Portal:Weather/On this day list/August

August 1

1913: Ragnar Fjørtoft, a meteorologist who did pioneering work in numerical weather prediction, was born in Oslo, Norway.

August 2

1922: A typhoon made landfall near Swatow, China late at night, killing 50,000 of the city's 65,000 residents.

August 3

2008: A rare F4 (T8) tornado struck the town of Hautmont, France, killing three people.

August 4

1980: Hurricane Allen reached category 5 strength for the first time in the late evening. Allen was at this strength for a total of almost three days, the longest of any Atlantic hurricane on record, and the third-longest in the world.

August 5

1988: Tropical Storm Alberto became a tropical cyclone at 41.5º N, further north than any other North Atlantic tropical cyclone.

August 6

1879: The easternmost major tornado ever recorded in North America struck Bouctouche, New Brunswick, killing 5 people.

August 7

2014: Hurricane Iselle, the strongest tropical cyclone on record to strike the Big Island of Hawaii, made landfall along the Kau coast.

August 8

1899: The "San Ciriaco hurricane" began crossing the island of Puerto Rico, eventually killing more than 3,000 people. The storm had an accumulated cyclone energy of 73.57, the highest on record in the Atlantic basin.

August 9

1993: The NOAA-13 weather satellite was launched into a polar orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The satellite only operated for 12 days before a short circuit resulted in a loss of contact and the end of its mission.

August 10

2017: Hurricane Franklin made landfall in Veracruz, Mexico, causing relatively minor damage.

August 11

1999: A rare tornado struck Salt Lake City, Utah, killing one person and injuring more than 100 people.

August 12

2004: Typhoon Rananim moved ashore near Wenling in Zhejiang, China, killing 168 people in the country.

August 13

1916: The dam holding back Lake Toxaway in Transylvania County, North Carolina failed due to severe flooding.

August 14

1812: A tropical cyclone was sighted near Jamaica. This storm would eventually strike New Orleans as a major hurricane, killing around 100 people.

August 15

2008: A tornado outbreak began in southern and central Poland, killing 4 people and damaging hundreds of buildings.

August 16

1950: Hurricane Hiki reached peak intensity as it passed north of Hawaii. At least 52 inches (1,300 mm) of rain was measured on Kauai; the number may have been higher, as the rain gauge overflowed.

August 17

1915: A major hurricane struck the Galveston, Texas area, killing more than 200 people. However, due to the newly-constructed seawall, only 11 died in Galveston itself.

August 18

2008: The Indian state of Bihar experienced an historic flood when the Kosi River changed its course, affecting more than 2 million people and killing hundreds.

August 19

1991: Hurricane Bob made landfall in eastern New England, causing more than $2 billion (2006 USD) in damage.

August 20

1886: An intense hurricane completely destroyed the port of Indianola, Texas, leading to the town's relocation further inland.

August 21

1994: Typhoon Fred made landfall in Zhejiang, China, killing more than 1,000 people.

August 22

1933: The Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane struck the Outer Banks late in the evening, killing as many as 30 people.

August 23

1962: The first successful satellite of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, a series of weather satellites built and used by the United States Department of Defense, was launched. While classified at the time, later satellites in the program provided public data used for numerical weather prediction for several decades.

August 24

2006: A tornado outbreak struck the northern Great Plains, including an EF3 tornado that killed one person in Kasota, Minnesota.

August 25

1986: The remnants of Hurricane Charley passed just south of Ireland, causing record rainfall and major flooding which killed four people.

August 26

1995: As part of a hyperactive hurricane season, 5 tropical cyclones existed in the Atlantic basin simultaneously, the only time in history this has ever occurred.

August 27

1947: The Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service was founded.

August 28

2012: Typhoon Bolaven struck the Korean Peninsula, killing 19 in South Korea and at least 59 in North Korea.

August 29

2005: Hurricane Katrina pushed an incredible storm surge onshore in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, killing almost 2,000 people and causing more than $80 billion in damage. It was the costliest Atlantic hurricane in history, as well as the deadliest in the United States since the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane.

August 30

2008: Hurricane Gustav made landfall in Pinar del Río Province, Cuba. A weather station recorded a wind gust of 184 knots (212 mph; 341 km/h), which at the time was thought to be the strongest wind gust from a tropical cyclone on record.

August 31

1952: Hurricane Able moved ashore near Beaufort, South Carolina, causing flooding and heavy crop damage.