U.S. Weather

A violent tornado commenced west of the Hudson river in New York. The tornado traveled through Poughkeepsie, then crossed the border into Connecticut where it traveled through the towns of New Milford, Waterbury, North Haven, and Branford. It then continued on into Long Island Sound. The tornado did extensive damage and the funnel was reported by one observer to look like the "aurora borealis".

A tornado tore through the center of New Brunswick, New Jersey, killing 5 people. Debris from the tornado fell as far away as Manhattan Island. The tornado was studied on spot by two meteorologists - William Redfield and James Espy. Smaller tornadoes were reported at Paterson, New Jersey, Kinderhook, New York, and Pine Plains, New York.

A cloudburst near Custer Creek in Montana (near Miles City) caused a train wreck killing 48 persons. An estimated 4 to 7 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 7 passenger cars plunged into the swollen creek. One car, a tourist sleeper, was completely submerged.

A squall line producing large hail swept through central Illinois, followed by two more consecutive lines passing shortly after dawn. The resulting hailstorms caused damage in excess of $9 million, as hailstones the size of grapefruits wrought havoc to trees, utility lines, crops and buildings. The thunderstorms also produced as much as 5 inches of rain over an 8 hour period.

Severe thunderstorms belted south central Kansas. A wind gust to 116 mph was recorded in Kingman. High winds caused severe damage to hangars at Jabara airport in Wichita. Many grain bins were toppled. Several radio towers north of Wichita were also toppled which disrupted the dissemination of warnings to the public. Total damage was around $50 million. The storm was termed "one of the most damaging of the century" for Wichita area.

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 for the worst ever to hit Kansas.