HISTORICAL WEATHER EVENTS - 15 August

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

• ...1787...Tornadoes were reported in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Wethersfield, CT was hard hit by the tornado outbreak. There, a woman and her family were caught in the open. She and her son were killed. Clothes from the family farm were carried three miles away. This event is regarded to be the most significant tornado outbreak in early New England history. (David Ludlum) (National Weather Service files)
• ...1946...Saint Louis, MO was deluged with a record 8.78 inches of rain in 24 hours. (The Weather Channel)
• ...1967...The "Sundance fire" in northern Idaho was started by lightning following one of the hottest and driest summers on record. Winds of 50 mph carried firebrands as much as ten miles in advance to ignite new fires, and as a result, the forest fire spread twenty miles across the Selkirk Mountains in just twelve hours, burning 56,000 acres. The heat of the fire produced whirlwinds of flame with winds up to 300 mph that flung giant trees about like matchsticks. (David Ludlum)
• ...1983...Hurricane Alicia formed on this day and was the costliest tropical cyclone in the Atlantic since Hurricane Agnes in 1972. It struck Galveston and Houston, Texas directly, causing $2.6 billion (1983 USD) in damage and killing 21 people. This is the worst Texas hurricane since Hurricane Carla in 1961. In addition, Alicia was the first billion-dollar tropical cyclone in Texas history. (National Weather Service files)
• ...1987...Thunderstorms developing ahead of a sharp cold front produced severe weather in the Upper Midwest during the afternoon and evening hours, with Minnesota and eastern South Dakota hardest hit. A thunderstorm in west central Minnesota spawned a tornado at Eagle Lake that killed one person and injured eight others. A thunderstorm in eastern South Dakota produced softball size hail at Warner. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• ...1988...Thirty-five cities in twenty states in the north central and northeastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date, including Lamoni, IA and Baltimore, MD, where the mercury hit 105 degrees. Temperatures 100 degrees or above were reported in twenty-two states. Pierre, SD was the hot spot in the nation with a high of 114 degrees. Bluefield, WV reported eight straight days of record heat. (The National Weather Summary)
• ...1989...Evening thunderstorms in eastern New Mexico produced wind gusts to 66 mph at Clovis. Evening thunderstorms in West Texas produced baseball size hail around Hereford, Dimmitt, Ware and Dalhart. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• ...1995...Apalachicola, FL soared to 103 degrees to set all-time high temperature. (Intellicast)