Here is my list of some wackier weather events of 2006…
12. Close Call. The NWS Office in Rapid City, South Dakota barely missed being consumed by a grassfire that came within thirty feet of the office on July 18th.
11. New York Heat Index Soars: A heat wave across the northeastern quarter of the United States during the first week of August claimed 22 lives in New York. In New York City the heat index, which represents the combined effects of heat and humidity, climbed to 111°F on the 3rd
10. Aptly named….A swarm of tornadoes caused heavy damage on April 14th in Iowa City, where Iowa State University is located. Their nickname? The cyclones.
9. Time to go Fishing…. On radar, it looked like a long, snaky line of showers and storms extending along the Mississippi River in Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota on June 30th. It was actually a gigantic hatch of mayflies. The newly hatched insects piled up in drifts on roads and bridges
8. Time to Move. On April 13th, an amazing seventeen tornadoes touched down in Muscatine County Iowa.
7. Ice from the Sky. A huge block of ice fell from the sky on April 8th and crashed into a park in Oakland, CA, resulting in a huge hole in the ground. Experts said it must have been ice build up on a passing plane.
6. Phoenix Rainless Streak. It had not rained in an incredible 143 days in Phoenix. The streak came to an end on March 11 as a storm system finally brought rain to the parched region.
5. Israeli Tornado. A rare tornado touched down in Galilee in Israel on April 5th. 70 people were injured by the severe storm.
4. The Hurricane Season that would not end. The 2005 North Atlantic Hurricane Season did not end until January 6th ….2006…when Tropical Storm Zeta dissipated. By that time, nearly every record for Atlantic tropical activity was in shambles……the most storms in a single season (28)…Earliest D storm, and every storm thereafter …strongest Gulf of Mexico July hurricane (Dennis)…Highest Atlantic storm surge (28 feet – Katrina)…First tropical cyclone to make landfall in Spain …Wilma established a new rcord low pressure for the Atlantic Basin (882 mb)… most major hurricanes to strike U.S. in a single season (4 – Dennis, Katrina, Rita and Wilma)
3. Indian Frost. Frost was reported in New Delhi, India for the first time in 70 years when the temperature fell to 32F on January 9th. The last time that had happened was January 16, 1935.
2. New York City experienced its greatest snowstorm ever. 26.9 inches of snow fell at Central Park between 4 p.m. 3/11 and 4 p.m. 3/12, making it the greatest snowstorm in the station’s history. A foot of snow fell in just three hours. Occurred on weekend, so impact minimal.
1. Longest distance a human has been blown by a tornado and survived. A 19 year old Fordland, MO man was watching television in his mobile home on March 12th when a tornado struck. He was blown an estimated 1,307 feet. His only injury was a cut on his head. It is the longest distance a human being is believed to have ever been blown by a tornado and survived.
