From NWS
1912: September began with searing heat that peaked on the 8th when Ottumwa reached 104 F and continued on the 9th when several stations experienced their latest triple digit heat on record. Amazingly a series of cold fronts during the subsequent week lowered temperatures to the point where Storm Lake reported a few flakes of snow on September 17th and Marshalltown observed flurries on the 18th, making this one of the earliest fall snow events on record in Iowa.

1895: A late summer heat wave brought the temperature all the way up to 103 F at Sioux City which is tied for the highest September temperature on record at that location. The following day the temperature reached 101 F marking the latest occurrence on record of a 100 degree temperature at Sioux City. Other high temperatures on the 17th included 103 F at Rock Rapids, 99 F at Onawa, 98 F at Le Mars and Logan, and 97 F at Rockwell City.

17 September 1932 → A tropical storm struck Annapolis Valley in the Maritimes, destroying 300,000 barrels of apples in Nova Scotia. 17 September 1947 → The Fort Lauderdale Hurricane struck the east coast of Florida as a high-end Category 4, resulting in 51 fatalities. Hurricane force winds extended 120 miles out from the center, and produced the highest measured ground wind speeds in a Florida hurricane until Hurricane Andrew. The storm then crossed the Gulf of Mexico and produced 110 mph winds at New Orleans. 17 September 2004 → Flooding and mudslides killed more than 3,000 people in Haiti inHurricane Jeanne.

Posted under Weather History