This Date in Weather History

In 1870, A Joint Congressional Resolution requiring the Secretary of War "to provide for taking meteorological observations at the military stations in the interior of the continent, and at other points in the States and Territories...and for giving notice on the northern lakes and on the seacoast, by magnetic telegraph and marine signals, of the approach and force of storms" was introduced. Congress passed the resolution and on February 9, 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant signed it into law. A new national weather service had been born within the U.S. Army Signal Service’s Division of Telegrams and Reports for the Benefit of Commerce that would affect the daily lives of most of the citizens of the United States through its forecasts and warnings for years to come. The on November 8, 1870 the First storm warning by U.S. Signal Corps weather service was issued for Great Lakes area by Prof. Latham of Milwaukee marking the first ever official weather forecasted warning issued in the United States.

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The first Tacoma Narrows bridge was locally known as “Galloping Gertie,” since its slender design lacked stabilizing girders, causing it to twist and bounce in the wind. The bridge opened on July 1, 1940, after 29 months of construction and $18 million invested. On the first day of operations, 2,053 crossed the bridge after an inaugural parade of vehicles led by Gov. Clarence D. Martin and Tacoma Mayor Harry P. Cain. But Gertie’s life would be short-lived. A little over four months later, on November 7 of the same year, the bridge collapsed during a massive windstorm.

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 On the morning of November 6, 1953, AccuWeather Founder and CEO, Joel Myers, peddled his bicycle to school in Philadelphia wearing only a thin jacket. He said that “Just a few days before the temperature had been in the seventies but then it was about 50 degrees. The radio mentioned colder weather and chance of a snow flurry in the afternoon ... well it began to snow by noontime and by mid-afternoon we were in the midst of a tremendous snowstorm ... big flakes and gusty winds. After school I pushed my bicycle home through heavy blowing snow as winds gusted to 50 miles an hour, and temperatures fell below freezing. By the next morning... snow accumulations across eastern Pennsylvania ranged from 3-30". Officially a little less than 4” of snow fell in Philadelphia but that was still enough to make it a record snowfall for so early in the season, the far northern and western suburbs were paralyzed by almost 30” of heavy wet snow that took a week to clean up.

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Verkhoyansk, Russia is notable chiefly for its exceptionally low winter temperatures and some of the greatest temperature differences on Earth between summer and winter. Average monthly temperatures range from 50 below zero F in January to almost 62 F in July. On November 5, 1992 warm weather in Verkhoyansk was a fleeting thought with a morning low of -51 degrees, high of -46 degrees. The daily average temperature was 27 degrees below normal.

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The flood of November 3-4, 1927, stands as the greatest natural disaster in Vermont history. Devastation occurred throughout the state, with 1,285 bridges lost, countless homes and buildings destroyed, and hundreds of miles of roads and railroad tracks swept away. The flood waters claimed 84 lives, including that of the Vermont Lieutenant Governor at the time, S. Hollister Jackson. Rainfall during the month of October averaged about 150 percent of normal across the state. In northern and central sections, some places received 300 percent of normal.

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Southern California is often subject to thick moist flows off the Pacific Ocean. The contrast of chilly ocean waters and relatively warm and dry land, especially in the autumn months often brings a marine layer of low laying and thick fog. Often times this can blow in off the ocean quickly. Sometimes the mist and fog are able to burn off fairly quickly if the temperature inversion – or what is defined as a warmer layer of air trapped above cooler moist air at the surface is able to break . Sometimes that doesn’t happen and it remains murky and damp with very low visibility. On November , 2002 dense marine fog rolled into the Los Angeles area just before sunrise and the result was an awful morning commute. 194 vehicles were involved in 2 pileups on I-710, with that dense fog to blame. Remarkably, no deaths occurred, bit it took the better part of the day to clean up the pile up.

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On November 1, 1819, 7” of snow fell across New York City. New York at the time was the largest city in the United State and the only US city with more than 100,000 in population topping out at 120,000. It had become the center of American life and business so it was important to get around. The powdery snowfall was ideal – except for one thing – it came too early in the season. No part of the transportation system was ready for such an early season snowfall – powdery or not – and wagon and carriages were not able to make to switch from wheels to tracks and so transportation came to a halt for several days.

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November typical brings the first widespread wintry weather of the season to the United Stated and in 1972 the month didn’t waste any time getting started. A severe autumn storm moved out of the Southern Rockies into the central plains leaving in its wake heavy snow, flooding and zero degree cold. Heavy snow fell in Denver. More than 10” on rain in 3 days pushed the Hickory Creek out of its banks in the Neosho area of southwestern Missouri. Residents of low-lying areas in this town of 8,000 were evacuated. One person drowned at Poplar Bluff, in SE Missouri, when a 3 1/2-inch downpour triggered local flooding. The mercury dropped to near zero in the mountains of Arizona and New Mexico where snows measured a food and a half deep impeding travel. Temperatures dropped to near freezing in the deserts.

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1963 was a relatively dry year in the City of Philadelphia. Rainfall was less than 35” or more than 5” below normal. Usually the aurum along the eastern seaboard is dry with few showers or largescale storm systems. Caught in between the thunderstorm season of the Spring and Summer and the strong cold fronts and wintry storms October can feature warmish to chilly days with plenty of sunshine. In fact, the major source of rain in the autumn is the occasional tropical system that will move up the east coast with rain thrown westward into the Delaware valley where Philadelphia is located. When Tropical storms or Hurricanes don’t materialize the autumn can be very dry indeed. On October 3, 1963 Philadelphia did receive a few rain showers as a storm moved by to the south, then for the rest of the month – not a drop of rain. When the books closed on the month on October 31, 1963 it marked the send of 28 consecutive days with no rain in the City of Brotherly Love – a record that stands to this day. On November first, it rained. 

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The 1948 Donora smog killed 20 people and caused respiratory problems for 7,000 people of the 14,000 population of Donora, Pennsylvania, a mill town on the Monongahela River 24 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

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