From NWS
1931: A late season severe weather outbreak struck southeastern Iowa. One storm produced a violent tornado that touched down in Van Buren County about 10 miles southwest of Fairfield and traveled northeast across Jefferson, Henry, and Washington counties before dissipating near Cotter in Louisa County. This tornado killed 2 people and injured 8 others as it completely leveled several farms north of Noble in southeastern Washington County. Another storm struck Davis County producing at least two tornadoes along with very large hail from Bloomfield to Floris. In Bloomfield an observer wrote that “the large hailstones, some more than 2.5 inches in diameter, driven by the wind, broke more than 15,000 glass window panes. Nearly every roof along the path needed repair, and at least 600 homes had to be reroofed.”

1894: A late season outbreak of violent tornadoes struck northern Iowa including several that produced F4 or higher damage. These severe storms affected areas from near Le Mars where a narrow tornado passed through corn fields, east northeast all the way to Mitchell and Howard counties and into southern Minnesota. One particularly violent tornado produced great destruction southwest of Ruthven and barely missed Emmetsburg and Algona. Another very violent tornado moved northeast from near Mason City, narrowly missing Osage and crossing into southern Minnesota. At least three people were killed by this storm in Cerro Gordo County and at least four more died in Mitchell County. A third extremely violent tornado moved northeast on a nearly parallel track across Mitchell and Howard counties from near Osage to several miles southwest of Cresco, killing another five people in Mitchell County. In Iowa a total of 53 people were killed and more than 200 were injured during this severe weather outbreak.

21 September 1588 → After an unsuccessful battle with the English fleet, the Spanish Armada encountered strong storms and high winds off the coast of Ireland on its way back to Spain. 26 ships are believed to have been lost. The remaining ships limped back to Spain defeated and demoralized, ending the reign of the once unbeatable Spanish Armada. 21 September 1894 → A huge tornado outbreak swept from Iowa through Minnesota to Wisconsin, with an unusual number of extremely violent tornadoes. The tornado that rampaged through Kossuth County, MN, was likely an F5 as homes and farms were wiped clean from the earth. 21 September 1909 → A category 3 hurricane crossed the Gulf of Mexico and came ashore in southern Louisiana. The storm inflicted 120 mph winds on southeast Louisiana and took its storm surge 2 miles inland. There were about 371 fatalities despite the Weather Bureau having issued its first warnings for the storm three days earlier. 21 September 1938 → The New England Hurricane was one of the most destructive andpowerful storms ever to strike southern New England. The storm roared ashore over Long Island, N. Y. at nearly 60 mph at the time of high tide. This created a deadly tidal surge, which submerged downtown Providence, RI under 20 feet of water. Hurricane force winds were felt throughout New England, with a gust to 186 mph at the Blue Hill Observatory in Milton, MA. The Great New England Hurricane of 1938 was responsible for over 500 deaths.

Posted under Weather History