This Date in Weather History

The 1944 Great Atlantic hurricane was destructive and powerful and swept across a large portion of the US east coast in September 1944. The hurricane was infamous for the amount of damage it caused along the New Jersey coastline. The shore towns on Long Beach Island, Atlantic City and Cape May all suffered major damage. Rain totals of 7 inches occurred in Hartford Connecticut and the city of Bridgeport saw the greatest official total at 10.7 inches. Tobacco and fruit damage in Connecticut totaled to about $2 million, with similar overall damage costs occurring in Rhode Island. A total of 28 people died throughout New England as a result of the storm. The storm that was officially upgraded to a tropical system on September 9, 1944 would, in the next week result in one of the greatest destructive hurricanes on record for the resort beach towns of New Jersey.

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One of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history hit Galveston, Texas, on September 8, 1900, killing more than 6,000 people, many more likely perished, that is because the storm caused so much destruction on the Texas coast that reliable estimates of the number of victims are difficult to make. Some believe that as many as 12,000 people perished, which would make it the deadliest day in American history. 

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The summer of 1881 had been be brutally hot and dry across the Mid-west and into the eastern states. Because of the conditions and other factors massive forest fire had erupted in parts of Michigan early in September culminating in the Great Thumb fire in Michigan on 5 and 6th. It resulted in a yellow sky in the major eastern cities on September 6 because of the smoke and haze in the air. Strong, dry winds fueled the fire. No notable fires broke out in the east on September 7, 1881, but it sure felt like something was burning. Record heat scorched most of the big cities up and down the eastern seaboard setting record that still stand today almost 140 years later. The mercury soared to 101 degrees in New York City; 102 degrees in Boston, MA; 104 degrees in Washington DC a September record; 102 degrees in Philadelphia also a September record and the latest 100 degrees ever. 

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The Thumb Fire took place on September 5, 1881, in the Thumb area of Michigan. The fire burned over a million acres in less than a day, was the result of drought, hurricane forces winds, heat and that after effects of the Port Huron Fire of 1871 and the ecological damage wrought by the era's logging techniques. The blaze, also called the Great Thumb Fire, the Great Forest Fire of 1881 and the Huron Fire, killed 282 people in 4 counties in northeastern Michigan. The damage estimate was more than $2 million dollars or $100 million in 2020 dollars. The fire sent enough soot and ash up into the atmosphere that sunlight was partially obscured at many locations on the East Coast of the United States. In New England cities, the sky appeared yellow and projected a strange luminosity onto buildings and vegetation. Twilight appeared at 12 noon. September 6, 1881 immediately became known as Yellow Tuesday or Yellow Day due to the ominous nature of this atmospheric event.

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1925 was extremely dry across the southeastern part of the nation. In fact, the summer of 1925 was the driest on record in Alabama. The drought would only be equaled in some places by the Dust bowl days of the 1930s. The stage was set for the greatest September heatwave in Alabama history. Many cities would see their highest temperatures ever that September. That included Centreville, which set the state's all-time high temperature record at 112° F on Sept. 5, 1925.

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Tropical storm Norma formed off the west coast of Mexico just after the page of the calendar turned to September in 1970. By September 3rd it had reached minimal tropical storm force then was pulled inland after moving briefly up through the gulf of California. Its impacts were minimal in Mexico and many though the worst was over. It lost its circulation, but not it’s moisture. Heavy tropical moisture deep through the atmosphere came streaming northward into Arizona. The result was what is known as The Great Labor Day Storm of 1970.Severe flooding hit Arizona on September 4, 1970 that extended into the 5th.

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The strongest Hurricane of the 1935 Atlantic hurricane season formed from a slow-moving, weak disturbance east of the Bahamas on or around August 28, 1935. .On September 2, 1935, the hurricane reached its greatest intensity and made landfall later that night as a Category 5 storm, crossing the Florida Keys between Key West and Miami, FL. As it made landfall, it was packing sustained winds of 185 mph. The tracks of the Florida East Coast Railroad, the main transportation route linking the Keys to mainland Florida, were shifted off their roadbed and completely destroyed. The tracks were never rebuilt, as the railway now terminates in Miami. Fatalities throughout the Keys were significant. At least 409 people perished. 

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On, September 2, 1775, the Independence Hurricane hit the American colonies as the American Revolution was beginning. It would be the 8th deadliest Atlantic hurricane of all time. After dumping rain for a week, the hurricane landed in North Carolina and continued up the coast through Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. The storm was particularly devastating to the region's economy because it was harvest season. Many crops were still in the field and were completely destroyed.

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Yuma, Arizona is noted for its weather extremes. Of any populated place in the contiguous United States, Yuma is the driest, the sunniest, and the least humid, has the lowest frequency of precipitation, and has the highest number of days per year—175—with a daily maximum temperature of 90. Yuma features a hot desert climate, with extremely hot summers and warm winters.  On September 1, 1950 the temperature in Yuma reached 123 degrees – the highest temperature ever recorded in the United states in the month of September.

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During the summer of 1772 a young 17-year-old clerk was toiling in the West Indies on the Island of St. Croix. He had been born in poverty, but even at his young age had risen to be given responsibilities of management at the firm he clerked for. On August 31, 1772 as a powerful hurricane roared through the region. The clerk wrote a letter describing the storm that said in part: “It’s impossible for me to describe or you to form any idea of it. It seemed as if a total dissolution of nature was taking place.

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