OCTOBER 21ST - 31ST WEATHER HISTORY
http://www.examiner.com/weather-in-wilmington/charlie-wilson
Charlie Wilson Wilmington Weather ExaminerSubscribeSponsor an Examiner A member of the American Meteorological Society, 
Charlie Wilson has combined his knowledge of Meteorology & Weather History with his Education background in Communications.
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 October 21st:

1492
Columbus made landfall on San Salvador Island under clear skies. Fortunately, he met no hurricanes on the first voyage through March of 1493, 
although the "Santa Maria" was wrecked on a reef off of Cuba.

1638
A tornado struck a church in southwest England during a service, reportedly killing as many as 50 people.

1743
Benjamin Franklin made the revolutionary discovery that the wind in storm systems rotate in a counter clockwise direction. 
Franklin was waiting in Philadelphia, PA that night to view a lunar eclipse, but had his opportunity foiled by a nor'easter. 
Franklin later discovered that his brother in Boston, MA was able to observe the eclipse clearly and the storm did not arrive at his location until four hours later. 
It puzzled Franklin that the system seemed to move from southwest to northeast even though winds at his location were from the northeast. 
He theorized the winds in the storm system must have been rotating around a center. A brilliant deduction considering he had no satellite to show the big picture.

1780
Spanish Admiral Solano was en-route from Havana, Cuba to Pensacola, FL to capture the important port city. 
The 3rd major hurricane of the month swept north through the Gulf of Mexico catching and scattering the fleet of 64 warships.

1934
A severe windstorm lashed the northern Pacific coast. In Washington State, the storm claimed the lives of 22 people, and caused $1.7 million dollars damage, mostly to timber. 
Winds, gusting to 87 mph at North Head, WA, and waves were more than 20 feet high, even in the inland waters of Puget Sound and Lake Washington.

1938
The Hector Glacier crashed to the valley floor northeast of Lake Louise in Alberta Canada. The valley was buried under a 1.25 mile wide by 2.5 mile long pile of ice rubble. 
The wind created by the falling avalanche blew down all trees on the opposite side of the valley.

1957
The second in a series of unusual October storms hit southern California, causing widespread thunderstorms. 
Santa Maria was drenched with 1.13 inches of rain in two hours, hail drifted as high as 18 inches in eastern Los Angeles, and waterspouts were sighted off Point Mugu and Oceanside.

An unnamed hurricane at Mazatlan, Mexico produced winds of up to 130 mph before the anemometer blew away. Eight people died when the jail at Mazatlan was destroyed.

1974
It is one of the coldest mornings on record in western Lower Michigan with temperatures falling into the teens. Grand Rapids falls to 18°, the lowest October temperature on record.

1975
After three consecutive days of being postponed by rain, the sixth game of the 1975 World Series was finally played at Boston, MA.

1983
Records for 24-hour October rainfall were recorded at Decatur, IL with 4.09 inches, and at Champaign, IL with 3.72 inches courtesy of the remnants of Pacific Hurricane Tico.

1984
Hail as large as eggs pounded Travis County and the city of Austin, TX, causing over $14 million in damage. Car dealers reported that every car on their lots sustained damaged.  
The hail fell along a path 5 miles wide and 20 miles long.

1987
Cold arctic air continued to invade the central U.S. Several record lows were reported in the Great Plains Region, including lows of 9°at Aberdeen, SD and 12°at Valentine, NE. 
Temperatures warmed rapidly during the day in the Southern and Central Plains. Goodland, KS warmed from a morning low of 24°to an afternoon high of 75°.

1988
Hurricane Joan lashed Nicaragua with 125 mph winds, causing $1.5 billion dollars in damage and killing more than 200 people. Joan was remarkable in several regards. 
The storm held a straight westward course for over 40 degrees of longitude never straying north of 12 degrees. 
Another amazing fact was that the hurricane transported African locusts 2,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean islands. 

1989
Unseasonably cold weather continued to grip the south central and southeastern U.S.  Many cities reported record low temperatures for the date, including Calico, AR with 26°, 
and Daytona Beach FL with a low of 41°.  

Snow squalls deposited 12.7 inches on Marquette, MI in 24 hours to set a new 24 hour record for the month of October.

1996
A state of emergency was declared in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine after a powerful coastal storm dumped over a foot of rain causing massive flooding. 
Portland, ME recorded 7.92 inches of rainfall in 24 hours to set their rainfall record.

1998
A tropical depression formed in the southwest Caribbean Sea, about 360 miles south of Kingston, Jamaica.
 This disturbance would intensify over the next few days to become Hurricane Mitch, a monster storm that would eventually become the second deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record, behind 
"The Great Hurricane" of 1780 in the Caribbean.

2003
An unusually strong 594 decameter heat ridge covered most of the west bringing record high temperatures for the date including: Palm Springs, CA: 108°, Borrego Springs, CA: 104°, Yuma, AZ: 104°,
 Phoenix, AZ: 103°, Escondido, CA: 102°, Tucson, AZ: 96°-Tied, Victorville, CA: 95°, Wichita Falls, TX: 95°, Las Vegas, NV: 94°, Bakersfield, CA: 94°-Tied, Fresno, CA: 93°, Lubbock, TX: 90°, 
Stockton, CA: 90°-Tied, Pueblo, CO: 89°, Bishop, CA: 89°, Pendleton, OR: 88°, Idyllwild, CA: 87°, Dodge City, KS: 87°-Tied, Billings, MT: 85°, Glasgow, MT: 85°, Winnemucca, NV: 85°, 
Colorado Springs, CO: 84°, Sheridan, WY: 84, Boise, ID: 84, Reno, NV: 84, Miles City, MT: 84, Palomar Mountain, CA: 83°, Denver, CO: 83°, Havre, MT: 83°, Lewiston, ID: 83°, Elko, NV: 83°,
 Medford, CA: 83, Yakima, WA: 83, Helena, MT: 82, Lander, WY: 82, Burns, OR: 82, Ely, NV: 81°, Portland, OR: 81°, Albuquerque, NM: 81°-Tied, Grand Junction, CO: 80°, Missoula, MT: 80°, 
Salem, OR: 80°, Big Bear Lake, CA: 78°, Cheyenne, WY: 78°, Pocatello, ID: 78°, Spokane, WA: 77°, Bozeman, MT: 77°, Alamosa, CO: 76°, Kalispell, MT: 75°, 
Butte, MT: 75°, Flagstaff, AZ: 75° and West Yellowstone, MT: 72°.

2007
Very strong Santa Ana winds developed on this day and continued through the 23rd. A gust of 85 mph was recorded at Fremont Canyon, 79 mph at San Bernardino, 75 mph at Descanso and Mira Loma, 
74 mph at Fallbrook and Rancho Cucamonga. Some locations experienced tropical storm force winds or greater for more than 36 consecutive hours. 
Winds caused at least $60 million dollars in damage and destruction to buildings, fences, vehicles, etc. The devastating wildfires of 2007 were fanned by these winds. 
These fires caused one million Californians to evacuate, the largest mass evacuation in California history.

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October 22nd:

Frost occurs when the surface temperature cools to the dewpoint temperature, and both are at or below 32°. 
Water vapor in the air turns directly into ice without becoming a liquid first, producing visible ice crystals on surfaces. 
Freezes occur when the air temperature, measured about 6 feet off the ground falls below 32°; temperatures of 28° or colder are considered to be a hard freeze.

1884
This was the final day of a two month rainless spell at Tuscaloosa, AL that lasted from 8/28 through this date as the southeast suffered through a terrible drought.

1965
Southern Californiawas in the midst of a late October heat wave. The temperature soared to 104°at San Diego, CA, their hottest temperature for so late in the year. 
Los Angeles had 10 consecutive days with afternoon highs reaching 100° and above.   Record highs for the date included: Santa Ana, CA: 103°, Long Beach, CA: 101°, 
Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 101°, Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 100°, San Francisco (Airport), CA: 85°, Medford, OR: 81°, Eureka, CA: 75° and Portland, OR: 75°. Smog levels were extremely dangerous.

1969
The earliest and heaviest snow since October 1926 occurred in parts of northern New England. 12 inches fell at Rochester, NY, and in some mountain areas, more than a foot fell. 
There was limited skiing on some Vermont slopes on the 23rd. It set the October 24-hour record at Burlington, VT, with 5.1 inches, and the early season record at Portland, ME, with 3.6 inches.

1985
Lightning struck a hotel in Seattle, WA. A guest talking on a telephone on the top floor of the hotel was seriously injured as a current passed through the phone line. 

1986
Tropical Storm Roslyn came ashore near Mazatlan, Mexico then moved into Texas and brought Oklahoma some of its worst flooding this century.

1987
Yakutat, AKsurpassed their previous all-time yearly precipitation total of 190 inches. Monthly records were set in June with 17 inches,
 in September with 70 inches, and in October with more than 40 inches.

Many cities in the eastern U.S., most of them in the southeast states, reported record low temperatures for the date courtesy of Canadian high pressure. 
Morning lows of 23°at Pinson, AL, 28°at Birmingham, AL, and 30°at Athens, GA were the coldest on record for so early in the season. Other record lows included: 
Cincinnati, OH: 23°-Tied, Bristol, TN: 24°-Tied, Knoxville, TN: 25°, Jackson, KY: 26°, Lexington, KY: 26°, Nashville, TN: 26°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 26°, Meridian, MS: 29°, Pittsburgh, PA: 29°, 
Montgomery, AL: 30°, Athens, GA: 30°, Tupelo, MS: 30°-Tied, Jackson, MS: 31°-Tied, Macon, GA: 33°, Columbus, GA: 34°and Mobile, AL: 38°.

Showers produced heavy rain in southern California, with amounts ranging up to 5 inches at Blue Jay. Flash flooding resulted in two deaths, 10 injuries, and more than $1 million dollars damage.

1988
A "nor'easter" swept across the coast of New England. Winds gusted to 75 mph, and large waves and high tides caused extensive shoreline flooding. 
A heavy wet snow blanketed much of eastern New York State, with a foot of snow reported in Lewis County.

Hurricane Joan, with sustained winds of 145 mph and a central pressure of 932 millibars or 27.52 inHg, made landfall near Bluefields, Nicaragua. 
This was only the second hurricane on record to affect this area and by far the strongest. 148 people died and damage reached $840 million dollars in Nicaragua alone. 
The storm crossed the Central America Isthmus and emerged in the eastern Pacific and was renamed Tropical Storm Miriam.

1989
A storm system moving out of the Gulf of Alaska brought rain to the Northern and Central Pacific Coast Region, with snow in some of the mountains of Oregon, 
and wind gusts to 60 mph along the Oregon coast.  

Several cities in Florida reported record low temperatures for the date, including Tallahassee: 34°, Gainesville: 38°-Tied, Pensacola: 42°-Tied, Daytona Beach: 44°, Tampa: 48°-Tied and Orlando: 49°.

1996
Flooding from a major weekend storm continued to close schools and businesses in New England. Five people were killed during the storm, which dumped up to 19.19 inches of rain at Camp Ellis, 
ME to set the state's all time rainfall record. 140,000 people in Portland, ME were without water due to a water-main break. 
The town of Exeter, NH was also without water as the state experienced its worst flooding event since 1987. In New Jersey, the flooding was reported to be the worst since Tropical Storm Doria in 1971.

Wichita, KS picked up 0.2 inch of snow for its earliest measurable snowfall on record. Snow also fell in the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles. As much as 8 inches fell at Boise City, OK, 
with 15 inches at the Cloudcroft Ski resort in the mountains of northern New Mexico. Both Topeka, KS and Kansas City, 
MO had their greatest October snowfalls on record with 8 inches and 6.5 inches falling, respectively.

1997
The World Series game in Cleveland, OH between the Indians and Florida Marlins featured snow showers and the coldest temperatures in World Series history.

Record lows were set at Akron, OH: 26 and Pittsburgh, PA: 29-Tied.

1998
Mitch was christened as the 13th named tropical system. 13 would indeed be an unlucky number for many Central American countries as Mitch would become the 4th strongest Atlantic Hurricane 
on record over the extremely warm waters of the western Caribbean. Mitch would eventually be one of the biggest natural disasters ever in the Western Hemisphere.

2003
A large 588 decameter heat ridge covered most of the west from the Rockies to the west coast bringing record high temperatures. 
Cheyenne, WY reached a high temperature of 81°, which stands as the latest day in the year that Cheyenne has exceeded 80°. 
Other record highs included: Palm Springs, CA: 105°, Borrego Springs, CA: 105°, Yuma, AZ: 103°, Phoenix, AZ: 102°, Tucson, AZ: 95°, Victorville, CA: 95°, Las Vegas, NV: 92°, Goodland, KS: 90°, 
Idyllwild, CA: 88°, North Platte, NE: 87°, Valentine, NE: 87°, Bishop, CA: 87°-Tied, Pueblo, CO: 85°, Palomar Mountain, CA: 85°, Denver, CO: 84°, Sheridan, WY: 84°, Scottsbluff, NE: 84°-Tied, 
Pocatello, ID: 83°, Elko, NV: 83°, Reno, NV: 83°, Winnemucca, NV: 83°, Rapid City, SD: 82°, Livingston, MT: 82°, Ely, NV: 81°, Casper, WY: 80°, Dillon, MT: 80°, Lewiston, ID: 80°, Burns, OR: 80°, 
Colorado Springs, CO: 80°-Tied, Grand Junction, CO: 79°, Butte, MT: 79°, Alamosa, CO: 76°, Flagstaff, AZ: 76°, Big Bear Lake, CA: 75°, Lander, WY: 75°-Tied, Spokane, WA: 74°, 
West Yellowstone, MT: 73°, Wisdom, MT: 73°, Missoula, MT: 72° and Kalispell, MT: 70°.

2005
Hurricane Wilma, with sustained winds near 130 mph crossed the Yucatan Peninsula near Playa del Carmen. 
The hurricane caused severe damage to the homes of nearly 700,000 people, leaving 300,000 homeless and at least 7 dead.
 Some remote locations across the Yucatan reported over 60 inches of rain.

2007
Very strong Santa Ana winds developed on the 21st and continued through the 23rd. 
A wind gust of 85 mph was recorded at Fremont Canyon, 79 mph at San Bernardino, 75 mph at Descanso 
and Mira Loma, 74 mph at Fallbrook and Rancho Cucamonga. Some locations experienced tropical storm force winds or greater for more than 36 consecutive hours. 
Winds caused at least $60 million dollars in damage and destruction to buildings, fences, vehicles. The devastating wildfires of 2007 were fanned by these winds. 
These fires caused one million Californians to evacuate, the largest mass evacuation in California history.

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October 23rd:

1091
The earliest known tornado in Britain, possibly the most severe on record, hit central London. The church at St. Mary le Bow was badly damaged. 
Four rafters, each 26 feet long were driven into the ground with such force that only four feet protruded above the surface. 
Other churches in the area were also demolished along with over 600 houses.

1761
A hurricane struck southeast New England, labeled as the "most violent in 30 years".  Thousands of trees were uprooted in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, blocking roads.

1843
"Indian Summer" was routed by cold and snow from the Poconos to Vermont. Albany, NY picked up 4 inches of snow, 6 inches fell at Burlington, VT and 12 inches fell at Haverhill, 
NHand Newberry, VT. 18 to 24 inches was reported in some of the higher elevations. Snow stayed on the ground until the next spring.

1878
A major hurricane that formed in the Caribbean Sea moved north over western Cuba and smashed into the North Carolina coast. 
The storm moved north into eastern Pennsylvania, then curved sharply east and moved through central New England. It retained hurricane strength into southeast New York.
The hurricane caused great damage around Wilmington, NC, on the Chesapeake Bay,
and around Philadelphia. Across the upper Delaware Bay, a "tidal wave" wiped out much of the resort hotels and outbuildings,
and caused major shoreline changes at Collins Beach, Bombay Hook and 
Woodland Beach, resulting in the demise of these areas as a major summer resort for visitors from Wilmington, DE and Philadelphia, PA. 
Cape May measured a wind gust to 110 mph, and Philadelphia, PA gusted to 85 mph. 
Philadelphia, PA recorded a maximum 1-minute wind speed of 75 mph.

1918
The Canadian steamship “Princess Sophia” carrying miners from the Yukon and Alaska became stranded on Vanderbilt Reef along the coast of Alaska. 
A strong northerly gale hampered rescue attempts, and the next day, the ship sank killing the 268 passengers and 75 crewmen on board.

1920
Famed research meteorologist Thoedore Fujita, was born on this date in Kitakyushu City, Japan. Fujita, known as "Mr. Tornado" 
after developing the international standard for measuring tornado severity, also discovered microbursts.

1923
A tropical storm that formed in the Caribbean Sea moved north, making landfall along the Delmarva then moved north-northwest across eastern Pennsylvania and into western New York. 
The slow moving storm brought two days of heavy rain to the region. The highest wind gusts were Atlantic City, NJ: 88 mph and Cape May, NJ: 66 mph.

1947
Fish fell from the sky in Marksville, LA. Thousands of fish fell from the sky in an area 1,000 feet long by 80 feet wide possibly due to a waterspout.

1963
Most of the country east of the Plains enjoyed mild to warm autumn temperatures with some record heat courtesy of a ridge. Lansing, MI reached 80° or higher on five consecutive days from the 22nd to the 26th.  
On this date, Lansing hit 84°.  Other daily record highs included: Evansville, IN: 88°, Indianapolis, IN: 86°, Chicago, IL: 85°, Moline, IL: 85°, Springfield, IL: 85°, Fort Wayne, IN: 85°, Lexington, KY: 84°,
 Milwaukee, WI: 84°-Tied, Rockford, IL: 83°, South Bend, IN: 83°, Alpena, MI: 83°, Detroit, MI: 83°, Flint, MI: 83°, Grand Rapids, MI: 83°, Marquette, MI: 83°, Toledo, OH: 83°, Valentine, NE: 83°-Tied, Madison, WI: 81°,
 Houghton Lake, MI: 81°, Bristol, TN: 81°, Fargo, ND: 80°, Aberdeen, SD: 80°, Rapid City, SD: 80°, Muskegon, MI: 80°, Cleveland, OH: 80°, Erie, PA: 79°, Grand Forks, ND: 78°, Duluth, MN: 78°, 
International Falls, MN: 78°, Mansfield, OH: 78°-Tied, Rochester, MN: 77° and Ste. St. Marie, MI: 77°.

1987
Many cities in the southeastern U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date. 
It marked the 6th record low of the month for Greer and Columbia, SC tying at 27°and the 9th of the month for Montgomery, AL with 34°.  
Other daily record lows included: Asheville, NC: 24°, Roanoke, VA: 26°-Tied, Macon, GA: 28°, Bristol, TN: 28°-Tied, Augusta, GA: 28°-Tied, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 29°, Raleigh, NC: 29°, 
Greensboro, NC: 29°-Tied, Knoxville, TN: 30°, Athens, GA: 31°, Charlotte, NC: 32°-Tied, Norfolk, VA: 34°and Columbus, GA: 36°.

Showers and thunderstorms deluged Corpus Christi, TX with 5 inches of rain. Winnemucca, NV reported their first measurable rain in 92 days, while Yakima,
 WA reported a record 96 days in a row without measurable rainfall.

1988
Denver, CO reported their first freeze of the autumn, and Chicago, IL reported their first snow.  

A ridge of high pressure brought record heat extending from parts of Texas westward to the west coast. Record highs for the date included: Austin (Mabry), TX: 93°, San Antonio, TX: 93°, 
Austin (Bergstrom), TX: 91°, Houston, TX: 91°, Corpus Christi, TX: 90°, Redding, CA: 88°, Ely, NV: 75°, Flagstaff, AZ: 74°, and Yakima, WA: 70°-Tied.

1989
A storm moving out of the Gulf of Alaska brought rain and high winds to the Central Pacific Coast. Heavy rains were reported in northern California and heavy snows to the area around Lake Tahoe. 
21 inches fell at Donner Summit with 3 feet of snow in the mountains near Lake Tahoe. High winds in Nevada gusted to 67 mph at Reno, and thunderstorms around Redding, CA produced wind gusts to 66 mph.
 Locally heavy rains in the San Francisco area caused numerous mudslides, adding insult to injury for earthquake victims.

2000
Beginning on the 22nd through this date extensive flooding occurred in and around Chickasha, OK when as much as 10 inches of rain fell across Caddo and Grady Counties. 
Portions of downtown Chickasha were under at least 5 feet of water. Approximately 30 people were rescued from the roof of cars and homes and as many as 400 people were evacuated from their homes. 
Damages approached $1.5 million dollars.

2003
An unseasonably strong 588 decameter heat ridge extended from the Plains to the west coast bringing record heat. 
Phoenix, AZ set a record high and also broke the record for the latest date for a triple-digit temperature as the temperature soared to 100°.
 Other daily record highs included: Palm Springs, CA: 104°, Borrego Springs, CA: 104°, Victorville, CA: 96°, Austin (Mabry), TX: 94°, Wichita Falls, TX: 92°, Pueblo, CO: 92°, Austin (Bergstrom), 
TX: 92°-Tied, Lubbock, TX: 91°, Amarillo, TX: 90°, Roswell, NM: 90°, Dodge City, KS: 89°, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 89°, Clayton, NM: 89°, Oklahoma City, OK: 89°-Tied, Waco, TX: 89°-Tied, 
Goodland, KS: 88°, Scottsbluff, NE: 87°, Winslow, AZ: 84°, Colorado Springs, CO: 83°, Casper, WY: 81°, Albuquerque, NM: 80°-Tied,
 Cheyenne, WY: 79°, Lander, WY: 76°, Big Bear Lake, CA: 74° and Alamosa, CO: 74°.

2005
Hurricane Wilma produced high winds pushing a high storm surge that breached a wide stretch of Havana, Cuba's seawall flooding area neighborhoods, spreading up to four blocks inland.

Lost in the focus and concern over Hurricane Wilma, Tropical Storm Alpha dumped heavy rains on Hispaniola leaving at least 12 people dead with 23 missing in Haiti and 3 in the Dominican Republic. 
Flooding and mudslides damaged or destroyed at least 400 homes in Haiti.

2007
A bright sunny day helps Victoria, British Columbia Canada shatter a 40-year-old high temperature record when the mercury hit 68°.

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October 24th:
1785
A 4-day rain swelled the Merrimack River in New Hampshire and Massachusetts to the greatest height on record causing extensive damage to bridges and mills.

1878
A hurricane produced widespread damage across North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Cape May, New Jersey had an 84 mph wind gust and the barometer at Annapolis,
 MD dropped to 28.82 inHg. AtPhiladelphia, PA, the hurricane was the worst on record. 72 people lost their lives.

1933
A High Fog settled over London, England causing "midnight at mid-day" as a temperature inversion formed over the city, trapping fog and smoke beneath it. 
The sun turned yellow, red and sometimes disappeared altogether.

1937
A snow squall in Buffalo, NY tied up traffic in 6 inches of slushy accumulation.

1947
A major forest fire, known as the Bar Harbor Holocaust consumed homes and a medical research institute, claiming 17 lives in Maine. Damage totaled $30 million dollars.

1969
Unseasonably cold air gripped the northeastern U.S. Lows of 6°at Albany, NY, 10°at Concord, NH, 15°at Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA, 16° at Albany, NYand 20° at Frederick, MDestablished October records.
 Other daily record lows included: Elkins, WV: 13°, Toledo, OH: 18°, Charleston, WV: 20°, Williamsport, PA: 20°, Youngstown, OH: 20°, Worcester, MA: 20°, Caribou, ME: 20°, Lynchburg, VA: 21°, 
Avoca, PA: 21°, Pittsburgh, PA: 21°, Hartford, CT: 21°, Providence, RI: 21°, Burlington, VT: 21°, Burlington, VT: 21°, Detroit, MI: 22°, Akron, OH: 22°, Cleveland, OH: 22°, Allentown, PA: 22°, 
Binghamton, NY: 22°, Milton, MA: 22°, Portland, ME: 22°, Atlantic City, NJ: 23°, Harrisburg, PA: 23°, Roanoke, VA: 24°, Wilmington, DE: 24°, Grand Rapids, MI: 24°, Baltimore, MD: 25°, 
Philadelphia, PA: 25°, Columbus, OH: 25°-Tied, Bridgeport, CT: 26°, Erie, PA: 27°, Richmond, VA: 27°, Mansfield, OH: 27°-Tied, Newark, NJ: 28°, Washington, (National Airport), D.C.: 29°, 
Bristol, TN: 29°-Tied, Wallops Island, VA: 30°, New York (LaGuardia), NY: 30°, Boston, MA: 30°, New York (Central Park), NY: 31°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 32° and Norfolk, VA: 36°.

1975
33 inches of snow fell during a 2-day period at the Mesa Lake, CA reservoir.

1988
Strong winds circulating around a deep area of low pressure produced snow squalls in the Great Lakes Region, with 6 inches reported at Ironwood, MI. 
Wind gusts to 80 mph were reported at State College, PA.

1989
A storm in the western U.S. produced up to 3 feet of snow in the mountains around Lake Tahoe, CA with 21 inches reported at Donner Summit.  

Thunderstorms in northern California produced 3.36 inches of rain at Redding to establish a 24 hour record for October, and brought their rainfall total for the month to a record 5.11 inches.  

"Indian Summer" weather prevailed across the rest of the nation. A few cities in the north central U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date as readings soared into the 70s and 80s. 
Record highs included: 
Yankton, SD: 86°, Huron, SD: 84°, Aberdeen, SD: 83°, Sioux City, IA: 82°-Tied, Sioux Falls, SD: 81°, Fargo, ND: 78°, Grand Forks, ND: 78°, Green Bay, WI: 76° and International Falls, MN: 74°.

1992
Thunderstorms associated with a low pressure system spawned 3 tornadoes in the Flagstaff, AZ area. 
One tornado raced 5 miles through Sunset Crater National Monument, downing 260 acres of ponderosa pine. 
The National Weather Service Office at Pullman Airport had golfball size hail and was drenched with 1.91 inches of rain.

1997
A tremendous early season snowstorm, one of the worst in a decade pounded Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska from the 24th to the 26th with blizzard conditions, high winds and very heavy snowfalls. 
21.9 inches of snow at Denver, CO was the second-highest storm total in the city's history. 2 to 4 foot snowfall totals were common, particularly in the foothills west of Denver. Some Colorado totals included:
 Palmer Lake: 52 inches, Coal Creek Canyon: 51 inches, Silver Spruce Ranch near Ward: 48 inches, Sedalia: 37 inches, Aspen Springs: 35 inches, Conifer: 35 inches, Eldorado Springs: 31 inches, 
southeast Aurora: 31 inches, Englewood: 31 inches, Estes Park: 28 inches, 20 to 30 inches fell around Boulder, Colorado Springs: 19.9 inches and 14 inches at Denver International Airport. 
Further north, the blizzard raged across much of southeast Wyoming and the Nebraska panhandle. High winds and between 5 to 10 inches of snow with amounts as high as 20 inches closed 
many roads including all roads in and out of Cheyenne, WY.  Heavy snow also fell along the Beartooth and Bog Horn Foothills in Montana. Local amounts included: Burgess Junction, MT: 24 inches, 
Story, MT: 22 inches, Mystic Lake, MT: 18 inches, Nye, MT: 12 inches and Red Lodge, MT: 11 inches.

The 17.4 inches at Hastings, KS was more than it had ever snowed in any month of October. Sustained winds of 40 mph with gusts to 60 mph whipped the snow into drifts 4 to 15 feet high 
and produced wind chill readings from -25° to -40°. 10 people lost their lives as a result of the storm. Hundreds of miles of roads and interstates were closed and 4,000 travelers were stranded 
at Denver International Airport when the venue was forced to shut down. The storm damaged or destroyed 85% of the trees in Omaha, NE.  Scientists discovered a massive "blowdown" of 
20,000 acres of spruce trees in north-central Colorado. Some 31-square miles of old-growth forests high in the Rockies were destroyed by unusual "mountain wave" clouds that blew 
120-mph winds along the western side of the Continental Divide.

1998
Mitch became a hurricane in the Caribbean south of Jamaica and began to intensify rapidly. During a 24-hour period beginning at 11pm on the 23rd, Mitch went from a 60 mph tropical storm
 and a pressure of 997 millibars or 29.44 inHg to a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph and a minimum central pressure of 965 millibars or 28.50 inHg.

2001
A long lived supercell moved across northern Illinois during the early morning hours dropping hail up to the size of half dollars across Winnebago, Boone and McHenry Counties. 
Later in the morning, isolated severe storms developed ahead of a strong cold front. The storms developed in to a squall line producing widespread wind damage across northeast and eastern Illinois.
Trees and power lines were blown down across southern Cook County.

This area's second largest tornado outbreak (tied with the Palm Sunday outbreak of 4/11/1965) took place as ten tornadoes spun across parts of Indiana and Ohio. 
Two of the tornadoes produced F3 damage in St. Joseph County, Indiana and Putnam County, Ohio.

A squall line moves across southern Lower Michigan producing widespread wind damage and several tornadoes. 
The town of Schoolcraft in Kalamazoo County is hit by winds estimated up to 100 mph, causing extensive tree damage and some structural damage. 
The town of Marshall in Calhoun County also sustains some damage to homes as winds gust between 60 and 80 mph.
2002

It had been over 100 years since a tornado had hit in the Corpus Christi, TX area. A series of three tornadoes touched down in the Texas coastal city on this date. 
One of them caused a wall to collapse on the West Campus of Del Mar College. A teacher was killed and 6 other people were injured.
 Heavy rains associated with the thunderstorm caused flooding. A tornado warning was issued 10 minutes before the first twister hit.

2003
Widespread snow fell across most of the Netherlands. Although the snow was short-lived several inches fell in some parts. 
The far west of the country tended to avoid the wintry weather, but sleet did affect Rotterdam for a time.

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October 25th:

1768
A violent hurricane struck Havana, Cuba killing over 1,000 people.

1859
The Royal Charter Storm, named after the loss of the fully rigged ship Royal Charter off the coast of Anglesey, England drowned about 500 people and the loss of gold bullion. 
The ship was only one of over 200 vessels wrecked between 10/21 and 11/2, with the loss of around 800 lives. This led to the introduction of gale warnings in June 1860.

1921
A hurricane made landfall near Tarpon Springs with winds of 100 mph and a 10.5 foot storm surge during the evening hours and crossed the peninsula, 
exiting near Ponce De Leon Inlet the next morning. 
The barometer fell to 976 millibars or 28.81 inHg at the Weather Bureau Station in Tampa.
 An observer reported 8.53 inches of rain, but that much more was blown out of the gauge by the strong winds. 
Eggmont and Sanibel Islands were practically covered with water. The storm killed as many as 8 people.

1925
An F2 tornado moved though Woburn and Stoneham, MA, killing 1 person, injuring 6 others, and unroofing or damaging 75 buildings. 
This is the strongest tornado on record for so late in the year in New England.

1965
Once again, Fort Lauderdale, FL was deluged with heavy rain for the second time in as many weeks. 13.81 inches of rain fell in 48 hours causing a second round of flooding.

1975
Hurricane Olivia brought winds of over 100 mph to the Mexican coast. 30,000 people were left homeless in Mazatlan.

1977
DutchHarbor in Alaska reported a barometric pressure of 925 millibars or 27.31 inHg to establish an all-time record for the state.

1981
A Tornado damaged 75 houses and destroyed three others causing $2 million dollars in damage in Blountstown, FL. 
The high school football stadium was destroyed and trees and power lines were downed. 
The tornado’s path was 6 miles and 30 to 100 yards in width. Fortunately, no deaths occurred and only 12 people were injured. 
The tornado did all damage in less than five minutes. Radar at Apalachicola, FL had no indication of a tornado or severe weather.

1982
A major coastal storm brought high winds to the Mid Atlantic, where winds gusted to 82 mph at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. 
Mt. Pisgah, NC picked up 11 inches of snow.

1987
A storm system moving across the St. Lawrence Valley produced 40 to 50 mph winds east of Lake Ontario.
 High winds downed some trees around Watertown, NY, and produced waves 7 feet high between Henderson Harbor and Alexandria Bay.
 Mason City and Waterloo, IA tied for honors as cold spot in the nation with record lows of 19°.

Severe thunderstorms in Oklahoma and northern Texas produced golf ball size hail and wind gusts to 65 mph.
 Strong winds and hail accompanied severe thunderstorms across central and southeast Oklahoma. 
During the evening, hail up to the size of golf balls and 60 to 70 mph winds struck parts of Lone Grove. 
The winds removed the roof of the high school gymnasium in Lone Grove, allowing water into the building and ruining the hardwood floor, 
a scene to be repeated almost three years later in neighboring Ardmore, on 9/16/1990. 
The storms also damaged several other area businesses and caused total damages estimated at $700,000 dollars.

1988
Severe thunderstorms erupted over northeastern Texas during the late evening producing softball size hail at Newcastle and Jonesboro.  

Low pressure over James Bay in Canada continued to produced showers and gale force winds in the Great Lakes Region.

1989
Low pressure over Nevada produced high winds in the southwestern U.S., and spread heavy snow into Utah. 
Winds gusted to 63 mph at the Mojave Airport in southern California. Snowfall totals in Utah ranged up to 12 inches at Snowbird, with 11 inches at Alta.

"Indian Summer" type weather continued in the central and eastern U.S.  
Many cities in the north central U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. 
 Highs of 77°at Alpena, MI and 81°at Saint Cloud, MN were the warmest on record for so late in the season.

Other daily record highs included: Fargo, ND: 83°, Minneapolis, MN: 82°, Huron, SD: 82°-Tied, Aberdeen, SD: 81°, La Crosse, WI: 81°, 
Dubuque, IA: 78°, Green Bay, WI: 78°, Rochester, MN: 78°, Madison, WI: 78°, Grand Forks, ND: 78°-Tied, Rockford, IL: 78°-Tied,
 International Falls, MN: 76°, Grand Rapids, MI: 76°, Marquette, MI: 75°-Tied, Duluth, MN: 72° and Muskegon, MI: 72°-Tied.

1990
Mt. Mitchell, NC recorded 11 inches of snow in an early season storm.

Precipitation fell for 19 straight days at Caribou, ME.

1992
Tropical Storm Zeke formed the eastern Pacific. This was the 24th and the last named storm for the year for this tropical basin. 
The 24 named storms set a new record for the eastern Pacific. The old record was 22 named storms in 1985.

1997
A major snowstorm pounded Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska through the 26th. 51 inches of snow fell at Coal Creek, CO. 4 feet of snow fell over a wide area. 
The Denver Broncos nearly missed their flight to Buffalo, NY because of a huge storm that had dumped nearly 22 inches of snow. 
Known for its snow, Buffalo was actually sunny and mild as the Broncos struggled to get to the airport. 19.3 inches of snow fell at Goodland, KS to establish a new 24 hour snowfall record. 
A strong north wind whipped the snow into 15 to 20 foot drifts. Most roads were impassable for several days after the snow ended.  There were heavy losses to cattle.

Behind the storm, some locations reported record low temperatures for the date including: Scottsbluff, NE: 6°, Denver, CO: 8°(record low maximum of 21°later tied on 10/30/1991), 
Sheridan, WY: 8°, Rapid City, SD: 9°, Dillon, MT: 11°, Livingston, MT: 12°, Casper, WY: 13°, Colorado Springs, CO: 15°, Pocatello, ID: 15°, Goodland, KS: 18° and Billings, MT: 18°.

2001
A major autumn storm halted commercial navigation across the Great Lakes. 
Sustained southwesterly winds up to 65 mph pushed the already low water levels on the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers and the western end of Lake Erie down by 5 feet, thus draining local marinas. 
The winds force over 50 ships to drop anchor or remain tied up at docks. Upbound traffic on the Welland Canal was also halted by the high winds.

2003
Santa Ana winds started on this day and ended on the 27th in southern California. Gusts of 56 mph were measured at Descanso, 
46 mph in Anza, 45 mph in Ontario, 43 mph at Fremont Canyon, 41 mph in Beaumont, and 40 mph in Campo.
 Unprecedented wildfires, including the Cedar, Paradise and Otay Fires consumed hundreds of thousands of acres, killed over 20 people and caused over $1 billion dollars in damage. 
The Cedar Fire itself consumed more than 280,000 acres, making it the largest wildfire in California history, and killed 16 people. 
This is the also the second costliest fire in U.S. History only exceeded by the Oakland Fire of 1991.

The low temperature fell to 10° at Oberstdorf, Germany; the coldest October temperature in southern Germany since 1936.

2006
A winter storm brought heavy snowfall to Colorado Rockies. Snowfall totals of 12 to 22 inches were common over the higher terrain and 6 to 12 inches at lower levels; including Denver.
 Sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts approaching 50 mph at Denver International Airport pushed the snow drifts 3 to 4 feet deep.
 Thousands were left without power as the weight of the heavy snow snapped tree limbs on to power lines. Snowfall totals included: 
Aspen Springs: 25 inches, Conifer: 25 inches, Rollinsville: 23.5 inches, Idaho Springs: 23 inches, Blackhawk: 22.5 inches, Bailey: 21.5 inches, 
Bergen Park: 19 inches, Genesee: 18 inches, Jamestown: 18 inches, Boulder: 17 inches and Evergreen: 16 inches. 
 Denver International Airport started as rain and a thunderstorm before changing to snow. This was after a daytime high of 70°.

2008
A storm packing winds of more than 60 mph struck central Alberta Canada. In Edmonton, the strongest October wind ever recorded reached 64 mph, 
cutting power to 4,000 residents. The winds blew loose sheet metal, parts of billboards, garbage cans and pieces of trees around the city.

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October 26th:

1859
New York City, NYhad their earliest substantial snow on record as 4 inches fell.

1886
New York City, NY ends it longest dry streak at 40 days.

1919
The temperature plunged to -10° at Bismarck, ND, the earliest subzero reading on record for the city and a record low for the month of October. 
Other record lows included: Grand Forks, ND: -9°, Fargo, ND: -4°, Aberdeen, SD: -3°, Williston, ND: -2°, Huron, SD: 2°, International Falls, MN: 10° and Grand Island, NE: 19°-Tied.

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada experienced its coldest October low as the temperature dipped to -14°.

Down south, Nashville, TN soared to a record high of 86°.

1926
15 inches of snow fell at Barrow, AK, which was a record for the date. 
The melted equivalent of that snow equaled 1 inch, which was the most melted equivalent precipitation ever recorded on any date in Barrow up until that time. 
This record was broken on 7/21/1987.

1952
There have been thousands of weather reconnaissance and research flights into hurricanes in the Atlantic and Pacific since the mid-1940s. 
There have been several close calls, but only four flights have been lost. 
A B-29 Super-fortress flight into Super Typhoon Wilma 350 miles east of Leyte in the Philippines disappeared on this date. No trace was ever found of the plane or crew. 
At last report, the flight was in the Super-typhoon's strongest winds, which were around 160 mph.

1962
An early season snowstorm hit New England with the most snow over interior sections.  
Greenville, ME recorded 13.9 inches Worcester, MA recorded 4.7 inches and Portland, ME had 3.6 inches. 
All of these amounts were new records for the greatest amount of snow for so early in the season.

Canadian high pressure ushered record cold from the northern Plains to the Southeast.  Locations recording their coldest October temperatures included: 
Owen, WI: 8°, Sparta, WI: 10°, Platteville, WI: 12°, Caledonia, MN: 13° and Rockford, IL: 18°.

Other daily record lows included: Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN: 16°, Dubuque, IA: 16°, Madison WI: 16°, La Crosse, WI: 18°, Beckley, WV: 18°-Tied, Peoria, IL: 19°, 
Cincinnati, OH: 19°, Moline, IL: 19°-Tied, Indianapolis, IN: 20°, Dayton, OH: 21°, Mansfield, OH: 21°, Huntington, WV: 21°, Springfield, IL: 22°, Evansville, IN: 23°, 
Columbus, OH: 23°, Lexington, KY: 23°, Flint, MI: 24°, Grand Rapids, MI: 24°, Akron, OH: 24°, Charleston, WV: 24°, Louisville, KY: 25°, Oak Ridge, TN: 25°, 
Lynchburg, VA: 25°, Pittsburgh, PA: 25°, Youngstown, OH: 25°-Tied, Knoxville, TN: 27°, Raleigh, NC: 27°, Bristol, TN: 27-Tied°, Columbia, SC: 29°, 
Charlotte, NC: 29°, Nashville, TN: 30°, Birmingham, AL: 30°, Atlanta, GA: 30°, Athens, GA: 31°, Augusta, GA: 31°, Columbus, GA: 31°, 
Montgomery, AL: 32°, Wilmington, NC: 32°, Charleston, SC: 33°, Savannah, GA: 34° and Norfolk, VA: 36°.

1968
Canadian high pressure system behind a strong cold front brought chilly temperatures to the Southeast. Cross City, FL reported and all-time October record low of 30°. 
Other daily record lows included: Nashville, TN: 27°, Paducah, KY: 28°, Chattanooga, TN: 29°, Birmingham, AL: 29°, Atlanta, GA: 29°, Montgomery, AL: 31°, Macon, GA: 32°, 
Tallahassee, FL: 35°, Baton Rouge, LA: 37°-Tied, Pensacola, FL: 40°-Tied and Vero Beach, FL: 50°.

1983
An Indian summer heat wave occurred over the Northern Rockies, with record highs of Santa Maria, CA: 96°, Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 94°, Long Beach, CA: 93°, 
San Diego, CA: 92°, Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 91°, San Francisco (Airport), CA: 84°, Sheridan, WY: 81°, Billings, MT: 81°, Havre, MT: 79°, Rapid City, SD: 79°-Tied and Kalispell, MT: 64°-Tied.

1987
Six cities in south central Texas and two on the west coast reported record high temperatures for the date, including Austin (Bergstrom), TX: 93°, 
Corpus Christi, TX: 93°, Del Rio, TX: 93°, San Antonio, TX: 91°, Austin (Camp Mabry), TX: 90°-Tied, Redding, CA: 89°and Portland, OR: 74°. Laredo, 
TX was the hot spot in the nation with a high of 98°.  

Thunderstorms moving over the Lower Mississippi Valley deluged Lake Charles, LA with 2.70 inches of rain in one hour resulting in severe local flooding.

1988
Thunderstorms moving out of northern Texas spawned five tornadoes in Louisiana during the morning hours. 
The thunderstorms also produced wind gusts to 75 mph at Jennings, LA, and the driver of a vehicle was killed by a falling tree near Coushatta, LA.  

Snow squalls in the Lower Great Lakes Region produced heavy snow in western New York State, with 12 inches reported at Colden.

1989
Unseasonably warm weather continued across the north central states and Great Lakes.  
Afternoon highs of 78°at Alpena, MI, 75°at Duluth, MN, 79°at Fargo, ND, 77°at International Falls, MN, 76°at Marquette, MI, 75°at Sault Ste Marie, MI, and 
80°at Saint Cloud, MN, were all the warmest on record for so late in the season. Green Bay, WI set a daily record high with 77°. 
Morning lows of 63°at Concordia, KS and Omaha, NE were the warmest on record for this late in the season.

1990
A rapidly deepening coastal storm just east of Cape Hatteras, NC produced wind gusts in excess of 90 mph along coastal sections. 
A dredge barge broke loose from its moorings in the Oregon Inlet and struck the Bonner Bridge, the sole link highway between Hatteras Island and the mainland.
 A 369 foot segment of the bridge collapsed, leaving thousands stranded on the island. Further to the north, wind gusts of 92 mph at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel, 
69 mph at Norfolk, VA, and 85 mph at Cape Henry, VA were reported. A day earlier, the storm produced 11 inches of snow on Mt. Mitchell, elevation 6,684 feet in western North Carolina.

1993
The afternoon high of 87° at Eureka, CA set an all-time record high for the city. Other west coast locations that reported record highs included: 
Sacramento, CA: 88°, San Francisco(Airport), CA: 88°, Stockton, CA: 88°, Salem, OR: 75°, Quillayute, WA: 65°.

1995
A windstorm blasted across the Colorado Rockies bringing wind gusts 100 to 110 mph to the foothills northwest of Denver, CO. 
The highest wind gusts included: Squaw Mountain west of Denver: 108 mph, Nederland: 100 mph and Coal Creek Canyon: 70 mph.
 The highest wind gust at Denver International Airport was 47 mph. 

1996
An intense storm pulling out of the Rockies at 988 millibars or 29.18 inHg brought heavy snow and blizzard conditions to parts of the upper Plains. 
The town of Lead in the Black Hills of South Dakota was buried under 38.9 inches of snow in 24 hours, the state's greatest 24 hour snowfall on record.
 Beginning the previous day, other snowfall amounts through this date included: Red Lodge, MT: 43 inches, Burgess Junction, MT: 32 inches, Mystic Lake, 
MT: 24 inches, Nye/Story, MT: 20 inches, Pryor, MT: 18 inches, Joliet, MT: 14 inches, Sheridan/Clearmont, WY: 8 inches and Billings, MT: 6 inches.

1997
Scientists discovered a massive "blowdown" of 20,000 acres of spruce trees in north-central Colorado. 
31 square miles of old-growth forests high in the Rockies were destroyed by unusual "mountain wave" clouds that blew 120 mph winds along the western side 
of the Continental Divide as a major blizzard pounded the Plains from the through the 26th.

Behind the storm, record low temperatures were reported across the Plains including: Scottsbluff, NE: 0°, Rapid City, SD: 2°, Goodland, KS: 10°, Grand Island, NE: 13°-Tied and Omaha, NE: 21°-Tied.

1998
Hurricane Mitch bottomed out at 905 millibars or 26.72 inHg about 40 miles southeast of Swan Island in the western Caribbean, 
which made it the strongest October Atlantic hurricane on record up to that time.
Mitch was also the fourth strongest overall, tied with Hurricane Camille in august 1969. 
Mitch's sustained winds at the time were 180 mph. 
Mitch slowly moved southward, weakened, and made landfall on the north coast of Honduras over the next few days. 
A tremendous amount of rain fell in the mountains of Honduras. Rainfall estimates ran as high at 75 inches in the higher mountainous areas. 
Catastrophic flooding wiped out 50 years of progress in only four days. 9,086 people were killed in Honduras and adjacent Nicaragua. 
Total damage in Central America was $5.5 billion dollars.

2002
The football game between the Richmond Spiders and Rhode Island was suspended due to a flooded field at Meade Stadium in Kingston, RI. 
The field began to become covered with water during the first half, but a halftime downpour covered the entire field. 
Water was knee deep on parts of the field and no grass was visible by the time the game was suspended.

2005
The summit on Mt. Washington, NH received an additional 27.5 inches of snow during the overnight to break their 24-hour snowfall record set just 9 days earlier. 
During the previous 12 days, 72 inches fell, nearly 25 % of the normal yearly total.

2008
A strong Canadian cold front moved across the region late the previous night and into the morning hours. 
The winds switched to the northwest behind the front and a couple of hours after sunrise began to increase rapidly.
 By the late morning hours, the wind speeds were sustained between 20 and 35 mph with higher gusts. 
Widespread wind gust of 40 mph or higher were common for locations mainly west of Interstate 94 in central Wisconsin.
 Also gusts a little over 60 mph occurring from northeast Iowa west and south across Iowa as well as into central and southwest Minnesota. 
These wind gusts caused a few power outages and a little bit of damage for areas west of the Mississippi river, while more widespread power outages and damage occurred with the 60 mph wind gusts. 
In the local area, the highest recorded wind gust was 63 mph at St. Ansgar, IA. 
The highest recorded gust for this event in Iowa was 68 mph at Ventura in the north central part of the state and at Windsor Heights, just outside of Des Moines.
 In Minnesota, the highest recorded speed was 67 mph from a road sensor near Marietta in the far western part of the state.

A pair of weather systems brings heavy rains to the lower St. Lawrence and the Canadian Maritimes. 
The total rainfall through the 28th at Sept-Îles, Quebec measured 6.43 inches; a new record for three-day rainfall.

Tropical Cyclone Rashmi developed as a tropical depression in the Bay of Bengal and strengthened to a cyclone. 
The storm made landfall the next day along the south-central coast of Bangladesh with maximum sustained winds near 50 mph. 
The storm damaged thousands of homes and acres of crops. 15 people died from the storm, and 10 fishing boats with 50 people aboard were reported missing.

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October 27th:

1764
A "very remarkable storm of snow with high winds" produced 22 inches at Rutland in central Massachusetts.

1843
A freak early season winter storm struck Mississippi with snow, sleet and freezing temperatures. 
On the heels of this storm, the area endured a hard freeze the following morning.

1913
A tornado struck Edwardsville, near Cardiff, Wales in Great Britain killing six people.

1929
A snowstorm dumped 27 inches at Ishpeming, MI in 24 hours to establish a state record.

1943
A coastal storm ended the drought on the east coast. 
Rainfall totals from the 25th through the 28th included 3.41 inches at National Airport in Washington, D.C. and 5 inches at Baltimore, MD.

1962
An early season winter storm over New England blanketed northern Maine with 7 to 16 inches of snow, and southeastern New England with up to 3 inches of snow. 
Worcester, MA received a record 4.7 inches of snow.

1967
The heaviest October snowstorm on record strikes southwest Lower Michigan with widespread amounts greater than 6 inches. 
A total of 8.4 inches at Grand Rapids is almost double the amount of the next greatest October snowstorm.

1972
A man and his wife were awakened from a sound sleep by rain beating down on them. 
A tornado had just removed the roof from their house near Crestview, FL. They ran, uninjured, from their house seconds before it was removed from its foundation.

1976
Canadian high pressure and a trough brought record cold to parts of the Midwest.  
Locations reporting their coldest October temperatures included: Jump River, WI: -3°, Blair, WI: 8°, and Mauston, WI: 9°.  
Other daily record lows included: St. Cloud, MN: 5°, International Falls, MN: 7°, Huron, SD: 9°, Madison, WI: 15°, Minneapolis, MN: 16°, Green Bay, 
WI: 17°, La Crosse, WI: 17°, Milwaukee, WI: 21°, Moline, IL: 21°-Tied, Fort Wayne, IN: 23° and Indianapolis, IN: 24°.

1977
A major snowstorm struck southern Quebec Canada leaving thousands without power, many of them in the Montreal area.

1983
A ridge of high pressure extended from the Mississippi River to the West Coast bringing record heat from the upper Midwest, Plains to the Rockies. 
Record high temperatures included: Sioux Falls, SD: 85°, North Platte, NE: 85°, Valentine, NE: 85°, Sheridan, WY: 84°, Broadus, MT: 83°, 
Aberdeen, SD: 83°, Scottsbluff, NE: 83°-Tied, Billings, MT: 82°, Rapid City, SD: 82°, Huron, SD: 81°, Roundup, MT: 80°, Cheyenne, WY: 80°, 
San Francisco, (Airport), CA: 79°, Miles City, MT: 79°, Williston, ND: 78°, Glasgow, MT: 77°-Tied, St, Cloud, MN: 75°, Great Falls, MT: 75°, 
Fargo, ND: 75°-Tied, Casper, WY: 74°, Butte, MT: 70°,  and Kalispell, MT: 69°.

1987
Showers and thunderstorms produced locally heavy rain from Virginia to New York State. Fallen leaves made roads and sidewalks slick, and also clogged sewers. 
Rainfall totals of 1.55 inches at Newark, NJ, 1.54 inches at Harrisburg, PA, 1.27 inches at Scranton, PA, and 1.22 inches at Atlantic City, NJ, were records for the date.

1988
Low pressure brought snow and gale force winds to the Great Lakes Region, and snow and high winds to the north central U.S. 
Winds gusted to 47 mph at Lansing, MI, and reached 55 mph at Pierre, SD.

1989
Wintry weather invaded the northwestern U.S. A storm crossing the Central Rockies produced up to 23 inches of snow in the mountains east of Salt Lake City, UT.  

"Indian Summer" continued in the Lower Ohio Valley, Upper Great Lakes into New York State. 
Record highs for the date included: New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 75°, Islip, NY: 72° and Ste. St. Marie, MI: 72°.

1996
Thousands of homes in southern and central Texas were without power after strong storms dumped as much as a foot of rain. 
Hundreds of flights were canceled or diverted at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, and the Frio, Guadalupe, and Llano rivers spilled their banks, 
making roads impassable and stranding some motorists. 
The Llano crested at 30 feet, 18 feet above flood stage.

1998
Hurricane Mitch passed over Swan Island and turned southwestward toward the Bay Islands off of the Honduran coast. 
Mitch passed near the island of Guanaja as a Category 4 hurricane. 
As the hurricane interacted with the landmass of Honduras, the cyclone weakened with its central pressure rising from 906 millibars or 26.75 inHg 0300z on this date to 970 millibars or 28.64 inHg 0300z on 10/29. 
The center of the slow-moving hurricane meandered near the north coast of Honduras dumping 50 - 75 inches of rain across parts of Honduras and Nicaragua, 
causing catastrophic flooding and mudslides.  
Over 11,000 people died in the aftermath and the economy of the two countries was shattered. 
Another 1,000 people were never found. Mitch ranked as the second most deadly Atlantic Hurricane on record, behind the "Great Hurricane of 1780" which affected the Lesser Antilles.

2003
A strong cold front moved through the Mid-Atlantic during the afternoon, causing an outbreak of severe weather. 
An F0 tornado touched down in Hainesport, NJ, killing one person. 
This was the first tornado fatality in Burlington County, NJ history both in modern tornado records kept since 1950, and in reliable unofficial records extending back into the 1700s. 
The tornado cut a path 1/2 mile long and 30 yards wide. Although the tornado was F0, it is considered a significant tornado, usually F2 or greater, because of the fatality.

Out west, a ridge of high pressure built in across the West Coast bringing record high temperatures for the date including: Redding, CA: 98°, Santa Maria, CA: 93°, 
Sacramento, CA: 89°, Fresno, CA: 89°, Madera, CA: 88°, Merced, CA: 88°, Stockton, CA: 88°, Hanford, CA: 87°, San Francisco, (Airport), CA: 86°, Medford, OR: 81°
-Tied, Burns, OR: 79°, Salem, OR: 74°, Portland, OR: 71° and Yakima, WA: 71°.

2004
Monthly record rainfall was received in only one day across parts of southern California. The same happened just a week previous on 10/20. 
Totals for last two weeks of October were 4 to 8 inches in lower elevations, and up to 14 inches at Lake Arrowhead.
 Local flooding resulted. 2.70 inches fell at San Diego, the fourth most on a calendar day and the second wettest October day on record. 1.65 inches fell in Victorville, 
the greatest daily amount on record for October. 
Seven were rescued from vehicles in a flooded intersection in Sun City.

Two feet of snow fell in Big Bear, most of which fell in a 12 hour period. A few local ski resorts opened on the earliest date in their history. 
Officially 22 inches fell in town near lake level, the greatest daily snowfall amount on record for October, beating the previous October daily record by 18 inches.

A strong storm system battered Ireland with strong winds and heavy rainfall. Winds gusted over 70 mph, and heavy rainfall produced flooding on the River Lee running through Cork,
 reaching its highest level since 1962.

2006
A waterspout came onshore as an F1 tornado and caused significant damage on the west side of Apalachicola, FL. 
Marine boats sank, four homes destroyed, and part of a hospital roof collapsed. Hundreds of trees and power lines were down, but fortunately there were no serious injuries.

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October 28th:

The Northern Lights are actually caused by high-energy particles from the Sun entering the Earth's atmosphere. 
These particles collide with air molecules, causing them to vibrate. When the molecules stop vibrating, they sometimes produce visible light. Northern Lights can be colored green, violet, red, or white.

1846
A group of inexperienced travelers was caught unaware by a major storm which dumped 5 feet of snow on Donner Pass in California.  
Their wagons and cattle were trapped along with them and only 45 of the 79 people in the party survived the winter.  The group came to be known as the Donner Party, a part of western folklore.

1919
Washington, D.C. experienced its warmest temperature for so late in the season with 87°.

Record highs were up and down the East Coast including: Athens, GA: 89°, Columbia, SC: 88°, Lynchburg, VA: 88°, Baltimore, MD: 87°, Richmond, VA: 87°, Washington, D.C.: 87°, 
Charlotte, NC: 86°, Greensboro, NC: 86°, Raleigh, NC: 86°, Savannah, GA: 86°, Norfolk, VA: 86°, Roanoke, VA: 86°, Philadelphia, PA: 85°, Huntington, WV: 85°, Wilmington, NC: 85°, 
Atlanta, GA: 84°, Wilmington, DE: 83°, New York (Central Park), NY: 83°, Hartford, CT: 81°, Boston, MA: 81°, Milton, MA: 81°, Asheville, NC: 80°, Harrisburg, PA: 79°, 
Worcester, MA: 76°, Avoca, PA: 75° and Williamsport, PA: 75°.

1936
New Jersey experienced their coldest October reading ever as Layton dropped to 9°.

Record lows were set from the Mid-Atlantic into the Northeast including: Concord, NH: 16°, Williamsport, PA: 19°, Worcester, MA: 19°, Allentown, PA: 21°, Avoca, PA: 21°, 
Albany, NY: 22°, Burlington, VT: 22°, Wilmington, DE: 23°, Lynchburg, VA: 23°, Newark, NJ: 25°, Roanoke, VA: 25°, Harrisburg, PA: 26°, Rochester, NY: 26°, 
Washington, D.C.: 27°, Richmond, VA: 28°, Boston, MA: 28°, Baltimore, MD: 30° and New York (Central Park), NY: 33°-Tied.

1971
A severe early season blizzard raged across the Plateau and Rocky Mountain Region. Heavy snow blocked railroads and interstate highways, and record cold accompanied the storm.  
Lusk, WY recorded a foot of snow on this date and Rawlins, WY saw 16 inches on this date and a total for the event of 29.4 inches.  20 inches fell at Muddy Gap, WY. 
Lander, WY received 27 inches of snow, and the temperature at Big Piney, WY plunged to -15°.

Behind the storm a deep upper level trough brought record cold to parts of the northern Rockies.  Record lows for the date included: Shelby, MT: 0°, Butte, MT: 1°, 
Billings, MT: 3°, Missoula, MT: 4°, Bozeman, MT: 5°, Helena, MT: 6°-Tied, Kalispell, MT: 8°, Casper, WY: 9°, Sheridan, WY: 10°, Pocatello, ID: 16°and Lewiston, ID: 18°.

1973
An early season winter storm whitened the north Georgia Mountains with several inches of snow.

1982
Two airmen at Sheppard Air Force Base in Oklahoma were killed by lightning early in the morning. 
As they walked to class, lightning stuck a nearby hangar, and jumped to the ground, striking the two men. 
One was killed instantly, and the other died several days later in the base hospital.

A severe thunderstorm struck Al-Khafqi in Saudi Arabia, producing softball size hail and flooding rains for nearly four hours.  
11 people were killed as vehicles and buildings were destroyed.

1985
Persistent high winds caused high water and waves along the west coast and panhandle of Florida, resulting in minor beach erosion and flooding as Hurricane Juan passed well west of Florida. 
Some seawalls previously weakened by Hurricane Elena were destroyed. Most of the severe weather reported on this date through the 31st was related to the fringes of Juan. 
Four tornadoes and waterspouts struck during the evening in the Panhandle injured six people.

1987
Thunderstorms over the San Joaquin Valley of California produced three-quarters of an inch of rain in 30 minutes at Placerville, and caused numerous power outages due to lightning strikes.  

Rain began to diminish in the northeastern U.S., but some flooding continued in Vermont, eastern New York and northern New Jersey.  
One inch rains in Vermont clogged culverts and sewers with fallen leaves, resulting in erosion of dirt roads.

1988
Arctic cold invaded the north central U.S.  Valentine, NE dipped to 8°, and Cutbank, MT reported a morning low of 1°.  
The temperature at Estes Park, CO dipped to 15°, but then soared 30 degrees in less than 30 minutes.  Further east, Islip, NY set a record low with 31°.

1989
A storm crossing the western U.S. produced 10 to 20 inches of snow across parts of the northern Rockies.  Sheridan, WY recorded their snowiest October day with 13 inches.  
Other snowfall totals included: Burgess Junction, WY: 22 inches, Red Lodge, MT: 18 inches, Joliet, MT: 12 inches, Nye, MT: 10 inches, Pryor, MT: 9 inches, Columbus, MT: 6 inches and Billings, MT: 3 inches.

Ahead of the storm, a few cities in the Lower Ohio Valley and the Upper Great Lakes Region reported record high temperatures for the date as readings again warmed into the 70s including: 
Jackson, KY: 78°, Alpena, MI: 75°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 75°-Tied, Grand Rapids, MI: 74°, Islip, NY: 74°, Lansing, MI: 74°-Tied and Houghton Lake, MI: 73°-Tied.

1991
A powerful cold front dropped out of Canada.  Yakima, WA recorded 2.4 inches of snow.  This equaled the record amount of snowfall in October previously set on 10/31/1973.

Behind the storm record low temperatures fell across the Rockies including:

Havre, MT: -14°, Del Bonita, MT: -10°, Lewistown, MT: -7°, West Yellowstone, MT: 0°, Helena, MT: 3°, Casper, WY: 7°, Miles City, MT: 10°, Colorado Springs, CO: 13°-Tied and Pocatello, ID: 16°-Tied.

1999
A newlywed bride was swept to her death as she and her fiancee took photographs of tremendous waves from a ferocious Pacific storm at Pacific Grove, CA.  
The storm generated waves up to 27 feet high.  The powerful storm swirled offshore for a day before moving inland, pounding Washington, Oregon and California with the tremendous surf.

2003
Hurricane Peter dissipated making the 2003 Atlantic Hurricane season the longest on record.  The season began with the formation of Tropical Storm Ana on April 21st.

An on-going drought that was in its third year continued across most of Kansas.  The state of Kansas declared drought disaster areas with an estimated cost of $275 million for this growing season alone.

Record heat continued out west.  Record high temperatures for the date included: Redding, CA: 97°, Bakersfield, CA: 92°-Tied, Fresno, CA: 89°, Madera, CA: 89°, 
Merced, CA: 88°, Bishop, CA: 87°, Stockton, CA: 87°, Hanford, CA: 86°, Sacramento, CA: 86°, San Francisco (Airport), CA: 85°, Idyllwild, CA: 81°, Medford, OR: 80°
-Tied, Yakima, WA: 77°, Big Bear Lake, CA: 74° and Portland, OR: 72°.

A strong Pacific storm battered British Columbia including Greater Vancouver. Vancouver Airport reported sustained winds of 50 mph, breaking the previous record for October. 
The winds knocked out power slowing the rush-hour traffic on the Lower Mainland to a crawl because of darkened traffic lights and disrupted SkyTrain service.

2007
Tropical Storm Noel dumps heavy rains on the island of Hispaniola. The resulting floodwaters and mudslides killed at least 90 people in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. 
Noel's wrath damaged the Dominican Republic's rice, plantain, and cacao plantations leading to an estimated $30 million dollars in losses.

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October 29th:

1693
The Accomack Storm on the Delmarva Peninsula was so strong, it changed the coastline.

1870
A Nor'easter blew across Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia Canada with heavy rain, strong winds and high seas.  Damage to vessels, wharves, bridges and buildings were extensive.

1917
Record cold plagued areas from the Plains to the West Coast. 
The temperature at Soda Butte, WY plunged to -33°, a U.S. record for October. Other daily record lows included:

Wisdom, MT: -17°, Lander, WY: -14°, Colorado Springs, CO: -6°, Pueblo, CO: -4°, Goodland, KS: 1°, Cheyenne, WY: 2°, Scottsbluff, NE: 4°, Clayton, NM: 7°, Elko, NV: 8°, Rockford, IL: 8°, 
Dodge City, KS: 12°, Amarillo, TX: 15°, Grand Junction, CO: 16°, Lubbock, TX: 17°, Pendleton, OR: 18°, Winslow, AZ: 18°, Wichita, KS: 19°-Tied, Roswell, NM: 20°, 
Oklahoma City, OK: 22°-Tied, Abilene, TX: 26°and Eugene, OR: 27°.

Meanwhile, Fort Wayne, IN picked up 5.6 inches of snow.

1925
Record cold occurred from the northern Plains to the Southeast. Locations that reported record low temperatures for October included: Sioux Falls, SD: -5°, New Hampton, IA: 0° and Lancaster, WI: 3°. 

Other locations reporting daily record lows included: Huron, SD: -6°, Aberdeen, SD: -5°, Sioux Falls, SD: -5°, Bismarck, ND: -3°, Grand Forks, ND: 5°, Sioux City, IA: 5°,
 Waterloo, IA: 6°, Norfolk, NE: 6°, St. Cloud, MN: 6°, Houghton Lake, MI: 7°, Grand Island, NE: 8°, Lincoln, NE: 9°, Des Moines, IA: 11°, Dubuque, IA: 12°, Omaha, NE: 12°, 
La Crosse, WI: 12°, Moline, IL: 12°, Duluth, MN: 13°, Madison, WI: 13°, Peoria, IL: 13°, Minneapolis, MN: 15°, Green Bay, WI: 15°, Albion, IN: 16°, Angola, IN: 16°, 
South Bend, IN: 16, Alpena, MI: 17, Ste. St. Marie, MI: 17, Mansfield, OH: 17, Warsaw, IN: 18°, Milwaukee, WI: 18°, Chicago, IL: 19°, Springfield, IL: 20°, 
Fort Wayne, IN: 20°, Flint, MI: 20°, Cincinnati, OH: 20°, Columbus, OH: 21°, Dayton, OH: 21°, Lexington, KY: 21-Tied, Kansas City, MO: 22, 
Indianapolis, IN: 22, Evansville, IN: 23, Louisville, KY: 23°, St. Louis, MO: 24°, Akron, OH: 25°, Cleveland, OH: 26°, Nashville, TN: 26°, Augusta, GA: 26°and Atlanta, GA: 30°-Tied.

1942
Berryville, AR was struck by an F4 tornado that killed 29 people and injured over 200.  137 buildings were destroyed and damage totaled a half million dollars. 
The tornado was their 3rd in 32 years.

1952
Canadian high pressure pushed a cold front extending from south Florida into northern Mexico. 
Locations from the upper Plains to Florida reported record cold. Locations that reported record October lows included: Austin, MN: 10°, Decorah, IA: 10°, Osage, IA: 12° and Lynxville, WI: 18°. 

Other locations that reported record lows for the date included: Springfield, IL: 17°, Topeka, KS: 20°-Tied, Springfield, MO: 21°, Evansville, IN: 21°, Fort Smith, AR: 22°,
Indianapolis, IN: 22°-Tied, Paducah, KY: 23°, Toledo, OH: 23°-Tied, St. Louis, MO: 24°-Tied, Memphis, TN: 25°, Oak Ridge, TN: 26°, Meridian, MS: 27°, Chattanooga, TN: 27°, 
Birmingham, AL: 27°-Tied, Athens, GA: 28°, Tupelo, MS: 30°, Shreveport, LA: 31°, Savannah, GA: 33°, Baton Rouge, LA: 33°, Lake Charles, LA: 38°, New Orleans, LA: 39° and Orlando, FL: 47°.

1956
A violent tornado, or series of tornadoes, moved along a path more than 100 miles in length from south of North Platte, NE into Rock County, NE. 
It was an unusually late occurrence so far north.

1959
800 villagers in the tiny town of Minatitlan, Mexico were buried by a massive mudslide. Many others died from snakebites and scorpions that were unearthed by the slide.

1965
This was the last day of record heat across parts of the west. Record highs included: .

Palm Springs, CA: 102°, Sacramento, CA: 82°, Palomar Mountain, CA: 81°, Ely, NV: 71° and Spokane, WA: 66°-Tied.

1971
A deep upper level trough out west controlled areas from the Rockies to the West Coast bringing record cold. It was 10° in Big Bear Lake, tying their lowest temperature on record for October.
 It was 11° in Idyllwild and 18° in Palomar Mountain, each the lowest temperature on record for October.

Other daily record lows included: Boulder, MT: -10°, Bozeman, MT: -2°, Helena, MT: -1°, Casper, WY: -1°, Sheridan, WY: 1°, Ely, NV: 1°, Great Falls, MT: 3°, Billings, MT: 3°, Kalispell, MT: 5°,
 Reno, NV: 8°, Burns, OR: 9°, Flagstaff, AZ: 9°, Big Bear Lake, CA: 10°, Pocatello, ID: 10°, Boise, ID: 11°, Yakima, WA: 11°, Spokane, WA: 13°, Lewiston, ID: 16°, Rapid City, SD: 17°, 
Salt Lake City, IT: 18°, Medford, OR: 18°, Bishop, CA: 20°-Tied, Eugene, OR: 22°, Victorville, CA: 23°, Salem, OR: 23°, Santa Maria, CA: 26°, Portland, OR: 26°, Quillayute, WA: 26°, 
Astoria, OR: 27°, Fresno, CA: 29°, Las Vegas, NV: 30°, Seattle, WA: 31°-Tied, Eureka, CA: 32°, Borrego Springs, CA: 36°, Sacramento, CA: 36°, Stockton, CA: 36°, Santa Ana, CA: 37°, 
Palm Springs, CA: 39°, Yuma, AZ: 39°, Phoenix, AZ: 40°, Long Beach, CA: 40°, San Diego, CA: 45°, Los Angeles (Airport), CA: 45° and Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 45°.

1985
Hurricane Juan, a rather large category 1 storm, meandered on near the Louisiana coast until the 31st when it finally made landfall on the Alabama coast. 
The slow movement of the storm resulted in excessive rains in Louisiana with many places receiving over 10 inches. Galliano, LA checked in with a storm total of 17.73 inches.
 Inland flooding combined with an 8 foot storm surge resulted in damage well over $500 million dollars.

1987
Severe thunderstorms in Arizona produced wind gusts to 86 mph at the Glendale Airport near Phoenix, baseball size hail and 70 mph winds at Wickenburg, and up to an inch of rain in 15 minutes 
in Yavapai County and northwest Maricopa County. Arizona Public Service alone reported $2.5 million dollars damage from the storms.

1989
Thunderstorms developing along a cold front produced severe weather in Oklahoma and north central Texas during the late afternoon and evening hours. 
Thunderstorms in Oklahoma produced weak tornadoes near Snyder and Davidson, and produced hail 2 inches in diameter at Altus. Large hail damaged 60% to 80% of the cotton crop in Tillman County, Oklahoma.  

1991
Bismarck, ND set their October snowfall record as 15.9 inches of snow fell through this date, bringing the total for the month to 23.5 inches. 
A deep upper level trough behind a frontal boundary brought record low temperatures for the date including:

Chinook, MT: -24°, Havre, MT: -21°, Conrad, MT: -16°, Chester, MT: -15°, Valentine, MT: -15°, Cut Bank, MT: -14°, Stanford, MT: -11°, Butte, MT: -9°, Great Falls, MT: -5°, Sheridan, WY: -4°, 
Glasgow, MT: -2°, Helena, MT: -2°, Miles City, MT: -2°, Billings, MT: 1°, Rapid City, SD: 1°, Scottsbluff, NE: 3°, Valentine, NE: 5°-Tied, Burns, OR: 6° and Denver, CO: 7° with a record low maximum of 21°.

1996
A fast moving squall line producing wind gusts of 50 to 80 mph across parts of northern and central Illinois. The storms downed power lines and trees, which in turn damaged buildings that they fell on. 
The highest wind gusts were recorded in northeastern Illinois, with a reading of 80 mph at McHenry, 80 mph at Chicago Heights, 79 mph at Carpentersville, 68 mph on the west side of Chicago, 65 mph 
at Plano, 61 mph at O’Hare Airport, 60 mph at Yorkville and 60 mph at Orlan Park.

Further west, a windstorm blasted parts of the Colorado Rockies. Trees and power lines were downed and glass from several windshields were blown out. Property damage ran into the millions of dollars. 
The highest reported gusts were: Broomfield, CO: 101 mph, Golden Gate Canyon, CO: 100 mph, Coal Creek Canyon, CO: 96 mph, Boulder, CO: 87 mph and Denver International Airport: 43 mph. 
Insured damage totaled $5.2 million dollars.

1999
A Super Cyclone, the worst in the history of India, lashed the State of Orissa. Winds were clocked at 160 mph and torrential rains followed by a storm surge that reached as high as 33 feet pummeled the entire coastal region. 
20,000 people and 700,000 cattle died, 90 million trees were uprooted or damaged, and 20 million people were left homeless.  Estimated property damages exceeded $1.35 billion U.S. dollars.

2000
New York City, NY picked up a trace of snow, their first October snowfall since 1979.

2005
Boston, MA recorded 1.1 inches of snow for its greatest October snowfall. Up to 3 inches fell along coast just to the northeast at Gloucester and Rockport.

Tropical Storm Beta reached hurricane status just after midnight as sustained winds reached 75 mph. 
With the hurricane status, Beta became the 13th hurricane to develop in the Atlantic Basin. This broke the record of 12 hurricanes from the year 1969.

2006
A fierce windstorm crossed Quebec leaving 49,000 homes and businesses without power. Wind speeds reached 50 mph in Montreal, and 60 mph along the Hydro-Quebec power system.

Super Typhoon Cimaron struck the northern Luzon in the Philippines with 125 mph winds and torrential rainfall. The typhoon was the most powerful to strike the island chain since 1998.

2007
One of the largest severe weather outbreaks on record in interior central California occurred during the afternoon and evening hours. 
An upper level low moving inland across Central California interacted with a surge of tropical moisture, triggering thunderstorms that produced hail in many places 
as large as one inch in diameter and gusty winds as well as locally drenching rains.Hardest hit was the northwest side of the City of Fresno where rainfall totals of 
one to two inches were reported and a number of streets flooded quickly during the evening rush hour resulting in a number of stalled vehicles. 
Nearly four hours after the thunderstorms had ended some streets in Northwest Fresno were still covered with several feet of water. 
In addition, hail ranging from ¾ of an inch to an inch indiameter fell. 
The combinationof the heavy rain and hail resulted in the collapse of the roof on an 80,000 foot square foot warehouse.
 Thunderstorm winds also knocked out power to 18,000 customers in Fresno. In Tulare County,two houses had trees fall on them causing damage in Visalia and
 about 200 boats were damaged at a boat dock on Lake Kaweah. 
Downed trees were reported in the valley from Merced County to Tulare County and eastward in to the Sierra Nevada at Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks.

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October 30th:

1844
30 inches of snow fell during a three day storm at Buffalo Barracks, NY and Fredonia, NY recorded 21 inches.

1873
Washington, D.C. set its record low temperature for the month of 26° that was tied on 10/31/1917.

1903
The longest dry spell every recorded in the world began in Arica, Chile. The rainless period lasted over 14 years, finally ending in January, 1918.

1925
The earliest measurable snow ever at Nashville, TN was recorded as one inch fell.

Record cold continued for another morning across the Midwest. Record lows for October included: Fayette, IA: -5°, Grand Meadow, MN: -5°, 
Charles City, IA: 1°, Hatfield, WI: 1°, Viroqua, WI: 1°, Medford, WI: 2°, Mather, WI: 3°, Richland Center, WI: 3°, Neillsville, WI: 4°, Prairie du Chien, WI: 4°, 
La Crosse, WI: 7°, Rockford, IL: 7°, Winona, MN: 7° (earliest single digit temperature), Peoria, IL: 7°, Mondovi, WI: 8°, Quincy, IL: 10°, Decatur, IL: 12°, 
Springfield, IL: 13°, Champaign, IL: 13° and St. Louis, MO: 21°.

Scottsbluff, NEalso fell below zero for the earliest day in the fall with a low of -3°.

1947
The Donora, PA smog disaster finally came to an end. For five days a temperature inversion trapped impurities in the lower atmosphere over the Monongahela Valley killing 20 people, and leaving more than 2,000 others sick.

1949
Haines Junction recorded The Yukon Canada’s greatest daily snowfall record as 26.5 inches fell.

1966
A ridge produced record warmth across parts of the west. Record high temperatures included: Palm Springs, CA: 101°, Santa Maria, CA: 96°-Tied, Idyllwild, CA: 83°, 
Stockton, CA: 82°-Tied, Palomar Mountain, CA: 81°, Bishop, CA: 81°-Tied, Big Bear Lake, CA: 70° and Burns, OR: 70°-Tied.

1971
A deep upper level trough out west controlled areas from the Rockies to the West Coast bringing record cold. 
Locations that reported their coldest October readings included: Lodgepole, CA: 1°, Victorville, CA: 21°, Borrego Springs, CA: 33° and San Diego, CA: 43°.

Other daily record lows included: Casper, WY: -3°, Ely, NV: -3°, Flagstaff, AZ: -2°, Billings, MT: 4°, Big Bear Lake, CA: 12°, Reno, NV: 15°, Salt Lake City, UT: 16°, 
Bishop, CA: 17°, Idyllwild, CA: 18°, Palomar Mountain, CA: 23°, Tucson, AZ: 26°, Las Vegas, NV: 26°, Santa Maria, CA: 27°, Bakersfield, CA: 29°, Fresno, CA: 29°, 
Riverside, CA: 32°, Phoenix, AZ: 34°, Stockton, CA: 34°, Palm Springs, CA: 35°, Yuma, AZ: 35°, Santa Ana, CA: 37°, San Francisco (Airport), CA: 39°, 
Long Beach, CA: 41°, Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 41° and Los Angeles (Airport), CA: 43°-Tied.

1979
An F3 tornado occurred in Carter County, Oklahoma and moved northward from near Newport to near Woodford. 
Three people were killed, two of which were in trailers. 
Three trailers, a brick home, and several barns were destroyed, as well as 10 buildings in Woodford.

A narrow band of heavy, wet snow developed late on this date across central and south central sections of South Dakota and produced amounts of 3 to 6 inches into early the next day. 
Winds of 30 to 50 mph pasted the snow to power poles and the tremendous weight snapped some 600 poles. The damage exceeded $400,000 dollars.

An intense storm system produced major rainfall in the Sioux City area of Iowa. On this date, 4.42 inches of rain fell at the Sioux City airport, 
which stands as the greatest rainfall for the month of October in a 24 hour period.
 Further west in north central Nebraska, cold air caused that area to receive nearly 10 inches of snow.

1987
Large hail, accompanied by very strong winds, caused widespread damage in Gould in southwest Oklahoma. 
The town experienced golf ball size hail with winds of 70 to 80 mph. 
The wind-driven hail damaged most of the roofs in town, broke out many windows, and dented the sides of many homes. 
The storm caused about $200,000 dollars in damages.

1988
Several cities in the Upper Midwest reported record low temperatures for the date.  Record lows for October were set at Alma, WI: 18°and South Bend, IN: 20°.
 Low temperatures of 18°at Grand Rapids, MI and 20°at Fort Wayne, IN equaled records for October. 
The low of 2°at International Falls, MN smashed their previous record for the date by 11 degrees. 
Other daily records included: Necedah, WI: 5°, Trempealeau, WI: 13° and Genoa, WI: 15°.

Syracuse, NYreceived 2.9 inches of snow to establish a record for October with 5.7 inches for the month.

1989
Temperatures soared into the 70s across the northeastern U.S. The record high of 73°at Alpena, MI marked their 6th straight day of record warmth.  

Out west, Klamath Falls, OR reported a record low of 19°.

1991
After absorbing Hurricane Grace on the 29th, an intense ocean storm at 972 millibars or 28.70 inHg, known as the Perfect Storm.
This storm took a very unusual course and moved westward along 40°N and battered eastern New England with high winds and tides. 
Winds had already been gusting over 50 mph along the coast two days before. 
Major coastal flooding and beach erosion occurred all along the New England, New York, and New Jersey coastlines. 
Over 1,000 homes were damaged or destroyed from tides anywhere from 4 to 7 feet above normal. 

North Carolina's coast was lashed with occasional winds of 35 to 45 mph for five consecutive days. 
Other high wind gusts included: 78 mph at the Chatham NWS, 74 mph at Thatcher Island, 68 mph at Marblehead, 64 mph at Blue Hill Observatory 
(all in Massachusetts) and 63 mph at Newport, RI. Waves 10 to 30 feet high were common from North Carolina to Nova Scotia. 
In New Jersey, the greatest tidal departures of winter storms of record occurred during this event, with tide heights exceeded only by the Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944. 
In Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, the highest water levels were comparable to those of the nor'easter of March, 1962. 
A record high tide of 7.8 feet occurred at Ocean City, MD on the 30th, which eclipsed the old record of 7.5 feet recorded during the March 1962 storm. 
In Massachusetts, 25-foot waves reached the shoreline atop high tides already 4 feet above normal. 
At Boston, the tide reached 14.1 feet above mean low water or about 1 foot less than the tides associated with the "Blizzard of 1978." 
One ship east of New England reported a 63 foot wave. 
Heavy rain continued into November 1st. Blue Hill Observatory in Milton, MA ended up with 5.76 inches of rain. Total damage from the storm exceeded $200 million dollars.

A strong winter storm brought southwest Kansas its first snowfall for the year, dumping up to 14 inches in Garden City. 
A large storage shed collapsed due to heavy snows in Johnson, and slippery roads caused a lot of havoc and claimed the life of a child in an automobile accident. 
Bitter cold temperatures also accompanied the heavy snows, and wind gusts to 45 mph brought wind chills down to -20°. 
The frigid conditions and blowing snow claimed the lives of two men, both of exposure in separate incidents, when they left their cars after they got stuck. 
Both men tried to make their way back home.

The high at Dodge City, KS was only 23°, compared to the normal high of 64°. This set a record for the lowest daily maximum temperature for the month of October. 
The same record was set at Cheyenne, WY with a frigid high of only 11°.
 Billings, MT dipped to -7° which set a new record low for the month of October and it was the first time the station had even been below zero in October.
 Other October record lows included: Sheridan, WY: -9° and Miles City, MT: -8°.Scottsbluff, NE equaled their record for the earliest below zero temperature recorded with a low of -1°. 

1993
Record cold and snow occurred in the central and southern U.S. Cincinnati, OH recorded 5.9 inches of snow for its greatest October monthly snowfall ever.
 San Antonio, TX saw flakes for the first time ever in October. Laramie, WY plunged to -18° for its coldest reading on record for October. The 12° reading at Amarillo, TX set the same record.

1996
An early season winter-like storm system brought heavyraintotheValley,heavy snow to the Sierra and post-frontalseverestormstotheValleyaswell.
GrantGrovereceived24 inches of snow, a record storm total for the month of October at this location. EdisonLake received 27 inches and Shaver Lake 15 inches. 
An F0 tornado touched down near Fresnoandtherewereafewreports of half-inch diameter hail in Fresno.

2000
A strong storm system buffeted northern Europe with high winds and heavy rains. A rare tornado touched down in Sussex, England. 
The storm, noted to be the worst since the October 1987 storm, produced wind gusts to 93 mph. 
Major flooding followed across a large part of Britain during the next week as a series of storms affected the area.

2004
Exceptionally heavy rains drenched the Manoa Valley near Waikiki in Hawaii. 10 inches of rain fell at the Manoa Arboretum in just 12 hours, 
causing flooding that rushed through the University of Hawaii's main research library.

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October 31st:

1846
87 pioneers were trapped by early snows in the Sierra Nevada Mountains that piled 5 feet deep, with 30 to 40 foot drifts. 
Just 47 people survived the "Donner Pass Tragedy".

1876
Viewed to be the worst cyclone that moved across the Bay of Bengal during the 19th Century, the Backergunge Cyclone devastated the northeast coast of India, killing 100,000 people. 
The city of Backergunge, (now Bangladesh) was inundated by the 10 to 50 foot storm surge, destroying nearly all of its 1,700 buildings. 
Experts contend that a cyclone similar to the Backergunge storm today might kill one million people.

1884
Brownsville, TX reported 15.71 inches of rain for the month, nearly five times their average.

1887
Weather records have been kept at Charlotte, NC since 1878. The only snow ever to occur there in October happened on this date.

1899
A Caribbean hurricane crossed Cuba then moved north and made landfall at the North Carolina/South Carolina border. 
The hurricane became extra-tropical in Virginia, then curved across southeast Pennsylvania and moved into New England and the Canadian Maritimes. 
The highest wind gusts were measured to 84 mph at Cape Henry, VA, 82 mph at the Delaware Breakwater, DE and 60 mph at Norfolk, VA.

1903
The longest dry spell every recorded in the world began in Arica, Chile in South America. The rainless period last over 14 years, finally ending in January, 1918.

1925
Record low October temperature readings were set from northern New England down to the Mid-Atlantic to the Ohio Valley.
 Record lows included: Van Buren, ME: 1°, Garfield, VT: 2°, Pittsburg, NH:  4°, Houghton Lake, MI: 7, International Falls, MN: 12, Peoria, IL: 14, Rockford, 
IL: 14, Madison, WI: 16, Alpena, MI: 17, Burlington, VT: 17°, Syracuse, NY: 20°, Flint, MI: 20, South Bend, IN: 20-Tied, Dubuque, IA: 25-Tied, 
Allentown, PA: 22°, Avoca, PA: 22°, Springfield, IL: 22, Rochester, NY: 23°, Fort Wayne, IN: 23, Indianapolis, IN: 24, Buffalo, NY: 25°, 
Grand Rapids, MI: 25, Wilmington, DE: 25°-Tied and New York (Central Park), NY: 29°-Tied.

1950
Unseasonably warm weather prevailed from the central states to the Mid- Atlantic and New England. 
The temperature soared to 83°at Minneapolis, MN, their warmest reading on record for so late in the season. 
Other record highs included: Concordia, KS: 88°, Topeka, KS: 88°, Macon, GA: 88°, Columbia, SC: 88°, Goodland, KS: 87°, Tulsa, OK: 87°, 
Columbia, MO: 87°, Kansas City, MO: 87°, Fort Smith, AR: 87°, Meridian, MS: 87°, Des Moines, IA: 86°, St. Louis, MO: 86°, Springfield, IL: 86°, 
Dodge City, KS: 86°-Tied, Wichita, KS: 85°, Little Rock, AR: 85°, Moline, IL: 85°, Peoria, IL: 85°, Evansville, IN: 85°, Paducah, KY: 85°, 
Memphis, TN: 85°, Nashville, TN: 85°, Augusta, GA: 85°, Charlotte, NC: 85°, Raleigh, NC: 85°, Richmond, VA: 85°, Washington, D.C.: 85°, 
Amarillo, TX: 85°-Tied, Dubuque, IA: 84°, Chicago, IL: 84°, Rockford, IL: 84°, Huntington, WV: 84°, Chattanooga, TN: 84°, Knoxville, TN: 84°, 
Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 84°, Greensboro, NC: 84°, Athens, GA: 84°-Tied, Omaha, NE: 83°, Springfield, MO: 83°, South Bend, IN: 83°, 
Columbus, OH: 83°, Beckley, WV: 83°, Oak Ridge, TN: 83°, Roanoke, VA: 83°-Tied, Lincoln, NE: 83°-Tied, Waterloo, IA: 83°-Tied, 
North Platte, NE: 82°, Fort Wayne, IN: 82°, Indianapolis, IN: 82°, Cleveland, OH: 82°, Lexington, KY: 82°-Tied, Allentown, PA: 81°, 
Harrisburg, PA: 81°, Cincinnati, OH: 81°-Tied, Milwaukee, WI: 80°, Milwaukee, WI: 80°, Toledo, OH: 80°, New York (LaGuardia Airport), NY: 80°, 
Dayton, OH: 80°-Tied, La Crosse, WI: 79°, Detroit, MI: 79°, Grand Rapids, MI: 79°, Akron, OH: 79°, Bristol, TN: 79°, Asheville, NC: 79°, 
Pittsburgh, PA: 79°-Tied, Rochester, MN: 78°, Flint, MI: 78°, Mansfield, OH: 78°, St. Cloud, MN: 77°, Sioux Falls, SD: 77°, Alpena, MI: 77°, 
Lansing, MI: 77°, Madison, WI: 77°-Tied, Elkins, WV: 77°-Tied, New York (Central Park), NY: 76°-Tied, Avoca, PA: 75°, Duluth, MN: 74°, 
Green Bay, WI: 74°, Marquette, MI: 74°, Bridgeport, CT: 73° and Buffalo, NY: 72°.

1963
The 28-day dry streak came to an end at Philadelphia, PA. The streak still stands as the longest in their history.

1965
Fort Lauderdale, FL was deluged with excessive rainfall for the second time in two weeks. 13.81 inches of rain fell over a two day period. More road and street damage occurred and some homes were flooded for the second time in as many weeks. Thisbrought their rainfall total for the month to an all-time record of 42.43 inches.

1968
Tollymore Forest, County Down, Ireland recorded the countries wettest day as 6.26 inches fell in 24 hours.

1974
Prince Rupertrecorded British Columbia Canada’s wettest month on record as 28.70 inches fell.

1984
According to Tom Grazulis of the Tornado Project, there has only been one fatal aircraft accident involving a tornado. 
A tornado was nearby when a single-engine plane crashed south of Topeka, KS, on this date, killing all three people on board and two people on the ground. 
The airplane was about 10 miles south of the Topeka airport, and probably about a mile from the tornado as the pilot talked by radio to air traffic control. 
A minute later people in a house heard a crash in a nearby field, but thought it was debris from trailers they had seen the tornado hitting. 
They didn't investigate. The next morning the wreckage of the airplane was found in the field.

1987
Halloween was a wet one in the southwestern U.S. Heavy rain in southern California resulted in numerous mudslides. 
Weather-related auto accidents resulted in three deaths and 25 injuries. Mount Wilson, CA received 3.14 inches of rain in 24 hours. 
Other rainfall totals included: 2.34 inches at Mt. Laguna, 1.28 inches at Alpine and 1.10 inches at El Cajon.

Yakima, WAreported measurable rainfall for the first time since the July 18th. The 103- day long dry spell is their longest on record.

1988
Many cities in the northeastern U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date. 
The low of 19°at Cleveland, OH and Fort Wayne, IN were records for October, and morning lows of 21°at Allentown, PA and 26°at Bridgeport CT tied October records. 
Other record lows included: Toledo, OH: 16°, Elkins, WV: 16°, Albany, NY: 18°, Binghamton, NY: 19°, Atlantic City, NY: 20°, Youngstown, OH: 20°, Detroit, MI: 21°, 
Rochester, NY: 21°, Williamsport, PA: 21°, Akron, OH: 22°, Mansfield, OH: 22°-Tied, Avoca, PA: 22°-Tied, Harrisburg, PA: 24°, 
Indianapolis, IN: 24°-Tied, Evansville, IN: 25°,  Islip, NY: 29°, Paducah, KY: 29°and Jackson, KY: 37°.

A few cities in the southwestern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date, including: Yuma, AZ: 98°, Phoenix, AZ: 96°,
Borrego Springs, CA: 93°, Las Vegas, NV: 86°, Redding, CA: 80° and Winnemucca, NV: 76°.

1989
Halloween night was a soggy one in New England. Showers in the northeastern U.S. produced more than an inch and a half of rain in 6 hours at some locations. 
An invasion of cold arctic air brought an abrupt end to a week of "Indian Summer" type weather in the Great Lakes Region, 
and brought snow and subzero wind chill readings to the Northern Plains. 
In Colorado, Alamosa was the cold spot in the nation with a record low of 2°, and a Halloween night storm brought 3 to 6 inches of snow to the Front Range, 
and 5 to 10 inches to the nearby foothills. Icy streets around Denver the next morning made for a rather spooky commute.

Meanwhile, record warmth continued at Alpena, MI where the high was 73°, the 7th consecutive record high at that location.

1991
A severe winter storm, dubbed the Great Halloween Mega Storm, struck the upper Midwest. Minnesota bore the brunt of this storm. 
Blizzard conditions occurred with winds gusting frequently to 40 and 50 mph. 
By the time it was all over on November 2nd, Duluth recorded 37 inches, Minneapolis 28 inches, International Falls 18 inches and 11.2 inches in 24-hours at Sioux Falls, 
SD, their earliest heavy snowfall of 6 inches or more and snowiest October on record. 
For Duluth and Minneapolis, the snow amounts set new all-time records for the greatest amount of snow in a single storm. 
The storm gave these two cities nearly half of their average seasonal snowfall. 
In Wisconsin, 35 inches of snow was reported and Superior and 30 inches was measured at Iron River. 8 to 15 inches fell in northwestern Iowa with Estherville, 
IA receiving 15 inches. Further south, ice was the main problem. 
The Omaha, NE/Council Bluffs area in Iowa had over an inch of freezing rain causing the cancellation of Halloween. 
All told, utility damage was estimated near $63 million dollars in Iowa alone. 
The ice and snow did not melt easily as sub-freezing temperatures lingered over the area for a week. 
Freezing rain and sleet fell across south central Kansas. This precipitation caused extensive tree and power line damage. 
Two inches of ice accumulated in some spots. Derby, Mulvane, and Haysville were hardest hit. 
Tree limbs up to 10 inches in diameter were snapped off and caused widespread electrical outages. 
Behind the storm brought record lows of -9°at Laramie, WY, -8°at Alliance, Lusk and Harrison, NE, -6°at Scottsbluff, NE and -1°at Valentine, NE..

Pueblo CO reported 16.5 inches of snow during the month to set a record for October.

1993
Record cold continued across the central and southern U.S. with many new record lows set or tied. 
Corpus Christi, Texas dipped to 28°, to set not only its coldest temperature for October, but for November as well. Brownsville, 
Texas dropped to 35°, to set an all-time record low for October for the location.

Other daily record lows for the date included: Rapid City, SD: -2°, Aberdeen, SD: 10°-Tied, Lincoln, NE: 11°, Sioux City, IA: 12°, 
Sioux Falls, SD: 13°-Tied, Concordia, KS: 14°, Rochester, MN: 15°, Omaha, NE: 15°, Dodge City, KS: 16°, Oklahoma City, OK: 16°, 
Kansas City, MO: 17°, Springfield, MO: 18°, Wichita, KS: 18°, Tulsa, OK: 18°, Topeka, KS: 19°, Wichita Falls, TX: 21°, Columbia, MO: 22°, 
Abilene, TX: 23°, Fort Smith, AR: 24°, Midland-Odessa, TX: 25°, Waco, TX: 25°, San Angelo, TX: 26°, Jackson, MS: 26°-Tied, San Antonio, 
TX: 27°, Dallas, TX: 27°, Del Rio, TX: 28°, Shreveport, LA: 28°, Meridian, MS: 28°-Tied, Dallas (DFW), TX: 29°, Houston, TX: 29°, 
Montgomery, AL: 29°, Austin, TX: 30°, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 30°, Baton Rouge, LA: 30°, Lake Charles, LA: 30°, Mobile, AL: 30°, 
Tallahassee, FL: 30°, Victoria, TX: 31°, Memphis, TN: 31°-Tied, Pensacola, FL: 32°, New Orleans, LA: 35°, Jacksonville, FL: 38°, 
Galveston, TX: 39°, Daytona Beach, FL: 41°-Tied, Orlando, FL: 44° and Vero Beach, FL: 48°-Tied.

1994
A commuter airliner crashed near Roselawn, IL, killing all 68 people on-board. 
The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that icing on the aircraft's control surfaces led to the crash. T
he board found that ice on the ailerons disrupted the air flow around them and caused the plane to roll upside down. 
The crash led to research that has led to more accurate icing forecasts for aviation, leading to safer flying.

1999
A ridge of high pressure brought record highs from parts of the northern Plains to the Southwest including: Rapid City, SD: 81°,
Redding, CA: 80°-Tied, Scottsbluff, NE: 79°, Bismarck, ND: 77°, Grand Forks, ND: 77°, Williston, ND: 75°-Tied, International Falls, 
MN: 71° and Flagstaff, AZ: 70°.

A major storm struck the northern coast of Alaska bringing winds gusting as high as 155 mph.

2002
Victoria, British Columbia Canada reported its coldest Halloween night ever as the temperatures dropped to 26°.

2004
Milford, UT had its wettest month on record with 4.83 inches of rain. 

Alta, Utah was buried under 81.0 inches of snow for the month for its snowiest October on record.

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