History

  • Many introductory physics classes show this classic bridge collapse, due to a bridge that was built to be too flexible and which collapsed in high and gusty winds after oscillating wildly back and forth in the Tacoma Narrows in Washington State.  You can read about the event and the science behind it at Wikipedia here…

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  • Halloween tornadoes

    Here are some fun facts on Halloween tornadoes from ustornadoes.com.  No worries about tornadoes today with strong high pressure over the Southeast!  https://www.ustornadoes.com/2013/10/28/halloween-tornadoes-the-spooky-historical-facts/.

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  • Four years ago today, post-hurricane Sandy made landfall on the New Jersey coast.  Sandy started out as a classical late-season hurricane starting in the southwestern Caribbean Sea and crossed the eastern end of Cuba before taking a path east of the Bahamas which paralleled the East Coast of the US before taking an unusual but…

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  • Today WunderBlog has an interesting story on Mount Washington, the highest weather observatory anywhere on Earth.  I’ve never been there but friends who have tell me that the winds and snow can be extreme.  Temperatures there have gone below zero every month except June, July, August and September.  You can read more about this fascinating…

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  • Exactly eleven years ago today, Hurricane Wilma made landfall at Cape Romano in southern Florida as a major hurricane.  This is the last major hurricane to make landfall in the US.  The eleven years’ time period since the last major hurricane landfall is a record; the previous longest time period without a major storm hitting…

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  • Modern Farmer had an interesting story this week on the history of how kudzu was introduced into the US and how it affected Southern agriculture.  You might enjoy getting a look at the history of how this plant came to be so ubiquitous around the Southeast and how it has affected agriculture here in the…

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  • If you are interested in weather in historical context or in Key West, Florida, you might enjoy this article on the Key West Hurricane of 1846.  This was one of the earliest hurricanes observed in that city.  The article goes into depth on the development of the storm and its damage to the city.  You…

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