Friday Daily Weather Summary

ONLINE DAILY WEATHER SUMMARY

Friday, 4 July 2008

This Online Daily Weather Summary contains Historical Weather Events for this date. The latest weather information on the Online Weather Studies homepage will continue to be updated. We are suggesting that persons looking for an alternative national weather summary might try:

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/stormcenter/front.htm (USA Today)
or
http://www.weather.com/newscenter/fcstsummary.html (The Weather Channel)

Happy 4th! Today is a Federal holiday. Have a safe and joyous holiday.

Way out there!...The earth reaches aphelion, the point in its annual orbit when it is farthest from the sun early this morning (officially at 08Z on Friday, 4 July 2008, which is equivalent to 3 AM EDT or 2 AM CDT). At aphelion, the earth-sun distance is 152,089,000 km, or 3.4% greater than the distance at perihelion, the smallest earth-sun distance, which occurred earlier this year on the early evening of 2 January.

HISTORICAL WEATHER EVENTS - 4 July

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

...1776...Thomas Jefferson paid for his first thermometer, and signed the Declaration of Independence. According to his weather memorandum book, at 2 PM it was cloudy and 76 degrees. (David Ludlum)
...1874...Tornadoes hit the Washington-Baltimore areas causing minor damage. A more significant tornado hit Lewistown, PA killing 8 people. (Intellicast)
...1876...Severe thunderstorms hit the Midwest and a dam failed at Rockdale, IL. Flood destroyed a railroad bridge and swept through the town. Forty-two people perished. (Intellicast)
...1898...Hampton Beach, NH experienced a tornado that killed three and injured 120. (Intellicast)
...1911...The northeastern U.S. experienced sweltering 100 degree heat. The temperature soared to 105 degrees at Vernon, VT and North Bridgton, ME, and to 106 degrees at Nashua, NH, to establish all-time records for those three states. Afternoon highs of 104 degrees at Boston, MA, 104 at Albany, NY, and 103 at Portland, ME, were all-time records for those three cities. (The Weather Channel)
...1932...A massive F4 tornado struck Washington, KS destroying 50 homes and killing five. (Intellicast)
...1956...A world record for the most rain in one minute was set at Unionville, MD with a downpour of 1.23 inches. (The Weather Channel) (The National Severe Storms Forecast Center)
...1969...Severe thunderstorms produced winds to over 100 mph and very heavy rains across northern Ohio. From 4 to 15 inches of rain fell from late evening into the next morning producing major flash flooding. Forty-one were killed, 559 injuries and damage exceeded $66 million. (Intellicast)
...1977...A severe thunderstorm produced downburst winds up to 135 mph across northern Wisconsin producing a damage path 166 miles long and up to 17 miles wide. One person was killed and 35 were injured. Total damage was $24 million. (Intellicast)
Editor's Note: See a narrative with images of this storm that was studied by T. Fujita as prepared by the NWS Office at Green Bay, WI (http://www.crh.noaa.gov/grb/events/070477.php)
...1978...A violent F4 tornado tracked across 28 miles through Grant County in North Dakota in one hour killing 5 people in the town of Elgin. (Intellicast)
...1987...Thunderstorms around the country provided extra fireworks for Independence Day. Thunderstorms produced wind gusts to 82 mph at Clearwater, KS, eight inches of rain in four hours at Menno, SD and three inches of rain in just fifteen minutes at Austin, KY. Morning thunderstorms drenched Oneonta, AL with 8.6 inches of rain, their greatest 24 hour total in thirty years of records. The heavy rain caused mudslides and serious flooding, claiming two lives. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1988...Thunderstorms produced heavy rain over the Central Gulf Coast Region for the second day in a row. Monroe, LA was deluged with 3.75 inches in two hours. Aberdeen, SD and Rapid City, SD reported record high temperatures for the date, with readings of 105 degrees. (The National Weather Summary)
...1989...Independence Day was "hot as a firecracker" across parts of the country. Nineteen cities, mostly in the north central U.S., reported record high temperatures for the date, including Williston, ND with a reading of 107 degrees. In the southwestern U.S., highs of 93 at Alamosa, CO, 114 at Tucson, AZ, and 118 at Phoenix, AZ, equaled all-time records for those locations. (The National Weather Summary)

5 July

...1882...A trace of snow was reported at Newton, NJ and other parts of the Northeast. (Intellicast)
...1891...Sixteen horses were killed by hail, and many more have to be put to death due to injuries from a hailstorm at Rapid City, SD. (The Weather Channel)
...1900...A spectacular three-day fire began when a bolt of lightning struck the Standard Oil refinery in Bayonne, NJ. Damages were over $2 million. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
...1904...One million dollars in damage resulted from a powerful thunderstorm over Boston Harbor. (Intellicast)
...1916...An early season hurricane produced 82 mph winds, an 11.6 foot tide, and a barometric pressure of 28.92 inches at Mobile, AL. (David Ludlum)
...1936...The all-time state record high of 120 degrees was set at Gann Valley, SD. (Intellicast)
...1937...The temperature at Medicine Lake, MT soared to 117 degrees to establish a state record. (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders - 1987)
Midale and Yellow Grass in Saskatchewan hit 113 degrees to establish an all-time record high for Canada that same day. (The Weather Channel)
...1970...The morning low at Death Valley, CA was 103 degrees, and the high that afternoon was 120 degrees. (The Weather Channel)
...1985...The temperature at St. George, UT reached 117 degrees, setting a record high temperature for the Beehive State. (NCDC)
...1986... The low temperature at Boise, ID dropped to a crisp 35 degrees, the coldest ever for the month. (Intellicast)
...1987...Severe thunderstorms raked south central Kansas for the second morning in a row. Thunderstorm winds again gusted to 80 mph at Clearwater, and in the Wichita area reached 100 mph. Twenty-five persons were injured at a trailer park at El Dorado Lake. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1988...Afternoon and evening thunderstorms spawned eleven tornadoes in Montana and three in North Dakota. Baseball size hail was reported at Shonkin, MT, and wind gusts to 85 mph were reported south of Fordville, ND. Twenty cities in the north central U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date, including Fargo, ND with a reading of 106 degrees. Muskegon, MI equaled their July record with a high of 95 degrees. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1989...Moisture from what once was Tropical Storm Allison triggered thunderstorms over the Middle Atlantic Coast Region, which deluged Wilmington, DE with a record 6.83 inches of rain in 24 hours, including 6.37 inches in just six hours. Up to ten inches of rain was reported at Claymont, northeast of Wilmington. July 1989 was thus the wettest month in seventy years for Wilmington, with a total of 12.63 inches of rain. Alamosa, CO reported an all-time record high of 94 degrees, and Pierre, SD hit 113 degrees. Denver, CO reached 101 degrees, topping 100 for the second straight day, only happened once before in 1972(The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (Intellicast)
...1993...Heavy rains deluged the Central Plains as one of the greatest floods in U.S. history began to unfold. Twenty-four hour totals included 5.90 inches at Columbia, IA, 5.15 inches at Centralia, KS and 4.80 inches at Haddam, KS. (Intellicast)

6 July

...1893...A violent F5 tornado killed 71 persons on its forty-mile track across northwestern Iowa, including Storm Lake and Pomeroy. Forty-nine persons were killed around Pomeroy, where eighty percent of the buildings were destroyed, with most leveled to the ground. Photos showed most of the town without a wall or tree left standing. (The Weather Channel)
...1928...A hailstorm at Potter, NE produced a stone that was 5.5 inches in diameter, and seventeen inches in circumference, weighing a pound and a half. At the time, it was the world's largest hailstone. (David Ludlum) (Wikipedia)
...1936...Steele, ND reached 121 degrees, the state record. Moorhead, MN reached 114 degrees to set a record high temperature for the Gopher State. (Intellicast) (NCDC).
...1977...Peak of 10-day heat wave in Washington, DC was reached with 100 degrees. (Intellicast)
...1985...Lightning struck a large transformer in Salt Lake County sending a 200 foot fireball into the air and blacking out almost the entire state for up to five hours. (The Weather Channel)
...1986...Thunderstorm rains during the mid morning hours, and again during the evening, produced major flash-flooding at Leavenworth, KS. The official rainfall total was 10.37 inches, but unofficial totals exceeded twelve inches. At nearby Kansas City, the rainfall total of 5.08 inches was a daily record for July. (Storm Data)
Pocatello, ID set a new record low temperature for July with 35 degrees. (Intellicast)
...1987...Thunderstorms produced severe weather in twenty-one states east of the Rockies, with severe weather reported in Kentucky and Indiana for the second day in a row. A thunderstorm produced more than five inches of rain in one hour near Reynolds, IL. Rochester, NY was soaked with 3.25 inches, a record 24-hour total for the month of July. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1988...Thirty-six cities in the north central and northeastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. Afternoon highs of 98 degrees at International Falls, MN and 101 degrees at Flint, MI equaled all-time records. Highs of 96 degrees at Muskegon, MI and 97 degrees at Buffalo, NY were records for July. (The National Weather Summary)
...1989...Unseasonably hot weather prevailed in the southwestern U.S. Ten cities reported record high temperatures for the date, including Las Vegas, NV with a reading of 115 degrees. Hanksville, UT reached 112 degrees, Bullhead City, AZ hit 120 degrees, and Death Valley, CA soared to 126 degrees. (The National Weather Summary)
...1994...An impressive 21.10 inches of rain fell at Americus, GA to establish a 24-hour maximum precipitation record for the Peach State. (NCDC)

Return to Online Weather Homepage