...1876... A coastal storm produced snow from Virginia to New England. New York City had its earliest 32 degree temperature and a 1/2 inch of snow. Fall River, Massachusetts recorded 3.5 inches of snow.

...1880... A violent early season blizzard raked Minnesota and the Dakotas. Winds gusted to 70 mph at Yankton SD, and snow drifts 10 to 15 feet high were reported in northwest Iowa and southeast South Dakota. Saint Paul MN reported a barometric pressure of 28.65 inches on the 16th. Railroads were blocked by drifts of snow which remained throughout the severe winter to follow. Gales did extensive damage to ship on the Great Lakes. (15th6th)

...1932... The Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire was founded on this date.

...1954... Hurricane Hazel made landfall near Cape Fear, North Carolina with winds near 150 mph and a central pressure of 938 millibars (27.70 inches) -- a category 4 hurricane. Tides reached 18 feet above normal, resulting in extreme destruction along the North Carolina coast. At Long Beach, just west of Southport, 300 homes simply vanished. No debris remained -- everything was swept away. Every fishing pier from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to Cedar Island, North Carolina, a total of 170 miles, was destroyed. As the hurricane moved inland, it rapidly transformed into an extremely powerful extra tropical storm and raced north-northwestward through the Mid Atlantic states. Washington, DC had record setting winds sustained at 78 mph with gusts to 98 mph. Hazel killed 95 people and caused $251 million in damage in the U.S. As Hazel moved into southern Ontario it interacted with a strong cold front and unloaded over 8 inches of rain on already saturated soil in the Toronto area and major flash flooding occurred. Another 78 people were killed in Ontario with damage around $100 million. Newport, Rhode Island recorded .46 inches of rain, a wind gust of 55 miles per hour and a low barometer of 29.61 inches as Hazel passed well to the west as a tropical depression.

...1965... Fort Lauderdale, Florida was deluged with 25.28 inches of rain staring on the 14th and continuing into this day. Flooding caused considerable road and street damage and inundated numerous recently planted vegetable fields and some homes.

...1966... Iowa experienced its worst late season tornado of record. In just one minute a twister tore through the town of Belmond leveling 75 percent of the businesses, and 100 homes, causing more than eleven million dollars damage.

...1987... Unseasonably cold weather continued in the eastern U.S., with thirteen cities reporting record low temperatures for the date. The low of 34 degrees at Montgomery AL was their coldest reading of record for so early in the season. Lows of 32 degrees at Harrisburg PA and 34 degrees at Parkersburg WV marked their third straight morning of record cold.

...1988... The cold high pressure system responsible for the record low temperatures in the eastern U.S. began to move out to sea, giving way to a trend toward "Indian Summer". Thunderstorms developing ahead of a cold front produced golf ball size hail at Altamont KS and hail two inches in diameter at Yates City IL.

...1989... Hurricane Jerry made landfall at Galveston TX at 6:30 PM (CDT). Winds at the Galveston Airport reached 75 mph, with gusts to 100 mph. Tides along the island were six to eight feet, and rainfall totals ranged up to slightly more than six inches north of Beaumont. Three persons were killed when their vehicle was blown off the Galveston seawall into the pounding surf. Total damage along the Upper Texas Coast was estimated at fifteen million dollars. Thunderstorms produced severe weather in Lower Michigan during the late morning. Two persons were injured when a tree fell on their camper at the Traverse City State park. While strong northerly winds ushered much colder air into the central U.S., unseasonably warm weather continued in the south central and eastern U.S. The afternoon high of 82 degrees at field WV was a record for October.