August 29 Weather History

...1949... The remnants of hurricane # 2 passed through western New England. Newport, Rhode Island recorded .95 inches of rain and a wind gust of 36 miles per hour.

...1953... The high temperature at Newport, Rhode Island peaked at 93 degrees, breaking the old record of 92 degrees set in 1948.

...1958... The remnants of Hurricane Daisey passed to the south of Newport, Rhode Island; .51 inches of rain fell with a barometric pressure read of 29.67 inches of mercury.

...1962... A wind gust of 42 miles per hour was recorded at Newport, Rhode Island, breaking the previous record of 36 miles per hour set in 1949.  Hackberry LA was deluged with twenty-two inches of rain in 24 hours, establishing a state record.

...1965... A national record for the month of August was established when 2.5 inches of snow fell atop Mount Washington NH. Temperatures in New England dipped to 39 degrees at Nantucket MA, and to 25 degrees in Vermont. For many location it was the earliest freeze of record.

...1984... The high temperature in Topeka, Kansas reached 110 degrees for only the second time since the Dust Bowl days of the 1930's.

...1987... Some of the most powerful thunderstorms in several years developed over the piedmont of North Carolina, and marched across central sections of the state during the late afternoon and evening hours. Baseball size hail was reported around Albemarle, while thunderstorm winds downed giant trees around High Falls.

...1988... Newport, Rhode Island was affected by the  remnants of tropical depression Chris as it passed through central Conniecut, the wind gusted to 40 miles per hour and the barometric pressure dropped to 29.72 inches of mercury.  Cool air invaded the north central U.S. Ten cities reported record low temperatures for the date, including Bismarck ND with a reading of 33 degrees. Deerfield, a small town in the Black Hills of South Dakota, reported a low of 23 degrees. The remnants of Tropical Storm Chris drenched eastern Pennsylvania with up to five and a half inches of rain, and produced high winds which gusted to 90 mph, severely damaging a hundred boats in Anne Arundel County MD. 

...1989... Evening thunderstorms produced destructive lightning in West Virginia. The lightning caused widespread damage, particularly in Doddridge County. Numerous trees were downed closing many roads. Fire companies had a difficult time tending to the many homes and trailers on fire. Anchorage AK reported a record 9.60 inches of rain for the month of August. The average annual precipitation for Anchorage is just slight more than fifteen inches. Three day rainfall totals in northwest Missouri ranged up to 8.20 inches at Maryville.

...1990... At Newport, Rhode Island the barometric pressure fell to 29.43 inches of mercury, breaking the old record of 29.56 inches set in 1962.

...1997... Newport, Rhode Island got deluged with 3.97 inches of rain (4th highest total for August), breaking the old record of 1.58 inches set in 1962 and  2.44 inches fell in one hour in a heavy thunderstorm, shattering the previous record of 1.17 inches that was set back in 1959.  It was the second highest hourly rainfall for the month of August.

...2005... Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Plaquemines Parish in southeastern Louisiana early on the 29th with maximum sustained winds near 125 mph, a strong category-three, and the third most-intense land falling hurricane in U.S. history. The center of the hurricane passed just east of New Orleans, where winds gusted over 100 mph. Widespread devastation and unprecedented flooding occurred, submerging at least 80 percent of the city as levees failed. Farther east, powerful winds and a devastating storm surge of 20-30 feet raked the Mississippi coastline, including Gulfport and Biloxi, where Gulf of Mexico floodwaters spread several miles inland. Rainfall amounts of 8-10 inches were common along and to the east of the storm's path. Katrina weakened to a tropical storm as it tracked northward through Mississippi and gradually lost its identity as it moved into the Tennessee Valley on the 30th.

...2009... Tropical depression Danny passed to the south of Newport, Rhode Island dumping 2.68 inches of rain, wind gust of 31 mph and barometrice pressure reading of 29.61 inches of mercury.

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