Weather trivia for November

Nov 1, 1861
A hurricane near Cape Hatteras NC battered a Union fleet of ships
attacking Carolina ports, and produced high tides and high winds
in New York state and New England.


Nov 2, 1946
A heavy wet snow began to cover the Southern Rockies. Up to three
feet of snow blanketed the mountains of New Mexico, and a 31 inch
snow at Denver CO caused roofs to collapse.


Nov 3, 1927
Somerset VT was deluged with 8.77 inches of rain to establish a
24 hour record for the state.


Nov 4, 1927
A great Vermont flood occurred. Tropical rains deluged the Green
Mountain area of Vermont causing the worst flood in the history
of the state. Torrential rains, up to 15 inches in the higher
elevations, sent streams on a rampage devastating the Winooski
Valley. Flooding claimed 200 lives and caused 40 million dollars
damage. The town of Vernon reported 84 deaths. Flooding left up
to eight to ten feet of water in downtown Montpelier Vermont.


Nov 5, 1977
A slow moving storm produced 5 to 9 inch rains across northern
Georgia causing the Toccoa Dam to burst. As the earthen dam
collapsed the waters rushed through the Toccoa Falls Bible
College killing 3 persons in the dorms. Thirty-eight persons
perished at a trailer park along the stream.

Nov 6, 1951
Snow fell from the Texas Panhandle to the Lower Great Lakes,
leaving record totals of 12.5 inches at Saint Louis Missouri,
and 14.1 inches at Springfield Missouri. Other heavier
snowfall totals included 20 inches at Nevada Missouri, 13.5
inches at Sedan Kansas, 13 inches at Decatur Illinois, and
10 inches at Alva Oklahoma. In the Saint Louis area,
up to 20 inches was reported in Washington County.


Nov 7, 1940
The Galloping Gertie Bridge at Tacoma Washington collapsed in
strong winds resulting in a six million dollar loss, just four
months after the grand opening of the new bridge. The winds
caused the evenly sized spans of the bridge to begin to vibrate
until the central one finally collapsed. From then on bridges
were constructed with spans of varying size.
IN 1951...A blinding flash, a huge ball of fire, and a terrific
roar occurred over parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, caused by
a disintegrating meteor. Windows were broken in and near Hinton OK
by the concussion.


Nov 8, 1870
The first storm warning was issued by the U.S. Signal Corps
Weather Service.
IN 1953...Residents of New York City suffered through ten days of
smog resulting in 200 deaths.
IN 1980...The high of 91 degrees established the record high for
the month of November at Dodge City.


Nov 9, 1913
A rapidly deepening cyclone caused unpredicted gales on the Great
Lakes. Eight large ore carriers on Lake Erie sank drowning 270
sailors. Cleveland Ohio reported 17.4 inches of snow in 24 hours,
and a total of 22.2 inches.


Nov 10, 1915
A tornado moved northeast from 2 miles south of Pratt to 2 miles
east of town. Four or five farms were torn apart and livestock
were killed. Homes and barns were unroofed and blown down.
Grain and the remains of barns were scattered across acres of
fields. An unusually late season tornado struck the central Kansas
town of Great Bend killing eleven persons along its 35 mile track.
The tornado destroyed 160 homes in Great Bend killing 11 persons
and causing a million dollars damage. Hundreds of dead ducks
dropped from the sky northeast of the track's end.
IN 1975...Another "freshwater fury" hit the Great Lakes. A large ore
carrier on Lake Superior, the Edmund Fitzgerald, sank near Crisp
Point with the loss of its crew of 29 men. A popular hit song by
Gordon Lightfoot was inspired by the storm.


Nov 11, 1911
The central US experienced perhaps its most dramatic cold wave
of record. During the early morning hours, temperatures across the
Central Plains ranged from 68 degrees at Kansas City to 4 above
at North Platte. In Kansas City, the temperature warmed to a
record 76 degrees by late morning before the arctic front moved
in from the northwest, and the mercury began to plummet. By
early afternoon it was cold enough to snow, and by midnight the
temperature had dipped to a record cold reading of 11 degrees
above zero. In southeastern Kansas, the temperature at
Independence plunged from 83 degrees to 33 degrees in just one
hour.
IN 1940...An Armistice Day storm raged across the Great Lakes Region
and the Upper Midwest. A blizzard left 49 dead in Minnesota, and
gales on Lake Michigan caused ship wrecks resulting in another 59
deaths. Up to 17 inches of snow fell in Iowa. The blizzard
claimed a total of 154 lives, and in Iowa, killed thousands of
cattle. Whole towns were isolated by huge snowdrifts.


Nov 12, 1974
A great Alaska storm in the Bering Sea caused the worst coastal
flooding of memory at Nome AK with a tide of 13.2 feet. The flooding
caused 12 million dollars damage, however no lives were lost.


Nov 13, 1933
The first dust storm of the great dust bowl era of the 1930s
occurred. The dust storm, which had spread from Montana to the
Ohio Valley the day before, prevailed from Georgia to Maine
resulting in a black rain over New York and a brown snow in
Vermont. Parts of South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa reported zero
visibility on the 12th. On the 13th, dust reduced the visibility
to half a mile in Tennessee.
IN 1946...General Electric scientists produced snow in the
Massachusetts Berkshires in the first modern day cloud seeding
experiment.


Nov 14, 1986
An early season cold wave set more than 200 records from the
northwestern US to the east coast over a seven day period. For
some places it proved to be the coldest weather of the winter
season.


Nov 15, 1989
There were one hundred reports of damaging winds in Georgia, and
five tornadoes, and there were another four tornadoes in Alabama.
Hardest hit was Huntsville AL where a violent tornado killed
twenty-one persons, injured 463 others, and caused one hundred
million dollars damage.
IN 1996...Very heavy rains fell in the Kinsley area. The Little
Coon Creek was out of its banks and several fields and roads were
flooded. Flooding also occurred in the northern part of Kinsley.
The flooding subsided on the 18th.


Nov 16, 1959
The most severe November cold wave in U.S. history was in progress.
A weather observing station located 14 miles northeast of Lincoln MT
reported a reading of 53 degrees below zero, which established an
all-time record low temperature for the nation for the month of November.
Their high that day was one degree above zero.
IN 1996...A thunderstorm that hit Garden City during the early morning
hours produced a burst of wind at the Walmart store that tossed
a car into a light pole, toppled semi tractor trailers and broke
out 25 car windows.
IN 2015...An unusually strong November severe weather episode occurred
across southwest Kansas. A very strong upper level low approached with
strong winds aloft. An unusually high amount of moisture and an unseasonably
unstable airmass were transported north into Kansas. Storms developed
along a dryline but quickly moved off the dryline and became
supercellular. Large, long tracked and rapidly moving tornadoes
occurred along with instances of large and damaging hail. There were
11 tornadoes during the event. In Seward County a very large EF3
tornado damaged outbuildings, power poles, pivots, trees, a home, and
a hog farm where numerous animals were destroyed. The track of the
tornado shifted and missed Kismet and Plains. This tornado
continued into Meade County.


Nov 17, 1927
A tornado cut a seventeen mile path across Alexandria and southeastern
Washington DC injuring 31 persons. The tornado struck the Naval Air
Station where a wind gust of 93 mph was recorded. A waterspout was
seen over the Potomac River ninety minutes later.


Nov 18, 1948
A blizzard raged across southwest Kansas. Winds were howling in the
40 to 50 mph range with gusts to 60 mph. Travel was near impossible.


Nov 19, 1930
A tornado moved northeast from 1 mile west of Victoria. A school
was destroyed 15 miles northeast of Victoria. The teacher and 14
students were injured, some seriously. Barns were also destroyed.


Nov 20, 1900
An unusual tornado outbreak in the Lower Mississippi Valley
resulted in 73 deaths and extensive damage across Arkansas,
Mississippi and Tennessee.


Nov 21, 1798
A four day storm was in progress in the northeastern US. The storm
dropped a foot of snow on New York City and New Haven, and as much
as three feet in Maine and New Hampshire. The snowstorm ushered in
a long and severe winter, in some places the ground remained covered
with snow until the following May.


Nov 22, 1957
Extremely destructive Santa Ana winds blew from Oxnard to San Diego
and inland parts of southern California. The high winds produced a
28,000 acre brush fire on a 40 mile front west of Crystal Lake.
People were ordered off streets in some areas due to flying debris.


Nov 23, 1909
Rattlesnake Creek in Idaho was deluged with 7.17 inches of rain in
24 hours to establish a state record.


Nov 24, 1992
A major winter storm and blizzard occurred across southwest
Kansas from the early morning through the late morning on the
25th. The storm developed in the Texas Panhandle on the 23rd and
moved into central Oklahoma on the 24th. Heavy snow and blizzard
conditions occurred across a large area of southwest Kansas.
Snowfall amounts ranged from 17 inches at Liberal to 15 inches at
Garden City and Dodge City. This snow began a period that marked
the snowiest winter on record for Dodge City. Over sixty inches
of snow was recorded at the National Weather Service in Dodge
City for the 92-93 season. Snow was on the ground nearly
continuously into March. Most roads and highways in the Garden
City, Dodge City, Meade, Greensburg, Coldwater, and Liberal areas
were closed with snowdrifts of two to five feet. Snowdrifts as
high as 15 feet were reported in the Hugoton area. Widespread
visibilities of 1/4 of a mile and less were also reported from
the early afternoon through early morning of the 25th. Winds as
high as 45 mph were reported across the area. There were two
fatalities from this snowstorm. Estimates from area farmers and
feed lot owners indicated that as many as 5,000 head of cattle
may have perished during the storm.


Nov 25, 1987
An early morning thunderstorm in southeastern Texas produced high
winds which rolled a mobile home east of Bay City killing two of
the four occupants. Thunderstorms produced locally heavy rains in
central and eastern Texas, with nine inches reported at Huntsville
and 8.5 inches at Wimberly. Snow fell across northern and central
Lower Michigan, with totals ranging up to nine inches at Cadillac.


Nov 26, 1950
A great storm hit the Northern and Central Appalachians with snow
and high winds. Winds reached 110 mph at Concord New Hampshire
and 160 mph at Mount Washington New Hampshire. The storm
produced record snowfall totals of 27.7 inches at Pittsburgh
Pennsylvania and 36.3 inches at Steubenville Ohio. The snow
and record temperatures resulted in 160 deaths.


Nov 27, 1887
The low of 13 degrees below zero set the record low for the
month of November at Dodge City.
IN 1898...The "Portland" storm raged across New England producing
gale force winds along the coast and heavy snow inland. A passenger
ship, the S.S. Portland, sank off Cape Cod with the loss of all
191 persons aboard, and Boston Harbor was filled with wrecked
ships. The storm wrecked 56 vessels resulting in a total of 456
casualties.


Nov 28, 1960
A severe storm produced waves of 20 to 40 feet high on Lake Superior.
Duluth MN was buried under a foot of snow, and clocked wind gusts to
73 mph. The northern shore of Lake Superior was flooded and property
along the shore was battered. Thousands of cords of pulpwood were
washed into Lake Superior, and up to three feet of water flooded the
main street of Grand Marais. Thunder accompanied the nor' easter.


Nov 29, 1975
Red River NM was buried under 34 inches of snow in 24 hours, which
established a state record.


Nov 30, 1976
MacLeod Harbor AK reported a precipitation total for November of
70.99 inches, which established a state record for any month of the
year.

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