Historical Weather Events

HISTORICAL WEATHER EVENTS - 3 July

From the files of the Aviation Weather Center, Kansas City, MO and Intellicast

...1835...A tornado tore through the center of New Brunswick, NJ killing five persons and scattering debris as far as Manhattan Island. The tornado provided the first opportunity for pioneer American meteorologists William Redfield and James Espy to study firsthand the track of such a storm. Smaller tornadoes were reported at Paterson, NJ, Kinderhook, NY, and Pine Plains, NY. (David Ludlum)
...1873...A tornado in Hancock County, in far west central Illinois, destroyed several farms. From a distance, witnesses initially thought the tornado was smoke from a fire. A child was killed after being carried 500 yards; 10 other people were injured. (National Weather Service files)
...1938... A cloudburst near Custer Creek, MT (near Miles City) caused a train wreck killing forty-eight persons. An estimated four to seven inches of rain deluged the head of the creek that evening, and water flowing through the creek weakened the bridge. As a result, a locomotive and seven passenger cars of the Milwaukee Road's The Olympian plunged into the swollen creek. One car, a tourist sleeper, was completely submerged. (David Ludlum) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
...1972...Hurricane Agnes moved onshore along the Florida Panhandle near Cape San Blas with wind gusts to 80 mph, and exited Maine on the 26th. This category 1 hurricane joined up with an upper level disturbance and was responsible for 117 deaths, mainly due to flooding from North Carolina to New York State, and total damage was estimated at more than three billion dollars. Up to 19 inches of rain deluged western Schuylkill County, PA. The rains of Hurricane Agnes resulted in one of the greatest natural disasters in U.S. history. Agnes caused more damage than all other tropical cyclones in the previous six years combined (which included Celia and Camille). (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
...1987...It was a warm June day, with plenty of thunderstorms east of the Rockies. Lightning knocked out power at Throckmorton, TX, and ignited an oil tank battery. A woman in Knox City, TX was struck by lightning while in her car, and a man was struck by lightning near his home in Manatee County, FL. Lightning struck and killed three men playing golf near Kingsport, TN. They had sought shelter from the rain under a tall tree.
Strong thunderstorm winds overturned several outhouses near Bixby, OK, but no injuries were reported. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1988...Temperatures soared above 100 degrees in the central U.S. for Father's Day. Fifteen cities reported record high temperatures for the date. Severe thunderstorms in Minnesota and Wisconsin produced softball size hail near River Falls, WI, and wind gusts to 80 mph at Menomonie, WI. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1989...Fourteen cities reported record high temperatures for the date as searing heat spread from the southwestern deserts into the High Plains Region. Record highs included 98 degrees at Billings, MT, 107 degrees at Valentine, NE, and 112 degrees at Tucson, AZ. (The National Weather Summary)
...1992...Two batches of severe thunderstorms, occurring within six hours of each other, dumped hailstones up to 4.5 inches in diameter across Sedgwick and surrounding counties in south-central Kansas. Over 10,000 homes were damaged. The hail left wheat fields in a near total loss. Estimated property damage totaled $500 million with crop damage at $100 million. The thunderstorm episode ranks as one for the worst ever to hit Kansas. (Intellicast)
Daytona Beach, FL was smacked with a 27-mile long 18-foot high rogue wave that caused extensive damage to boats and vehicles but amazingly only resulted in several injuries and no deaths. (National Weather Service files)