I've assembled as many interesting weather facts as I can to make this world weather trivia page. Obviously I didn't know all these facts off the top of my head. Some I discovered myself, but the I had to hunt around for the vast majority. The internet was, needless to say, a particulary handy source, especially regarding American weather. Another good source proved to be old weather periodicals, such as The Meteorological Magazine  which seemed much more intent on facts and figures than research. If you scroll to the bottom of this page you'll find a list of sources. Incidentally, if any of these facts turn out to be wrong, or records quoted get broken please  and let me know. Thanks.

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Sept 2
1906 The UK records its hottest September day on record when highs reach 35.6C in Bawtry. It's also one of the 10 hottest days on record in the UK.
1935 A hurricane measuring 5 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale hits Florida Keys. Known as the Labor Day Hurricane it produces 155mph winds with gusts up to 208mph and kills 423 people, many of them World War One veterans building a bridge from the Florida mainland to the Keys. This is the first category 5 hurricane known to hit the USA. It was also the 5th deadliest hurricane to hit the USA in the 20th century. Finally, during the hurricane sea level pressure dropped to 892mb, the lowest sea level pressure recorded in the USA. 7, 20
1950 The USA recorded its hottest September day on record as highs reached 52.2C in Mecca, Calfornia. 20
1961 A little more than 10cm snow fell at Denver, Colorado, the earliest measurable snow on record here. 20
1985 Hurricane Elena made landfall at Dauphin Island, just off the Alabama coast. Elena produced gusts up to 120mph from Florida to Louisiana and gusts up to 135mph were recorded at Gulfport, Mississippi. 20
1995 Sydney, Australia's longest dry spells ends. Between 18 July and 2 September no measurable precipitation falls at Sydney. August 1995 is the only dry calender month on record here. 24
2002 The remnants of Typhoon Rusa dumped 99mm rain in 18 hours on Sakhalin Island just north of Japan.

Sept 3
1821 A hurricane made landfall near where Kennedy Airport is in New York and then moved north through western Connecticut. 20
1970 A hailstone 45cm in circumference and weighing 758g fell at Coffeyville, southeastern Kansas. 19

Sept 4
1929 The Netherlands records its hottest September day on record when highs reach 35.2C in Maastricht.
1939 112mm rain fall in just 2 hours at Washington DC. 19
1941 5 people were killed when a tornado struck Minneapolis, Minnesota. 20
1970 Torrential rain caused Arizona's worst natural disaster in record. Rivers in central Arizona flooded killing 23 people and a new state 24 hour
rainfall record was set when 289.6mm rain fell in 24 hours at Workmans Creek. 20
2000 Houston and College Station (both in Texas) recorded their hottest day on record when highs reached 42.8C and 44.4C respectively. 20

Sept 5
1925 Temperatures reach 44.4C in Centerville, Alabama, the state's hottest day on record. 9
1933 40 people are killed when a hurricane hits Brownsville, Texas. 20
1944 Temperatures in Portland, Oregon reach 38.9C, the only time highs here have exceeded 37.8C (100F) in September. 20
1950 Florida registers its record maximum 24 hour precipitation as 983.0mm rain falls at Yankeetown during the passage of Hurricane Easy. 11
1970 Utah records its record maximum 24 hour precipitation record (incidentally the lowest of all the US states) when 152.4mm rain falls at Bug Point. 11
1996 Packing 115mph winds, Hurricane Fran made landfall near Cape Fear in North Carolina. Fran killed 34 people and dumped between 150mm and 350mm rain in parts of North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia causing widespread flash flooding. With damage totaling $3.2 billion, Fran is North Carolina's costliest natural disaster. Some of the areas struck by Fran had only just finished clearing up from Hurricane Bertha which struck 2 months earlier. 20
2000 Record heat across southern Texas; highs reached 46.1C in Del Rio, 44.4C in Austin, 43.9C in San Antonio and Victoria, 42.8C in Corpus Christie and 40C in Galveston, the hottest day on record in all these places. In San Antonio the old record was 42.2C set on 19th August 1986. 20

Sept 6
1929 During mid morning snow falls at Alton, Iowa, the earliest recorded snowfall here. 7
2002 Typhoon Sinlaku was affecting Japan. In the 36 hour period 0000 GMT on the 5th to 1200 GMT on the 6th 171mm rain fell in Naha, Okinawa; the September average here is 181mm. In Miyakoshima 257mm rain fell in the 24 hours ending 1200 GMT on the 6th. The September average here is 204mm.

Sept 7
1881 Many parts of the northeastern USA recorded their hottest September day on record. Among the record breakers were Boston at 38.9C, New York City at 38.3C and 40C in Washington DC. 20
1991 Calgary suffers Canada's costliest hailstorm on record. $450 million worth of damage is caused.

Sept 8
1900 A storm surge caused by a hurricane swamps Galveston, Texas killing 8,000 people and destroying 3,636 homes. Winds peaked at 125mph and this is the largest hurricane death toll in US history. 7
1987 Temperatures in Miami reach 36.1C, the hottest September day on record here. The previous record was 35C set on September 9 1949. 20

Sept 9

1921 224 people are killed at Thrall in Texas as a weakening depression dumps 970.3mm rain on the town. 924.6mm of the rain falls in 18 hours. 19, 20
1994 After 29 in existence Hurricane John finally became extratropical in the central north Pacific Ocean. John is the longest lived hurricane on record, breaking the old record held by Hurricane Ginger who spent 27 days over the Atlantic Ocean in 1971. 20
2002 168mm rain fell at Nimes, southern France between 0600 GMT on the 8th and 1200 GMT on the 9th. The average September rainfall here is 65mm. In
Orange 68mm fell in the 6 hours between 0600 GMT and 1200 GMT on the 9th, 46mm of it in just one hour. The average September rainfall here is 88mm. The storms responsible for this wet weather kill 20 people in southeastern France where some mountain regions report close to 600mm rain. 20

Sept 10
1900 South Dakota registers its record maximum 24 hour precipitation as 203.2mm rain falls at Elk Point. 11
1960 Hurricane Donna hit the Florida Keys with winds gusting up to 180mph. Naples was inundated with flood water and Fort Myers was in the eye for 71 minutes - usually the eye passes in 10-15 minutes at most! 12 people were killed and a further 1794 were injured. 20
1964 Hurricane Dora hit northeastern Florida. Winds reached 100mph gusting 125mph at St. Augustine and 82mph in Jacksonville - the first time hurricane force winds had been recorded here - whilst 602.7mm rain fell at Mayo, Florida. 20
1976 Tropical Storm Kathleen hit Yuma, Arizona with sustained winds of 57mph, the highest sustained winds on record associated with an eastern Pacific tropical cyclone in the southwestern USA. 20

Sept 11
1877 Locally heavy rain affected some parts of India; 823.0mm rain fell in 24 hours at Nagina and 772.2mm fell at the same time in Janipur. Meanwhile, at Purnea 889.0mm rain fell in 24 hours whilst 1018.5mm fell in the same time period at Jowai. 23
1961 Measuring 4 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale Hurricane Carla makes landfall at Port Lavaca, Texas. The central Texas coast gets hit by winds gusting up to 175mph and as much as 406mm rain. A tornado spawned by the hurricane strikes Galveston Island killing 8 people. In total 45 are killed as a result of the hurricane. 7
1970 A tornado causes a pleasure cruiser to capsize off the Italian Adriatic coast and a nearby campsite was wrecked too. 47 died and hundreds were injured.
1995 Hurricane Luis off the coast of Newfoundland generated a 30m high wave which struck the QE2. This wave is the highest measured in the world! The remnants of Luis affected southern Burin peninsula in Newfoundland washing out roads and bridges. Winds up to 175 km/h damaged homes, yachts and aeroplanes.

Sept 12
1979 Measuring 4 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale Hurricane Frederick makes landfall at Mobile Bay, Alabama. Winds reach 132mph and gusts reach 145mph at Dauphin Island, Alabama. 7

Sept 13
1922 The World's hottest day on record! Al'azizyah in Libya records a high of 58.0C.
1927 700 were killed and the towns of Kojima and Nakamura near Nagasaki, Japan were destroyed by a typhoon and its inevitable storm surge. 23

Sept 14
1927 A tornado 50-70m wide  was reported in Yokohama, Japan whilst at the same time floods and heavy rain affected Tokyo. 23
1987 The snowiest September day on record at Barrow, Alaska where 13cm snow falls. 7
2001 Tropical Storm Gabrielle dumps 162.1mm rain in 24 hours on Tampa, Florida.

Sept 15
1974 Between the 12th and 15th 3,721mm rain fell at Cherrapunji, India. 6

Sept 16
1928 A hurricane moving from Puerto Rico into southern Florida made landfall at Palm Beach and went on to cause floods at Lake Okeechobee which drowned 1,836 people and injured another 1,870 others. 19

Sept 17
1828 Japan's most catastrophic typhoon - the so-called Siebold Typhoon - causes damage over much of Japan and in particular over the southern island Kyushu where a storm surge in the Ariake Sea kills 10,000. 4
1932 Rhode Island registers its record maximum 24 hour precipitation as 308.1mm rain falls at Westerly. 11

Sept 18
1988 18cm snow falls at Great Falls, Montana and more than 30cm falls on some mountain areas in Montana. 7

Sept 19
2000 A F3 tornado killed 3 people in Montpellier, southern France when the construction site hut they were sheltering in was hit by a falling crane. 2

Sept 20
1919 It snowed, the earliest in the autumn widespread snow has been recorded around the UK. 14

Sept 21
1938 The Great New England Hurricane moves across Long Island, New York and New Haven, Connecticut before moving into Massachusetts and Vermont. The storm causes forest damage, flooding and coastal damage as well as killing more than 600 people. 7

Sept 22
1810 One of the two strongest tornadoes on record in the UK affects the area between Old Portsmouth and Southsea Common. Wind speeds are estimated to have been in the 213-240mph range.

Sept 23
1551 A waterspout hits the harbour at Valetta, Malta destroying a shipping armada about to go into battle and killing at least 600 before moving inland. 7
1815 A hurricane at least as powerful as the 1938 The Great New England Hurricane makes landfall at Long Island, New York and then moves across Massachusetts and New Hampshire. It was the worst storm in nearly 200 years in this area. 7
1998 Hurricane Georges hits Haiti and the Dominican Republic on the 22nd and 23rd. The ensuing flash flooding and landslides are the main culprit behind the 580 deaths caused by the hurricane. 7

Sept 24
Watch this space!

Sept 25
1939 A tropical Storm hit southern California and dumped 138mm rain in 24 hours on Los Angeles. 45 people were killed in southern California by floods from the storm. 19

Sept 26
1963 San Diego's hottest day on record; temperatures reach 44C. 19

Sept 27
1936 54cm snow falls in 60 hours at Denver. 7
1959 Typhoon Vera hit Honshu on the 26th and 27th killing more than 5,000, injuring more than 40,000 injured and leaving 1.5 million homeless as 40,000 homes are destroyed. Vera is Japan’s greatest typhoon disaster. 7

Sept 28
1893 Albuquerque, New Mexico records a 24 rainfall record when 57mm rain falls. 7

Sept 29
1927 The USA's 24th deadliest tornado on record strikes St. Louis, Missouri killing 80 people. It is one of only two of the USA deadliest 25 tornadoes to occur outside of April, May and June. 22
1983 Golf ball sized hail destroys crops inn Sydney, Australia. 7

Sept 30
1932 111mm rain falls in 7 hours at Tehachapi, southern Calafornia when a tropical cyclone hits. 15 are killed in the ensuing flooding. 7
1987 Afternoon thunderstorms dump wet snow at South Bend, Indiana. 7

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Dan Suri, last updated 28 July 2003