...1906... A hurricane struck South Florida drowning 124 persons stranded in the Florida Keys.

...1910... Northeasterly winds as high as 70 mph (from a hurricane moving northward up the Florida peninsula) carried water out of Tampa Bay and the Hillsboro River. The water level lowered to nine feet below mean low water. Forty ships were grounded.

...1930... A big early season lake effect snow burst on the lee shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario produced 47 inches at Governeur NY and 48 inches just south of Buffalo.

...1932... It was a real soaker today in Newport, Rhode Island. 3.38 inches of rain fell, not only breaking a record for this date but also setting the highest daily rainfall for the month of October at this station.

...1942... Remnants of Tropical Storm # 9 affected Newport, Rhode Island with 1.39 inches of rain and a wind gust of 36 miles per hour.

...1984... Heavy snow began falling late on the 17th at Salt Lake City, Utah and by the time it ended on this date, 18.4 inches had piled up to set a new all-time 24 hour snowfall record. 40 inches of snow fell at Alta in the Wasatch Range.

...1987... Thunderstorms in northeastern Texas produced golf ball size hail at Atlanta, along with wind gusts to 86 mph, and four inches of rain. Damage from the storm was estimated at more than a million dollars. Sunny and mild weather continued across much of the rest of the nation.

...1988... Eight cities in the southwestern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date, including Red Bluff CA with a reading of 96 degrees.

...1989... Unseasonably cold air began to invade the central and eastern U.S. Light snow fell across northern Maine, and snow was also reported in the Great Lakes Region, including the Chicago area. Bismarck ND was the cold spot in the nation with a low of 9 degrees above zero. Five cities in Florida reported record high readings for the date, as temperatures warmed above 80 degrees. Miami FL reported a record high of 90 degrees.

...1991... 3.9 inches of snow fell at Rochester, Minnesota. This set a new record for the greatest amount of snowfall for so early in the season.

...1994... A tremendous four day heavy rain event came to an end over southeastern Texas. 10 of 20 inches of rain was widespread, with Liberty checking in with 30.50 inches. Massive flooding occurred, with 18 people losing their lives. Over 13,000 people were evacuated and 22,000 homes were damaged by the floods. Total damage was 900 million dollars.