Weather trivia for June

Jun 1, 1980
A man from Falmouth ME was struck by lightning restoring his eyesight.
The man had been blind and partially deaf since a truck accident in 1971.


Jun 2, 1917
The low of 36 degrees established the record low for the month of June at
Dodge City.
In 1929...Originating 6 miles west of Hardtner Kansas, this spectacular
tornado moved very slowly east becoming the most photographed tornado to
date. Visible for 30 miles in all directions, the tornado eventually struck
the northwest edge of Hardtner but did only minor roof damage.


Jun 3, 1921
A cloudburst near Pikes Peak Colorado killed 120 people. Pueblo
Colorado was flooded by a twenty five foot crest of the Arkansas River,
killing 70 persons. Fourteen inches of rain was reported at Boggs Flat,
where a hard surface road through nearly level country was washed out
to a depth of seven feet.
IN 1959...Thunderstorms in northwestern Kansas produced up to 18 inches
of hail near Selden during the early evening. Crops were completely
destroyed, and total damage from the storm was about half a million dollars.
Hail fell for a record 85 minutes. The temperature dropped from near 80
degrees prior to the storm to 38 degrees at the height of the storm.


Jun 4, 1860
Iowa's "Comanche Tornado", with wind speeds estimated in excess of 300 mph,
was unquestionably one of the worst experienced by early settlers, with
nearly a million dollars damage.
IN 1989...Thunderstorms produced locally heavy rains of up to 5 inches in two
hours that caused flooding in some areas of northwest Ford county and
eastern Finney County. Kalvesta in eastern Finney county reported that
several fences were washed away and highway 156 was closed for a few
hours because of high water. Dodge City also received heavy rains that
washed several cars off roadways. One man nearly drowned as the flood
waters carried him nearly two blocks after he got out of his car and
tried to walk through running water. No major damage was reported in
Dodge City.


Jun 5, 1916
A tornado struck the town of Warren AR killing 83 persons. There were 125
deaths that day in a tornado outbreak across Missouri and Arkansas.
IN 1917...Residents near Topeka Kansas reported disk shaped hailstones six to
ten inches in diameter, and two to three inches thick. The hailstorm
was accompanied by a tornado.
IN 1991...In Ulysses KS, lightning struck a radio tower at the county law
enforcement center damaging part of the computer paging system and radio
communications.


Jun 6, 1989
Severe thunderstorms developed across southwest Kansas and spawned
several tornadoes and produced large hail. A large tornado touched
down northwest of Liberal and then moved south southeast, just passing
west of the town. The tornado did considerable damage to farmsteads and
irrigation systems in its path. Large hail, up to baseball size, also
did considerable damage to automobiles and broke out windows in homes.
Crop damage was extensive in the area from the hail.
IN 1994...In west central Kansas, hail five inches in diameter, knocked
holes in roofs and damaged windshields and farm machinery 7 miles south
of Tribune.


Jun 7, 1941
In Copeland KS, one home was unroofed by a tornado, and many other homes
had roof damage and/or porches torn off.
IN 1989...In Southwest Kansas, heavy rains of 3 to 5 inches fell across Grant
county, producing flash flooding across the area. Many roads were
washed out and extensive crop damage was reported. The town of Ulysses
received widespread flooding.


Jun 8, 1953
The worst tornado of record for the state of Michigan killed 116 persons.
Flint MI was hardest hit. The tornado, half a mile in width, destroyed 200
homes on Coldwater Road killing entire families.
IN 1966...A tornado ripped through the heart of the capitol city of Topeka
Kansas killing sixteen persons and causing 100 million dollars damage. The
tornado, which struck during the evening, cut a swath of near total
destruction eight miles long and four blocks wide. It was the most
destructive tornado of record up until that time.


Jun 9, 1953
A tornado hit the town of Worcester MA killing ninety persons. The tornado
mangled steel towers built to withstand winds of 375 mph. The tornado, up
to a mile in width at times, tracked 46 miles through Worcester County.
Debris from the tornado fell in the Boston area, and adjacent Atlantic Ocean.
IN 1972...A cloudburst along the eastern slopes of the Black Hills of South
Dakota produced as much as 14 inches of rain resulting in the Rapid
City flash flood disaster. The rains, which fell in about four
hours time, caused the Canyon Lake Dam to collapse. A wall of water
swept through the city drowning 237 persons, and causing more than
100 million dollars property damage.


Jun 10, 1752
It is believed that this was the day Benjamin Franklin narrowly missed
electrocution while flying a kite during a thunderstorm to determine if
lightning is related to electricity.
IN 1958...A woman was sucked through the window of her home in El Dorado
Kansas by a powerful tornado, and was carried sixty feet away. Beside
her was found a broken phonograph record entitled "Stormy Weather."
IN 1994...During the early morning hours, baseball size hail broke house
windows in south Liberal.
IN 2002...Thunderstorm winds blew the roof off a hanger at the Dodge City
airport. A wind gust to 96 miles per hour was recorded by a backup
wind system.


Jun 11, 1915
A tornado moved slowly northeast from southwest of Mullinville Kansas,
allowing people to reach shelter from this extremely large tornado.
One entire farm was completely swept away on the edge of Mullinville,
and many more homes were destroyed. As it moved northeast, 8 separate
funnels were noted at one time under the huge rotating cloud. Damage
totaled $75,000. It was reported that three mules were carried two miles.
IN 1996...Hail five inches in diameter fell 13 miles southeast of Mullinville KS.
There was a report of 10 head of cattle killed by the hail.


Jun 12, 1997
Very strong thunderstorm winds moved a six story coal stacker 240 feet
two miles south of Holcomb Kansas. Power lines and power poles were
blown down 2 miles northwest of Garden City.
IN, 2002...Large hail pelted parts of Medicine Lodge Kansas. The hail size ranged
from nickel to softball. More than 20 windshields were broken and
vehicles throughout town sustained severe damage.


Jun 13, 1907
The temperature at Tamarack California dipped to 2 above zero, the lowest
reading of record for June for the U.S. The high that day was 30 degrees.
Tamarack received 42 inches of snow between the 10th and the 13th. On the
13th the snow depth was 130 inches.


Jun 14, 1903
The "Heppner Disaster" occurred in Oregon. A cloudburst in the hills sent a flood down
Willow Creek, and a twenty foot wall of water swept away a third of the town in minutes,
killing 236 residents and causing 100 million dollars damage.
IN 1990...A cluster of severe thunderstorms developed around Meade Kansas, where
an unconfirmed tornado was reported by the public, and dropped large,
soft hail from Fowler to Dodge City. Damage was minimal due to soft and
infrequent hail drops.


Jun 15, 1992
The second largest two day tornado outbreak in U.S. history commenced
as a developing cumulus cloud broke through the cap in north central
Kansas and exploded into a huge supercell thunderstorm. This supercell
produced 39 tornadoes in north central Kansas, including 12 in Mitchell
county and 9 in Osborne county. A farmer living south of Cawker City
reported going to the basement in his farm home 5 different times and
each time he came out of the basement, his farm had additional damage.
He also reported that at one time, he counted 3 tornadoes on the ground
and 4 funnels in the air.
IN 1997...Severe weather broke out over western Kansas. Eight miles
southwest of Pratt, a railroad boxcar was blown off the tracks, and a
large tree was blown down in Pratt.


Jun 16, 1997
Five miles west of Kiowa Kansas, a thunderstorm produced a two to three
mile swath of hail. Some of the hail piled 4 feet deep at the corner
of one fenced in area.


Jun 17, 1882
A tornado traveled more than 200 miles across the state of Iowa killing
130 persons. The tornado touched down about ninety miles west of Grinnell,
and struck the town and college around sunset, killing 60 persons, and
causing more than a half a million dollars damage.
IN 1987...Thunderstorms produced severe weather in the south central U.S.
Thunderstorms in Kansas produced wind gusts to 76 mph at Lyons, and baseball
size hail at Garden City.


Jun 18, 1993
In west central Kansas, heavy rain caused roads in the Syracuse area
to flood. As much as 1 foot of water covered some roads for a short
period of time. In Greeley county, golfball size hail, driven by
thunderstorm winds, damaged wheat and broke windows along a 4 mile path
from 5 miles south of Astor to 9 miles south of Astor. Trees were also
blown down.


Jun 19, 1835
A tornado tore through the center of New Brunswick NJ killing five persons and scattering
debris as far as Manhattan Island. The tornado provided the first opportunity for scientists to
study firsthand the track of such a storm.
IN 1938...A cloudburst near Custer Creek MT (near Miles City) caused a train wreck killing 48 persons.
An estimated four to seven inches of rain deluged the head of the creek that evening, and water
flowing through the creek weakened the bridge. As a result, a locomotive and seven passenger
cars plunged into the swollen creek. One car, a tourist sleeper, was completely submerged.
IN 1965...The Arkansas River crested at 15.68 feet in Dodge City. Heavy rains in
Eastern Colorado combined with three broken dams started the torrent of
water which flowed through Colorado and Kansas. The river rose 7 feet in
15 minutes between 9 am and 915 am. The flood waters reached from the
railroad tracks on the north side to just barely covering Beeson street
on the south. The deepest part of south Dodge was about 7 feet under
water. The deep water created other problems, when gas regulators were
covered, pressure built up in the gas lines and Dodge City was rocked by
explosions. Total urban losses in Dodge City and Wilroads Gardens were
estimated at nearly 3.8 million dollars, including damages to 615
residences and 155 businesses. Twenty four Kansas counties were declared
flood disasters.
IN 1972...Hurricane Agnes moved onshore near Cape San Blas FL with gusts to 80 mph, and exited
Maine on the 26th. There were 117 deaths, mainly due to flooding from North Carolina to New
York state, and total damage was estimated at more than three billion dollars. Up to 19 inches
of rain deluged western Schuylkill County PA. The rains of Hurricane Agnes resulted in one of
the greatest natural disasters in U.S. history. Agnes caused more damage than all other tropical
cyclones in the previous six years combined (which included Celia and Camille).
IN 1990...A super cell thunderstorm moved into western Kansas producing three tornadoes and large hail.
The largest and most destructive tornado started 5 miles northwest of Ulysses and was on the
ground for about 20 miles. One residence in Ulysses was destroyed and several were damaged.
Two grain and implement companies were extensively damaged. The Red Rock school, 12
miles east of Ulysses was heavily damaged. The roof of the century-old school was taken off
and blown onto a house nearby. A large swath of wheat was destroyed from 12 miles southeast
of Syracuse to 12 miles east of Ulysses. The tornado lifted 12 miles east of Ulysses.
IN 1992...Two batches of severe thunderstorms, occurring within 6 hours of each other, dumped
hailstones up to 4.5 inches in diameter across Sedgwick and surrounding counties in south-
central Kansas. Over 10,000 homes were damaged. The hail left wheat fields in a near total
loss. Estimated property damage totaled $500 million with crop damage at $100 million. The
thunderstorm episode ranks as one of the worst ever to hit Kansas.


Jun 20, 1928
A farmer near Greensburg Kansas looked up into the heart of a tornado.
He described its walls as rotating clouds lit with constant flashes of
lightning and a strong gassy odor with a screaming, hissing sound.
IN 1954...A severe hailstorm struck Wichita KS and vicinity causing nine million dollars damage.


Jun 21, 1996
Very strong thunderstorm winds blew a roof off a bowling alley in Ulysses Kansas. Numerous
trees were down, roofs damaged and around 100 power poles were blown down in the vicinity
of Ulysses. Very strong thunderstorm winds blew down 100 power poles in the vicinity of Ness City KS.
Numerous farms were damaged from 3 miles south to 11 miles southwest to 2 miles west of
Ness City. Thunderstorm winds were sustained for several minutes at 80 mph at Jetmore KS.
A semi-truck was overturned and power lines were down. The wind peaked at 96 mph.


Jun 22, 1907
Five tornadoes touched down in the Medicine Lodge Kansas area. Two of
them hit the town, destroying nine homes and damaging 25 others.
IN 1947...Twelve inches of rain fell in 42 minutes at Holt MO establishing a world rainfall record. The
record was tied on January 24-25, 1956, at the Kilauea Sugar Plantation in Hawaii, as their state
record was established with 38 inches of rain in 24 hours.
IN 1991...Several fields of wheat and other crops north of Kendall KS in Hamilton and Kearney counties
suffered major damage in a 3 to 4 mile wide swath of hail. Some farmers sustained total losses
on their ready to harvest wheat. Two tractor-semitrailers wound up in ditches just east of U.S.
Highway 50 and Kendall highway intersection. One truck was laid on its side and the other was
still upright.


Jun 23, 1944
Four tornadoes killed 153 persons and caused five million dollars damage in Pennsylvania,
West Virginia and Maryland. The tornadoes formed during the evening and moved
southeastward along parallel paths flattening everything in their way. The town of Shinnston
WV was leveled, and was left with the majority of the casualties. Until that time it was
believed that damaging tornadoes did not travel across mountainous terrain.
IN 1967...A tornado moved southeast from 12 miles north of Lakin Kansas,
devastating the north half of Garden City, passing 8 miles north of
Charleston, and ending 7 miles north of Ingalls. Over 40 homes were
damaged, and about 150 lost the roof and at least some homes were
completely leveled. Losses in Garden City totaled $4,000,000. Rural
losses added about $1,000,000.


Jun 24, 1992
In west central Kansas, thunderstorms with heavy rain produced 6 to 8
inches of water over Highway 25 six miles north of Leoti. Highway 50
was flooded between Syracuse and Kendall.
IN 1997...Severe weather developed over western Kansas. Winds gusting at up to 80 mph snapped power
poles, shutting off electricity to Hays, Munjor and Victoria. Two miles east of Moscow, three
railroad boxcars were blown off the tracks.


Jun 25, 1749
A general fast was called on account of drought in Massachusetts. It
was the year of the famous dry spring in which fields and villages burned.


Jun 26, 1989
Thunderstorms in Kansas produced wind gusts to 90 mph at Liberal, and hail four inches in
diameter at Quinter.
IN 1993...A tornado damaged or destroyed many roofs to homes and mobile homes
on the east side of Garden City. Two mobile homes were knocked off
their foundations. A semi trailer truck was knocked over. Six hangar
doors at the Garden City Airport were blown off. One hangar door
was blown into a Aerostar airplane parked inside the hanger. A modular
classroom at an elementary school was knocked off its foundation.


Jun 27, 1951
Shortly after midnight a tornado struck the northern part of Wakeeney
killing 4 people and completely destroying 45 homes. Around 60 more
homes were heavily damaged. The loss was estimated at nearly two million
dollars.
IN 1957...Hurricane Audrey smashed ashore at Cameron LA drowning 390
persons in the storm tide, and causing 150 million dollars damage in Texas,
Louisiana and Mississippi. A storm surge greater than twelve feet inundated
the Louisiana coast as much as 25 miles inland. It was the deadliest June
hurricane of record for the U.S.
IN 1987...Thunderstorms moving out of Nebraska produced severe weather in
north central Kansas after midnight. Thunderstorm winds gusting to 100 mph
damaged more than fifty camping trailers at the state park campground at
Lake Waconda injuring 16 persons.
IN 1992...A line of severe thunderstorms moved across southwestern Kansas.
Large hail, damaging winds, and flash flooding occurred across the area.
A tornado was reported 8 miles west southwest of Dodge City. Rainfall
amounts of five to six inches were reported in some counties. Softball
size hail blew out windows and screens of a building 3 miles south of
Cimarron.
IN 2012...The all-time high temperature was set at Dodge City with a
reading of 111 degrees.


Jun 28, 1923
A massive tornado hit Sandusky Ohio, then swept across Lake Erie to
strike the town of Lorain. The tornado killed 86 persons and caused
twelve million dollars damage. The tornado outbreak that day was the
worst of record for the state of Ohio up til that time.
IN 1980...The temperature at Wichita Falls TX soared to 117 degrees,
their hottest reading of record. Daily highs were 110 degrees or hotter
from June 24th to July 3rd.
IN 2003...A tremendous storm rolled in from the east into Liberal. The
combination of 80 to 100 mph wind and hail bigger than golfballs produced
at least 8 million dollars in damage. Flash flooding occurred following
the devasting hail and wind storm. Nearly all streets in and around
Liberal were flooded. Several cars were stranded. A field overflowed onto
highway 83 north of town.


Jun 29, 1998
The corn belt derecho of 1998 occurred in the following states of Nebraska,
Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. The derecho originated in far southeast
South Dakota and moved across Illinois during the afternoon and evening and
continued as far east as Ohio the next morning. Every county in central
Illinois sustained some sort of damage. As these severe thunderstorms
passed, winds gusted in the 60 to 80 mph range, with some localized
microbursts producing winds of more than 100 mph. Overall, 12 people were
injured and damage was estimated at around $16 million.


Jun 30, 1972
The entire state of Pennsylvania was declared a disaster area as a result
of the catastrophic flooding caused by Hurricane Agnes, which claimed 48
lives, and caused 2.1 billion dollars damage.
IN 1988...Thunderstorms in eastern Kansas drenched Worden with 12.21 inches of
rain, and a wall of water two to four feet deep swept through Lone Star
Kansas flooding every home in the town. Up to ten inches of rain was
reported southeast of Callaway Nebraska.

Return to Weather Trivia