from Shade Tree Meteorology
We believe that we can learn a great deal by taking a look at past events. Understanding historical events enables us to develop an even deeper appreciation of how far we’ve come in scientific advancements in meteorology. Explore our History Category and learn more about historical weather events and how weather played a role in major historical events!
I have to admit, I had never heard of ‘The Great London Smog’ event until I watched The Crown on Netflix, and an entire episode was dedicated to this event (It’s Season 1, Episode 4, if anyone is interested). The episode was well-done, and dove into some of the politics surrounding the event and also told some harrowing personal stories. As a meteorologist and a reader of history, I was interested to learn more about how this event unfolded.
In this day and age, it seems as though there are statistics, records, and rankings for everything. Top ten most expensive plants? Check. Ten most poisonous animals in the world? There’s a list for that (hint: be very careful swimming in the ocean waters of northern Australia). Here is another record which you may not be aware of: on this date (January 28) in 1887, the world’s largest snowflake is said to have fallen on the Fort Keogh Army Post in Montana. How did this record-breaking event come to be recorded, and why has the record not been broken? Let’s take a closer look.
Three hundred and sixty-five days have passed since Hurricane Michael crashed into the Florida Panhandle, causing utter devastation. Michael made history as the first Category 5 hurricane (the highest category of the Saffir-Simpson scale with winds over 157 miles per hour) to make landfall in the Unites States since Andrew in 1992. It was also the first Category 5 hurricane on record to impact the Florida Panhandle.
Since we have been enjoying above normal temperatures over the past few days, it can be hard to imagine the immense blizzard that rocked the northeast 131 years ago. One of the most disastrous winter storms to ever impact the northeast U.S began late March 11, 1888 and ended in the early morning hours on March 14, 1888. Continue reading “The Great Blizzard of 1888”
Folks who have lived in the northeast United States for an extended time may remember some memorable Christmas Day snowstorms, but the most blockbuster Christmas Day storm in recent memory occurred back in 2002. Continue reading “Record-breaking Holiday Snowstorms”