This Date in Weather History

Storms often times carry birds and insects over long distances. Some people often believe that they carry odors as well. Those hundreds of miles inland in the northeast can swear they can smell the ocean when a brisk east wind brings moisture in from the Atlantic Ocean or when a tropical system sweeps up from the Gulf of Mexico people believes that it’ seems tropical. We certainly all know the impacts of dust and dirt that can be deposited hundreds of miles from a correct fire or dirt raised up from parched farm lands. On August 5, 1983 A powerful storm moved west from India all the way to the Arabian Peninsula. 3 species of Indian butterflies were observed at Abu Dhabi several days later. The butterflies were "carried" more than 625 miles across the open water by the storm.

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The rain started in the morning of August 5, 1843 around 7:30 AM and increased in intensity all day in southeastern Pennsylvania. Area residents reported that by 3:00 PM winds had reached gale force and the rain continued at a furious pace. In the evening about 7:00 PM a wall of water, fueled by water levels that rose 5.5 inches in 40 minutes, came rushing down both the Crum and Ridley Creeks without warning. The water overflowed the banks of Crum Creek by more than 20 feet and Ridley Creek by 21 feet. From reconstructed records it appears that a hurricane or strong tropical storm hit the region and was responsible for the rain and wind. An excerpt from George Smith’s History of Delaware County from 1862 states: “At daybreak, the sky indicated rain, and about seven o’clock a moderate fall set in, which, while it slackened, never entirely ceased until between the hours of two and six o’clock that afternoon, when the extraordinary opening of “the windows of heaven” took place which made such extended ruin and misery in a brief period of time. The rain, when falling most abundantly, came down in such showers that the fields in that part of the county removed several miles back from the river are said to have been flooded with water almost immediately, and where the road was lower than the surface of the ground on either side, the water poured into the highway in a constant stream of miniature cascades. The lightning played incessantly through the falling torrents, reflected from all sides in the watery mirrors in the fields producing a weird and spectral appearance, such that those who witnessed it could evermore recall.” As most of the area’s commerce was centered around waterways the storm wreaked havoc with the many mills located along the creeks, and it was reported that no mill or milldam escaped destruction or severe damage. As many as 52 county bridges were swept away by torrents of water. The water carried away homes, dams, bridges, factories, livestock and people, in total 19 Delaware County residents perished during the storm. Delaware County has been visited by monster storms with names like Irene, Agnes, Hugo and Gloria over the years. But none, it seems, was more destructive than the Great Flood of 1843 that was also likely the result of a tropical system.

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Seville, Spain has a climate that features very hot, dry summers and mild winters with moderate rainfall. Like most Mediterranean climates, Seville is drier during summers and wetter during winters. Summer is the dominant season and lasts from May to October. Seville has the hottest summer in continental Europe among all cities with a population over 100,000 people, with average daily highs in July of 97 °F. Average daily lows in July are 67F and every year the temperature exceeds 104 °F on several occasions. A historical record high for all of Europe of 50.0 °C (122 °F) was recorded on 4 August 1881. This record is somewhat disputed as several in the science community believe that the thermometer used wasn’t officially calibrated and measured. Some say a high of 118 in Athens in the summer of 1977 was really the all-time record. I know that was a hot season in Europe first hand, as my wife and I, spent the summer months there that year. Interestingly in the summer of 2019 more national temperature records where reached than any other year when among other countries the temperature maxed out at 102 in Cambridge England, 109 in Lingen, Germany and also 109 in Paris France for an all-time city record.

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A succession of storms unleashed 5.77 inches of rain in the Erie area between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. Aug. 3, 1915. Four inches of rain fell between 4 and 7 p.m. All of that water was funneled from the Mill Creek watershed into Mill Creek, which flowed through central Erie. As its waters rose, Mill Creek overflowed its banks into farmlands and yards in the Glenwood Hills area, according to historical accounts. Saturated soil along the creek’s banks collapsed, sending trees, barns, chicken coops, outhouses and other structures into the rapidly rising Mill Creek. Debris collected near a culvert at 26th and State streets, where Mill Creek flowed under State Street. Soon, a reservoir formed that extended south for several blocks. Police and firefighters unsuccessfully tried to clear the dam with dynamite. At about 8:45 p.m., the culvert broke and a wall of water, estimated in newspaper accounts as high as 25 feet, tore through the central city, moving in a northeasterly direction toward Presque Isle Bay. Written accounts estimate the floodwaters’ path of destruction at four blocks to six blocks wide and nearly 3 miles long. The wave knocked trains and street cars off their tracks. During the height of the flood, every available firefighter and police officer frantically worked to save lives in the stricken areas. Men, women and children were taken from endangered buildings by rope, ladders and pieces of lumber thrown together. Erie Fire Chief John McMahon and firefighter John Donovan lost their lives from the flood. The Mill Creek flood destroyed about 250 houses, damaged about 300 other buildings and left several hundred families homeless. A final death toll was never settled, but casualty reports ranged from 36 to more than 40. It wasn’t until dawn arrived the next day, that stunned Erieites caught their first glimpses of the scope of destruction: Streets clogged with mud, remnants of houses and barns, twisted and smashed automobiles, broken machinery, tree trunks, clothing, cattle and chicken carcasses, and human remains.

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The 1922 Swatow Typhoon was a devastating tropical cyclone that caused thousands of deaths in the Chinese city of Swatow, less than 200 miles north of Hong Kong on the Pacific Coast of China, in August 1922. Striking the city on August 2, 1922. The death totals make it one of the deadliest known typhoons in history. A tropical depression located near the Caroline Islands was first spotted July 27. It moved slowly to the northwest, gradually intensifying. On July 31, it crossed northern Luzon, in the Philippines. Due to the typhoon passing through a lightly-inhabited part of the Philippines, no reports of significant impact were received. In Swatow in China, the typhoon caused a storm surge of at least 12 ft above normal on August 2. The rain was heavy, and left enough water to leave the land saturated for a few days. Swatow was an unfortunate city, as around 50,000 people out of a population of about 65,000 perished in the storm. Some nearby villages were totally destroyed. Several ships near the coast were totally wrecked. Other ones were blown as far as two miles inland. The area around the city had around another 50,000 casualties. The total death toll was above 60,000.

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On August 1, 1985 severe thunderstorms formed over the high plans of Wyoming as a result of a southeast flow of warm and humid air all the way from the Gulf of Mexico and a cold front slicing southward out of Canada and through Montana. Cheyenne, Wyoming received just over 6” of rain on that day more than 1/3 their average rainfall for an entire year. Many areas were flooded and power and telephone outages were widespread. Before the heavy rain, funnel clouds and tornadoes spotted in about every direction although no damage resulted. 1" of hail fell, that made parts of the city look like winter with hail covering the ground in drifts. Twelve people were killed including 10 along Dry Creek as people were swept away in cars while trying to cross flooded roads. The 6.06" that fell in Cheyenne broke the 24-hour state record. The resulting floods were reported as the costliest in state history - of more than $65 million.

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As the month of July 1861 came to a close on July 31 Cherrapunji, India recorded a total of 366.14" of rain during July 1861, a world record for 1 month. Cherrapunji also holds world record rainfall for a 12-month period; 1,041.78" from August 1, 1860 to July 31, 1861. To put that into perspective, the rainest major city in the United states, New Orleans, record for one year’s worth of rain is 102” in 1991 or slightly more than 25% of the record rainfall for one month in Cerrapunji. Cerrapunji sits as the base of the Himalayas at an elevation of 5000 feet. The prevailing wind from the Bay of Bengal brings an almost constant stream of tropical moisture northward and as the air is lifted over the foot hills leading from the vast plans of Bangladesh that sit below it cools, and the moisture is squeezed out in copious amounts. Cherrapunji occupies a unique geographical position in the world because of this and the rainfall that would normally cause widespread disastrous flooding is actually drained without the impacts, because of the lay of the land and the natural drainage systems that have built up over the eons. On July 31, 1861 the record books were closed on the rainiest month in recorded world history.

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The 1933 Florida–Mexico hurricane was the first of two Atlantic hurricanes to strike the Treasure Coast region of Florida in the very active 1933 Atlantic hurricane season. It was one of two storms that year to inflict hurricane-force winds over South Texas, causing significant damage there. The fifth tropical cyclone of the year, it formed east of the Lesser Antilles on July 24, rapidly strengthening as it moved west-northwest. As it passed over the islands, it attained hurricane status on July 26, producing heavy rains and killing at least six people. Over the next three days, it moved, paralleling the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas. The storm produced extensive damage and at least one drowning as it crossed the Bahamas. On July 29, the cyclone came under the influence of changing steering currents in the atmosphere, which forced the storm into Florida on July 30, 1933. A minimal hurricane at landfall, it caused negligible wind damage as it crossed Florida, but generated heavy rain along its path, causing locally severe flooding across the state. The storm turned west, weakened to below hurricane status, and later exited the state. Once over the eastern Gulf of Mexico the storm shifted its course to the west-southwest and gradually recovered its intensity. The path of the storm brought it close to the mouth of the Rio Grande River in early August. Few ships encountered the small storm as it regained hurricane status on August 4, just a day before striking northern Mexico with winds of 90 mph —making it close to a modern-day Category 2 hurricane. Striking close to the border between the US and Mexico, the storm caused extensive damage in both countries. Winds caused heavy losses to citrus production in the Rio Grande Valley. While only one person died in the United States, heavy rains led to catastrophic flooding that claimed at least 31 lives in northern Mexico. The storm that struck Florida on July 30 took one of the most unusual paths for a hurricane in the last 100 years crossing the state and then heading southwest to strike extreme southern Texas.

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July 29th is traditionally known as a “Rain Day” in Waynesburg, PA. It all began in 1878 when a farmer casually told drug store clerk William Allison that it always seemed to rain on July 29th in this southwestern PA town. The clerk made a note of it and started keeping a yearly tabulation. It has rained 112 out of the past 136 years. The day is celebrated in Waynesburg each year with a Rainy-Day Festival including banquets and a pageant. On average it rains every 3rd day in July in the town, the late spring months are the rainiest – but the humidity is highest on average in July. Rain 82% of the time on the same date is unusual for this climate – odds would be against such an occurred – yet the is no explanation that – well – holds water.

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Hail storms regularly strike the mid-west in the summertime. Most modern office buildings in Downtown areas are fitted with glass that can withstand the weight and destruction of the ice balls from the sky. This has not always been the case and paths of destruction were experienced as the storms producing the hail moved though. Years of suffering the consequences have led to new safety standards and technology for the glass. One the most notorious hail storms to hit an American city before the advent of better glass techniques occurred on July 28, 1898 in Chicago. According to the Morning Herald-Dispatch “Thousands of windowpanes were broken during a heavy hailstorm in the city. The rain which fell in torrents for an hours after the hail stones had done their work did great damage to the interiors of apartment building and school houses. Most of the damage to windows and skylights occurred on the north and west side where north windows of nearly every prominent building were broken. Horses pelted by the hail rain away in ever direction but no person was seriously injured. The shrubbery in Lincoln and Washington parks was cut up and greenhouses badly damaged. The building in the Downton district had glass broke in the upper stories. In the suburbs the trolley wires were down in many places and the streets made impassable by backwater from the sewers. Many horses were killed by contact with live wires.”

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