If I could nominate a word in the field of meteorology for king of the most misspelled category, my nomination would be lightning. I along with most meteorologists just absolutely cringe when we see the word used and misspelled.
A heavy rain event during the early morning hours of July 17th caused flooding on the Guadalupe River that swept away campers at a local church camp in Texas.
Birmingham and much of the southern United States was broiling in one of the worst heat waves in history on this date in 1980.
When you think of Kansas and disasters, you might think of tornadoes or snowstorms. But the Sunflower State’s worst disaster in history was a flood.
It was approaching the 3 o’clock hour on a Saturday afternoon, and a crowd was attending a circus that has set up shop in the town of Howard, Wisconsin. The act featuring the lions had just completed and they were securely placed in their cages as the tightrope act was just starting in the main tent. At that moment, a very strong wind gust quickly forced the tent to collapse on top of the stunned crowd.
An incredible streak of eight consecutive days where the thermometer in Birmingham rose over 100 degrees. Every day during the streak, not a single drop of rain fell in the Magic City.
On this date in 1991, an L’Express commuter airline flight went down during a thunderstorm in Ensley, killing 13 people.
Shortly after 5PM on July 26, 1926, a storm was passing over the town of Lake Denmark in northern New Jersey. An unexpected lightning bolt struck a building at the US Navy Ammunition Depot and caused a huge series of explosions. All buildings within a half-mile radius were completely destroyed due to the massive blasts from all of the explosive weaponry stored at the depot.
On this date in 1982, Pan Am 759 crashed shortly after takeoff from New Orleans International Airport, killing 146 people onboard and 8 on the ground. The cause of the crash was windshear, a factor that has virtually been removed from air crashes because of science.
On this date in 2005, Hurricane Dennis was rapidly intensifying over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico. It would make landfall the following day near Navarre Beach.
On this date in 1893, twenty blocks of the prosperous town of Pomeroy, Iowa were swept clean by a violent tornado that killed 71 people.
When the fireworks finally started after the Braves game on July 4, 1985, it was July 5th. Several rain delays and a six hour, nineteen inning game were the culprits in the 4 a.m. fireworks show.
On the evening of June 26, 1957, advisories and radio and TV broadcasts led residents of low lying Cameron Parish to think they time to evacuate the following morning. The result was tragedy.
Long range hurricane forecasts scaring away tourists? Ys, that claim was made sixty years ago this week even au Audrey gained strength in the Gulf.
Our long time friend, mentor, and charter Weather Factory member, J.B. Elliott, passed away on May 11, 2015. Click HERE to read James' tribute.
