ON THIS DATE IN 1950: Alabamians paid little attention to the weather forecast on Thanksgiving morning, November 23, 1950. The Birmingham News carried a lead article about the many blessings of the day, including bountiful food, talking about the day’s candied yams, crisp white celery, plump olives and a golden brown roasted turkey. Headlines told […]
The Labor Day Hurricane is the strongest hurricane ever to strike the United States. It devastated the Florida Keys on this date in 1935.
On this date in 1945, fog and pilot error caused a horrific crash in New York City.
58 people were killed by a violent F5 tornado that struck Mississippi on this date in 1966. It is so named because it killed 12 at the Candlestick Shopping Mall in Jackson.
What is the greatest song of your generation? The song that made you think, or was an instrument of change? The song that defined a time period? For the era of the fifties and sixties, I would have to argue that it was the 1971 epic Ameican Pie by songwriter and singer Don McLean. It was based on a weather related plane crash that occurred on this date in 1959.
On this date in 1982, Alabama was reeling from one of its worst ice storms ever when the same storm system caused a deadly plane crash in Washington, D.C.
2018 was an active weather year across Central Alabama, and it is still not finished. The year started off with parts of the area in a severe drought, but severe storms, a little snow, and a major destructive hurricane kept us busy throughout the year.
A wake low and gravity wave event caused high winds across Central Alabama on the evening of Saturday, December 8th. The strong winds downed numerous trees. These events are hard to forecast and poorly understood but underscore the importance of paying heed to wind advisories and warnings.
The 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season will be remembered for Hurricane Michael and Hurricane Florence.
A second day of tornadoes raked Alabama, including the Birmingham Metro area, on this date in 1957.
On this date 49 years ago, residents along the Mississippi Gulf Coast were waking up to the surprising news that one of the strongest hurricanes in history was heading their way.
The Durango and Silverton train is an important part of tourism in southwestern Colorado, but questions have been raised after speculation that the train’s hot cinders may have caused the 416 fire that has been burning in the San Juan Mountains since June 1st. The cause of the fire is officially still under investigation.
There was no working siren in Siren, Wisconsin on this date in 2001 when an F3 struck the town. Would it have made a difference?
James Spann
@spann
