Weather History

This Day In Weather History

In 2021, an incredible December tornado outbreak ravaged the western Ohio Valley region of Western Tennessee and Western Kentucky.  In what would be one of the largest tornado December tornado outbreaks in history, two long track tornadoes ripped through parts of Tennessee and Kentucky.  The weaker of the two, had a peak strength of EF-3 and was on the ground 122 miles as it blasted its way through numerous communities in Tennessee and Kentucky.  Dresden Tennessee took the brunt of this tornado with an estimated 160 mph, injuring 13 people.  The second long track tornado was on the ground for a much longer 165 miles and maximum estimated wind speed of 190 mph making it an EF-4 tornado.  This monster was much more destructive with Mayfield Kentucky taking a directly hit from this monster EF-4.  An estimated 200 people were injured and 60 perished from this one tornado. This tornado rivals but does not exceed the longest tornado track of the infamous Tri-State tornado from March of 1925 which was on the ground for 219 miles which also roared through this same area.

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In 2007, the costliest ice storm in Kansas history struck. Widespread moderate to heavy freezing rain coated nearly all of the state with 1 to 2 inches of ice. Some areas were overwhelmed by a staggering 2 to 4 inches of glaze. Damage was equally staggering and made travel treacherous and in most cases impossible. Around 260,000 people lost power many of them were in the dark for up to 2 weeks. Damage to the electrical infrastructure was around $136.2 million, the costliest in Kansas history. Of this total, $37.5 million damage was assessed in Reno County alone. Around 2,000 power poles and 7,900 spans of conductor were destroyed. The statewide damage was definitely conservative as most counties didn't report their losses. Surprisingly, there were no fatalities.

In 1977, Central and Eastern Iowa received between 5 and 12 inches of snow. Hideously cold temperatures around 10 below zero combined with winds around 50 mph to produce wind chills around 70 below and drifts that reached around 10 feet. The strong winds also broke power lines which shut off heat and water for some residents.
This Day in Weather History Archive