Historical Weather Events

HISTORICAL WEATHER EVENTS - 20 August

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

...1886...The town of Indianola, TX was completely destroyed by a hurricane, and never rebuilt. It was the fifth hurricane of the 1886 Atlantic hurricane season and one of the most intense hurricanes ever to hit the United States. (David Ludlum) (National Weather Service files)
...1904...A tornado killed 14 people in Minneapolis, MN. (Northern Indiana NWSFO)
...1910...The "big blow up" of forest fires finally ended in Idaho. A record dry August fueled 1736 fires that burned three million acres, destroying six billion board feet of timber. The fires claimed the lives of 85 persons, 78 of which were fire fighters, and consumed the entire town of Wallace. The smoke spread a third of the way around the world producing some dark days in the U.S. and Canada. The forest fires prompted federal fire protection laws. (David Ludlum)
...1969...Once super-hurricane Camille now only a tropical depression drifted slowly across the mid-Atlantic states, unloading a tremendous amount of rain in Virginia. Some areas reported 31 inches of rain in just 6 hours resulting in extreme flooding that killed 109. It was said to rain so hard that birds drowned while perched on tree branches. (Intellicast)
...1987...Half a dozen cities in the Central Plains Region reported record high temperatures for the date, including Pueblo, CO with a reading of 102 degrees, and Goodland, KS with a high of 104 degrees. Hill City, KS reached 106 degrees. (The National Weather Summary)
...1988...Sheridan, WY reported a record hot temperature reading of 100 degrees. Evening thunderstorms produced golf ball size hail near Fortuna, ND, and wind gusts to 70 mph near Webster, SD. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1989...Early morning thunderstorms produced heavy rain in southeast Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma, with up to six inches reported around Tulsa OK. Some roads in the Tulsa area were closed by water 10 to 12 feet deep. Evening thunderstorms produced severe weather in northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas. Thunderstorms produced winds gusts to 75 mph in Major County, OK, and hail two inches in diameter at Jennings, KS. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1994...The temperature at El Paso, TX hit 100 degrees for the 56^th time to set the record for most 100-degree days in a season. (Intellicast)