June 21 Weather History

...1881... The summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire was snow covered on the solstice.

...1886... A destructive hurricane hit the Apalachicola - Tallahassee area of Florida on the summer solstice. Extensive damage was done in Florida and throughout the Southeast by this storm. Damage was due mainly to extremely high tides.

...1893... On the first day of summer the temperature at Dodge City KS soared to 106 degrees during the midst of a blistering heat wave. The heat wave initiated a severe three year drought in the Central Plains Region. Ironically, at about the same time, heavy rains in the Mississippi Valley were causing the river to swell to its highest level of record at New Orleans LA.

...1919... Seven heavy coach cars of a moving train were picked up and thrown from the tracks by tornado winds. A baggage car was set down thirty feet away from the rest of the train.

...1923... The temperature peaked at 93 degrees at Newport, Rhode Island.  It was later tied in 2012.  The island of Nantucket off Cape Cod had its earliest 90 degree reading and the only one ever in June.

...1940... At Newport, Rhode Island the low temperature felled to 48 degrees; it was later tied in 1947 and 1979.

...1954... A severe hailstorm struck Wichita KS and vicinity causing nine million dollars damage.

...1955... At Newport, Rhode Island .85 inches of rain fell in one hour, breaking the record of .03 inches set in 1953. The wind gusted to 53 miles per hour, breaking that record of 30 miles per hour that was set in 1908.

...1972... Phoenix AZ was drenched with 1.64 inches of rain late on the 21st and early on the 22nd to easily surpass their previous June rainfall record of 0.95 inches. The total for the month was 1.70 inches.

...1987... A tornado destroyed 57 mobile homes at the Chateam Estates trailer park northwest of Detroit MI killing one person and injuring six others. Total damage was estimated at 1.7 million dollars. Thunderstorms over Lower Michigan also drenched the Saginaw Valley with up to 4.5 inches of rain in less than six hours.

...1988... The first full day of summer was a torrid one, with afternoon highs of 100 degrees or above reported from the Northern and Central Plains to the Ohio Valley. Sixty-nine cities in the north central U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. The high of 110 degrees at Sioux Falls SD was an all-time record for that location. Highs of 103 degrees at Des Moines IA, 102 degrees at Fort Wayne IN, 109 degrees at Huron SD, 108 degrees at Sioux City IA, and 101 degrees at South Bend IN were records for June. (

...1989... The first day of summer heralded snow in the northern and central Rockies. In Colorado, 15 inches of snow was reported at the summit of Mount Evans and, in Wyoming, 18 inches was reported at Dickensen Park, west of Lander. Heavy rain continued in the eastern U.S. Huntsville AL reported a record 11.65 inches for the month, compared to the 0.17 inch rainfall total in June 1988.

...2002... At Newport, Rhode Island the barometric pressure rose to 30.52 inches of mercury, breaking the record of 30.43 inches set in 1989.

...2012... The heat index peaked at 100 degrees at Newport, Rhode Island on this day, breaking the record of 95 degrees set back in 1953.  A slow-moving thunderstorm dumped up to a foot of hail in southeastern portions of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Snowplows had to be used to clear a route through a major thoroughfare in the city. Heavy rainfall from the storm left up to 4 feet of water in city streets, trapping dozens of motorists.

...2015...At Newport, Rhode Island the remnants of Tropical Depression Bill brought .47 inches of rain and a barometer reading of 29.60 inches.

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