This Date in Weather History

Cold air had been holding across the Mid-west during the first week of March in 2008. Storms had been frequent in that region during that time, but none of them particularly strong. That changed on March 8, 2008. A major storm moving across the Tennessee Valley brought snow to the Midwest, strong thunderstorms to the Southeast and heavy rain and flooding the Northeast. Columbus, OH set a 24-hour maximum heavy snowfall record of 15.4“. The storm total reached more than 20 “. Memphis, TN received 1.4“ of snow, breaking the daily record. Jackson, TN also had an inch, breaking their daily record. Trenton, NJ had a daily rainfall record 1.49“, with a record of 1.47“ in Philadelphia. Flooding occurred all along the Neshaminy Creek in the Philadelphia suburbs causing people to flee their homes. Damage occurred in parts of a VA from powerful thunderstorm generated winds.

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It was an active weather start to the month of March across the United States in 2017. But the most prominent event was a storm that moved out of the Rockies and into the Plains on March 7th. This system developed thunderstorms from southwest Minnesota to eastern Nebraska in the midafternoon of the 7th, then the system expanded from northeast Minnesota and western Wisconsin and southward to Oklahoma by the early evening. It was during this time that the storms were very powerful producing very strong winds, large hail and even several tornadoes. One wind gust of 90 mph hit the region of Belle Plain, Iowa. A powerful tornado also ripped through Oak Grove, Kansas, an outlying suburb of Kansas City. The tornado and attending thunderstorms tore apart the region damaging or destroying nearly 500 homes and building and causing 12 injuries. Fortunately, there were no deaths.

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 In early March of 1962 a massive storm developed along the Carolina capes, but instead of riding up and along the coast as usually occurs, that system was blocked by a large and building high pressure system over New England. The storm stalled and got stronger, the result was a strengthening pressure difference known as a pressure gradient, between that high pressure area over New England and the storm. The result of such a pressure difference is usually a strenghting wind flow. Sunch a situation developed in 1962. The result was an East wind that traveled hundreds of miles across the Atlantic Ocean. That flow push massive amounts of water to the coast, not unlike a Hurricane. The water had no place to go – but to sweep over the beaches an bays along the mid-atlantc coast. This weather situation held relentlessly for days and the result was massive beach erosion, especially along the New Jersey coast. Waves reached 40’ high and many resort islands, like Long beach Island New Jersey were cut in several places and new inlets opened up. It would take years for the Army Corps of Engineers to make the Islands whole again. The USS Monssen was being towed down the east coast at the time and on March 6, 1962 the towline broke in the heavy seas during the storm. With seas running 15 feet and wind gusting to 65 mph, it went aground on March 6th at Beach Haven Inlet, New Jersey on that same Long Beach Island. There was more than $400 million damage from the storm in 1962 dollars – more than $3.5 Billion in todays dollars. Many beach resort areas didn’t fully recover until the mid 1960s.

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Tropical systems that reach Hurricane strength in a region near Australia are known as Cyclones. Cyclones that impact the northern and east coast of Australia are fairly common, but the strongest systems usually steer north of the Island Continent. But on March 5, 1899 one of the most powerful Tropical Cyclones ever to strike the region caused unimaginable damage. Cyclone Mahina was the deadliest cyclone in recorded Australian history, and also likely the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere. A pearling fleet, based at Thursday Island, Queensland, anchored in the bay before the storm. Within an hour, the storm drove much of the fleet ashore or onto the Great Barrier Reef. An eyewitness reported that a 48-foot storm surge swept over their camp at Barrow Point atop a 40-foot high ridge and reached 3 miles inland, the largest storm surge ever recorded. The exact number of those that died is unknown – but was probably close to 500.

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On March 4 1909, William Howard Taft was to be sworn in as the 27th President of the United States. The night before a fierce storm struck the East Coast and all but shut down travel. With Temperatures well below freezing snow began on the afternoon of March 3 in Washington DC and continued into the after dawn hours of Inauguration Day, which at the time was still held on March 4th. The blizzard left more than 10” of snow. The inauguration ceremony was moved indoors, into the Senate Chamber, limiting the number of persons who could attend. Despite the adverse weather conditions, the inaugural parade was not cancelled. 6,000 city workers used 500 wagons to remove 58,000 tons of snow to clean the parade route. For the first time in inauguration history, the incoming First Lady joined her husband in leading the parade from the Capitol to the White House. Before heading off that evening with his wife, to an inaugural ball at the Pension Building, Taft hosted a celebratory dinner at the newly opened Metropolitan Club for those fellow members of his Yale Class of 1878 who had come to the event. In his remarks he said that . “I always said it would be a cold day when I got to be president,” and so it was.

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On March 3 1994, a major storm belted the eastern states, heavy rains fell along the east coast and heavy snow piled up in the interior. As much as 30” of snow buried parts of central PA. This intense storm resulted in the establishment of many seasonal snowfall records in the region. The snow was accompanied by frequent thunder and lightning in some locations. These thunder snows, acting much like downpours of rain in the summertime – gave downpours of snow that mounted up, in some places to 4-5 inches in a single hour. Along the East Coast, on the I-95 corridor, there was more than 2” of rain accompanied by wind gusts over 60 mph and urban street flooding and flooding along streams; 25 foot waves crashed on to Cape Hatteras, NC. A snow avalanche buried 5 cars under 20 feet of snow, trapping the occupants for 28 hours before rescue in the Pennsylvania Mountains of Clinton County. 28" of snow fell at State College PA; 24" at Lock Haven, PA.

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The morning of March 2, 1975 dawned warm and humid across Georgia. As the day wore on in Atlanta temperatures continued to climb, meanwhile across the Mississippi Valley a strong cold front was heading eastward. As that frontal system gathered momentum and pushed into the warmer weather, a strong line of severe thunderstorms erupted across Alabama. By afternoon violent weather was approaching Atlanta and tornados developed. One Tornado took direct aim on the Georgia governor’s mansion in Atlanta. First the twister touched down in a housing development known as Perry Homes, then lifted up after leaving at least 100 apartments there severely damaged and a small shopping center destroyed. Displaced residents were moved to nearby schools, motels and other buildings. Soon the Governor’s Mansion was in its site,  The Mansion, newly built and only 8 years old, sat roughly midway on the eight‐mile‐long path of destruction caused by the tornado. In some places, they path was more than a quarter of a mile wide. According to the New York Times, Gov. George Busbee was forced to flee to safety in the center section of the Mansion. Elsewhere around the city, disaster officials reported, about 500 homes and businesses were badly damaged, 50 persons were injured and 3 people died.

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In late February 2007 artic cold had most of the western half of nation in its’ grip, at the same time warm and humid weather covered the eastern states. It was a classic set up of a clash of air masses, that usually results in a violent weather outcome. By the early morning of March 1st a powerful storm was organizing in the southern Rockies. That system would take a route across New Mexico and Oklahoma and then head toward the Ohio Valley. Snow began to fly in the central Rockies and then it headed out into the plans states. That strong storm brought blizzard conditions to Nebraska. Omaha had a foot a snow with 58 mph winds that reduced visibility to less than half a mile. Snowfall extended north and east with a foot and a half of the white stuff in parts of Iowa and a foot or more from Minnesota and South Dakota all the way to Michigan. Further south, where warm air held sway, severe thunderstorms brought hail and deadly tornadoes. Fifteen people were killed when a tornado hit Enterprise High School in Alabama, and two were killed when a tornado hit Americus, Georgia.

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Mild weather had been the rule across the Pacific Northwest for most of the winter of 1994. In fact, when the winter was over it turned out to be the 10th warmest winter in more than 100 years. But in the later days of February an arctic airmass that had been building across the Yukon and in the last days of the month began to slide southward. By the morning of February 28, 1994 it has settled in over Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Record cold gripped the region. Burns Oregon recorded a low temperature of 22 below zero smashing the old record of 2 above. In Pocatello, Idaho the mercury reached 17 below, another record. The cold lingered on for a few more days – but that was to be the last bitter cold of the warm winter of 1994.

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For folks suffering in the throes of a harsh winter thoughts often turn to warmer climates and the dream of laying out on the beaches of Hawaii. In fact, the normal high temperature on February 27 is close to 80 in Honolulu. But there are high mountains on the Hawaiian Islands, 3 volcanic peaks extend well above 9,000 and because temperatures can drop as much as 5 ½ degrees for every 1000 feet of elevation that’s a difference from the ground at sea level to that 9,000-foot elevation of about 50 degrees. So that normal 80 for a high temperature can be 30 or even colder. When storms strike in the rainy, winter season from December to February, snow and ice can accumulate on the mountains and even though the snow doesn’t stay around too long it can certainly keep those peaks white. In fact, some adventurous Hawaiians even try their hand at skiing. Such a winter event occurred of February 27, 1997, when several inches of snow fell on the summits of Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Haleakala.

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