Chronology of Extreme Weather

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URL: http://kpolsson.com/weather/

References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2023 December 20.


1951

June 23
  • Most expensive US hailstorm (US$1.5 million crop damage and US$14 million property - Kansas). [1]
August 6
  • Typhoon floods kill 4,800 in Manchuria. [1]
August 17
  • Hurricane winds drive six ships ashore, at Kingston, Jamaica. [1]

1952

January 14
  • Snow storm in Sierra Nevada kills 26. [1]
March 16
  • Greatest 24-hour rainfall: 187 cm in Cilaos, Réunion, in the Indian Ocean. [1]
March 21
  • Tornadoes in Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama and Kentucky cause 343 deaths. [1]
August 15
  • 9 inches of rainfall creates a 20-foot wave in Lynmouth, England, killing 34. [1]

1953

January 31
  • Hurricane-like winds flood Netherlands drowning nearly 2,000. [1]
May 11
  • Tornado kills 114 in Waco, Texas, USA (US$39 million damage). [1]
June 8
  • Cluster of six tornadoes touch down in Flint, Michigan, USA killing 113. [1]
June 9
  • Tornado strikes Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, destroying Assumption College, killing 100. [1]
September 27
  • Typhoon destroys 1/3 of Nagoya, Japan. [1]
December 24
  • Wellington-Auckland (New Zealand) express train swept away in flood kills 166. [1]

1954

January 9
  • -87 degrees F (-66 degrees C), Northice Station, Greenland (Greenland record). [1]
January 11
  • Two-ton locomotive swept into ravine by avalanche - ten die (Austria). [1]
August 31
  • Hurricane Carol (first major named storm) hits New England, 70 die. [1]

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September 2
  • Hurricane Edna batters northeast US, killing 20. [1]
September 14
  • Hurricane Edna (second of 1954) hits New York City, causing US$50 million damage. [1]
September 26
  • Typhoon strikes Kakodate Bay, Japan, killing over 1,600. [1]
October 5
  • Hurricane Hazel hits Eastern US. [1]
October 18
  • Hurricane Hazel (third of 1954) becomes most severe to hit US. [1]

1955

May 25
  • Series of 19 twisters destroy Udall, Kansas, and most of Blackwell, Oklahoma. [1]
July 14
  • Two killed, many dazed when lightning strikes Ascott racetrack, England. [1]
August 3
  • Hurricane Connie begins pounding US for 11 days. [1]
August 17
  • Hurricane Diane, following hurricane Connie floods Connecticut River killing 190 and doing $1.8 billion damage. [1]

1956

May 12
  • East Pakistan is struck by cyclone and tidal waves. [1]
July 4
  • US most intense rainfall (1.23 inches in one minute) at Unionville, Maryland. [1]
October 20
  • 58 degrees F (15 degrees C), Esperanza Station, Antarctica (Antarctic record high). [1]

1957

June 27
  • 390 die by Hurricane Audrey in coastal Louisiana and Texas, USA. [1]

1958

April 2
  • Wind speed reaches 450 kph in tornado in Wichita Falls, Texas, USA (record). [1]
June 22
  • Game in Kansas City between Kansas City Athletics and Boston Red Sox delayed 29 minutes due to tornado. [1]
July 10
  • The highest tsunami wave ever recorded is at Lituya Bay, Alaska, at 524m high. [5]

1959

January 9
  • Dam across Tera River collapses after heavy winter rains, 135 die. [1]
February 10
  • Tornado in Saint Louis kills 19 and injures 265. [1]
September 17
  • Typhoon kills 2,000 in Japan and Korea. [1]
September 27
  • Typhoon Vera hits Japanese island of Honshu, kills nearly 5,000. [1]
October 27
  • Rare Pacific hurricane kills 2,000 in Western Mexico. [1]
December 16
  • Snow falling in Lowarai Pass, West Pakistan, kills 48. [1]

1960

August 24
  • A world-record low temperature (-88 degrees Celsuis, -127 degrees Fahrenheit) is measured in Vostok, Antarctica. [1] [5] [614.8]

1961

September 15
  • Hurricane Carla strikes Texas with winds of 175 mph. [1]

1962

February 17
  • Storm in Hamburg, Germany, kills 265. [1]

1963

May 28
  • Cyclone hits Chittagong, Bangladesh; estimated 22,000 die and one million houses destroyed. [1]
October 7
  • Hurricane Flora hits Haiti and Dominican Republic, kills 7,190. [1]
December 8
  • Three fuel tanks explode when jetliner is struck by lightning, crashing near Elkton Maryland; only case of lightning-caused crash, 81 die. [1]

1964

September 12
  • Typhoon Gloria strikes Taiwan killing 330, causing $17.5 million damage. [1]
December 23
  • India and Ceylon hit by cyclone, about 4,850 killed. [1]

1965

April 11
  • 40 tornadoes strike US midwest killing 272 and injuring 5,000. [1]
May 11
  • First of two cyclones in less than a month kills 35,000 in India. [1]
June 2
  • Second of two cyclones in less than a month kills 35,000 (Ganges River, India). [1]
September 12
  • Hurricane Betsy strikes Florida and Louisiana; kills 75. [1]
December 15
  • Third cyclone of year kills another 10,000 at mouth of Ganges River, Bangladesh. [1]

1966

January 11
  • 550 die in landslides in mountains behind Rio de Janeiro after rain. [1]
January 29
  • Snow storm in north-east US kills 165. [1]
March 3
  • Tornado hits Jackson, Mississippi; 3 minutes after first sighting, 57 die. [1]
March 5
  • 75-MPH air currents cause BOAC 707 crash above Mount Fuji, 124 die. [1]
November 4
  • Flooding of Arno River (Italy) destroys countless art works. [1]

1967

February 1
  • Severe brush fires in Tasmania destroy $11 million and 60 lives. [1]
September 20
  • Hurricane Beulah hits Texas-Mexican border, kills 38. [1]

1968

January 31
  • Record high barometric pressure (1083.8 mb, 32 inches), at Agata, USSR. [1]
May 15
  • A tornado strikes Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA, at 10 PM, killing 36. [1]

1969

April 14
  • Tornado strikes Dacca, East Pakistan, killing 540. [1]
April 23
  • Over 1000 square miles flooded in Shantung Province, China. [1]
August 22
  • Hurricane Camille strikes U.S. Gulf Coast; kills 255. [1]
December 8
  • Greek DC-6B crashes in storm at Athens, Greece; 93 killed. [1]

1970

February 11
  • 26.37 cm (10.38 inches) of rainfall, Mount Washington, New Hampshire (state 24-hour record). [1]
August 3
  • Hurricane "Celia" becomes most expensive Gulf storm in history. [1]
September 5
  • Estimated 15 cm (6 inches) of rainfall, Bug Point, Utah (state record). [1]
November 13
  • Cyclone kills estimated 300,000 in Chittagong, Bangladesh. [1]

1971

January 23
  • Prospect Creek Camp, Alaska, (north of Fairbanks) reaches a US record low temperature of -80 degrees F. [1] [32.23]
February 21
  • Series of tornadoes cuts through Mississippi and Louisiana killing 117. [1]
April 26
  • Heaviest rains ever in Bahia district of Brazil, 15 inches in 24 hours. [1]

1972

June 9
  • 14 inches of rain in six hours bursts Rapid City, South Dakota dam, drowns 200. [1]
June 23
  • Hurricane Agnes is costliest natural disaster in American history. [1]
July 22
  • 27.53 cm (10.84 inches) of rainfall, Fort Ripley, Minnesota (state 24-hour record). [1]

1973

July 7
  • 78 drown as flash flood sweeps a bus into a river (India). [1]
July 23
  • Ozark Air Lines' plane knocked out of the air by lightning over Saint Louis - 36 die. [1]

1974

January 5
  • In Vanda Station, Scott Coast, an Antarctican record hot temperature of 59 degrees F is recorded. [54]
April 3
  • In the USA, 148 tornadoes are reported over an area covering a dozen states in the east, south and midwest killed approximately 315. [1]
September 18
  • Hurricane Fifi strikes Honduras with 110 mph winds, 5,000 die. [1]
December 25
  • Cyclone Tracy virtually destroys Darwin, Australia. [1]

1975

May 6
  • Early warnings provided by REACT (ham radio operators) means only three people die in tornado that strikes Omaha, Nebraska. [1]
May 13
  • Hail stones as large as tennis balls hit Wernerville, Tennessee. [1]
June 28
  • Golfer Lee Trevino is struck by lightning at Western Open (Illinois). [1]
June 29
  • 20.57 cm (8.10 inches) of rainfall, Litchville, North Dakota (state 24-hour record). [1]
July 7
  • Juneau, Alaska, reaches a record high temperature: 90 degrees F. [32.22]
July 13
  • 8.5 inches (21.6 cm) of rainfall in Dover, Delaware (US state record). [1]
September 30
  • Five drown in flash flood of sewer and water tunnel (Niagara Falls, New York). [1]
November 10
  • Ore ship Edmund Fitzgerald and crew of 29 lost in storm on Lake Superior. [1]

1977

January 19
  • Rare snow flurries in southeast Florida, USA. [290.15]
February 1
  • Heavy blizzard in New England claims 100 lives. [1]
July 20
  • Flash flood hits Johnstown, Pennsylvania, kills 80 and causing US$350 million damage. [1]

1978

January 25
  • (to January 27) The Great Blizzard of 1978 strikes the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes, killing 70. [841]
February 5
  • (to February 7) The Northeastern United States blizzard of 1978 hits the New England region and the New York metropolitan area, killing about 100 and causing over US$520 million in damage. [841]

1979

January 12
  • Record blizzard strikes American midwest killing over 100. [1]
February 13
  • Intense windstorm strikes western Washington State and sinks a 1/2-mile-long section of the Hood Canal Bridge. [1] [840]
February 18
  • -52 degrees F (-47 degrees C), Old Forge, New York (state record). [1]
  • The African Sahara Desert experiences snow for 30 minutes. [1] [840]
April 10
  • A tornado hits Wichita Falls, Texas, killing 42 people (the most notable of 26 tornadoes that day). [840]
May 17
  • -12 degrees F (-11 degrees C), on top of Mauna Kea, Hawaii (state record). [1] [54]
July 26
  • Estimated 109 cm (43 inches) of rain falls in Alvin, Texas (national record). [1]
August 14
  • A freak storm during the Fastnet Race results in the death of 15 sailors. [840]
September 3
  • Hurricane David, a strong Atlantic storm, kills over 1,000. [1]
September 12
  • Hurricane Frederic makes landfall at 10:00 p.m. on Alabama's Gulf Coast. [840]
October 3
  • A EF4 Tornado hits Windsor Locks, Connecticut, USA causing extensive damage to the town. [840]
October 16
  • A tsunami in Nice, France kills 23 people. [840]
October 19
  • 13 US Marines die in a fire at Camp Fuji, Japan as a result of Typhoon Tip. [840]

End of 1951-1979. Next: 1980.

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580-1899 1900-1950 1951-1979 1980-1999 2000-end


A list of references to all source material is available.


Last updated: 2023 December 20.
Copyright © 2007-2024 Ken Polsson (email: ken@kpolsson.com).
URL: http://kpolsson.com/weather/
Link to Ken P's home page.

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