Friday Daily Summary

DATASTREME ATMOSPHERE DAILY SUMMARY

Friday, 3 July 2009

This DataStreme Atmosphere Daily Summary contains Historical Weather Events for this date. A sample DataStreme Daily Summary similar to those that appear when the DataStreme course is being offered is available via the homepage. The latest weather information on the DataStreme Atmosphere homepage will continue to be updated. We are suggesting that persons looking for an alternative national weather summary might try:

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/default.htm (USA Today)
or
http://www.weather.com/newscenter/nationalforecast/index.html (The Weather Channel)

DataStreme Atmosphere Daily Summaries and Investigation files will return with the Fall 2009 DataStreme Atmosphere course during Preview Week on Monday, 31 August 2009.

Happy 4th! Tomorrow (Saturday 4 July 2009) is a Federal holiday. Have a safe and joyous holiday!
Way out there!...The earth reaches aphelion, the point in its annual orbit when it is farthest from the sun early this morning (officially at 08Z on Friday, 4 July 2008, which is equivalent to 3 AM EDT or 2 AM CDT). 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 on the early evening of 2 January.

HISTORICAL WEATHER EVENTS - 3 July

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

The "Dog Days" traditionally begin this day of the year. The hot weather period received its name from Sirius, the brightest visible star in the sky and known as the dog star. Sirius rises in the east at the same time as the sun this time of the year. (The Weather Channel)
...1966...The northeastern U.S. was in the midst of a sweltering heat wave. The temperature at Philadelphia reached 104 degrees for a second day. Afternoon highs of 102 degrees at Hartford, CT, 105 degrees at Allentown, PA, and 107 degrees at La Guardia Airport in New York City established all-time records for those two locations. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
...1987...Lightning struck and killed three men playing golf on a course near Kingsport, TN. The three men had sought shelter from the rain under a tall tree on a small hill. Showers and thunderstorms produced heavy rain in New Jersey, with 5.2 inches reported at Trenton State College. (The National Weather Summary)
...1988...Thunderstorms around Fort Worth, TX produced wind gusts to 76 mph at Burleson, along with two inches of rain in thirty minutes. The record low of 46 degrees at Youngstown, OH was their sixth in a row. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1989...Showers and thunderstorms produced locally heavy rain in the eastern U.S. Bowling Green, KY was soaked with 4.99 inches of rain during the morning hours, and up to ten inches of rain deluged Oconee County, SC. The temperature at Alamosa, CO soared to a record warm reading of 91 degrees, following a record low of 35 degrees the previous day. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

4 July

...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)
...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)
...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.crh.noaa.gov/grb/events/070477.php)
...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)

5 July

...1882...A trace of snow was reported at Newton, NJ and other parts of the Northeast. (Intellicast)
...1891...Sixteen horses were killed by hail, and many more have to be put to death due to injuries from a hailstorm at Rapid City, SD. (The Weather Channel)
...1900...A spectacular three-day fire began when a bolt of lightning struck the Standard Oil refinery in Bayonne, NJ. Damages were over $2 million. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
...1904...One million dollars in damage resulted from a powerful thunderstorm over Boston Harbor. (Intellicast)
...1916...An early season hurricane produced 82 mph winds, an 11.6 foot tide, and a barometric pressure of 28.92 inches at Mobile, AL. (David Ludlum)
...1936...The all-time state record high of 120 degrees was set at Gann Valley, SD. (Intellicast)
...1937...The temperature at Medicine Lake, MT soared to 117 degrees to establish a state record. (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders - 1987)
Midale and Yellow Grass in Saskatchewan hit 113 degrees to establish an all-time record high for Canada that same day. (The Weather Channel)
...1970...The morning low at Death Valley, CA was 103 degrees, and the high that afternoon was 120 degrees. (The Weather Channel)
...1985...The temperature at St. George, UT reached 117 degrees, setting a record high temperature for the Beehive State. (NCDC)
...1986... The low temperature at Boise, ID dropped to a crisp 35 degrees, the coldest ever for the month. (Intellicast)
...1987...Severe thunderstorms raked south central Kansas for the second morning in a row. Thunderstorm winds again gusted to 80 mph at Clearwater, and in the Wichita area reached 100 mph. Twenty-five persons were injured at a trailer park at El Dorado Lake. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1988...Afternoon and evening thunderstorms spawned eleven tornadoes in Montana and three in North Dakota. Baseball size hail was reported at Shonkin, MT, and wind gusts to 85 mph were reported south of Fordville, ND. Twenty cities in the north central U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date, including Fargo, ND with a reading of 106 degrees. Muskegon, MI equaled their July record with a high of 95 degrees. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1989...Moisture from what once was Tropical Storm Allison triggered thunderstorms over the Middle Atlantic Coast Region, which deluged Wilmington, DE with a record 6.83 inches of rain in 24 hours, including 6.37 inches in just six hours. Up to ten inches of rain was reported at Claymont, northeast of Wilmington. July 1989 was thus the wettest month in seventy years for Wilmington, with a total of 12.63 inches of rain. Alamosa, CO reported an all-time record high of 94 degrees, and Pierre, SD hit 113 degrees. Denver, CO reached 101 degrees, topping 100 for the second straight day, only happened once before in 1972(The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (Intellicast)
...1993...Heavy rains deluged the Central Plains as one of the greatest floods in U.S. history began to unfold. Twenty-four hour totals included 5.90 inches at Columbia, IA, 5.15 inches at Centralia, KS and 4.80 inches at Haddam, KS. (Intellicast)