History
-
Today is the anniversary of D-Day, when Allied forces in Europe landed at Normandy Beach and began the long trek to take back Europe in World War 2. The weather forecasts for that landing were critical to the success of the mission. You can read more about this at the following web sites. WRAL: Science…
Posted in: History -
As a meteorologist, I hear frequent jokes about having a job where you can be wrong most of the time and still get paid. It might surprise you to know that weather forecasts have improved dramatically in recent years due to a combination of more observations (mostly from satellites), larger and improved computer models, and…
-
Have you ever heard that tornadoes don’t hit cities, or rivers, or hills? While local geographic features can have a small impact on tornadoes, this week’s anniversary of the Miami tornado of May 12, 1997 is a good example of how wrong that “old wives’ tale” is. Of course, here in the Southeast we have…
-
The State Climate Office of North Carolina has an interesting look back at a storm in May 1992 which brought heavy snow to parts of the southern Appalachian Mountains. I remember this storm well because I was spending three weeks in Asheville NC at the National Climatic Data Center looking for historical climate data for…
Posted in: History -
The second deadliest tornado in history happened in Natchez MS on May 7, 1840. A large and powerful tornado went right through the center of town, flattening most of the buildings. But even worse was the damage on the Mississippi River, which was filled with boats, including 120 flatboats and a steam boat. Many bodies…
-
One of the earliest tornado videos on record was this short video clip from the deadly Warner Robins GA storm on April 30, 1953. According to This Date in Weather History on Facebook, “An F4 tornado with winds over 200 mph hit the Warner Robins, Georgia, and portions of Robins Air Force Base, killing 18…
-
Today is the sixth anniversary of one of the worst tornado outbreaks on record, rivalling the Super Outbreak of April 3-4, 1974. Many large and horrifically damaging tornadoes occurred from Mississippi to Tennessee, destroying homes and businesses and killing and injuring many. Here are some selected video remembrances of the storms. Weather Channel video: Anatomy…