Historical Weather Events

HISTORICAL WEATHER EVENTS - 8 July

From the files of the Aviation Weather Center, Kansas City, MO and Intellicast

...1680...The first confirmed tornado death in the present-day United States occurred in Cambridge, MA. The funnel was filled with, stones, bushes, and other things. The tornado also unroofed a barn and snapped many large trees. Other wind storms were recorded in the U.S. before 1680, but it is unknown if they were tornadoes or not. (National Weather Service files)
...1788...Hail fell at Canterbury, CT to a depth of 34 inches. Serious flooding resulted when it melted. (Intellicast)
...1890...An F1 tornado hit a dozen homes on the west side of Winthrop, ME. A woman was killed when the belfry of the neighboring church fell onto her home. (National Weather Service files)
...1935...Ten inches of rain at Cortland, NY in 48 hours caused damaging floods on the Susquehanna and Hudson River Valleys. (Intellicast)
...1816...Frost was reported in low places throughout New England. (David Ludlum)
...1975...Three people were killed and six others were injured when lightning struck a walnut tree near Mayo, FL. The nine people were stringing tobacco under a tin shed when the bolt hit the nearby tree. (The Weather Channel)
...1985...Santa Maria, CA reached a scorching 104 degrees, shattering the old record of 86 by 18 degrees! (Intellicast)
...1987...Thunderstorms in the central U.S. produced wind gusts to 90 mph at Waterloo, IA, 6.38 inches of rain at Tescott, KS, and twenty-five minutes of ping-pong ball size hail at Drummond, OK. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1988...Thirty cities in the north central and northeastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. Beckley, WV equaled their all-time record with a high of 93 degrees. Afternoon and evening thunderstorms spawned seven tornadoes in Adams and Logan counties of eastern Colorado, and hail caused 2.3 million dollars damage in Adams, Logan and Washington counties. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1989...Sixteen cities in the central and western U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. The high of 103 degrees at Denver, CO equaled their record for July, and a 110-degree reading at Rapid City, SD equaled their all-time record high. Denver reported a record five straight days of 100 degree heat, and Scottsbluff, NE reported a record eight days in a row of 100 degree weather. (The National Weather Summary)
...1992...Severe thunderstorms produced a very long downburst at Concordia, KS. Peak one minute sustained winds reached 108 mph at Concordia Airport and exceeded 60 mph for over 20 minutes. Six people were injured and damage estimated at $25 million (Intellicast)
...1999...Las Vegas, NV saw up to 3 inches of rain, about two-thirds of its annual rainfall amount, in a period of 90 minutes. Many roads were covered in much of the city, including the Strip, and damages totaled over $20 million. (National Weather Service files)
...2003...What may be the world's highest dew point temperature was recorded at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, on the Persian Gulf. A dew point of 95 degrees was recorded at 3 PM while the air temperature was 108 degrees. The apparent temperature at that time would have been 172 degrees. (National Weather Service files)