It was on this date in 1944 that Allied Supreme Commander Eisenhower made the decision to postpone the long-awaited invasion of France, which had been scheduled for June 5th.
Weather charts on the 3rd and 4th showed a depressing situation for forecasters and military leaders. An unprecedented number of low pressure systems poised to move across the invasion area at the time of year the weather was supposed to be most favorable.
But Allied forecasters had an advantage since their forces controlled most of the North Atlantic and weather data was more plentiful to them than to the Germans. This data revealed a small window of better weather that would occur on Tuesday, June 6th.
If the invasion could not be launched then, it might not be possible to launch it for a month, or perhaps even a year.
The masterful forecast permitted a successful surprise landing on the beaches of Normandy.
