Day Festival including banquets and a pageant. On average it rains every 3rd day in July in the town, the late spring months are the rainiest – but the humidity is highest on average in July. Rain 82% of the time on the same date is unusual for this climate – odds would be against such an occurred – yet the is no explanation that – well – holds water. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hail storms regularly strike the mid-west in the summertime. Most modern office buildings in Downtown areas are fitted with glass that can withstand the weight and destruction of the ice balls from the sky. This has not always been the case and paths of destruction were experienced as the storms producing the hail moved though. Years of suffering the consequences have led to new safety standards and technology for the glass. One the most notorious hail storms to hit an American city before the advent of better glass techniques occurred on July 28, 1898 in Chicago. According to the Morning Herald-Dispatch “Thousands of windowpanes were broken during a heavy hailstorm in the city. The rain which fell in torrents for an hours after the hail stones had done their work did great damage to the interiors of apartment building and school houses. Most of the damage to windows and skylights occurred on the north and west side where north windows of nearly every prominent building were broken. Horses pelted by the hail rain away in ever direction but no person was seriously injured. The shrubbery in Lincoln and Washington parks was cut up and greenhouses badly damaged. The building in the Downton district had glass broke in the upper stories. In the suburbs the trolley wires were down in many places and the streets made impassable by backwater from the sewers. Many horses were killed by contact with live wires.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 1943 Surprise hurricane was the first hurricane to be entered by a reconnaissance aircraft. The first tracked tropical cyclone of the 1943 Atlantic hurricane season, this system developed as a tropical storm while situated over the northeastern Gulf of Mexico on July 25. The storm gradually strengthened while tracking westward and reached hurricane status late on July 26. Early on July 27, it became a Category 2 hurricane on the modern-day Saffir-Simpson scale and peaked with winds of 105 mph. Because the storm occurred during World War II, information and reports were censored by the US government and news media. Advisories also had to be cleared through the Weather Bureau office in New Orleans, resulting in late releases. This in turn delayed preparations ahead of the storm. In Louisiana, the storm produced gusty winds and heavy rains, though no damage occurred. The storm was considered, at the time, the worst in Texas since the 1915 Galveston Hurricane. Wind gusts reach 132 mph in the Galveston-Houston area, buildings and houses were damaged or destroyed. The storm caused 19 fatalities. Overall, damage reached approximately $17 million. This was the first hurricane to be intentionally flown into by a reconnaissance aircraft. During the morning hours of July 27, British pilots were training at Bryan Field in Bryan, Texas and were alerted about a hurricane approaching the Galveston area. Upon becoming informed that the planes would need to be flown away from the storm, they criticized this policy. Instead, US Colonel Joe Duckworth made a bet with the British pilots that he could fly his AT-6 Texan trainer directly into the storm. Duckworth requested that Lt. Colonel Ralph O'Hair, the only navigator at the field, fly into the hurricane with him. Because neither Duckworth nor O'Hair believed that the headquarters would approve the flight, they decided to proceed without permission. Thus, Duckworth and O'Hair became the first hurricane hunters, on July 27, 1943. Their impact of their flight would pave the way for today’s Hurricane hunters. According to AccuWeather.com "Hurricane hunter pilots risk their lives as they obtain information that is critical in determining the intensity of a tropical system by directly sampling the storm. The data that they collect, including radar information, wind speed, temperature, pressure, etc. are instrumental in the forecasting process.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Boston Globe reported on July 26, 1890 that "At first the trees swayed a little and the grain bent down on the hills. Then shingles flew off from old roofs and the orchards sent down their unripe fruit. After about 30 seconds of an avalanche of wind broke and came tearing down upon the tenement houses and workshops and stores with the force of a Niagara. Big elms and maples that were planted with care away back in the days of the Salem witches, bowed their graceful tops to the streets, and snapped off near the roots as if they had been of chalk. Fences were lifted from trimly kept gardens and taken away to the estate of neighbors, 200 yards distant, and outhouses fell like grain before the reaper.” On July 26, 1890, what was described as a tornado or cyclone swept down upon South Lawrence, Massachusetts. This event can be described in today's terms as a brief tornado or a powerful microburst, which is a sudden downdraft of air over a small geographic area. The Lawrence tornado, called the “Great Cyclone,” struck South Lawrence at 9:10 to 9:15 AM on Saturday, July 26, 1890. It took about two minutes to pass through any point. Damages were estimated at about $60,000. Eight people were killed and 65 were injured. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Stockholm and Andrea Doria were approaching each other head-on in the heavily used shipping corridor on the night of July 25, 1956, the westbound Andrea Doria had been traveling in heavy fog for hours. The captain had reduced speed slightly had activated the ship's fog warning whistle and had closed the watertight doors. However, the eastbound Stockholm had yet to enter what was apparently the edge of a fog bank, and was seemingly unaware of it and the movement of the other ship hidden within the fog. The waters of the North Atlantic south off Nantucket Island are frequently the site of intermittent fog, as the cold Labrador Current encounters the Gulf Stream. As the two ships approached each other at a combined speed of 40 knots, in failing light, each was aware of the presence of another ship, but guided only by radar, they apparently misinterpreted each other's course. No radio communication was made between the two ships at first. In the last moments before impact, Stockholm turned hard to starboard and was in the process of reversing her propellers, attempting to stop. Andrea Doria, remaining at her cruising speed of almost 22 knots engaged in a hard turn to port , her captain hoping to outrun the collision. Around 11:10 p.m., the two ships did collide, Stockholm striking the side of Andrea Doria. When Andrea Doria and Stockholm collided at almost a 90° angle, Stockholm's sharply raked ice breaking prow pierced Andrea Doria's starboard side about one-third of her length from the bow. It penetrated the hull to a depth of nearly 40 feet. Below the waterline, five fuel tanks on Andrea Doria's starboard side were torn open, and they filled with thousands of tons of seawater. Meanwhile, air was trapped in the five empty tanks on the port side, causing them to float more readily, contributing to a severe list. On the Andrea Doria, the decision to abandon ship was made within 30 minutes of impact. In the first hours after the collusion, many survivors transported by lifeboats from both ships were taken aboard Stockholm. Unlike the Titanic tragedy 44 years earlier, several other nonpassenger ships that heard Andrea Doria's SOS signal steamed as fast as they could, some eventually making it to the scene. In all, 1,663 passengers and crew had been rescued from Andrea Doria. The great ship sank 12 hours after the collusion; 52 killed by impact or drowned during rescue attempts. The collusion would most likely never have occurred if not for the dense fog back that the Andrea Doria, one of the largest ocean liners of the day had not been steaming through. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The European continent is not free from tornado events. While in the USA, some 1,200 tornadoes could be observed annually, on the European continent only 300 events every year are recorded. Europe experiences less frequent events than USA, but storms can be really devastating. Storms occur when warm humid air near the surface lay under drier air aloft with temperatures decreasing rapidly with height, providing energy for the storms through the production of instability. Large changes in wind with height or ‘‘wind shear’’ over both shallow and deep layers—combined with the instability and high humidity near the surface—create a situation favorable for tornadoes to form. Midwestern American areas are an incredible basin that in summer fills with hot air and humidity, provided by the Gulf of Mexico; the drier air comes from Canada, providing energy for the storms through the production of instability. In Europe the northeast of Italy is often the place in which cold air coming from the Alps encounter warm and humid air coming from the Adriatic Sea and Africa, and cause widespread severe thunderstorms across the plains of northern Italy. On July 24, 1930 the vicinity of Montello in the Po river valley of northeastern Italy, just south of the southern foot of the Alps was hit by the strongest tornado in Europe on record. The tornado maxed out on the Fujita scale at F5 rating, producing extreme damage – even destroying strong masonry like churches. The area was devastated with more than 20 fatalities and whole villages wiped off the map. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On July 23, 1788 after causing ship disasters southeast of Bermuda, a hurricane moved northwestward over the tidewater area of Virginia, and right over George Washington's Mt. Vernon Plantation. At Ocracoke Inlet, southwest of Cape Hatteras, 6 ships were wrecked and 11 were driven ashore with 2 dismasted. As the storm center passed just to the east of this point, the wind shifted. This caught ships unaware and added to the disaster. An account from Norfolk stated that: "at 3am the wind suddenly shifted from northeast to south and blew a perfect hurricane - tearing up large trees by the roots, removing houses, throwing down chimney, fences, and laying the greatest part of the corn level." The following day on July 24th, George Washington wrote in his diary: "about noon the wind suddenly shifted from northeast to southwest and blew the remaining part of the day violently from that quarter. The tide this time rose higher than it was ever known to do, driving boats, etc. into fields where no tide had ever been heard of before, and must, it is apprehended, have done infinite damage on their wharves at Alexandria, Norfolk, Baltimore, etc. At home all day." It would take more than a year to repair the damage to those ports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Christopher Columbus' third voyage after leaving the Cape Verde Islands, his 4 ships drifted WSW in the equatorial current. A ship’s account from July 22, 1498 states that "The wind stopped so suddenly the heat was so excessive and immoderate that there was no one who dared to go below after the casks of wine and water which burst, snapping the hoops of the pes; the wheat burned like fire; the bacon and salted meat roasted and putrefied." This calm area known to sailors around the world as the doldrums, is a belt around the Earth extending approximately five degrees north and south of the equator. Here, the prevailing trade winds of the northern hemisphere blow to the southwest and collide with the southern hemisphere’s driving northeast trade winds. Due to intense solar heating near the equator, the warm, moist air is forced up into the atmosphere like a hot air balloon. The rising air mass finally subsides in what is known as the horse latitudes, where the air moves downward toward Earth’s surface and the is often little surface wind in this region. That is why sailors well know that the area can becalm sailing ships for weeks. Columbus was caught in the doldrums or horse latitudes. The term horse latitudes came later, after Columbus, when ships sailing to the western hemisphere were sometimes stranded for weeks and as they baked, sailors reportedly pushed the horses they were transporting overboard to keep from running out of scarce water. Occasionally the ships were stranded and for longer periods and became ghost ships as entire crews perished, from heat and lack of food and water. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On July 21, 1861, a hot and dry summer Sunday, Union and Confederate troops clashed outside Manassas, Virginia, in the first major engagement of the Civil War, the First Battle of Bull Run. Union General McDowell hoped to march his men across a small stream called Bull Run in the vicinity of Manassas, Va. that was well-guarded by a force of Confederates under General Beauregard. McDowell needed to find a way across the stream and through the Southern line that stretched for over six miles along the banks of Bull Run. McDowell launched a small diversionary attack at the Stone Bridge while marching the bulk of his force north around the Confederates’ left flank. The march was slow, but McDowell’s army crossed the stream easily because the weather leading up the the battle had been dry and the stream was running at a low level. Some of Beauregard’s troops, recognizing that the attack at Stone Bridge was just a diversion, fell back just in time to meet McDowell’s oncoming force. The battle raged for several hours on top of Henry Hill, with each side taking control of the hill more than once. Slowly, more and more Southern men poured onto the field to support the Confederate defense, and Beauregard’s men pushed the Northerners back. At this point in the battle, Confederate General Barnard Bee attempted to rally his weary men by pointing to Brigadier General Thomas Jackson who stood his ground in the face of the Union assault. Bee cried, “There stands Jackson like a stone wall!” From that moment on, Thomas Jackson was known as “Stonewall” Jackson. As the day wore on, the strength of McDowell’s troops was sapped by the continuous arrival of fresh Southern reinforcements and the intense heat of the summer day with temperatures in the 90s and Union troops in heavy wool uniforms. Eventually, the Northerners began to retreat across Bull Run. The Union pullout began as an orderly movement. However, when the bridge over Cub Run was destroyed, cutting off the major route of retreat, it degenerated into a rout. The narrow roads and fords, clogged by the many carts, wagons, and buggies full of people who had driven out from Washington, D.C., to see the spectacle, hampered the withdrawal of the Union Army. The heat had done in the Union tr Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On July 20, 1977 a flash flood devastated Johnstown, Pennsylvania, killing 84 people and causing millions of dollars in damages. This flood happened 88 years after the Horrible Flood of 1889 that was one of the worst weather-related disasters in US history that killed more than 2,000 people. Johnstown sits in a deep valley, hard against the Conemaugh river. In that earlier flood, the dams in the Conemaugh Valley failed, bringing disaster to Johnstown and as fate would have it the combination of the weather and those human made dams would once again bring catastrophe. The flood occurred when an extraordinary amount of rain came down in the Conemaugh Valley in a short period of time. Nearly 12 inches were measured in 10 hours. The National Weather Service later estimated that this amount of rain in that location should happen less than once every 1,000 years. Dams started bursting upstream from Johnstown. The largest dam that burst was at Laurel Run. This 10-year-old earthen dam held back 100 million gallons of water. Despite having a 42-foot-high spillway, the dam failed and the resulting flood devastated the town of Tanneryville. Five other dams in the area also burst, releasing another 30 million gallons of water. The failure of the dams was a shock. Johnstown had constructed an entire system designed to completely eliminate the flood risk after the devasting flood of 1889 and a destructive flood in 1936. Many safely measures were in place along with inspections. Still, the dams were no match for the thunderstorm that stalled over the area on July 20. In addition to the 84 people who lost their lives to the flood, $300 million or more than $1.2 Billion in 2021 dollars in damages were suffered and hundreds of people lost their homes. President Carter declared the region a federal disaster area and the National Guard was sent to assist in the relief efforts. Despite millions spent to rehabilitate the Johnstown area, the economy never recovered. The city’s population decreased nearly 15 percent in the aftermath of the flood, as people moved away. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the course of a three-month period in the summer of 1993, a slow-moving and historic flooding disaster unfolded across the midwestern United States, leaving economic ramifications that would be felt for years to come. Over 17 million acres were flooded across nine states across the Midwest during the summer of 1993, starting in June and lasting through August. This is an area larger than the entire state of West Virginia. “The magnitude and severity of this flood event was simply overwhelming, and it ranks as one of the greatest natural disasters ever to hit the United States,” said Lee Larson, chief at the Hydrologic Research Laboratory. This long-duration river flooding caused hundreds of levees failures, 50 fatalities and an estimated $15 billion in damages. While the worst of the flooding occurred in the summer of 1993, impacts across the region lasted for years. Of the 17 million acres that were flooded, a majority was being used as farmland. This had a long-term impact on the industry as some of the land was not able to be used again for farming for several years after flood waters had receded. Shipping and transportation industries were also severely impacted during the height of the flooding. Barge traffic on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers was stopped for nearly two months. The inability for ships and barges to navigate the waters of these major waterways resulted in an economic loss of $2 million per day, according to the National Weather Service. High water also rendered some bridges that spanned across the Mississippi River unusable for weeks, disrupting travel across the region. In some cases, this meant taking a detour of over 100 miles just to make it to the other side of a flooded river. The historic flooding was not caused by one single rainfall event, but rather an extended period of above-normal rainfall across the same region. The stage was set in 1992 with a wet fall which resulted in above-normal soil moisture and reservoir levels in the Missouri and Upper Mississippi river basins. The wet autumn was followed by above-average snowfall during the winter. When all of this snow melted in the spring, it left the ground across the region saturated and prone to flooding. The focus of the flooding on July 19, 1993 was St Louis Mo, where the Mississippi river rose to 46.8 feet at were flood stage is only 30'. It was the high-water mark in St Louis and flooding extended from the Gateway Arch to the suburbs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Late in the evening of Friday, July 17, 1942 heavy rain began falling in southern New York. The weather system producing the heavy rain and thunderstorms intensified and moved into Pennsylvania. The storm stalled out over Smethport and Port Allegany PA, on Saturday, July 18th. Most of the rain, incredibly feel in just a 5-hour period. People living in the region reported in the local press after the storm that the electrical storm was the worst they had ever witnessed. Water quickly began to accumulate and rise rapidly, many thought that they would drown. In the Austin, PA, many people were quoted as saying that “the rain did not come down in drops, it came down in streams.” The dam at the Williamson Pulp and Paper Company at Austin was breached and immediately flooded the town of Austin. There were reports of massive quantities of gravel and rock being washed down small gullies and even reports of bedrock being ripped out and carried downstream as the relentless rain continued. In Emporium, Pennsylvania, the estimated rainfall rate was more than 10 inches per hour. There was massive flooding over a short period of time. There were many accounts of an “almost instantaneous rise” in the water from 5 to 8 or 10 feet. Buildings in Austin were being knocked off their foundations and the water was 4 to 5 feet deep on the main street. The heaviest rain fell in Smethport, Pennsylvania. Some locations received an incredible 34.50 inches of rain from the event. A rainfall total of 30.7 inches of rain in a 4 1/2-hour period set a world record at Smethport.Monday, July 19 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Heavy rain on July 17, 1996, produced several rainfall records and was the second most costly weather disaster in Illinois history. The 16.94 inches recorded at Aurora still stands as the statewide record for the most rain from a single 24-hour period. The 10.99 inches on the west side of the Chicago metro area was the most ever recorded in the Chicago urban area. Just as impressive as the point values was the size of the area covered by heavy rainfall. It was estimated that 16.3 inches fell over the wettest 100 square mile area of the storm, 12.6 inches over the wettest 1000 square mile area, and 5.2 inches over the wettest 10,000 square mile area. Another way to look at it is that an area of 1350 square miles exceeded the expected 100-year, 24-hour storm while 4650 square miles exceeded the expected 10-year, 24-hour storm for northeast Illinois. The widespread heavy rains led to excessive flooding. Damage estimates were on the order of 700 million dollars or more than 1.1B in 2020 dollars. FEMA estimated that more than 35,000 residences were flooded. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

July 16, 1945 the first nuclear devise ever detonated in Earth history occurred at the Trinity site near Alamogordo, New Mexico. From a weather perspective, scientists wanted good visibility, low humidity, light winds at low altitude, and westerly winds at high altitude for the test. The best weather was predicted between July 18 and 21, but the Potsdam Conference near the end of WWII between the Allies was due to start on July 16 and President Truman wanted the test to be conducted before the conference began. It was therefore scheduled for July 16, the earliest date at which the bomb components would be available. The detonation was initially planned for 4am Mountain War Time but was postponed because of rain and lightning from early that morning. It was feared that the danger from radiation from and fallout would be increased by rain, and lightning had the scientists concerned about a premature detonation. A crucial favorable weather report came in at 4:45am and the final countdown began at 5:10. By 05:20 the rain had gone. At 5:29am the device exploded with an energy equivalent to around 22 kilotons of TNT. The desert sand, largely made of silica, melted and became a radioactive light green glass. At the time of detonation, the surrounding mountains were illuminated "brighter than daytime" for one to two seconds, and the heat was reported as "being as hot as an oven" at the base camp. The roar of the shock wave took 40 seconds to reach the observers. It was felt over 100 miles away, and the mushroom cloud reached 7.5 miles in height. John Lugo was flying a U.S. Navy transport at 10,000 feet, 30 miles east of Albuquerque en route to the west coast. "My first impression was, the sun was coming up in the south. What a ball of fire! It was so bright it lit up the cockpit of the plane." Lugo radioed Albuquerque. He got no explanation for the blast but was told, "Don't fly south." Because the rain cleared and the test went off successfully Truman was able to tell Soviet leader Stalin then an ally, of a terrible new weapon the US had in its possession as it became, at that moment, the only nuclear power in the world. After the blast and the initial euphoria of witnessing the explosion had passed, Bainbridge one of those working on the project told Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the project, "Now we are all sons of bitches." Oppenheimer later recalled that, while witnessing the explosion, he thought of a verse from a Hindu holy book, the Gita, 'Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Weather reporting up until the mid-1700’s was sketchy at best across North America. Colonial leaders who formed the path to independence of our country were avid weather observers. Thomas Jefferson purchased a thermometer from a local Philadelphia merchant while in town for the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. He also purchased a barometer — one of the only ones in America at the time — a few days later from the same merchant. Jefferson made regular observations at Monticello from 1772-78, and participated in taking the first known simultaneous weather observations in America. George Washington also took regular observations; the last weather entry in his diary was made the day before he died. During the early and mid-1800's, weather observation networks began to grow and expand across the United States. Although most basic meteorological instruments had existed for over 100 years, it was the telegraph that was largely responsible for the advancement of operational meteorology during the 19th century. With the advent of the telegraph, weather observations from distant points could be "rapidly" collected, plotted and analyzed at one location in real time. In 1870 a Joint Congressional Resolution required the Secretary of War "to provide for taking meteorological observations at the military stations in the interior of the continent”. And so, a national weather service had been born within the U.S. Army Signal Service’s Division of Telegrams and Reports for the Benefit of Commerce. The first systematic weather observations didn't start in colonial America until 1644 in what would become the state of Delaware. Occasional observations of the weather were reported a bit before that and on July 15, 1643, John Winthrop from Newberry, MA entered in his in diary; “There arose a sudden gust at NW; so violent for half an hour as it blew down multitudes of trees. It lifted up their meeting house at Newberry, the people being in it, but only killed (one person) with the fall of a tree”. It was one of the first ever reports of weather’s impact in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rainfall in Southern California in the summertime is almost non-existent. In fact, the climate takes on desert-like conditions. The average rainfall in June, July and August in Los Angles is less than a quarter of an inches of rainfall – 2 tenths of an inch to be exact. July is the driest month with barely more than a spritz of rain at an average of one hundredth of an inch – the lowest measurable total of rainfall that is officially observed. In contrast New Orleans is generally regarded as the rainiest big-city in the US and averages more than 6 inches of rain for the month of July. It’s not always dry in LA with the months of January, February and March all averaging more than 3 inches of rain each month. Certainly, though there are two distinct seasons in LA, a wet season and a dry season. To give you an idea of just how dry it is in Southern California in July, on this date in weather history on July 14, 1886, twenty-for hundredths of an inch of rain – just shy of a quarter of an inch fell in LA, the most ever on a single day in July in the region in recorded history. Not much impact was felt in the region – today of course a rainfall like that on a July day would result very slippery freeways because the accumulated oil dripping off of cars and onto the highway would mix with the water and cause the roads to become slippery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The year 1816 featured unprecedented cold conditions throughout the United States and Europe. The key cause was the eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Tambora in April 1815, the largest volcanic explosion in recorded history. “Mount Tambora ejected so much ash and aerosols into the high atmosphere that the sky darkened and the sun was blocked from view in many places around the world that year. The eruptions killed up to 100,000 people – some immediately from the blasts – and tens of thousands of others as a result of starvation and the resulting crop failures and disease. “It might have been millions who died in total, across the globe in the next year” said AccuWeather Founder and CEO Dr. Joel Myers. The smaller particles spewed by the volcano were light enough to spread into the stratosphere and eventually had a worldwide impact on the climate by reflecting solar radiation back into space. The Earth’s average global temperature dropped 5 degrees Fahrenheit, and in some areas, the drop was more than 10 degrees. The uncharacteristic cold ruined agricultural production in the United States, Europe and China, which led to drastic increases in food prices, as well as famine and epidemics of cholera and other diseases. The U.S. consisted of just 18 states in 1816 and five were in New England, which was devastated by the frigid temperatures and the lack of food. Frost throughout May killed crops in several Northeast states, snow fell in June in wide areas from New York to Maine, and heavy frosts and ice storms occurred as late as July in parts of New England. There were freezing temperatures in all 12 months of the year in New England, many of the crops failed, causing famine and triggering a western migration from New England where there was a depression and starvation. In 1815, before the effects of the volcano were known, the typesetter of the Old Farmer's Almanac jokingly printed "snow, and hail" across eastern North America for this date of July 13, 1816. The editor missed it, and the publication went to print. But because of the severe climate change; snow, and hail did fall across parts of New England on July 13. Even though later editions of the Almanac had the "correct" forecast in place, those who received the earlier editions "swore" by the Almanac the rest of their lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Munich, the German state of Bavaria’s capital, is home to centuries-old buildings and numerous museums. The city is known for its annual Oktoberfest celebration and its beer halls, including the famed Hofbräuhaus, founded in 1589. Munich lies on the elevated plains of Upper Bavaria, about 30 miles north of the northern edge of the Alps at an altitude of almost 2,000 feet. The proximity to the Alps brings heavy thunderstorms and high volumes of rainfall than other parts of Germany. Showers and thunderstorms bring the highest average monthly precipitation in late spring and throughout the summer. The most precipitation occurs in July, on average. Winter tends to have less precipitation, the least in February. On July 12 1984 a rapidly developing storm pounded the Munich area with hailstones the size of tennis balls, high winds and heavy rains, injuring 300 people and causing extensive damage. The Red Cross said the storm injured about 200 people in Munich and 100 in surrounding south-east Bavaria, most of them hit on the head by ice balls, cut by glass shattering from windows, or hurt in car crashes. 1 person was killed and damage reached nearly $100 million. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1888 was a year of extremes across the United States, of course the famed Blizzard of ’88 in March in the Northeast brought heavy snow and blinding visibility and hundreds of deaths in the worst March snowstorm in that region since unofficial records began before the Revolutionary War. The wild weather continued and not only in the northeast. It would come to pass that on July 11, 1888 a high amplitude or high wave pattern would establish itself in the upper atmosphere where the Jetstream steers storms and other weather systems. In the western states the jet stream pulled way north into Canada and pumped up high heat and humidity all the way from Mexico. Meanwhile in the East the Jetstream plunged southward toward Georgia and brought record cold and storminess. On July 11, under that western heat, the temperature in Bennet Colorado reached 118 degrees, still listed as a state record. In the East heavy rains on the Monongahela River caused a flash flood as the water rose a whopping 32 feet in less that 24 hours. Meanwhile on the same day, July 11, 1888, along the Presidential range in New Hampshire heavy snow blanked the peaks like Mt Washington and some snow reached all the way down to the base of those mountains. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A bolt of lightning at the Picatinny Army Arsenal in northern NJ triggered a massive explosion in an ammunition dump there on July 10, 1926, triggering three major explosions within half an hour in the early evening hours that killed 22 people and injuring dozens more. The Morris County, NJ News reports that the historic fire of 1926 raged throughout the night, fueled by exploding military shells that set more fires across the landscape surrounding the 6,400-acre base in Morris County. For the next three days, a series of minor explosions followed as the blaze devoured much of the base. The remaining flames were finally doused by rain on July 13. The initial blasts at the Arsenal depot, could be felt as far as 30 miles away. Every building within a half mile was leveled by the blast. Debris landed as far as 22 miles away and over 100 million of 2021 dollars of damage was done. This is the costliest damage ever due to lightning in the United States. In an odd twist an "unexploded ordnance" unearthed in late February of 2020 at a Picatinny Arsenal site was a relic from a deadly explosion that rocked the military munitions base nearly a century ago. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1936 was the epicenter of the worst heatwave in American history. The Old Farmers Almanac reports that even on the “cool” eastern seaboard in July of 1936, it was the heat wave that made the news. The heat wave had interesting impacts. In Boston, the price of cream skyrocketed as the combination of the drought in the Midwest and the hot weather in the East made for a “very short cream market.” Wholesale prices rose from $11 for a 40-quart can of cream in 1935 to $17.28 a can in July of 1936. Central Park in New York City hit 106°F on July 9. That still stands as the all-time record today. The next day, Waterbury, Connecticut, saw 103°F, while many other New England towns hit over 100°F. Those who could, left the steaming asphalt of the cities. Others stood under sprinklers or slept on roofs. In New York City, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia declared public beaches open all night for the duration, promising not to arrest anyone. City swimming pools lengthened their hours. Nearly 1,000 deaths occurred nationwide—76 in New York City were attributed to the 10-day heat wave, some from heat stroke or lung ailments, others from accidental drownings as non-swimmers desperately attempted to cool off. Canadian towns and cities also felt the severity of the sun. Ontario alone marked over 500 deaths from the heat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The "Dust Bowl" years of 1930-36 brought some of the hottest summers on record to the United States, especially across the Plains, Upper Midwest and Great Lake States. For the Upper Mississippi River Valley, the first few weeks of July 1936 provided the hottest temperatures of that period, including many all-time record highs the string of hot, dry days was also deadly. Nationally, around 5000 deaths were associated with the heat wave. In La Crosse, WI, there were 14 consecutive days (July 5th-18th) where the high temperature was 90 degrees or greater, and 9 days that were at or above 100°F. Six record July temperatures set during this time still stand, including the hottest day on record with 108°F on the 14th. The average high temperature for La Crosse during this stretch of extreme heat was 101°F. Several factors led to the deadly heat of July 1936; A series of droughts affected the U.S. during the early 1930s. The lack of rain parched the earth and killed vegetation, especially across the Plains states. Poor farming techniques across the Plains furthered the impact of the drought, with lush wheat fields becoming barren waste lands. Without the vegetation and soil moisture, the Plains acted as a furnace. The climate of that region took on desert qualities, accentuating its capacity to produce heat. On the night of July 8th, 1936 temperatures across most of the state did not drop below 90, setting records for the highest, low temperatures. Indicative of summer heat and dryness impact on farming was a report from near Erie PA where it was reported that 40 acres produced only 1 load of hay all summer when a normal year can produce 7-10 loads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a sweltering heat wave held the Eastern United States in its grip for Bi-Centennial celebrations in early July of 1976 a strong frontal system approached the region on July 7th. Severe thunderstorms developed and ripped across the New York City area. Two tornadoes tore through the heavily populated area of northern New Jersey, skirting the Statue of Liberty where days before tens of thousands of people had gathered for July 4th and near 11 tall ships still at anchor for the Bi-Centennial celebration. One of the tornadoes lasted nearly 8 minutes before it dissolved back into a thunderstorm. Only 3 people were injured, but property damage ranged from over turned tractor-trailers to torn roofs, and entire walls ripped away from buildings. Another funnel cloud was reported near Coney Island. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Village of Potter, Nebraska was established as the railroad progressed westward. In 1870, Union Pacific built a station house and it served as the post office, the schoolhouse and the land development office. It was the only building build for several years. Potter has grown slowly over the last 150 years with less than 400 residents in 2020. Nature.com reports that a remarkable hailstorm occurred on July 6, 1928 in Potter during which hailstones “as large as grapefruit” fell, one of which measured 17 inches in circumference and weighed 1½ pounds. The stones could be heard hissing through the air, and when they fell on ploughed or soft ground they completely buried themselves. Luckily the hailstorm just missed the town itself – impacting fields and grazing land. Very little damage was done by these stones beyond the unroofing of a few houses, as they fell 10–15 feet apart. For many years, the largest hailstone officially verified in the United States was that "Potter Hailstone" .The Potter record stood until September 3, 1970, when a hailstorm of astounding proportions ravaged Coffeyville, Kansas. Hailstones smashed small craters in the soil of plowed farm fields outside Coffeyville and left lawns in town pitted and gouged, and the town itself was a shambles. But a new hail record emerged: the "Coffeyville Hailstone" weighed in at 1.67 pounds with a circumference of 17.5 inches. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New Jersey.com reports that The Standard Oil refinery fire, at Constable Hook in Bayonne, began during a thunderstorm at 12:30 a.m. on July 5, 1900. Lightning reportedly struck the Bay View tavern and boarding house, sending flames to the nearby oil fields and setting off explosions in three storage tanks, each having a capacity of 40,000 barrels of oil. High-reaching flames and dark smoke soared to the sky with a 20-mile range of visibility. Firefighting materials and water had been under stress due to the fact that the leading up to the fire had featured 90-degree temperatures, sweltering humidity, and shifting winds that had started on July 4th. Within minutes after the fire began, the company siren sounded, bringing its own fire department and tugboats into action. Their strategy was to contain the fire, allowing the spillover of heated oil from the storage tanks to burn off. As firemen directed their hoses to cool the burning tanks with streams of water, employees at pumping stations siphoned off the oil into empty storage tanks. The tugboats moved the company ships and oil-filled barges away from its burning docks to safe waters. The placement of log "booms," forming a floating barrier, to protect New York Bay and the digging of trenches to receive the flowing burning oil were among the other tactics used to stem the fire. Bayonne's entire volunteer fire department joined in the exhausting effort with re-enforcements from Jersey City and Staten Island. Despite the constant intense heat, thousands of spectators flocked to the hazardous site arriving by foot, bicycles, crowded cars, trolleys and ferries. Finally, after 70 hours, on July 7 at 10:30 p.m., the fire burned out. It left behind a reported 19 injured and costs amounting to $2.5 million. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Declaration of Independence was formally adopted by the Continental Congees on July 4th 1776 in Philadelphia. It was a relatively pleasant summer day in Philadelphia. The normal high temperature is 87, but observations recorded that day showed no temperature above 76. We can primary thank Thomas Jefferson for the weather report of the day, in addition to his other duties of helping to write the Declaration and work for its adoption of the 4th. According to the website Monticello.org, Thomas Jefferson liked to take at least two weather observations per day. One would happen around sunrise, so he could log the low temperature of the day, and another was between 3 and 4 p.m. when the high temperature usually occurred. He would also list remarks like cloud cover, precipitation and whether or not it was humid. According to the American Museum of Natural History, Jefferson recorded in his weather journal for July 4, 1776, that he woke up to find that the temperature at 6 a.m. was 68 degrees. At 9 a.m., the temperature was up to 72 degrees, and at 1 p.m. it was 76 degrees. When Jefferson arrived in Philadelphia he was unhappy with the thermometer he brought with him from Virginia and the story goes that he purchased a new one in the early days of July 1776. The weather recorded leading up the July 4th, had been hot and humid with temperatures well up in the 80s, but the cooler weather prevailed on the 4th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Considered one of the turning points of the American Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg is said to be the bloodiest battle ever fought on American soil. Fought in Gettysburg, Pa., July 1 through 3 in 1863, historians put the number of causalities and missing Union and Confederate soldiers at 46,286. Bayonets, rifled muskets, cannons and infections all contributed to the carnage. AccuWeather.com reports that the weather, however, created causalities as well. A Gettysburg man, Dr. Michael Jacobs, a math professor at what was then called Pennsylvania College, had a strong interest in weather and recorded his observations three times a day, every day, even during the battle. Ben Neely, Executive Director at the Adams County, Pennsylvania Historical Society, emphasized that the most damaging aspect of the weather actually occurred July 4, the day after the battle. Rain fell across the area for most of the day, Rev. Dr. Jacobs put the total at more than an inch. While wounded still lay on the field, some may have felt welcomed by the break in action. Some wounded soldiers had still not been moved from low-lying areas by the Plum Run Creek, however, which overflowed its banks. The wounded soldiers who were near the flood waters, reportedly all Confederate, drowned. According to Civil War historian and retired AccuWeather team member, Dr. Lee Rainey, an even larger issue that was faced as a result of the rain was the retreat attempts made by the Confederate Army on July 4. "They had to move a 17-mile long train of wagons filled with wounded soldiers over the dissolving dirt roads back to Virginia, " he said. "And the rains caused the Potomac River - easily fordable on the march north - to flow so high that the army was trapped on the north side with the Union forces in pursuit. The Confederates dug in for a desperate battle, but in the end were able to escape across the river on the 13th, the day before Meade's planned attack." The days leading up to that point were not without tragedy as fighting consumed the fields of the Pennsylvania town. For its part, the weather was more cooperative at the battle's start. July 1, the first day fighting began, had a sky covered by puffy white clouds all day. The breeze was southerly at only 2 mph; the afternoon temperature was a comfortable 76 degrees. The second day started with similar cloud cover, but clouds increased by the afternoon, when temperatures went up to 81. Likewise, the cloud cover started the third day, July 3rd and cleared considerably by the afternoon. The clouds that remained, however, was the "massive thunder-cloud of summer." A thunderstorm started around 6 p.m. EDT. "The thunder seemed tame, after the artillery firing of the afternoon," Rev. Dr. Jacobs wrote. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 1980 United States heat wave was a period of intense heat and drought that wreaked havoc on much of the Midwestern United States and the Southern Plains throughout the summer of 1980. It is among the most devastating natural disasters in terms of deaths and destruction in U.S. history, claiming at least 1,700 lives and because of the massive drought, agricultural damage reached $20 billion or more than $60 billion in 2021 dollars. The Heat Wave got started in the end of June 1980 and by July 2nd was in full swing. In Wichita Falls, Texas the temperatures reached 114 degrees, breaking old record by an incredible 10 degrees. It was the 9th consecutive day of 100 degrees plus. Many other cities in Texas reached or exceeded 100 degrees every day for more than a week. In fact, in Dallas a new record high was set for the month of July at 110 degrees. July 2, 1980 marked the 10th consecutive day of record high temperatures in Dallas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Heavy rains in eastern North Dakota and northwest Minnesota on July 1, 1975 caused disastrous flooding of the Red River of the North. The river crested 16' above flood stage at Fargo. It was the worst flooding in North Dakota history and caused $1 billion property damage or almost $5 billion in 2021 dollars, bridges washed out and transportation through much of the region became impossible. A local newspaper reported that "Much of the farmland is one big ocean with white caps on farm fields under 2-3 feet of water." In Lisbon, North Dakota a tree fell over, but not from any wind, the soil was so soaked; it couldn't support a tree. Most farmers were unable to get into their fields for month and the wheat and other grain crops were a total loss for that year causing prices of commodities in the United States and around the world to rise aiding in the inflation that would plague much of the world for the next 5 years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the month of June 2009 went into the record books on June 30, Los Angles reported that temperatures remained below normal every day in June, both at the airport and downtown; the first and only time that ever happened. The cool weather was a result of almost constant flow of air off the Pacific Ocean. At the airport, the warmest high temperature on any day in June 2009 was 71; this is the first time that temperatures ever failed to rise above 75 in June. The hottest June temperature ever recorded at the airport, that sits right on the Pacific coast, is 104 degrees. In Downtown Los Angeles the average daily high temperature is about 75°, the hottest temperature ever recorded was on June 26, 1990, when residents and visitors suffered through a sweltering 112-degree day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hurricane Alice was the second-strongest Atlantic hurricane to make landfall in the month of June since reliable records began in the 1850s. While not a major hurricane, the storm was linked to catastrophic flooding in southern Texas and northern Mexico, especially along the Rio Grande and its tributaries. The third tropical cyclone and first hurricane of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season, Alice was one of two storms to receive the same name that year, the other being an unusual Hurricane that formed in the Caribbean in December 1954 and persisted into the new year of 1955, becoming one of only two January hurricanes on record. The first Alice developed rather suddenly on June 24 off the coast of Mexico, though it may well have formed earlier but went undetected due to limited observation before the age of weather satellites. Moving northwestward, Alice strengthened rapidly as it neared the Mexican coastline, becoming a hurricane early the next day. By midday on June 25, the hurricane reached peak winds of 110 mph before moving inland well south of the U.S.–Mexico border. The storm struck an area with few inhabitants and caused relatively minimal impacts from wind near the point of landfall and in southern Texas. As it moved inland, however, Alice produced heavy rain along and near the Rio Grande, resulting in some of the worst flooding ever seen in parts of northern Mexico and southern Texas; in some areas, the flooding amounted to a one-in-1,000-year event. The floods destroyed bridges and dikes and flooded many cities along the inner reaches of the river, which reached its highest water levels since 1865. Communities in Mexico reported significant flood damage. In the United States, damage was heaviest in Ozona, Texas, where on June 29 1954, the floods killed 15 people. In all, flooding from Hurricane Alice killed at least 55 people, including 17 in the U.S. and 38 in Mexico, though many deaths in rural Mexico may have gone unreported; the total death toll could have exceeded 150. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gay Americans have long faced a system rigged against them by both cultural and legal means. With very few places traditionally to gather in the 1950s and 60s, many from the LGBTQ community gravitated to night clubs and bars where their sexual orientations were at sometimes celebrated or at least accepted. Still even in these places, those present were more times than not subject to discrimination, harassment and even violence by those nearby. This often occurred at the hands of the police who were ordered to invade these places and make a certain number of arrests and close down the establishments. In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City, the patrons of that bar had had enough of the long-term systematic abuse and marginalization. When the police attempted to enter the bar those there resisted. The Stonewall uprising became more pronounced when reports circulated that early morning that the police became violent in those attacks on the LGBTQ community. Crowds gathered and came to the aid of those at Stonewall. Tensions between the New York City police, and gay residents of Greenwich Village erupted into more protests the next evening and again several nights later. Within weeks, Village residents quickly organized into activist groups to concentrate efforts on establishing places for gay men and lesbians to be open about their sexual orientation without fear of being arrested. It marked the beginning of the Pride movement. Today, LGBTQ Pride events are held annually throughout the world toward the end of June to mark the Stonewall uprising. In June 2019, the 50th anniversary of Stonewall more than 5 million people participated in the celebrations in New York Coty alone, and on June 6, 2019, New York City Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill rendered a formal apology on behalf of the New York Police Department for the actions of its officers at Stonewall in 1969. June 27, 1969, had been a scorching hot and humid day in New York City with a high temperature of 96 and in the early morning hours of June 28 the mercury was still in the 80s. The Stonewall Inn, like many Gay bars of the time were run down and not well maintained, it was poorly air-conditioned, and some patrons were outside the bar trying to cool off. This helped lead to the first wave of resistance outside the bar. Would the initial resistance have occurred if the was not so steamy that night, perhaps not – but the just fight for LGBTQ rights would undoubtably broken through at another time and place as the expansion of human rights continues to move forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.