This Date in Weather History

1888 was a year of extremes across the United States, of course the famed Blizzard of ’88 in March in the Northeast brought heavy snows and blinding visibility and hundreds of deaths in the worst March snowstorm in that region since unofficial records began before the Revolutionary War. The crazy weather continued and not only in the northeast. It would come to pass that on July 11, 1888 a high amplitude or high wave pattern would establish itself in the high atmosphere where the jet stream steers storms and other weather systems. In the western states the jet stream pulled way north into Canada and pumped up high heat and humidity all the way from Mexico. Meanwhile in the East the jet stream plunged southward toward Georgia and brought record cold and storminess. On July 11, under that western heat, the temperature in Bennett, Colorado reached 118 degrees, still listed as a state record. In the East heavy rains on the Monongahela River caused a flash flood as the water rose a whopping 32 feet in less that 24 hours. Meanwhile on the same day, July 11, 1888, along the Presidential range in New Hampshire heavy snow blanked the peaks like Mt Washington and some snow reached all the way down to the base of those mountains.

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July 10, 1926: A bolt of lightning at the Picatinny Army Arsenal in northern NJ triggered a massive explosion in an ammunition dump on July 10, 1926, triggering three major explosions within half an hour in the early evening hours that killed 22 people and injuring dozens more. The Morris County, NJ News reports that the historic fire of 1926 raged throughout the night, fueled by exploding military shells that set more fires across the landscape surrounding the 6,400-acre base in Morris County. For the next three days, a series of minor explosions followed as the blaze devoured much of the base. The remaining flames were finally doused by rain on July 13. The initial blasts at the Arsenal depot, could be felt as far as 30 miles away. Every building within a half mile was leveled by the blast. Debris landed as far as 22 miles away and over 100 million of 2020 dollars of damage was done. This is the costliest damage due to lightning in the United States. In an odd twist an "unexploded ordnance" unearthed in late February of 2020 at a Picatinny Arsenal site was a relic from a deadly explosion that rocked the military munitions base nearly a century ago.

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July 9, 1936: 1936 was the epicenter of the worst heatwave in American history. The Old Farmers Almanac reports that even on the “cool” eastern seaboard in July of 1936, it was the heat wave that made the news. The heat wave had interesting impacts, In Boston, the price of cream skyrocketed as the combination of the drought in the Midwest and the hot weather in the East made for a “very short cream market.” Wholesale prices rose from $11 for a 40-quart can of cream in 1935 to $17.28 a can in July of 1936. Central Park in New York City hit 106°F on July 9. That still stands as the all-time record today. The next day, Waterbury, Connecticut, saw 103°F, while many other New England towns hit over 100°F. Those who could left the steaming asphalt of the cities. Others stood under sprinklers or slept on roofs. In New York City, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia declared public beaches open all night for the duration, promising not to arrest anyone. City swimming pools lengthened their hours. Nearly 1,000 deaths occurred nationwide—76 in New York City—were attributed to the 10-day heat wave, some from heat stroke or lung ailments, others from accidental drownings as non-swimmers desperately attempted to cool off. Canadian towns and cities also felt the severity of the sun. Ontario alone marked over 500 deaths from the heat.

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July 8, 1936: The "Dust Bowl" years of 1930-36 brought some of the hottest summers on record to the United States, especially across the Plains, Upper Midwest and Great Lake States. For the Upper Mississippi River Valley, the first few weeks of July 1936 provided the hottest temperatures of that period, including many all-time record highs the string of hot, dry days was also deadly. Nationally, around 5000 deaths were associated with the heat wave. In La Crosse, WI, there were 14 consecutive days (July 5th-18th) where the high temperature was 90 degrees or greater, and 9 days that were at or above 100°F. Six record July temperatures set during this time still stand, including the hottest day on record with 108°F on the 14th. The average high temperature for La Crosse during this stretch of extreme heat was 101°F. Several factors led to the deadly heat of July 1936; A series of droughts affected the U.S. during the early 1930s. The lack of rain parched the earth and killed vegetation, especially across the Plains states. Poor land management (farming techniques) across the Plains furthered the impact of the drought, with lush wheat fields becoming barren waste lands. Without the vegetation and soil moisture, the Plains acted as a furnace. The climate of that region took on desert qualities, accentuating its capacity to produce heat. On the night of July 8th, 1936 temperatures across most of the state did not drop below 90, setting records to high, low temperatures. For the summer as a while near Erie PA is it reported that 40 acres produced only 1 load of hay all summer when a normal year can produce 7-10 loads. 

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July 7, 1976: After a sweltering heat wave held the Eastern United States in its grip for Bi-Centennial celebrations in early July of 1976 a strong frontal system approached the region on July 7th. Severe thunderstorms developed and ripper across the New York City area. Two tornadoes tore through the heavily populated area of northern New Jersey, skirting the Statue of Liberty where days before tens of thousands of people had gathered for July 4th and near 11 tall ships at anchor for the Bi-Centennial celebration. One of the tornadoes lasted nearly 8 minutes before it dissolved back into a thunderstorm. Only 3 people were injured, but property damage ranged from over turned tractor-trailers to torn roofs, and entire walls ripped away from buildings. Another funnel cloud was reported near Coney Island. 

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July 6, 1928: The Village of Potter, Nebraska was established as the railroad progressed westward. In 1870, Union Pacific built a station house and it served as the post office, the schoolhouse and the land development office. It was the only building build for several years. Potter has grown slowly over the last 150 years with less than 400 residents in 2020. Nature.com reports that a remarkable hailstorm occurred on July 6, 1928 in Potter during which hailstones “as large as grapefruit” fell, one of which measured 17 inches in circumference and weighed 1½ pounds. This appears to be the largest single hailstone of which there is authentic record. The stones could be heard hissing through the air, and when they fell on ploughed or soft ground they completely buried themselves. Luckily the hailstorm just missed the town itself – impacting fields and grazing land. Very little damage was done by these stones beyond the unroofing of a few houses, as they fell 10–15 feet apart.

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New Jersey.com reports that The Standard Oil refinery fire, at Constable Hook in Bayonne, began during a thunderstorm at 12:30 a.m. on July 5, 1900. Lightning reportedly struck the Bay View tavern and boarding house, sending flames to the nearby oil fields and setting off explosions in three storage tanks, each having a capacity of 40,000 barrels of oil. High-reaching flames and dark smoke soared to the sky with a 20-mile range of visibility. Firefighting materials and water had been under stress due to the fact that the leading up to the fire had featured 90-degree temperatures, sweltering humidity, and shifting winds that had started on July 4th. Within minutes after the fire began, the company siren sounded, bringing its own fire department and tugboats into action. Their strategy was to contain the fire, allowing the spillover of heated oil from the storage tanks to burn off. As firemen directed their hoses to cool the burning tanks with streams of water, employees at pumping stations siphoned off the oil into empty storage tanks. The tugboats moved the company ships and oil-filled barges away from its burning docks to safe waters. The placement of log "booms," forming a floating barrier, to protect New York Bay and the digging of trenches to receive the flowing burning oil were among the other tactics used to stem the fire. Bayonne's entire volunteer fire department joined in the exhausting effort with re-enforcements from Jersey City and Staten Island. Despite the constant intense heat, thousands of spectators flocked to the hazardous site arriving by foot, bicycles, crowded cars, trolleys and ferries. Finally, after 70 hours, on July 7 at 10:30 p.m., the fire burned out. It left behind a reported 19 injured and costs amounting to $2.5 million.

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July 4, 1776: The Declaration of Independence was formally adopted by the Continental Congees on July 4th 1776 in Philadelphia. It was a relatively pleasant summer day in Philadelphia. The normal high temperature is 87, but observations recorded that day showed no temperature above 76. We can primary thank Thomas Jefferson for the weather report of the day, in addition to his other duties of helping to write the Declaration and work for its adoption of the 4th. According to the website Monticello.org Thomas Jefferson liked to take at least two weather observations per day. One would happen around sunrise, so he could log the low temperature of the day, and another was between 3 and 4 p.m. when the high temperature usually occurred. He would also list remarks like cloud cover, precipitation and whether or not it was humid. According to the American Museum of Natural History, Jefferson recorded in his weather journal for July 4, 1776, that he woke up to find that the temperature at 6 a.m. was 68 degrees. At 9 a.m., the temperature was up to 72 degrees, and at 1 p.m. it was 76 degrees. When Jefferson arrived in Philadelphia he was unhappy with the thermometer he brought with him from Virginia and the story goes that he purchased a new one in the early days of July 1776. The weather recorded leading up the July 4th, had been hot and humid with temperatures well up in the 80s, but the cooler weather prevailed on the 4th.

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Considered one of the turning points of the American Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg is said to be the bloodiest battle ever fought on American soil. Fought in Gettysburg, Pa., July 1 through 3 in 1863, historians put the number of causalities and missing Union and Confederate soldiers at 46,286. Bayonets, rifled muskets, cannons and infections all contributed to the carnage. AccuWeather.com reports that the weather, however, created causalities as well. A Gettysburg man, Dr. Michael Jacobs, a math professor at what was then called Pennsylvania College, had a strong interest in weather and recorded his observations three times a day, every day, even during the battle. Ben Neely, Executive Director at the Adams County, Pennsylvania Historical Society, emphasized that the most damaging aspect of the weather actually occurred July 4, the day after the battle. Rain fell across the area for most of the day, Rev. Dr. Jacobs put the total at more than an inch. While wounded still lay on the field, some may have felt welcomed by the break in action. Some wounded soldiers had still not been moved from low-lying areas by the Plum Run Creek, however, which overflowed its banks. The wounded soldiers who were near the flood waters, reportedly all Confederate, drowned. According to Civil Way historian and retired AccuWeather team member, Dr. Lee Rainey, an even larger issue that was faced as a result of the rain was the retreat attempts made by the Confederate Army on July 4. "They had to move a 17-mile long train of wagons filled with wounded soldiers over the dissolving dirt roads back to Virginia, " he said. "And the rains caused the Potomac River - easily fordable on the march north - to flow so high that the army was trapped on the north side with the Union forces in pursuit. The Confederates dug in for a desperate battle, but in the end were able to escape across the river on the 13th, the day before Meade's planned attack." The days leading up to that point were not without tragedy as fighting consumed the fields of the Pennsylvania town. For its part, the weather was more cooperative at the battle's start. July 1, the first day fighting began, had a sky covered by puffy white clouds all day. The breeze was typically southerly at only 2 mph; the afternoon temperature was a comfortable 76 degrees. The second day started with similar cloud cover, but clouds increased by the afternoon, when temperatures went up to 81. Likewise, the cloud cover started the third day and cleared considerably by the afternoon. The clouds that remained, however, was the "massive thunder-cloud of summer." A thunderstorm started around 6 p.m. EDT. "The thunder seemed tame, after the artillery firing of the afternoon," Rev. Dr. Jacobs wrote.

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The 1980 United States heat wave was a period of intense heat and drought that wreaked havoc on much of the Midwestern United States and the Southern Plains throughout the summer of 1980. It is among the most devastating natural disasters in terms of deaths and destruction in U.S. history, claiming at least 1,700 lives and because of the massive drought, agricultural damage reached $20 billion or more than $60 billion in 2020 dollars. The Heat Wave got started in the end of June 1980 and by July 2nd was in full swing. In Wichita Falls, Texas the temperatures reached 114 degrees, breaking old record by an incredible 10 degrees. It was the 9th consecutive day of 100 degrees plus. Many other cities in Texas reached or exceeded 100 degrees every day for more than a week. In fact, in Dallas a new record high was set for the month of July at 110 degrees. July 2, 1980 marked the 10th consecutive day of record high temperatures in Dallas.

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