This Date in Weather History

Lookout Mountain rises 1700 feet above the Tennessee Valley, its steep sides protruding to the sky. The northern end the mountain is surrounded on three sides by a near vertical rock wall that has afforded protection to the occupants of the top for hundreds of years. The mountain is known for a weather phenomenon that occurs from 3-5 times a year. A layer of fog forms around the bottom of the Mountain then begins to rise, sometimes engulfing the entire mountain. This rising fog has been written about since the first European settlers visited the area before 1735. On November 24, 1863, during the height of the Civil War, this very weather situation set in, just as Union forces were closing in on the city of Chattanooga nearby and set up what would be known as the Battle of Lookout Mountain or more famously known as The Battle Above the Clouds. "Clouds enveloped the entire mountain" wrote Union General John Geary before the attack. Confederate General Edward Walthall, whose Mississippians made up part of the Rebel line would write that he detected Geary's movement at about 7:30am but before he could tell where the Union commander was headed "a mist obscured the valley" at about 8:00am. Geary was headed to the site of an old dam, where his engineers would build a bridge. By 8:00am the bridge was complete enough to send about 20 Union soldiers from 3 companies across to form a bridgehead. Stealth and the fog were on their side as they captured 42 Confederate pickets without firing a shot. At 9:30am the Geary's attack began in "thick fog" on the mountainside. The Union commander also noted that the fog in Lookout Valley had risen. The fog prevented Union General Hooker's artillery from joining the fray. Around 11:00 the clouds lifted to the point that the artillery could tell Rebel from Yankee and opened fire, even though the cloud bank was returning. One Union artillery man later compared it to "...a fire and cloud-capped Sinai." Reports from the battle notes that "...the enemy threw grenade and shell over the cliffs, and the fire of their sharpshooters was so galling that we must inevitably have lost many men but for a dense cloud that enveloped the mountain top about noon." The New York Times on Nov. 30, 1863, mentions the notable fact that in Gen. Hooker's fight up the slopes of Lookout Mountain, "much of the battle was fought above the clouds, which concealed him from our view, but from which his musketry was heard." The fog allowed more Union advances as the rebels became confused and it helped the union win an important victory that brought all of Tennessee under Union control and lead the road to Atlanta wide open for Union forces and eventually Sherman’s March to the Sea.

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On the night of November 22, 2010 violent thunderstorms erupted from Chicago, IL to Springfield, MO. These storms raged into November 23, 2010 and downed trees and power lines with some wind gusts in excess of 60mph. Some of the hail that fell was as big at golf balls, causing massive damage to parked cars and car lots housing used and new autos, resulting in millions of dollars of damage to windshield and car bodies. Torrential downpours plagued the Chicago area with more than an inch of rain, triggering flash flooding. Tornadoes tore through northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, heavily damaging several buildings. Three people were injured from damage several miles east of Loves Park, IL.

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President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on Friday, November 22, 1963. There was a chance that the horrific events of that day might not have happened at all had the weather been different. The day started out grey and overcast as the President arrived at the Airport in Dallas early that morning. A small amount of rain had fallen first thing in the morning with more forecast likely later in the day. That would have likely meant that a plexiglass bubble would have been used on the President’s 1961 Lincoln Convertible to keep him and the First Lady dry. Those coverings were generally bullet-proof. As the motorcade was set to leave for the cross-town journey at 11:50am the weather turned bright and sunny and even warm for late November. The temperature climbed to near 70. Because of the break in the weather and the crowds that where lining the street the President decided not to go with the Plexiglas covering. Since the ride would only take less than an hour President Kennedy wanted to be able for the crowds to see him. Just as the motorcade slowed as it drove through Dealey Plaza at 12:30pm before turning onto a road that would allow the motorcade to speed up shoot rang out killing the 35th President of the United States and seriously injuring Texas Governor John Connally. Had the weather remined cloudy with light rain the whole scenario might never have taken place.

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A double-barreled autumn storm hurled snow over the northern Midwest and unleashed violent thunderstorms from the Ohio Valley to the Gulf Coast on November 20, 1970. 5" of snow fell in Rochester, MN. 4” fell in Mason City, IA. Heavy snow and drove temperatures to near 0 along the Canadian border. Up to 10” of snow blanketed Cut Bank, MT where the mercury sank to 3 above zero at midnight. Blowing and drifting snow hampered travel in eastern Washington and northern Oregon. Meanwhile, high winds in western New York State caused window breakage and widespread power outages. In the Buffalo area, winds felled trees and electrical wires. Three radio stations in Buffalo suffered a 32-minute interruption of service. One person was hospitalized after being struck by an up-rooted tree. Wind driven waves from Lake Erie spilled onto Route 5 in Athol. Seneca Falls was without power for 2 hours. A severe thunderstorm watch involved portions of a half-dozen states from Kentucky to Georgia. Funnel clouds were sighted during the night at two locations in the Memphis area. Hail pelted Evansville, IN. Tornadoes skipped across parts of Arkansas causing considerable damage, and 16 persons were hospitalized when a tornado swept through Moro and Oak Forest, AR in Lee County.

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A major lake-effect event set up starting late on November 19, 2016 and continued more prominently through the 20th. The heaviest total reported was in Redfield, New York at 54.5 inches. Other significant totals include Osceola at 48 inches, Binghamton at 27.6 inches, Syracuse at 25.1 inches and Watertown at 18.0 inches. Interestingly this event was preceded by record warmth. Watertown hit 72 on the 19th breaking the record of 70. But the heavy snowfall put an end to thoughts of a lingering warm autumn, roads were closed in many areas for a better part of a week.

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An early-season arctic cold outbreak on November 19, 2008, led to records being broken, both for overnight lows and daytime highs all across the eastern part of the United States. Worcester, MA had a high of only 29 degrees. Even as far south as Saint Simons Island, GA there was a record cold day, with a high of only 50 degrees. Killing frost and freezes were felt in the deep South and with a strong wind accompanying the cold many marginal plants and vegetation didn’t stand a chance putting an abrupt end to the growing season all the way to the Gulf coast.

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On November 18, 1421, a storm in the North Sea slammed into the European coastline. Over the next several days, approximately 10,000 people in what is now the Netherlands died in the resulting floods. History.com tells us the lowlands of the Netherlands near the North Sea were densely populated at the time, despite their known vulnerability to flooding. Small villages and a couple of cities had sprung up in what was known as the Grote Waard region. The residents had built dikes throughout the area to keep the water at bay, but fatal floods still struck in 1287, 1338, 1374, 1394 and 1396. After each, residents fixed the dikes and moved right back in. Even the St. Elisabeth’s flood of November 1404 (named after the November 19 feast day for St. Elisabeth of Hungary), in which hundreds died, could not dissuade the residents from living in the region. Seventeen years later, at the same time of year, another strong storm struck the North Sea. The resulting storm surge caused waves to burst hundreds of dikes all over Grote Waard. The city of Dort was devastated and 20 whole villages were wiped off the map. The flooding was so extensive this time that the dikes were not fully rebuilt until 1500. This meant that much of Zeeland and Holland–the area that now makes up the Netherlands–was flooded for decades following the storm. The town of Dordrecht was permanently separated from the mainland in the flood.

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November 17, 2013 was a difficult day for many people across the Midwest and Great Lakes region with a major outbreak of severe weather that is usually associated with the Spring season. All told there were over 750 reports of severe weather incidents and of those 136 reports were from tornados. Of the remaining reports there were 579 from wind and 42 from hail. The storm damage extended far and wide from eastern Iowa and Missouri eastward to New Jersey. The worst of this day was in Washington Illinois, a suburb to the east of Peoria. This is where an EF4 tornado moves through destroying several homes. This tornado was responsible for 122 injuries and 1 fatality.

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The moose is the largest of all deer species, standing about five to six and a half feet tall. Moose require habitat with adequate edible plants; grasses, young trees and shrubs, cover from predators, and protection from extremely hot or cold weather. Moose travel or migrate among different habitats with the seasons to address these requirements. Moose are cold-adapted mammals with thickened skin, a dense, heat-retaining coat, and a low surface volume ratio, which provides excellent cold tolerance but poor heat tolerance. Moose survive hot weather by accessing shade or cooling wind, or by immersion in cool water. In hot weather, moose are often found wading or swimming in lakes or ponds. When heat-stressed, moose may fail to adequately forage in summer and may not gain adequate body fat to survive the winter. Also, moose cows may not calve without adequate summer weight gain. Moose require access to both young forest for browsing and mature forest for shelter and cover. Forest disturbed by fire and logging promotes the growth of fodder for moose. Moose also require access to mineral licks, safe places for calving and aquatic feeding sites so they do move from season to season. The autumn season of 2003 was quite mild across northern Canada and on November 15 as the moose started their migration trek from Northern Quebec to the Labrador Sea it stalled car and truck traffic. Moose had to use the highways because the ground was not frozen due to unusually warm weather.

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As autumn approaches winter the severe weather season usually grinds to a halt. Hot and humid weather is pushed south into Mexico and the Gulf and the dynamics to spawn severe thunderstorms and tornados is quickly on the wane. Temperature contrasts from the Earth’s surface to the upper atmosphere take on a winter time aspect. But still, severe weather outbreaks occasionally happen and often times just as people are letting down their guard. On November 15, 2006 there was such a Tornado Outbreak. A tornado with a total path length of just over 6 miles long and 250 yards wide, damaged several buildings in Montgomery, Alabama. Six people were reported injured in East Montgomery. Several other tornados were reported across southeast Alabama into southwest Georgia. Moderate damage occurred in Fort Benning, Georgia along a path 1.5 miles long and 150 yards wide; six people injured. A tornado in Riegelwood, North Carolina demolished several homes with eight fatalities reported.

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