On this Day in Weather History...A devastating day in Navy history. *In 1944, the ships of U.S. Navy Task Force 38, consisting of 7 fleet and 6 light aircraft carriers, 8 battleships, 15 cruisers, and around 150 destroyers were operating around 300 miles east of Luzon in the Philippine Sea when a small, but violent, typhoon overtook the task force with little warning. Many of the ships were caught near the center of the typhoon and buffeted by extreme seas and winds that briefly reached 145 mph. Three destroyers capsized and sank with nearly all crew, while a cruiser, 5 aircraft carriers, and 3 destroyers were seriously damaged. Approximately 790 men were killed. Fires occurred on 3 carriers when planes broke loose in their hangars and 146 planes on various ships were lost or damaged beyond repair, some of which were swept overboard. *In 1983 a week of bitterly cold weather began as arctic air invaded the central plains region. The temperature at Dodge City did not rise above 4 degrees until Christmas day when the temperature rose to 12 degrees. This was the coldest December of record by far for Dodge City since records were begun in 1874.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 12:18:17 +0000
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