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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August 1 
1812
A tornado struck parts of Westchester County, New York. The same storm today would have caused major destruction.

1861
Captain Robert Fitz-Roy initiated a daily weather forecast for the following day for several regions of England. The service was well received by the public, but people in scientific circles criticized the effort saying that it lacked scientific merit. Fitz-Roy used data telegraphed the Meteorological Department in London from 15 stations across the country each morning. Disturbed by the criticism, Fitz-Roy killed himself less than four years later.

1917
80 forest fires were ignited in Trinity County, California when an electrical storm produced hundreds of lightning bolts over a small area which was tinder-box dry from severe drought.

1933
A major forest fire burned 200,000 acres of the same area burned by the 1933 Great Tillamook Burn in Oregon, along with 20,000 additional acres of prime timber. Much like the 1933 inferno, the fire raged out of control, fed by a strong east wind.

1947
What turned out to be the hottest August on record started off on a decidedly cool note across parts of Michigan with record lows at: Houghton Lake, MI: 32°, Ste. St. Marie, MI: 36°, Muskegon, MI: 43°, Flint, MI: 43° and Grand Rapids, MI: 48°.

1954
Mount Rainier in Washington State was still covered with 16 inches of snow at the 5,500 foot level following a big snow season.

1966
Very strong winds from severe thunderstorms struck northwest Oklahoma. Winds gusted to 80 mph in Laverne, and blew a parked Cessna aircraft through a fence and into a ditch. As the storms approached Gage, winds gusted to 92 mph, causing blowing dust that reduced the visibility to near zero.

1969
A severe hailstorm pummeled Montreal, Quebec Canada. Hailstones measured up to three-quarters of an inch in diameter.

1972
This was the first of 25 straight days without measurable rain at Philadelphia, PA.

1975
Montreal, Quebec Canada recorded its hottest day on record as the temperature reached 100°.

1976
Flight operations at the former Stapleton Airport in Denver, CO were suspended for 90 minutes when the airport tower radar was knocked out and water reached a foot deep on some taxi ramps after 1.50 inches of rain fell in one hour.

Record lows gripped Wisconsin including Green Bay, WI: 45°, Madison, WI: 47°, La Crosse, WI: 49° and Milwaukee, WI: 49°.

1977
33.10 inches of rain fell in just 6 hours at Muduocaidang, China. After 10 hours an incredible 55.16 inches of rain had fallen.

1978
A severe thunderstorm developed in Beadle County, South Dakota during the afternoon and plunged southeastward. Winds up to 80 mph and hail the size of golf balls pelted the area. The hail piled up to six inches deep on roads and to three feet in the ditches. So much hail fell that it remained on the ground in some areas for 36 hours after the storm. Approximately 480,000 acres of nearly ripe crops were badly damaged or completely destroyed. Damage to crops and personal property was estimated at $4 million dollars.

Over 35 inches of rain fell in the Hill Country northwest of San Antonio, TX between 7/31 and 8/4 as the remnants of Tropical Storm Amelia stalled. The heavy rains caused severe flash flooding.

1980
The relentless heat from the summer of 1980 continued. Record highs included: Wichita, KS: 110°, Oklahoma City, OK 108°, Columbia, MO: 108°, Topeka, KS: 107°, Dodge City, KS: 106°, Little Rock, AR: 105°, St. Louis, MO: 104° and Springfield, MO: 103°.

1983
A thunderstorm at Andrews AFB in Maryland produced a microburst wind gust of 149 mph. Air Force One with President Reagan aboard had landed there just 10 minutes earlier.

1985
The great Cheyenne flood occurred in Wyoming during the evening hours. A strong thunderstorm became essentially stationary over Cheyenne and produced hail and major flooding across much of the city, worst over central Cheyenne. An all-time daily precipitation record of 6.06 inches of rain was officially recorded; all within 6 hours. 2 to 5 feet of hail covered the ground following the storm. 12 people lost their lives while about 70 were injured in the worst storm ever to strike Cheyenne. Property damage was estimated at $65 million dollars
 
1986
A powerful thunderstorm produced 100 mph winds and large hail in eastern Kansas and southwestern Missouri causing $71 million dollars damage, and injured 19 people. It was one of the worst thunderstorms on record for Kansas. Crops were mowed to the ground in places and roofs blown off buildings along its path, 150 miles long and 30 miles wide, from near Abilene to southeast of Pittsburg.

Fresno, CA set their all-time record high minimum for August with 86°.

1987
Record heat gripped parts of the Midwest. A dozen cities reported record high temperatures for the date, including Lincoln, NE: 105°, Moline, IL: 103°, Burlington, IA: 102°, Des Moines, IA: 101° and Springfield, IL: 99°.

1988
Many cities in the Upper Midwest reported record high temperatures for the date, including La Crosse, WI with a reading of 105°. All-time record highs were set at Necedah, WI: 105°, Dodge, WI: 104°and Theilman, MN: 104°.

Many locations set August records including: Hatfield, WI: 104°, Milwaukee, WI: 103°, South Bend, IN: 103° and Caledonia, MN: 102°.

Daily record highs included: Peoria, IL: 101°, Rockford, IL: 101°, Chicago, IL: 100°, Dubuque, IA: 100°, Rochester, MN: 99°, St. Cloud, MN: 99°.

1989
Hurricane Chantal made landfall along the Upper Texas coast early in the morning. Chantal deluged parts of Galveston Island and southeastern Texas with 8 to 12 inches of rain with unofficial totals up to 20 inches. Winds gusted to 82 mph at Galveston, and reached 76 mph in the Houston area. Storm surge was 5 to 7 feet. The hurricane claimed two lives, and caused $100 million dollars damage.

1993
The Great Midwest Flood continued as the flood stage reached 49.58 feet at St. Louis, MO; nearly 20 feet above flood stage, breaking the record set just days earlier. The peak flow rate was about 1.08 million cubic feet per second. At this rate, Busch Stadium would have been filled to the brim in just 69 seconds. A fast-food restaurant moored along the waterfront broke away and floated down the Mississippi River where it slammed into the Interstate 55-70 Bridge.

A severe storm in Kent County, Michigan produced grapefruit-sized hail in Cannon Township, northeast of Grand Rapids.

Palm Springs, CA tied their all-time record high with 123° (7/10/1979, 7/28/1995 & 7/29/1995). San Francisco, CA hit 98°, the hottest ever recorded for the city in August.  Yuma, AZ and Tucson, AZ set daily record highs with 117° and 112° respectively.

1997
It was the earliest date in summer that a temperature reading below 50° had ever been recorded at Asheville, NC when the temperature dropped to 49°. The previous earliest was 8/5/1985. Other record lows included: Bristol, TN: 51°, Lynchburg, VA: 51°, Dulles Airport, VA: 54°, Greensboro, NC: 56° Raleigh, NC: 56°, Athens, GA: 56°, Augusta, GA: 56°, Columbia, SC: 57°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 57°, Atlanta, GA: 58°, Macon, GA: 60°, Wilmington, NC: 61°, Columbus, GA: 62°, Savannah, GA: 66° and Pensacola, FL: 67°.

1998
A record 220,000 lightning bolts were recorded in the United States on this date. The usual number on summer days is about 100,000.

2003
Thunderstorms developed in the Borrego Valley in southern California and dropped an estimated 2.5 to 3 inches of rain in two hours. Flash flooding resulted. Half of the Ocotillo Wells Airport runway was inundated. A stationary thunderstorm produced an estimated two and a half inches of rain just south of Twentynine Palms. Spotters reported two feet of water in local washes along with water running across roads making them impassable.

High winds and temperatures of 95°-104° range transformed a carelessly tossed cigarette into a fire storm in just a few hours at Barierre, British Columbia Canada, forcing 3,500 residents to flee. The southern half of the province had been without rain for 6 weeks. In early August, more than 500 fires burned in the province.

Heavy rains produce flooding blamed for at least 20 deaths across Sudan in Africa. Flooding along the Gash River near Kassala was the worst in 70 years.

2007
Tropical Storm Chantal dropped record rains across southeastern Newfoundland, up to 6 inches of rain in places on the eastern third of the Island. The storm damage was in the millions of dollars as towns were flooded and dozens of roads were washed out.

2008
Record high temperatures prevailed across the inner-mountain west including: Denver, CO: 104°, Grand Junction, CO: 102°, Salt Lake City, UT: 103° and Colorado Springs, CO: 99°. 

2009
Thousands of country music fans camped in Camrose, Alberta Canada were enjoying the annual Big Valley Jamboree when strong winds suddenly roar through, toppling the concert stage. One person dies and at least 15 others were injured. Some houses in the area were damaged by the strong winds.
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August 2nd:

1944
A hurricane formed in the Bahamas and came ashore at the North Carolina/South Carolina border. It moved north as a tropical storm, then curved to the northeast, passing across the lower Delaware Bay on its way out to sea. Philadelphia, PA received 2.39 inches of rain and 0.22 inches on the 3rd. This was the first of three tropical systems to affect the Mid Atlantic states in 1944.

1954
Severe thunderstorms produced golf ball size hail for 30 minutes in parts of north central Kansas. One drift measured 200 feet long, 70 feet wide and 3 feet deep.

1964
Record heat continued across the Great Lakes and Midwest. All-time record highs included: Jump River, WI: 100° and Muskegon, MI: 99°. Preston, MN tied their all-time record high with 101°. Daily record highs were set at Lansing, MI: 100° and Grand Rapids, MI: 98°.

1970
At least eight people drowned on Florida Panhandle beaches due to the effects of Hurricane Celia which passed hundreds of miles to the south and made landfall near Corpus Christi, TX. Rip tides and heavy surf with waves up to 10 feet pounded the beaches of Escambia, Okaloosa and Santa Rosa Counties. The Escambia County Sheriff reported 25-30 emergency calls with lifeguards rescuing at least 12 people. Tides ran about a foot above normal.

1975
Record heat gripped New England. Highs of 107° at Chester and New Bedford, MA and 104° at Providence, RI established state records. Boston, MA set their all-time record high of 102°. Nantucket, MA reached 100° for the first time in recorded history. The heat along the coast of Maine was unprecedented, with afternoon highs of 104°at Jonesboro and 101° at Bar Harbor. Portland, ME and Burlington, VTset record highs with 98°.

Residents of Hutchinson, Turner, and Minnehaha Counties in South Dakota were cleaning up from the previous night’s heavy rains. The 4.59 inches that fell at Sioux Falls is the official 24 hour precipitation record for the city. The heavy rains led to street flooding across the area making travel difficult. Also many basements were damaged. Despite the inconveniences caused by the heavy rains it was welcome in most areas as it broke a period of very hot and dry weather.

1978
Very heavy rains of 12 to 14 inches fell across the Texas Hill Country during the nighttime and early morning hours causing severe flooding on the Guadalupe River. Up to 30 inches of rain fell during the 3-day period from the 1st through the 3rd. 27 people died in the Hill Country flooding along with tens of millions of dollars in damage. More flooding occurred during the early evening near Abilene, where six people were killed.

1979
A powerful windstorm with gusts to 62 mph occurred across Montreal's West Island.  The strong winds overturned boats, damaged cars, homes and left thousands of homes without power.

1980
The intense heat wave continued in Texas. Dallas had their 41st consecutive day of 100° readings. The streak eventually reached 42 days.  Abilene, TX was on their 41st consecutive day of 98° or higher, tying a record that dated back to 1952. El Paso, TX was on their 51st consecutive day of 100°+ temperatures. Other record highs included: Oklahoma City, OK: 110°, Tulsa, OK: 108° and Springfield, MO: 102°. 

1985
Wind shear caused the crash of a Delta Air Lines jumbo jet during its approach to Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport. 133 people were killed.

1987
Hot weather continued across the central U.S. Many cities reported record high temperatures for the date, including Concordia, KS with a reading of 106°, Downtown Kansas City, MO with 105°and Moline, IL with 101°.

Evening thunderstorms produced severe weather in the Ohio Valley and the north central U.S.  Thunderstorms in South Dakota produced wind gusts to 70 mph at Philip and hail two inches in diameter at Faulkton.

1988
Searing heat continued from the Middle and Upper Mississippi Valley to the Atlantic Coast States. Many cities reported record high temperatures for the date. Chicago, IL reported a record seven days of 100°heat for the year. Sparta, WI set their August high temperature record with 102°. Other daily record highs included: Waterloo, IA: 101°, Rochester, MN: 98 and Dubuque, IA: 98°

1989
Low pressure associated with the remnants Hurricane Chantal deluged north central Texas with heavy rain. Up to 6.50 inches drenched Stephens County, and Wichita Falls reported 2.22 inches of rain in just one hour.  

Bismarck, ND reported a record warm morning low of 75°, and record hot afternoon high of 101°. Evening thunderstorms in North Dakota produced wind gusts to 78 mph at Lakota.  

1990
Across the Atlantic, Wales' hottest day on record occurred as Hawarden Bridge, Clwyd reached 95°.

1993
China Lake Naval Air Station in California set their all-time high temperature with 119°.

1995
Hurricane Erin made landfall near Sebastian Inlet in southern Brevard County during the early morning hours. Brevard County bore the brunt of the storm with wind gusts to 100 mph between Melbourne Beach and Cocoa Beach knocking down trees on houses, cars, and power lines. The winds damaged thousands of roofs and completely destroyed some roofs. As Erin moved through Orlando during the morning wind gusts to 60 mph downed trees on power lines, houses and cars. About one-half million people were without power initially, several thousand were without power for more than five days. Heavy rains of up to 8 inches in three hours on the backside of Erin hit Brevard County again during the afternoon causing widespread flooding of low lying areas. Many houses were flooded west and northwest of Melbourne and many roads were impassable for several days. Erin moved into the Gulf of Mexico during the afternoon as a tropical storm, but regained hurricane strength before making a second Florida landfall near Pensacola on the morning of the 4th with sustained winds of 95 mph gusting to 110 mph. Widespread wind damage to houses and business was reported. Large trees crashed into houses, cars, and power lines. Most people in the area were without power for several days. Damage in the Pensacola area was estimated at $300 million dollars. The only deaths directly associated with Erin were at sea. A 234 foot gambling/cruise ship sunk 90 miles off Cape Canaveral around 4am on the 2nd killing three people. Five people drowned in the Gulf of Mexico.

1996
Powerful thunderstorms moved across southwest and south central Kansas during the evening hours. In Pratt county eight train cars were blown off the tracks while the train was moving. This occurred one mile west of Cullison. One family was nearly run over by the derailing train cars. One boxcar ended up about 10 feet away from their vehicle.  From three miles south of Lewis to Belpre, very strong thunderstorm winds killed calves, blew cars off the highway and blew down 60 power poles. A large tree was uprooted in Belpre. The tree was Belpre's historic balsam fir tree, a landmark in the town for 108 years. It also was the first balsam fir tree planted in Kansas. The tree was planted by a local blacksmith in 1888 after a trip back from Colorado. In Larned, very strong thunderstorm winds blew down trees, damaged several buildings and power lines were blown down. There were unofficial and unconfirmed reports of 125 mph winds recorded on home stations.

2000
An intense thunderstorm moved from northeastern Wyoming into the foothills of the northern Black Hills. Massive downburst winds estimated at 90 to 110 mph hit areas from eight miles west of Spearfish, SD to several miles east of Spearfish. Hail, to golf ball size accompanied the high winds and damaged roofs and siding throughout the region, although the winds caused the worst damage. In town, the intense winds shattered signs, blew over gas station awnings and the wind driven hail caused major damage to automotive and mobile home dealerships. At least ten mobile homes were unlivable and over 100 mobile homes had damage to siding, roofing and skirting. The airport at Spearfish had 27 planes damaged, and seven of those were destroyed beyond repair. Seven hangers at the airport were also damaged or destroyed. A massive amount of trees at Spearfish were either snapped in half or completely knocked over, leaving many roads impassable after the event. Roofing material sliced through an oxygen valve at the Spearfish Trout Farm and killed 100,000 out of 120,000 trout that the family raised. In the Spearfish city campground, more than 150 campers were there, in anticipation of the 60th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally the following week. Over 100 trees were blown over and many people had camping equipment, vehicles or motorcycles damaged by the falling trees. None of the trees fell on occupied tents, although several fell within inches of where people were sleeping in their tents. Four injuries were reported. One of the injuries required treatment at Rapid City Medical Center after someone was injured when his camper flipped over on the interstate. East of Spearfish, highway signs were blown over, large round bales of hay were blown several yards, and more trees were blown down or snapped off. Numerous outbuildings were also damaged, with debris scattered nearly a hundred yards downstream. In Sturgis, the damage was not as intense. The majority of the damage occurred to tents that were set up by vendors selling merchandise for the motorcycle rally. As the storm moved to the southeast, high winds over 60 mph were reported for nearly 45 minutes between Sturgis and Rapid City. In Rapid City, the National Weather Service office measured wind gusts of 70 mph. The storm weakened as it moved southeast of Rapid City, but was still at severe limits as it passed over the Badlands National Park and went southward into Bennett County. Observers in Martin reported 60 mph wind gusts. The storm dissipated before reaching Nebraska.

Rawlins, WY recorded their warmest day on record with a high of 98°.

2001
Strong thunderstorms with very heavy rains during the morning hours caused extensive flash flooding in parts of the Chicago Metropolitan area. Rainfall fell at the rate of 3 to 4 inches per hour. Several major interstates were flooded and impassable including the Dan Ryan, the Edens and the Eisenhower. 228 vehicles were towed from flooded roads or viaducts. Totals included 4.78 inches in the Loop, 3.95 inches at Skokie and Wilmette, 3.50 inches at Wrigleyville, 3.41 inches at Willow Springs, and 3.04 inches at Burr Ridge. A 93 mile tunnel used to hold rain water during periods of flooding reportedly filled in just one hour to its capacity of 1.6 billion gallons of water. Nearly 10,000 homes and 56,000 customers were without power. Fortunately, no injuries or deaths were reported, but damages totaled $37 million dollars.

2006
A severe storm system sweeping across Southern Ontario, Canada spawned 8 tornadoes, the most tornadoes from a single storm system to strike the province since 1985. Two of the tornadoes, which hit near Combermere and east of Bancroft, were rated F2.

The residents of Johannesburg, South Africa saw snow flurries for the first time in 8 years.

2008
Damaging hail storms struck across the Grand Bend area on Lake Huron and south of London, Ontario Canada causing considerable crop damage. One soybean grower noted it was the most intense hailstorm he'd ever seen.

A 130-year-old high-temperature record fell at Denver, CO when the mercury hit 103°. This followed a record high minimum of 70°.

Severe thunderstorm produced 87 mph wind gust at Miles City, MT just before midnight. There were numerous reports of wind damage including car windows blown out.
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August 3rd:

1864
A waterspout over Albemarle Sound, NC passed perilously close to the Union Fleet at anchor. The crews of the ships watched "in awe" as the whirlwind dissipated as it moved onshore.

1879
A hailstorm devastated Kew Gardens, London, England shattering 3,000 windows in the Temperate House and 700 panes of glass in the Palm House.

1885
A tornado causing estimated F3 damage cut an 8 mile path through Philadelphia, PA, crossing the Delaware River near the present-day Walt Whitman Bridge to Camden, NJ then moved back to Philadelphia in the Port Richmond area. Six people were killed and damage totaled $500,000 dollars. Other tornadoes causing estimated F2 damage touched down in Cecil County, Maryland, New Castle County, Delaware and Bucks & Chester Counties in Pennsylvania.

1894
After two record heat waves in July, record cool weather arrives. Lansing, MI fell to 32° for a rare summer freezing temperature.

1898
Philadelphia, PA had one of their worst thunderstorms ever when 5.84 inches fell in just 2 hours. The hydraulic pressure in the city sewers caused by the force of the accumulated runoff created overflows via toilets, basins, and sinks to rise to second floor levels in some cases.

1899
A tropical depression was born in the tropical Atlantic. Before it finally dissipated a record 33 days later, it became known as the San Ciriaco Hurricane after a Puerto Rican village the storm devastated. Its life as a hurricane was 27.75 days, a record for the Atlantic Basin beating Hurricane Ginger of 1971 by three-quarters of a day.

1914
The temperature at Calgary, Alberta Canada reached an all-time August high of 96°.

1948
The Netherlands registered their record maximum 24 hour precipitation as 8.20 inches of rain fell at Voorthuizen.

1960
A home in Wauponsee Township, IL was struck by two tornadoes within 4 hours. The first one struck around 7pm and the second around 11pm. The house sustained significant damage to the roof, wiring and appliances.

1964
Muskegon, MI set an August record and tied their all-time record high temperature at 99°. The temperature hit 100° at Grand Rapids, MI a record for the date.

Owen, WI set their all-time record high with 101°.

1970
Hurricane Celia made landfall near Port Aransas on the Texas coast, producing wind gusts to 161 mph at Corpus Christi, and estimated wind gusts of 180 mph at Aransas Pass. Even at Del Rio, 250 miles inland, reported wind gusts to 89 mph. The hurricane was the most destructive on record along the Texas coast causing $454 million dollars damage as 8,950 homes were destroyed on the Coastal Bend. Celia also claimed 11 lives and injured 466 people.

1975
Boston, MA recorded their all-time record highest minimum temperature of 83°.

1979
Six inches of rain at fell Everman, TX causing the Litter Bugger Creek to overflow. Several homes flooded as a result.

1980
12 inches of rain fell in six hours at Buffalo, N.Y causing extensive flash flooding.

1981
Severe thunderstorms tore across portions of central and eastern South Dakota. Near Hoven, a steel bin building was lifted off the ground by a small tornado and carried about 30 feet before it wrapped around a tree. In Faulkton, winds gusted to 97 mph at the Faulkton airport. The extremely high winds destroyed an airport hanger and damaged a grain elevator. At Redfield, 70 mph winds leveled an outdoor movie screen and flipped a plane.

1987
A severe thunderstorm moved across Cheyenne, WY during the mid-afternoon. The thunderstorm produced hailstones up to two inches in diameter causing more than $37 million dollars damage. Hail drifted to five feet in places.

The eastern U.S. sweltered in the heat. A dozen cities reported record high temperatures for the date, including Paducah, KY with a reading of 102°. Beckley, WV established an all-time record with an afternoon high of 93°.

1988
Thunderstorms developing ahead of a slow moving cold front produced severe weather from the Central High Plains to the Upper Great Lakes Region. Thunderstorms around Fort Collins, CO produced wind gusts to 74 mph along with marble size hail. 16 people were injured in the storm, most of whom were accidently locked out of their office building, having evacuated it when the fire alarm went off, apparently triggered by lightning.

Elkader, IA recorded their hottest August temperature with 106°.

1989
Thunderstorms associated with the remnants of Hurricane Chantal drenched Wichita, KS with 2.20 inches of rain in four hours during the early morning. Thunderstorms developing in Minnesota produced wind gusts to 85 mph at Baudette during the afternoon, and softball size hail at Lake Kabetogama, during the evening.  

Jamestown, ND reported a record hot afternoon high of 103°.

1993
Workers desperate to save the historic town of Prarier du Rocher, IL during the Mississippi River Flood deliberately broke a 1,000 foot hole in a levee near the town to divert water headed toward the town from a levee break upstream. The quick action worked, saving the town.

1994
Fairbanks, AK recorded their hottest August temperature ever with 93°.

1995
Hurricane Erin was nearing the coast of the Florida Panhandle. The hurricane had emerged into the Gulf Mexico the previous day after crossing the Florida Peninsula. By early morning, Erin's sustained winds reached 100 mph in a small area near its center. A 98-mph wind gust was observed at Mary Esther Field and Fort Walton Beach, FL. The storm came ashore near Pensacola, FL later that morning causing six fatalities and an estimated $700 million damage. The barrier island stretching from Pensacola Beach to Navarre Beach absorbed the brunt of the storm as it came ashore near Pensacola. Sustained winds of 94 mph and gusts up to 103 mph were measured at Pensacola during the height of the storm. Seven people were reported missing at sea.

South Bend, IN was deluged with 4.83 inches of rain in 24-hours to set their record for greatest daily rainfall.

It was certainly more like fall at Shirley Basin, WY when they recorded a morning low temperature of 33°.
 

1997
A southern California radio station reported that more than 20 homes were flooded in Twentynine Palms from heavy thunderstorm rains. Also, the flooding closed Route 62 for about 10 hours due to mud and debris across the road.

2002
On this date through the 4th, hailstones the size of tennis balls crushed grapes in parts of northern Italy and ruined many other crops were also ruined, including corn, peaches and the highly prized olives from the Lake Garda region.

2003
Severe thunderstorms moved over parts of the Chicago Metro area during the early afternoon. The storms produced golf ball size hail along with heavy rain and flooding.  4.14 inches was reported in just 90 minutes six miles east of O’Hare Airport. Four to six feet of water covered the closed Kennedy Expressway. Several tents were blown down at an outdoor festival in Roselle. These storms continued into the evening producing more large hail. The National Weather Service at Romeoville reported nickel size hail for five minutes and 1.60 inches of rain in just 30 minutes. 

2005
Elfashir, Sudan recorded a new daily rainfall record with 5.24 inches.

2008
A lightning bolt struck an auto-racing track in Flisa, Norway about five miles from the Swedish border sending 45 fans to hospital with minor burns.

2009
A woman riding her bike in training for the Ironman Triatholon was struck by lightning in Boulder, CO. She was in the 78th mile of a 100 mile training ride when she was struck. 
The woman lost her vision initially and couldn’t move her arms. After a short stay in the hospital, she made a complete recovery.
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August 4th:
1666
A violent hurricane raked the island of Guadeloupe. Every boat on its coast was dashed to bits, including a 17 ship fleet with 2,000 troops that sank. The island's batteries, with walls 6 feet thick, were destroyed, and the large cannons washed away.

1881
Iberia and Europe recorded their hottest day on record. The temperature in Seville, Spain reached 122° while across the border, Los Riodades recorded both Europe and Portugal's record high of 123°.

1882
A vivid aurora was visible from Oregon to Maine, down the east coast as far as Mayport FL, and inland as far as Wellington, KS. Observers at Saint Vincent, MN noted it was probably the most brilliant ever seen at that location.

1915
75 people died in flooding at Erie, PA. Many streets were flooded and bridges washed away.

1930
The temperature at Moorefield, WV soared to 112°to establish a state record, having reached 110° the previous day. The record was tied six years later on 7/10/1936 at Martinsburg, WV. Widespread drought after April of that year caused some towns to haul water for domestic use, and many manufacturing plants were barely operational.  

Other daily record highs included: Huntington, WV: 107°, Harrisburg, PA: 103°, Roanoke, VA: 103°, Williamsport, PA: 102°, Charleston, WV: 102°, Washington, D.C.: 102°, Baltimore, MD: 101°, Lynchburg, VA: 100°, Pittsburgh, PA: 99°, Avoca, PA: 98°, Erie, PA: 94° and Elkins, WV: 94°.

1960
The -127° reading at Vostok Antarctica would remain the coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth for many years, until 1983 when a reading of -128.6° was observed at the same location.

1961
Spokane, WA reached an all-time record high of 108°. Kalispell, MT set an all-time record with a reading of 105°. Record highs for August were set at: Lewiston, ID: 115°, Missoula, MT: 105°, Boise, ID: 100°.  Other daily record highs included: Yakima, WA: 108°, Havre, MT: 103°, Great Falls, MT: 102° and Helena, MT: 102°.

1980
A record 42 consecutive days of 100° heat finally came to an end at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport in Texas. July 1980 proved to be the hottest month on record with a mean temperature of 92°. There was just one day of rain in July, and there was no measurable rain in August. There were 18 more days of 100° heat in August, and 4 in September. Hot weather that summer contributed to the deaths of 1,200 people nationally, and losses from the heat across the country were estimated at $20 billion dollars.

1981
This was a day to remember in portions of south central South Dakota as an unusually long lived thunderstorm wind event hit the area. In St. Francis a radio station reported a gust of 86 mph, but that was only the beginning. For the next 20 minutes winds of 50 to 70 mph hammered the area doing massive damage to trees and a few trailers in the area.

1982
The low temperature at Billings, MT was 60°. This began a string of 19 consecutive days on which the low temperature did not drop below 60°, the record longest such streak in August.

1987
A cold front brought relief from the heat to a large part of the Midwest, while hot weather continued in the south central and eastern U.S. Morning thunderstorms in Nebraska deluged the town of Dalton with 8.71 inches of rain, along with hail three inches in diameter, which accumulated up to four feet deep near the town of Dix.

1988
Thunderstorms produced severe weather from eastern Iowa to Lower Michigan during the afternoon and evening hours, producing golf ball size hail and spawning several tornadoes. A thunderstorm at Maquoketa, IA produced wind gusts to 75 mph.

A hot and dry summer continues with record highs of 96° at Lansing and Grand Rapids, MI and 92°at Muskegon, MI.

1989
Thunderstorms produced severe weather from eastern Nebraska and northeastern Kansas to the Great Lakes Region, with 150 reports of large hail or damaging winds during the afternoon, evening, and nighttime hours. Thunderstorms produced tennis ball size hail at Claremont, MN, and wind gusts to 75 mph at Milwaukee, WI. Thunderstorms from the remnants of Hurricane Chantal produced five inches of rain at Grant, MI, and deluged Chicago, IL with more than three inches of rain in three hours.

1990
A total of 0.84 inches of rain fell at Casper, WY. Their normal rainfall for all of August is 0.63 inches.

1992
A DC-10 flying from Denver, CO to Minneapolis, MN was struck by lightning in flight and suffered some structural damage and damage to the plane's avionics. Fortunately, the plane managed to land safely.

1994
Today ended the greatest number of days with temperatures of 70° or above at 16 days at Boston, MA.

1995
Thunderstorms began to develop over northwest Iowa during the late morning and early afternoon hours and some of the storms grew quickly, producing golf ball to baseball size hail over Palo Alto County near Ayrshire and Webb. As the storms moved south, a copious amount of hail was dropped. Just north of Rush Lake in Palo Alto County, pea-sized hail covered the ground to a depth of 12 inches. The storms then moved into northern Pocahontas County where they dropped softball size hail, which has a diameter of 4.50 inches, just north of Laurens. Golf ball size hail also continued to fall over Pocahontas County near the communities of Pocahontas and Havelock. The storms weakened a bit as they moved into Sac and Calhoun Counties. Crop damage totaled about $335,000 from these storms.

Record heat prevailed across parts of the East. Record highs included: Philadelphia, PA: 98°, LaGuardia Airport (NYC), NY: 96°, Wilmington, DE: 96° and Bridgeport, CT: 93°.

1998
Dallas, TX saw its streak of 29 consecutive days with temperatures 100° or hotter come to an end. It was the second longest streak of 100° plus days in the city's history.  

The last of a string of 30 consecutive days with temperatures greater than 100° occurred at College Station, TX. 49 such days was recorded during this summer.

Record highs occurred across the southwest including Borrego Springs, CA: 116°, Redding, CA: 112°, Victorville, CA: 110°, Stockton, CA: 109°, Sacramento, CA: 108°, Riverside, CA: 106°, Escondido, CA: 99°, Idyllwild, CA: 96°, Palomar Mountain, CA: 95° and Big Bear Lake, CA: 88° and San Francisco (Airport), CA: 87°.

2003
A heavy thunderstorm dumped 6.57 inches of rain at Charlevoix at Baie-St. Paul, Quebec Canada. About an hour after the rains started, floodwaters began to reach second-floor windows and triggered landslides the next day.

2009
The strongest tornado to hit Quebec since the same date in 1994 ripped through Mont-Laurier. The F2 tornado tore through the small western Quebec town seriously damaging about 40 homes.
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August 5th:

1783
The Mount Asama volcano in Japan erupted violently, blowing the top off of the mountain and sending huge amounts of ash into the atmosphere. Over 1,000 villagers were killed by lava, steam, boiling mud and superheated gases as its pyroclastic flow engulfed the villages on the northern flanks of the mountain. Sunlight was blocked over northern Japan for several months, resulting in a famine that killed many residents.

1843
A spectacular cloudburst near Philadelphia, PA turned the small creeks and streams entering the Delaware River into raging torrents. As much as 16 inches of rain fell in just three hours. Flooding destroyed 32 county bridges, and caused 19 deaths. It is believed that several small tornadoes accompanied the torrential rains, one of which upset and sank more than 30 barges on the Schuylkill River.

1875
Several tornadoes moved across northern and central Illinois. One of the stronger tornadoes touched down in Warren County then passed just to the north of. 25 homes were destroyed, with 2 people killed and 15 injured. Another in a series of tornadoes touched down near Knoxville and moved east into northern Peoria County. 14 people were hurt and 20 farms destroyed by this family of tornadoes, described by eyewitnesses as looking like a "monstrous haystack".

1915
Fort Wayne, IN set their coldest August high temperature with 60°.

1924
A water temperature of 96° was measured by a ship in the Persian Gulf.

1936
Death Valley National Park, CA recorded 1.10 inches of rain. This was the highest total ever recorded in August.

1959
A 24 hour rainfall record for Iowa was set with 16.70 inches in Decatur County.

1961
The temperature at Ice Harbor Dam, WA soared to 118° to equal the state record established at Wahluke on 7/24/1928. The afternoon high of 111° at Havre, MT was an all-time record for that location. Billings, MT set their all-time record August high with 105°. 

1980
Hurricane Allen was one of the most intense hurricanes ever observed in the Atlantic. On this date, the hurricane reached Category 5 status for the first of three times during its long path across the Atlantic as reconnaissance aircraft measured a 911 millibars (26.90 inHg) pressure in the eastern Caribbean while south of Puerto Rico. Later this day, Allen moved across Haiti, ruining much of the country's coffee crop and killing 220 people.

Casper WY established new record low of 39°; breaking the previous record by 9 degrees.

1981
A tornado struck Kronau, Saskatchewan Canada at midday, destroying four steel granaries, a storage shed and a workshop.

1983
Very heavy thunderstorms hit the southern portion of metro Denver, CO. 2.89 inches of rain fell in just 38 minutes causing widespread street flooding in southeast Denver. Two feet of water covered a section of Interstate 25. Hail up to golf ball size accompanied the storm in Littleton and Englewood along with 60 mph winds. 

1987
Severe thunderstorms raked central & eastern South Dakota. The thunderstorms spawned six tornadoes in central South Dakota. Five of theses tornadoes touched down in Lyman County, including three which did damage near Kennebec within 25 minutes of each other. One of the tornadoes destroyed three farms, downing outbuildings, power lines, granaries, and killing farm animals, produced softball size hail at Bowdle, and produced wind gusts to 90 mph south of Watertown.  

Hot weather continued in eastern Texas. Afternoon highs of 106° at Waco and 100° at Houston equaled records for the date.

1988
Thunderstorms produced severe weather from Indiana and Lower Michigan to Pennsylvania and New York State during the day. Thunderstorms in Michigan produced wind gusts to 80 mph at Ashley, Hastings and Lennon.

1989
Thunderstorms produced severe weather in Oklahoma, and from Iowa to the Upper Ohio Valley, with 216 reports of large hail or damaging winds. A thunderstorm complex developed over eastern Nebraska during the early morning hours and swept through northeast Nebraska, northwest Iowa and west central Iowa with very strong winds. Considerable damage to trees, power lines and buildings was reported in numerous counties. The leading edge of the complex produced high winds 50 to 60 miles ahead of it. Wind gusts of 80 mph and higher were reported at several locations, including Greene and Carroll Counties. Winds of 85 mph were recorded at the Carroll Airport with 102 mph winds recorded at Jefferson. Four people were injured when their van was rolled and destroyed near Arcadia on U.S. Highway 30. Sioux City reported wind gusts of 60 mph as well as Battle Creek in Ida County. There were $10 million dollars damage to crops in Carroll and Greene Counties.  

1994
The temperature reached a high of 97° at Milan, Italy, their hottest day during the 1990's. Meanwhile on the same day, the temperature at Fairbanks, AK reached 93°, their hottest August day on record.

1995
Near Deerfield, KS, hail piled in huge drifts and stripped corn in a two mile wide swath.  Hail drifts were still evident 24 hours later. Rain of over six inches in a short time caused flash flooding in the Deerfield area. Highway 50 was covered by three feet of water and was closed for several hours and limited to one way traffic for 24 hours. Sand was deposited on many streets bringing out heavy equipment to clear the debris.

1999
Governors of four Mid-Atlantic States imposed mandatory water restrictions as the worst drought in the history of the region continued. The period April through July ranked as the second driest ever for the Northeast, second only to 1965.

2000
A wet microburst with winds estimated at 120 mph caused heavy damage in and around Mitchell, SD. Apartments and several mobile homes were destroyed, vehicles were overturned, and other damage occurred to buildings and vehicles. Widespread tree and power line damage also occurred. 10 people were injured, although the majority of the injuries were minor. The damage path was approximately a mile and a half long and a mile wide, extending over the southwest part of Mitchell.

2002
Tropical Storm Bertha became the first tropical system of the 2002 Atlantic hurricane to make a U.S. landfall. Bertha dumped 7.15 inches of rain on Pascagoula, MS in 24 hours.

2003
The long, hot summer continued in Spain as temperatures peaked at 106° in the southern cities of Seville and Cordoba and 104° at Madrid.

2006
The worst tornado to hit Manitoba in 70 years struck Gull Lake cutting a path through the provinces’ cottage country. It destroyed a resort area, snapped trees, and damaged boats and homes. One woman died and 10 others were injured. The death was the first death from a tornado in Canada since July, 2000.

2009
Calgary, Alberta Canada struggled to get above 50° mark with the light rain and drizzle. Rocky Mountain House, Canada was stuck in the upper 40s most of the day.
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 August 6th:
It is estimated that lightning strikes the planet approximately 3 billion times each year. Several times that number remain within the clouds or arch from one cloud to another. Some storms in the Midwest can produce some 50,000 lightning strikes.

1879
The most easterly tornado occurrence of this magnitude in North America struck Buctouche, New Brunswick Canada.  Within the storm's 8.8 mile swath, 7 people died and 10 were injured.

1881
Smoke from Michigan forest fires created a yellow pall over the Northeast.  Candles were necessary for light at noontime.

1890
Thunderstorms left four inches of hail covering the ground in Adair and Union County in Iowa.  The hail drifted into six-foot drifts, and in some places remained on the ground for 26 days until the end of the month.

1905
Princeton, IN received 10.50 inches of rain, which established a 24-hour maximum precipitation record for the Hoosier State.

1918
Unusually hot weather began to overspread the Atlantic Coast States, from the Carolinas to southern New England.  The temperature soared to an all-time record high of 106° at Washington, D.C., and Cumberland and Keedysville hit 109° to establish a state record for Maryland.  Temperatures were above normal east of the Rockies that month, with readings much above normal in the Lower Missouri Valley.  Omaha, NE reached 110°.
Both Grand Rapids, MI and Lansing, MI set their highest temperature on record for the month of August at 102°. At Lansing, it also tied the record for their all-time highest temperature.

Fort Wayne, IN recorded their all-time warmest August low of 79°.

A hurricane struck without warning at Cameron Parish, LA near Lake Charles. Winds of 100 mph were measured at Lake Charles.  Most of the businesses in Sulphur, LA were destroyed.

1947
Sault Ste. Marie, MI hit 98°, equaling their all-time highest temperature.

1959
A bucket survey showed that thunderstorms dropped 16.70 inches of rain on parts of Decatur County, Iowa.  The total was accepted as Iowa's 24-hour rainfall record.

Hurricane Dot crossed Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands producing sustained winds of 105 mph with gusts to 125 mph.  Over 6 inches of rain fell with over 9 inches on the big island of Hawaii.  The sugar cane crop on Kauai sustained $2.7 million in damages.
 
1961
A severe thunderstorm brought 70 to 100 mph winds to Lake Texoma, OK. The winds caused extensive damage to piers and either damaged or sank more than 100 boats. One person drowned when their boat capsized during the storm.

1977
Severe thunderstorms produced nearly 20 tornadoes in Sangamon and Christian Counties in central Illinois. Many of these only affected open fields.  However, one tornado did cause extensive damage near and east of Chatham. One tornado just south of Lake Springfield was unusual in that it had a clockwise rotation, in contrast to the usual counter-clockwise rotation found in tornadoes. The thunderstorms that produced these tornadoes caused a large swath of destruction from strong winds extending from southwestern Morgan County east to far southwestern Macon County.

1979
100° at Salt Lake City, UT tied the record for the date.  It was the 5th day of temperatures 100° or hotter.

1986
A severe thunderstorm rocked Winner, SD. The storm packed 90 mph winds and damaged over 200 houses. The Tripp County Historical Museum was completely destroyed. Extensive tree damage occurred in town and a plane was flipped over at the airport.

1987
Afternoon thunderstorms deluged Milwaukee, WI, breaking all previous rainfall records for the city. Among the records: 1.10 inches in 5 minutes, 3.06 inches in 1 hour, 5.24 inches in 2 hours, 6.24 in 6 hours and 6.84 inches in 24 hours.  Floodwaters were 3 - 4 feet deep at the Milwaukee’s County Stadium.  Floodwaters filled the basement of the main terminal at the airport.  Flooding caused $5.9 million dollars damage, and claimed the life of one person.

A midday thunderstorm deluged Birmingham, AL with nearly six inches of rain in one hour.

Death Valley, CA reported a morning low of 97°. 

1988
Severe thunderstorms produced large hail and damaging winds in Pennsylvania and New York State.  A cold front crossing the northwestern U.S. produced wind gusts to 66 mph at Livingston, MT.

1989
Thunderstorms developing ahead of a cold front produced severe weather from northwestern Texas to the Southern Appalachians, and in the northeastern U.S.  136 reports of large hail or damaging winds were made during the day and evening. Thunderstorms in the Southern Plains Region produced tennis ball size hail northwest of Buffalo, OK, and wind gusts to 100 mph at Pampa, TX.

1992
A firefighter was knocked unconscious in Sarasota County, Florida struck by lightning while fighting a fire that was caused by a lightning strike.

1993
Virginia experienced its worst tornado outbreak ever as 18 tornadoes ripped through the state in 5 hours.  The most devastating tornado caused severe damage in the historic part of Petersburg, then moved on to Pocahontas Island and into Colonial Heights. There, the storm ripped apart a WalMart store, killing three people and injuring nearly 200.  The F4 twister was the first known violent tornado in Virginia history.  It killed a total of 4 people and injured 246 along its 12 mile path.  Total damages were nearly $50 million.

2000
In the east England county of Norfolk, a thunderstorm brought a rain of fish to this fishing port.  Britain's Meteorological Office reported a shower of dead but still fresh sprats, likely due to a small waterspout moving overland.

2001
Tropical Storm Barry moved inland on the Gulf Coast near Fort Walton Beach, FL around midnight with top winds of 60 mph.  The storm caused $30 million in damage. Heavy rains spread northwestward across Alabama with up to three inches reported in the Birmingham area. 

No precipitation fell at Billings, MT on this date, the first of an August record 22 consecutive days without even a trace of rain.  Only 0.01 inches fell during the month, their record driest August.
 
2002
4.06 inches of rain fell in 30 hours at Warsaw, Poland.  Their average August rainfall is 2.76 inches. 

2003
A strong 594 decameter upper level ridge of high pressure began a toorid three day heat wave across the southern Plains.  The temperatures soared to 109° at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and downtown Dallas, TX, surpassing the old record set in 1952.  Lubbock, TX also set a new record with 102°.  
 
August 7th:
1844
A tornado uprooted trees, tore off the roof of several barns and killed one person at Galt, Ontario Canada.  It was Canada's first reported tornado fatality.

1904
A flash flood near Pueblo, CO washed a train from the tracks killing 89 passengers. A bridge, weakened by the floodwaters sweeping through the valley below, gave way under the weight of the train dashing all but the sleeping cars into the torrent drowning the occupants. Rail service was frequently interrupted in the Rocky Mountain Region and southwestern U.S. that summer due to numerous heavy downpours which washed out the railroad beds delaying trains as much as five days.

1918
Philadelphia, PA established an all-time record with a high of 106°. New York City, NY experienced its warmest day and night with a low of 82° and a high of 102°. Afternoon highs of 108° at Flemington and Somerville, NJ established state records for the month of August.

1924
A tornado causing F4 damage moved southeast from south of Osseo, WI to Black River Falls, WI. One person was killed as a home was leveled and a boy was killed running to the storm cellar near the start of the path. Two people died as farm homes were swept away near the northeast edge of Black River Falls. Damage totaled $200,000 dollars as 50 farms were hit and buildings were unroofed in the town of Northfield. The tornado followed the present route of Interstate 94.

1949
This was the hottest day on record for Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada as the temperature soared to 105°.

1968
During the late afternoon and evening hours numerous severe thunderstorms developed across eastern South Dakota, but the most powerful storm moved through the Huron area. Wind gusts of an incredible 115 mph swept through the area. The force of the winds blew over a radio tower and also did major damage to area roofs and houses. Not only were the winds very strong, but hail up to the size of softballs pounded the area and four funnel clouds were sighted.

1969
Cuba's hottest day on record occurred as Guantánamo hit 101.5°.

1979
Three different hailstorms struck Spearfish, SD in the same afternoon. One produced baseball size hail and the other two produced hailstones to golf ball size.

1980
Hurricane Allen bottomed out at 899 millibars (26.55 inches) while moving through the Yucatan Channel in the southeastern part of the Gulf of Mexico.  This was the second lowest pressure ever recorded in the western hemisphere up to that time.  Allen's winds at the time were sustained at 190 mph.

5 to 7 inches of rain fell across the North Concho River north of San Angelo, TX causing the River to rise 15 feet and nearly sweeping away several campers.

1983
Sheridan, WY hit 106°, their all-time record high for August.  Thunder Bay, Ontario Canada reached an all-time record high of 104.5°.

An unusual westward moving cyclone crossed India to the Arabian Peninsula. Indian butterflies never seen before miraculously appeared a few days later in Abu Dhabi and Oman after being blown 625 miles by the storm.

1984
El Paso, TX normally receives 1.21 inches of rain in August. They got it in 45 minutes, with an additional four more inches during a storm which left Downtown El Paso under five feet of water.

1986
A rare outbreak of seven tornadoes occurred in New England. The tornado at Bedford, MA ruined at least three airplanes at Hanscom Field but resulted in no injuries.  
An F2 tornado carved its way through Cranston and Providence, RI causing 20 injuries and damage in the millions of dollars. Rhode Island had not reported a tornado in 12 years, and three touched down in 24 hours.

1988
A dozen cities in the central U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date, including Waco, TX with a reading of 107°, Dallas (DFW), TX: 106°, Lincoln, NE: 104° and Omaha, NE: 101°.  The record high of 88° at Marquette, MI was their 23rd of the year.

1989
Many cities in the central U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date, including Valentine, NE with a reading of 40°, and Belcourt, ND with a low of 37°. Martin, SD was the cold spot in the nation with a morning low of 30°. 
Other record lows included: Lincoln, NE: 44, Rapid City, SD: 45, Grand Island, NE: 46, Norfolk, NE: 46, North Platte, NE: 46, Dubuque, IA: 46, Waterloo, IA: 46, Sioux City, IA: 47, Des Moines, IA: 48, Topeka, KS: 49, Omaha, NE: 50, Kansas City, MO: 50 and Concordia, KS: 50. 
Unseasonably hot weather prevailed over Florida and Washington State, with record highs of 103° at Hanford, WA, 101° at Walla Walla, WA, 100° at Daytona Beach, FL, 98° at Vero Beach, FL and 97° at West Palm Beach, FL.
Phoenix, AZ recorded 62 consecutive days above 100 degrees, breaking the previous 61 day record.

1990
A thunderstorm moved through Nome, AK around 1pm local time.  This may not sound unusual but this storm was the 9th thunderstorm of the year to hit Nome.  Up to this point more thunderstorms had hit Nome in the past two months than the previous 20 years combined.

1991
Norfolk, VA measured 0.69 inches of rain in 12 minutes.

1993
The Great Mississippi River Flood of 1993 continued.  The main flood crest reached Cairo, IL where the river is joined by the Ohio River. No serious flooding will occur further south because the river becomes wider and deeper.

1994
Humid and unstable air moved over Iowa in advance of a cold front during the afternoon. Two complexes of thunderstorms developed over southern Minnesota and north central Nebraska. The two complexes then slowly merged with each other in time. Large hail and high winds were common in southeast South Dakota and northwest Iowa with hail ranging in size from dimes to golf balls. In Cherokee County, hail damage was reported to many cars in the city of Cherokee by hail two inches in diameter. About 150 cars and 100 homes were damaged by the hail. A tornado also touched down northwest of Sibley in Osceola County, damaging several buildings at a farmstead. At the same time, a car was lifted and thrown 50 feet. Woodbury and Monona Counties were hard hit with high winds, with many winds reported at 60 to 65 mph. Window, tree and power line damage was widespread in these two counties. The Mapleton area in Monona County was particularly hard hit where a roof was blown off of a car dealership and another roof caved in at an apartment building.

Severe thunderstorms struck much of the southern two-thirds of Oklahoma and parts of western north Texas. The costliest damage was at Prague, in Lincoln County, where 90 mph winds were reported, resulting in more than $1 million in damages. Most of that total was due to the damages sustained by the high school. Part of the school's roof was ripped off and extensive water damage resulted. Another storm struck Thackerville, in Love County, where lightning struck a power pole, traveled through a line to a school, and started a fire that destroyed the school. Hail the size of dimes and quarters was very common across Oklahoma that day, and hail up to golf ball-size fell in Clay and Archer Counties of north Texas.

2003
Torrential rains from a line of severe evening thunderstorms pushed flash flooding through Mississauga, Ontario. Floodwaters were up to four feet in some places.

The Netherlands recorded one of their hottest days on record.  The temperature reached 100° in Arcen.

2004 
Skaftafell recorded Iceland’s hottest August day on record as the temperature soared to 84.4°.

2006
A tornado spun off the southwest Australian coast during the night and moved inland to the town of Australind, ripping up trees and smashing roofs. The funnel destroyed seven homes and damaged more than 50 others.

2009
On this date through the 9th, As much as 100 inches of rain fell on the island of Taiwan as Typhoon Morakot inundated the island nation. The flooding was the worst in years and blamed for at least 67 deaths.
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August 8th:
What is the hottest city in the United States? That dubious distinction belongs to Key West, Florida. You may wonder how Key West, FL can be warmer than say, Yuma, AZ where all those 110 degree plus temperatures come pouring in every summer. While Yuma is very hot on summer afternoons the dry air usually cools down quite a bit at night. Also, the desert southwest temperatures moderate quite a bit in the winter. Key West's proximity to the Atlantic Ocean/Gulf of Mexico means that it has smaller temperature variations between night and day and different times of the year.
In fact 9 out of the 10 hottest cities in the U.S. are either in Texas or in Florida in close proximity to the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean. Yuma, AZ, which is nearly on the Mexico border, is the only location outside of Texas or Florida to crack the top ten.

1851
The Electric Telegraph Company of London produced a daily weather map using reports received by telegraph. The map was sold to visitors to London's Great Expedition at Hyde Park. People paid one penny for a copy of the map.

1874
Swarms of grasshoppers invaded Denver, CO. Millions were seen cruising through the air. The insects were apparently picked up by a thunderstorm gust front and carried in to the city. The grasshoppers ravaged crops in surrounding counties for the last month.

1878
The temperature at Denver CO soared to 105°, tying their all-time record equaled on 7/20/2005.

1882
A ship on Lake Michigan reported an August snowstorm. A thick cloud reportedly burst on the decks covering them with snow and slush 6 inches deep. Snow showers were observed at shore points that day.

1898
The official rain gauge at Fort Mohave, AZ was blown over by the furious winds that accompanied a thunderstorm on this date. However, a wash tub was reported to have received 8 inches of rain during the 45 minute storm.

1923
The temperature in Toulouse, France soared to 111°.

1924
A lightning bolt during a dry thunderstorm killed 47 cattle at a local farm in Hancock, MN. The livestock had crowded together under the branches of a large spreading willow tree when the bolt struck the tree. Bodily contact seems to have provided the means of conveying the charge among the animals.

1928
A hurricane moved in from the Bahamas and made landfall near Stuart, FL. Damage was heaviest from south Brevard to St. Lucie Counties. Houses were unroofed and citrus trees and large oaks uprooted. Coastal highways were flooded and many bridges were undermined. Two people died.

1939
A tornado outbreak across central and southern Lower Michigan resulted in two deaths and about 100 injuries. A violent tornado moved across the southeast part of Kalamazoo, MI destroying dozens of homes and killing two people. More homes were destroyed and six people were injured in northern Kent County, northeast of Cedar Springs.

1967
Las Vegas, NV was hit by two storms which bore in from the south and covered a 50-square-mile area. Damage was estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Showboat Hotel on Boulder Highway was forced to close its casino, restaurant, and showroom when muddy floodwaters invaded through the kitchen doors, passed clearly through the large building and out the front doors. At Caesars Palace on the Strip, a casino boss said the water was deep enough in the front of the hotel to "swim in".

Over 10 inches of rain fell during a two week period to cause the Great Fairbanks Flood in Alaska. $100 million dollars in damage resulted.

1969
Severe thunderstorms moved north central South Dakota to the southeast sections of the state. Golf ball size hail was reported just west of Mobridge while Wessington Springs had tennis ball sized hail. Two people were injured in Sioux Falls when strong thunderstorm winds blew in a plate glass window at a drug store. Another person was injured in Canton when a trailer was blown over. Near Mitchell a barn was devastated so badly by a tornado it appeared as if it had exploded. Portions of the building could not be found and the same tornado carried a steel granary a half mile.

1972
An unusual mid-summer tornado struck near the town of Byers, Texas, in Clay County. Damage was limited to barns and storage sheds on several farms east of Byers. The tornado exhibited an unusual movement, from southeast to northwest.

1980
Dangerous Hurricane Allen briefly weakened to a Category 4 storm as it skirted the Yucatan Peninsula. Already a Category 5 twice during its life cycle, Allen would briefly regain Category 5 intensity for a record third time on the 9th as it headed for the Texas coast.

1983
The temperature at Big Horn Basin, WY reached 115° to establish a state record.

1987
Thunderstorm rains in eastern Nebraska sent the Wahoo River and Ithica River above flood stage. Thunderstorm rains in western Iowa sent the Nishnabotna River over flood stage. Up to 7 inches of rain deluged the Council Bluffs area with 4.4 inches of rain falling in just three hours, along with golf ball size hail.

1988
Thunderstorms developing along a slow moving cold front produced severe weather from central Kansas to southern Wisconsin late in the day. Thunderstorms in Iowa produced hail three inches in diameter at Vinton, and produced wind gusts to 75 mph at Donohue and near Mount Pleasant.

1989
Many cities across 27 states covering the central and eastern U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date, including with a reading of 40°. Mount Mitchell, NC was the cold spot in the nation with a morning low of 35°. Alpena, MI: 40°, Grand Rapids, MI: 43°, Toledo, OH: 44°, Flint, MI: 44°, Muskegon, MI: 44°, Binghamton, NY: 45°, Jackson, KY: 45°, Youngstown, OH: 45°, Columbus, OH: 46°, Mansfield, OH: 46°, Detroit, MI: 47°, Norfolk, NE: 47°, Bristol, TN: 48°, Cincinnati, OH: 48°, Indianapolis, IN: 48°, Peoria, IL: 48°, Dulles Airport, VA: 49°, Buffalo, NY: 49°, Pittsburgh, PA: 49°, Lexington, KY: 49°, Dayton, OH: 49°, Topeka, KS: 49°, Oak Ridge, TN: 50°, Sioux City, IA: 50°, Concordia, KS: 50°, Dodge City, KS: 50°, Lincoln, NE: 50°, Rapid City, SD: 50°, Harrisburg, PA: 51°, Wichita, KS: 51°, Paducah, KY: 52°, Evansville, IN: 52°, Kansas City, MO: 52°, Springfield, MO: 52°, Wilmington, DE: 53°, Knoxville, TN: 53°, Nashville, TN: 53°, Louisville, KY: 53°, Columbia, MO: 53°, Baltimore, MD: 54°, Huntsville, AL: 54°, Midland-Odessa, TX: 54°, Oklahoma City, OK: 54°, Philadelphia, PA: 55°, Fort Smith, AR: 55°, Newark, NJ: 56°, Tupelo, MS: 56°, Little Rock, AR: 56°, Abilene, TX: 57°, Tulsa, OK: 57°, Kennedy Airport (NYC), NY: 58°, Memphis, TN: 58°, Jackson, MS: 58°, Wichita Falls, TX: 58°, LaGuardia Airport (NYC), NY: 59°, Dallas (DFW), TX: 60°, San Angelo, TX: 60°, Dallas, TX: 62°, Mobile, AL: 65°, Pensacola, FL: 67° and Del Rio, TX: 68°.

Early evening thunderstorms around Las Vegas, NV produced wind gusts to 116 mph. The high winds damaged or destroyed 82 aircraft at Henderson Sky Harbor Airport and McCarran International Airport, causing $14 million dollars damage.

1996
Unusually cool temperatures were recorded over parts of the northern Plains and Rockies. The temperature dropped to 36° at Saratoga and Shirley Basin, WY while Laramie and Rawlins, WY bottomed out at 39°. Record lows included: Pocatello, ID: 40°, Casper, WY: 44° and Valentine, NE: 46°.

2000
A rain of small fish fell on the seaport of Great Yarmouth, England after a thunderstorm passed. The unusual precipitation was probably caused by a waterspout that sucked up the hapless fish and deposited them onshore.

2001
Slow moving thunderstorms dumped 5 inches of rain in a two hour period over the area between Telluride and Placerville, CO. The torrential rains unleashed mudslides that covered Highway 145 with up to six feet of rock and mud. The road is the only route in and out of Telluride and it was closed for several hours. Several vehicles were swept from the road, some all the way to a river bed below the highway. Nine people had to be rescued.

Toronto, Ontario Canada’s Pearson Airport reached its second hottest day ever when the temperature soared to 99.3°.

Between 0000z on 8/5 and 1200z on this date 17.14 inches of rain fell in Wando, just off the south coast of South Korea. The average August rainfall here is 6.54 inches. 8.35 inches of this rain fell in the just 12 hours and 10.95 inches fell in the 36 hours.

2004
Unseasonably cool air settled from parts of the Mid-Atlantic into the Southeast. Record lows included: Asheville, NC: 49°, Augusta, GA: 52°, Roanoke, VA: 53°, Lynchburg, VA: 53°, Grand Junction, CO: 54°, Charlotte, NC: 55°, Greensboro, NC: 55°, Columbia, SC: 56°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 56°, Macon, GA: 56°, Wallops Island, VA: 57°, Athens, GA: 57°, Wilmington, NC: 59°, Charleston, SC: 59°, Cape Hatteras, NC: 60°, Atlanta, GA: 61° and Savannah, GA: 61°.

2005
A blinding sandstorm reduced visibility in Baghdad, Iraq to less than a few feet and caused cancellation of a key meeting on the Iraqi constitution. Hundreds were hospitalized with breathing problems.

2007
An EF2 tornado bounced across Staten Island and Brooklyn ripping off roofs and damaging dozens of buildings. The twister hop-scotched through Brooklyn's Bay Ridge and Sunset Park neighborhoods just after sunrise.
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August 9th:

A waterspout is a rotating column of air or vortex over a large body of water. A waterspout may be a tornado that formed over land and then moved over water. However, a true waterspout forms over water, usually underneath a developing cumulus cloud and not from a severe thunderstorm as a tornado does. Waterspouts form most often over the warm, shallow coastal waters of the Florida Keys (where 100 a month may occur in the summer).

Waterspouts are generally much smaller than a tornado, 10 to 300 feet wide, with winds usually less than 50 mph. Most waterspouts only last 10 to 15 minutes.

1878
The second most deadly tornado in New England history struck Wallingford, CT killing 34 people, injuring 100 others, and completely destroying 30 homes. The tornado started as a waterspout over a dam on the Quinnipiac River. It was 400 to 600 feet wide, and had a short path length of two miles.

1930
Tennessee recorded their hottest temperature ever as Perryville hit 113°.

1960
Vancouver International Airport in British Columbia, Canada recorded their hottest day on record as the mercury hit 91.4°.

1963
A severe thunderstorm with extremely strong winds struck Stillwater, OK during the night. At Stillwater Municipal Airport, wind speeds were measured between 92 and 115 mph for eight consecutive minutes, with a peak gust reaching 138 mph. The storm did an incredible amount of damage, especially to the Oklahoma State University campus. Winds caused widespread roof and tree damage, and broke windows out of about 130 automobiles.

1964
Less than a week after hitting 100° the temperature plummets to a record cold 38° at Lansing, MI and 43°at Grand Rapids, MI. Muskegon, MI went from 99° on the 3rd to a low of 40° on this date. Flint, MI: 39°, Green Bay, WI: 41°, Toledo, OH: 44°, South Bend, IN: 45°, Rochester, NY: 45°, Portland, ME: 46°, Buffalo, NY: 48°, Milwaukee, WI: 49°, Providence, RI: 51°, Bridgeport, CT: 54°and Philadelphia, PA: 54°.

1969
A tornado hit Cincinnati, OH killing 4 people and causing $15 million dollars property damage. The tornado moved in a southeasterly direction at 40 to 50 mph.

1976
Hurricane Belle formed just to the northwest of the Bahamas on the 6th, rapidly intensified to a Category 3 southeast of North Carolina then began to weaken, moving into western Long Island near Jones Beach as a minimal hurricane during the evening on this date. Hurricane warnings were extended to the coastal sections of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island where tides as high as 12 to15 feet were expected. New York City measured a gust to 56 mph. Philadelphia, PA reported 0.51 inches of rain on the 8th, with an additional 1.17 inches on this date. The tide reached 8.8 feet above mean lower low water at Atlantic City, NJ, tying the level reached during the great coastal storm of 3/6/1962, and again reached during the "Perfect Storm" of 10/31/1991. Severe coastal flooding begins at 8.7 feet.

1979
Major flooding occurred on the Lost Creek in West Virginia. Water up to 7 feet deep flooded the town of Clarksburg.

1980
Severe lightning occurred across West Virginia. Two people were struck on a golf course near Vienna, WV. A person standing between the two victims was uninjured. 12 people were injured when lightning struck during a prayer service near Bluefield, WV.

Hurricane Allen threatened the Texas coast. Air Force reconnaissance measured a very low central pressure of 909 millibars or 26.84 inHg just in the very early morning hours with maximum sustained winds near 180 mph.

1987
Several cities in Florida reported record high temperatures for the date, including Jacksonville: 101°, Orlando: 99°, Fort Myers: 98°, Miami: 98°, Gainesville, FL: 97° and West Palm Beach, FL: 97°.

1988
Tropical Storm Beryl deluged Biloxi, MS with 6.32 inches of rain in 24 hours, and in three days drenched Pascagoula, MS with 15.85 inches of rain.

Afternoon and evening thunderstorms produced severe weather in the Central & Southern Plains Region. Thunderstorms in Oklahoma produced wind gusts to 92 mph at Harrah.

1989
Evening thunderstorms in Arizona deluged Yuma with record torrential rains for the second time in as many weeks. The rainfall total of 5.25 inches at the Yuma Quartermaster Depot established a state 24 hour record, and was nearly double the normal annual rainfall. Some of the homes were left with 4 feet of water.

Many cities in the south central and eastern U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date. Lake Charles, LA equaled their record for August with a low of 61°. Canaan Valley, WV was the cold spot in the nation with a low of 32°.  Other record lows included: Mt. Pocono, PA: 37°, Elkins, WV: 41°, Youngstown, OH: 41°, Beckley, WV: 44°, Avoca, PA: 46°, Albany, NY: 46°, Binghamton, NY: 46°, Bristol, TN: 47°, Charleston, WV: 47°, Dulles Airport, VA: 47°, Pittsburgh, PA: 47°, Lincoln, NE: 48°, North Platte, NE: 48°, Huntington, WV: 48°, Hartford, CT: 48°, Asheville, NC: 49°, Topeka, KS: 50°, Roanoke, VA: 50°, Allentown, PA: 50°, Trenton, NJ: 50°, Columbus, OH: 51°, Jackson, KY: 51°, Lexington, KY: 51°, Reading, PA: 51°, Erie, PA: 51°, Harrisburg, PA: 52°, Louisville, KY: 53°, Nashville, TN: 53°, Baltimore (BWI), MD: 53°, San Angelo, TX: 54°, Oak Ridge, TN: 54°, Wilmington, DE: 54°, Wichita, KS: 55°, Fort Smith, AR: 55°, Greensboro, NC: 55°, Abilene, TX: 56°, Midland-Odessa, TX: 56°, Chattanooga, TN: 56°, Knoxville, TN: 56°, Washington, D.C. (DCA): 57°, New York (Central Park), NY: 57°, Kennedy Airport (NYC), NY: 57°, Wichita Falls, TX: 58°, Shreveport, LA: 58°, Little Rock, AR: 58°, Tulsa, OK: 59°, El Paso, TX: 59°, Waco, TX: 59°, Memphis, TN: 59°, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 60°, Dallas (DFW), TX: 60°, Baton Rouge, LA: 60°, Mobile, AL: 60°, Houston, TX: 62°, New Orleans, LA: 64°, Pensacola, FL: 64°, Dallas, TX: 65°, Austin, TX: 67° and Victoria, TX: 68°.

1992
A tornado packing winds estimated between 113 and 157 mph did major damage to the town of Chester, SD. Shortly after 7pm CDT a tornado tore right through the heart of Chester causing considerable damage. Four businesses were destroyed, three others had major damage, and five had minor damage. An elevator and new grain bin were leveled and another bin was heavily damaged. Most of the building housing the fire department was demolished. Also many houses and vehicles sustained damage and large trees were uprooted or broken off. In one instance a steel beam was thrust through a garage and into the car inside. One mile north of Chester an entire house was moved off of its foundation.

The town had to be evacuated for 19 hours after the tornado because the tornado damaged a 12,000 gallon ammonia tank releasing 4,000 gallons of the liquid gas into the air. The ammonia was a health hazard forcing residents out. To the south of Chester the storm destroyed a new convenience store and blew two fuel tanks over 100 yards.

1997
Severe thunderstorms with very heavy rain began over central Mohave County around 12:30 am and ended around 2:30 am MST. Washes rapidly filled in the vicinity of Kingman and several roads were washed out. At least two cars were caught in a flooded wash and their four occupants had to be rescued by helicopter. Also, one woman was found dead hours later in a sewer drainage pond. It is unknown how she was caught in the flood waters. Another serious result occurred a few hours after the storms ended when a passenger train derailed while crossing a small bridge damaged and weakened by flood waters. Of the 302 passengers and crew members aboard, 116 were injured and of those eight sustained serious injuries.

Further north, severe thunderstorms rolled across the western part of Las Vegas, NV producing damaging winds and hail. A trailer was destroyed and signs and roofs in the area received damage from both the wind and hail. 19,000 homes lost power for a few hours. The storms also produced local street flooding with rainfall amounts up to 0.73 inches in 15 minutes.

2002
Washington, DChits 98° and recorded their 8th consecutive day of 95° or higher, the longest such streak in recorded history.

2003
During the record heat during the Summer of '03 the Bavarian city of Roth, Germany hit 105° to set a new national record.

Greycrook, Scotland recorded their hottest day on record as the mercury soared to 91.2°.
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August 10th:

Lightning from distant thunderstorms that is seen, but the thunder is not heard, is often called heat lightning. Heat lightning gets its name because it most frequently occurs on hot, summer nights when the overhead sky is clear. As the light from these distant electrical storms is refracted (or bent) through the atmosphere, air molecules and fine dust scatter the shorter wavelengths of visible light, often giving the so-called heat lightning an orange tint to the distant observer.

The reason that we can't hear the thunder has to do with the different properties of light and sound. Light travels much faster and thus reaches our eyes very quickly. Sound, on the other hand travels much slower and is more easily scattered by the atmosphere. Also sound waves will typically bend away from the surface in a summertime environment and thus the sound of thunder will actually go above our heads. Thunder is rarely heard more than 10 to 15 miles from the source lightning strike while lightning can be seen from distances exceeding 100 miles.

258
The Legend of St. Lawrence's Tears: Legend has it that a young man named Lawrence was martyred on this date in 258 A.D. As his followers recorded his body that night, the sky was filled with bright streaks of light. The friends believed that they were Lawrence's tears. We know today that they were actually tiny specks of dust from the Comet Swift-Tuttle flaming out as they struck the earth's atmosphere, part of the annual Perseid meteor shower.

1778
A major hurricane struck along the east coast. The storm could have played a decisive role in a major naval battle between the French and British fleets, but British naval commanders failed to capitalize on their advantage after the larger French ships were damaged more heavily by the storm.

1831
A violent hurricane devastated the island of Barbados. The death toll was estimated to be as high as 2,500 people.

1856
Last Island, or Isle Derniere, was a small spit of land 150 miles east of Cameron, LA. It was just 22 miles long and less than one mile wide in most places. At its highest point, the island was less than 6 feet above the Gulf of Mexico. It had 20 small cottages and a two story hotel, called Muggah's Hotel. Many prominent Louisiana families vacationed there to enjoy the cool breezes off the Gulf of Mexico. They wee shuttled to and from the island by a steamboat named The Star. By August 9th, it was evident that a storm was approaching, but more guests arrived on The Star that fateful Sunday morning. By noon, the wind had increased and the surf was rapidly moving further and further up the beach. Winds mounted to hurricane force by mid-afternoon and a storm surge rushed across the island. Survivors from the island huddled in the hotel, but it gradually was breaking apart. The Star picked up survivors and the ship escaped being sunk by the fearsome storm when the Captain ordered the upper woodwork of the top deck torn away. 140 people perished in the storm. Today all you will find there are pelicans and other birds.

1882
Sandusky, OH noted a 4 minute snow squall during the morning, frost was reported in the suburbs of Chicago, and a killing frost was reported at Cresco, IA.

1884
An earthquake, centered near New York City and registering 5.2 on the Richter scale, hit the region a little after 2pm. The quake produced a tsunami from the Hudson River to the Delaware River.

1898
The temperature at Pendleton, OR climbed all the way to 119° to tie the state record set two weeks previously at Prineville. The hot weather was east of the Cascades Mountains as along the coast, it was only 68° at Astoria, OR.

1924
Colorado's deadliest tornado killed a woman and nine children in one house along its 20-mile path east southeast of Thurman.  

1936
Arkansas recorded their hottest temperature ever when Ozark hit 120°. Plain Dealing, LA reached 114°. Other all-time record highs set on this date included: 117° at Texarkana, TX, 115° at Tulsa, OK and 110° at Little Rock, AR,.

1951
Romania's hottest day on record occurred as the temperature reached 112° in Ion Sion.

1967
Prince Rupert British Columbia Canada recorded their wettest August day on record as 3.45 inches of rain fell.

1972
High pressure from Canada brought record low temperatures to parts of the Great Lakes including 40° at Lansing, MI, 45° at Grand Rapids, MI and 47° at Muskegon, MI.

1975
Holstebro, Denmark reached 97.5° to record their countries hottest day on record.

1980
Hurricane Allen came ashore north of Brownsville, TX with sustained winds of 115 mph, dropping 15 inches of rain near San Antonio, and up to 20 inches in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, ending a summer long drought. Winds at Port Mansfield gusted to 140 mph with a storm surge of 12 feet. Tidal flooding occurred all along the South Texas coast. Hurricane Allen also spawned 29 tornadoes. Total damage from the storm was estimated at $750 million dollars.

1981
In Moapa Valley, 80 miles north of Las Vegas, NV two storms 14 miles apart dropped 6.5 inches and 5 inches of rain, respectively, with most of it (85%) occurring in 15 minutes. Rains of such intensity happen once every 200 to 500 years. 762 cattle were killed at a dairy in Hidden Valley. Damage in Moapa Valley was estimated at $10 million dollars.
 
1983
Four inches of rain fall on the Flamingo Wash watershed at Las Vegas, NV. Several days after the flash flood, a child died when soil that had been carried off collapsed. Damage was estimated at $3 million dollars.

1987
Unseasonably hot weather continued in the southeastern U.S. Several cities in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina reported record high temperatures for the date; including Macon, GA with 101°.

1988
Citizens of Bluefield, WV, where the Chamber of Commerce provides free lemonade on days when the temperature reaches 90°, were able to celebrate their record high of 90°.   Several other cities also reported record high temperatures for the date, including Bismarck, ND with 102°. Further west, the temperature reached 102° at Ely, NV breaking the all-time record there.

1989
Many cities in the south central and southeastern U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date, including Asheville, NC with a reading of 48°and Victoria, TX with a low of 63°. Oklahoma City, OK reported a record cool afternoon high of 71°, and the daily high of 64° at Raleigh, NC established a record low maximum for August.

In Arizona, a record 64 day streak of 100° days at Phoenix, AZ finally came to an end.

1992
Torrential rainfall caused flooding over parts of north-central Oklahoma. Rainfall of more than four inches in just a few hours produced widespread street flooding in Enid and collapsed the roof of a meat company in the city. Much of the Enid Correctional Center was severely damaged as all of the first floor housing units suffered water damage. Four inmates became trapped by the rising water and had to be rescued.

1993
Lightning struck a nursing home at Sandy, UT. A patient was struck when the current entered his room, temporarily blinding him, but freeing him of intense pain he had been suffering for 24 hours.

1996
Widespread power outages occurred across the West. Blazing heat covered the West for much of the summer and was blamed for the Blackout which affected over 4 million people. Residents of California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Texas, Baja California in Mexico, and Alberta in Canada lost power when the massive blackout occurred. High temperatures in the 90s and 100s sent the demand for power to high levels. Some of the specific highs included 88° at Seattle, WA, 98° at Portland, OR, a record breaking 100° at Burns, OR, 106° at Phoenix, AZ, and a record 110° at Sacramento, CA. Temperatures in the deserts of California and Arizona were in the 110-120° range. As a result of the power outage, residents of Los Angeles were unable to find relief from the heat at the oceans edge. Beaches were closed after a pump failed at a sewage treatment plant, sending raw sewage into the Pacific Ocean. Beaches along an 8 mile stretch were closed as the water was deemed unsafe for swimming.

1997
In addition to strong winds and large hail, redeveloping severe thunderstorms produced heavy downpours which resulted in severe flash flooding in southeast Las Vegas, NV. In Henderson, raging flood waters turned roads into rivers up to three and four feet deep. Water and mud slides closed many roads, including U.S. Highway 95, for several hours. One man was drowned when a strong current swept him under his vehicle as he tried to move it off his neighborhood street. Rescue workers performed a number of swift water rescues until as late as 8:30pm PT. Four people were hospitalized. Flooding also resulted in the release of titanium dioxide gas (non-toxic) at the TIMET plant. Officials from Henderson report $5 million dollars in flood damage. In all, 83 homes and 10 businesses were damaged prompting the Governor to declare Henderson a disaster area.
Boulder City and the nearby Lake Mead National Recreation Area were also hit hard by heavy rain producing thunderstorms. Water and debris swept across Highway 93, between Railroad Pass and Boulder City, taking several vehicles off the road but sparing all occupants from injury. Flood waters also eroded roads, drainage canals and damaged many buildings in Boulder City. One man almost drowned in a drainage culvert but was rescued and hospitalized. The golf course alone reported 40 trees down. The Boulder City airport recorded a peak wind gust of 91 mph. The storms and floods ravaged the west side of Lake Mead battering marinas, eroding beaches and washing out roads. The recreation area was closed by 1:25 pm PST as access to Heminway Launch, Boulder Beach and Lake Mead Marina was cut off by flooding. Over 500 people were held captive within the park until the flood waters subsided. Damage was estimated at over one million dollars for Lake Mead and about $3.4 million dollars for Boulder City.

1999
Thundersnow occurred in the high Sierra in California at around 11,500 feet about 18 miles northeast of Huntington Lake. 3 to 4 inches of snow fell.

2001
Lightning hit the Hog Island Association (Mummers Parade) building in Philadelphia, PA and set it on fire. More than 60% of the 100 costumes for the Mummers Parade were damaged or destroyed.

2003
The hottest day on record occurred in the United Kingdon. Gravesend recorded 100.6° and Brogdale, near Faversham hit 101.3° and Londoners experience their hottest recorded day in the city's history when the temperature hit 100.2°, the first ever in history over 100° at Heathrow Airport. The heat forced rail service officials across Britain to limit train speeds to 60 mph because of fears the tracks could buckle. On the same day parts of northeastern England were affected by an intense thunderstorm. At Carlton-in-Cleveland 1.85 inches of rain fell in just 12 minutes, 1.18 inches of it in just 5 minutes. This is the highest 5 minute rainfall total ever recorded in the UK. Hail up to 0.75 inches in diameter also fell. This rainfall rate, which equated to between 9 to 14 inches an hour is the most intense on record in the United Kingdom for a sub 10 minute storm.

2005
An unusual snowfall covered parts of the Australian States of Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania. The snowfall was the first in Melbourne since July 1986, and the heaviest and most widespread snowfall event since July 19-20, 1951.

2006
Typhoon Saomai, the most powerful tropical cyclone to hit China in five decades, battered the southeast coast with winds up to 135 mph, requiring more than 1.3 million people to be evacuated. The official death toll was 436.  Saomai was the 8th major storm to strike China during the unusually violent typhoon season.
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