HISTORICAL WEATHER EVENTS - 4 July

• Happy 4th! Today, 4 July 2016, is a Federal holiday. Have a safe and joyous holiday! From the staff of AMS Education Program.
• Way out there!...The earth reaches aphelion, the point in its annual orbit when it is farthest from the sun during the midday hours of today (officially at 1624Z on Monday,4 July 2016, which is equivalent to 12:24 PM EDT or 11:24 AM CDT, etc.). At aphelion, the earth-sun distance is 152,089,000 km, or 3.4% greater than the distance at perihelion, the smallest earth-sun distance, which occurred earlier this year during the afternoon of 2 January 2016.

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

• ...1776...Thomas Jefferson paid for his first thermometer, and signed the Declaration of Independence. According to his weather memorandum book, at 2 PM it was cloudy and 76 degrees. (David Ludlum)
• ...1874...Tornadoes hit the Washington-Baltimore areas causing minor damage. A more significant tornado hit Lewistown, PA killing 8 people. (Intellicast)
• ...1876...Severe thunderstorms hit the Midwest and a dam failed at Rockdale, IL. Flood destroyed a railroad bridge and swept through the town. Forty-two people perished. (Intellicast)
• ...1898...Hampton Beach, NH experienced a tornado that killed three and injured 120. (Intellicast)
• ...1911...The northeastern U.S. experienced sweltering 100 degree heat. The temperature soared to 105 degrees at Vernon, VT and North Bridgton, ME, and to 106 degrees at Nashua, NH, to establish all-time records for those three states. Afternoon highs of 104 degrees at Boston, MA, 104 at Albany, NY, and 103 at Portland, ME, were all-time records for those three cities. (The Weather Channel)
• ...1932...A massive F4 tornado struck Washington, KS destroying 50 homes and killing five. (Intellicast)
• ...1956...A world record for the most rain in one minute was set at Unionville, MD with a downpour of 1.23 inches. (The Weather Channel) (The National Severe Storms Forecast Center)
• Revise -- 4 July 1969 → A line of powerful storms brought 105 mph winds to northeast Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania right at fireworks time. Wind speeds hit 104 mph in Toledo (where 5,000 trees were blown down) and 100 mph in Cleveland. Eighteen people were killed. (National Weather Service files)
  ...1969...Severe thunderstorms produced winds to over 100 mph and very heavy rains across northern Ohio. From 4 to 15 inches of rain fell from late evening into the next morning producing major flash flooding. Forty-one were killed, 559 injuries and damage exceeded $66 million. (Intellicast)
• Revise 4 July 1977 → An intense squall line, or derecho, brought 115 mph winds to northern Wisconsin as the storms traveled from Minnesota to Lake Erie. A tremendous amount of forest was destroyed during the "blowdown." (National Weather Service files)
  ...1977...A severe thunderstorm produced downburst winds up to 135 mph across northern Wisconsin producing a damage path 166 miles long and up to 17 miles wide. One person was killed and 35 were injured. Total damage was $24 million. (Intellicast)
  Editor's Note: See a narrative with images of this storm that was studied by T. Fujita as prepared by the NWS Office at Green Bay, WI (http://www.weather.gov/grb/070477_downburst)
• ...1978...A violent F4 tornado tracked across 28 miles through Grant County in North Dakota in one hour killing 5 people in the town of Elgin. (Intellicast)
• ...1987...Thunderstorms around the country provided extra fireworks for Independence Day. Thunderstorms produced wind gusts to 82 mph at Clearwater, KS, eight inches of rain in four hours at Menno, SD and three inches of rain in just fifteen minutes at Austin, KY. Morning thunderstorms drenched Oneonta, AL with 8.6 inches of rain, their greatest 24 hour total in thirty years of records. The heavy rain caused mudslides and serious flooding, claiming two lives. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• ...1988...Thunderstorms produced heavy rain over the Central Gulf Coast Region for the second day in a row. Monroe, LA was deluged with 3.75 inches in two hours. Aberdeen, SD and Rapid City, SD reported record high temperatures for the date, with readings of 105 degrees. (The National Weather Summary)
• ...1989...Independence Day was "hot as a firecracker" across parts of the country. Nineteen cities, mostly in the north central U.S., reported record high temperatures for the date, including Williston, ND with a reading of 107 degrees. In the southwestern U.S., highs of 93 at Alamosa, CO, 114 at Tucson, AZ, and 118 at Phoenix, AZ, equaled all-time records for those locations. (The National Weather Summary)
• 4 July 1999 → A squall line with winds of 90 to 100 mph began in North Dakota and roared east all the way to Maine by the morning of the 5th. Huge swaths of forest were blown down. (National Weather Service files)