The weather is wilder than any video game. It contains more twists and turns than the most suspenseful mystery novel. It’s more unbelievable than the latest Hollywood blockbuster.
The truth about hurricanes, lightning and other kinds of weather is incredible. You can’t make it up. So we didn’t! When was the longest drought? The largest flood? The coldest cold? Find out!
Drought – The world record for longest recorded drought is 173 months (more than 14 years!), from October 1903 to January 1918 in Arica, Chile. The worst drought in the United States was the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.
Floods – The largest flood in U.S. history was the Great Flood of 1927. Across Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana, some 16 million acres of land (26,000 square miles) were inundated with water from the mighty Mississippi. At least two months passed before the flood water completely subsided.
Fog – In 1985, Seattle was hit with an “epic fog storm” of 13 straight days with dense fog — a record!
Heat – North America’s highest temperature ever recorded is 134 degrees Fahrenheit which occurred at Death Valley, California, on July 10, 1913.
Cold – The lowest temperature ever recorded in the United States was -80 degrees Fahrenheit on January 23, 1971 at Prospect Creek Camp, located near the Arctic Circle.
Hurricanes – The strongest hurricane on record is Tropical Cyclone Olivia which struck Australia in 1996. The winds were measured at 253 miles per hour.
Lightning – Lightning strikes the United States about 25 million times a year. Lightning can heat its path through the air to five times hotter than the surface of the sun.
Hail – The largest hailstone in terms of diameter and weight ever recorded in the United States fell on July 23, 2010 in Vivian, South Dakota. It measured 7.9 inches in diameter and 18.62 inches in circumference, weighing in at 1.94 pounds.
Space Weather – The strongest geomagnetic storm caused by the sun on record occurred in September 1859, known as the Carrington Event, named after the British astronomer Richard Carrington. During this storm, excess currents were produced on telegraph lines, shocking technicians and in some cases, setting their telegraph equipment on fire!
The weather changes all the time. These records could change, too. Keep your eyes on the skies and the ever-changing world of weather! Maybe one day you’ll discover a new weather world record.
