STEVE'S "WILD" WORLD OF WEATHER...
AN EARLY OCTOBER COLD SPELL:
On October 13, 1917 unseasonably cold weather brought the temperatures down into the teens across most of Iowa. Some of the colder readings were:
Oskaloosa - 12
Fayette - 13
Marshalltown - 14
There was considerable damage to the late fall crops such as apples, corn and potatoes.
A DEADLY OCTOBER TORNADO:
A strong storm system produced a tornado outbreak across parts of the Upper Midwest on October 14, 1966. The cold air behind the system dumped 4.0" of snow Sioux City.
The most violent tornado of the outbreak swept through the city of Belmond in north-central Iowa around 2:00 p.m. The massive F4 tornado was up to 1,000 yards wide at times and left a path of death and destruction 12 miles long. The storm damaged 75% of the businesses, leveled 109 homes and damaged another 468.
There were 6 fatalities and 172 injuries. If the storm would have struck a half hour earlier the death toll would have probably been much higher as there was a homecoming parade going on with hundreds of people lining the streets.
There were several other weaker tornadoes that day in central Iowa. There was one that tracked from Prairie City to Colfax, another tracked from Clive to Urbandale to Johnston and a third traveled from Saylorville to Ankeny.
OCTOBER HAS 19 FINE DAYS:
There is a bit of folklore that states - There are always 19 fine days in October. If by fine they mean dry days then the saying is true. My research has found that October averages 10 days with measurable rainfall during the month since 2000.
OUR FIRST FROST AND THE CICADA PREDICTION:
The Lowden area received it's 32 degree temperature before midnight on the 4th. If you recall my blog about cicadas and frost back in the middle of July I had stated that it would be either 12 weeks, 90 days or 3 months before the first freezing temperature. The 4th of October is exactly between 12 weeks and 90 days.
FIRST KATYDID SINGING AND FROST:
I should have posted this back in August when I heard the first katydid on August 24th. The folklore states that you will have your first frost 6 weeks after you hear your first one. They look like a green grasshopper and they usually make their "tick-ticking" sound in the evening. The 4th of October makes it one day short of 6 weeks. Not bad for an insect?
That's all for this addition. On the "wild" side of weather I'm Steve Gottschalk.
