Sunday,  Sept.. 08, 2013 • Vol. 15--No. 55 • 12 of 32

Today in Weather History

1959: High winds and areas of blowing dust occurred across parts of central South Dakota from Walworth to Mellette. During the evening, wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph affected the counties either side of the Missouri River. Low visibility in blowing dust was blamed for a four-car crash near Pierre, injuring five persons, another accident near Mobridge injured one person. Barn buildings were blown over or unroofed near Delmont in Douglas County. Lightning started grass fires and burned several thousand acres of rangeland in Mellete and Lyman counties.
1977: In the late afternoon, high winds associated with a cold front gusted to 70 mph and destroyed six buildings on a farm north and east of Reliance. At 500 pm, winds ripped a camper off a pickup truck 12 miles south of Pierre. Winds were measured at 68 mph at Pierre. At 6 pm cdt, winds gusting to 70 mph damaged many trees in the Watertown area, power lines, and some buildings. A trailer and truck, twelve miles north of Watertown, were blown over while traveling on Interstate 29. A large oil tank was also destroyed. At Rapid City, the winds gusted to 75 mph around noon mdt with many trees downed. Also, some buildings had windows broken and roofs damaged with a mobile home overturned. There were minor reports of damage from a number of counties, mostly in the eastern part of the state. The damage was the result of high winds with a cold front which crossed the state during the afternoon and evening of the 8th. The strong winds also caused blowing dust in the western part of the state resulting in the several accidents.
1885: Several F2 and F3 tornadoes struck Michigan and Ohio. Washington Court House, OH was hardest hit, where 300 buildings were destroyed. The town square was ruined and 200 homes were lost. Shingles were blown 14 miles downwind.
1900: The greatest weather disaster in U.S. history occurred when a hurricane struck Galveston, TX. A tide 15 feet high washed over the island demolishing or carrying away buildings, and drowning more than 6000 people. The hurricane destroyed more than 3600 houses, and total damage was more than $30 million. Winds to 120 mph and a 20 foot storm surge accompanied the hurricane. Following the storm, the surf was three hundred feet inland from the former water line. The hurricane claimed another 1200 lives outside of the Galveston area.
1965: Hurricane Betsy crossed the Florida Keys during the early morning hours. Winds were estimated at 125 mph with gusts to 165 mph at Big Pine Key.
• 2004: President George Bush visited the National Hurricane Center in Miami, FL making it the first time that a Commander in Chief had visited the facility.
2011: The remnants of Tropical Storm Lee brought copious amounts of rainfall to the eastern United States. Eastern Pennsylvania was especially hard hit, where several locations received over a foot of rain (15.20" at Elizabethtown over a span of five days) and the Susquehanna River set a record stage of 32.8 feet at Bloomsburg (nearly 14 feet over flood stage).

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