LANDMARKS OF WORLD HISTORY
A Chronology of Remarkable Natural Phenomena
20th Century 1941-1950
Numbers show sources
Date
Location
Phenomenon
Description
1941 February 16 - 18
Spain
Gale
A ‘hurricane’ in the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic coasts of Spain and Portugal killed 145 persons. (7)
1941 March 1
Greece
Earthquake
The town of Larissa was badly damaged by an earthquake. 25 persons were killed. Most of the inhabitants had been evacuated following Italian air raids. (45)
1941 March 1
Scotland
Aurora
An auroral corona overhead at Coupar Angus. An almost simultaneous great aurora in Tasmania. (14)
1941 March 6
England
Halo complex
The 22° and 46° haloes, parhelia, contact arcs, parhelic circle, anthelion and various arcs were observed in the Midlands. (82)
1941 April 15
Mexico
Earthquake and volcano
An earthquake, seismic sea wave and eruption of the Colima volcano. There was much damage in Mexico City and elsewhere. 174 persons were killed. (7)
1941 May 4
England
Spring cold
A minimum temperature of 15° F. (-9.4° C.) at Lynford, Norfolk.
1941 May 25
India
Storm
A storm in the Ganges Delta drowned about 5,000 persons. (7)
1941 July 18
South Vietnam
Meteorite
An 11 kg. (24 lbs.) stone was seen to fall at Phuoc-Binh. (38)
1941 August 16
Ireland
Tornado
A tornado 15 yards in diameter unroofed houses near Camick-on-Suir. (11)
1941 September 16
*
Sunspot
A giant sunspot group accompanied by a great magnetic storm. (14)
1941 September 18
England, United States
Aurora
A brilliant red aurora seen from Northumberland. Most of Britain was cloudy. A red aurora seen from Ohio, with reported ‘snapping’ and ‘rustling’ sounds. (34)
1941 September 23
Texas, United States
Hurricane
A severe hurricane described a loop in the Gulf of Mexico and crossed the Texas coast. Much damage in Houston. 25,000 persons were evacuated. (91)
1941 September 27
Caribbean Sea
Hurricane
The town of Cape Gracias in Nicaragua was flooded and wrecked. Most of the inhabitants had left. On September 29 the city of Tegucigalpa, Honduras was devastated. 100 persons were killed. (91)
1941 December 13
Peru
Avalanche
An avalanche into a glacial lake caused a flood which destroyed part of Huaras. Over 500 persons were drowned. (7)
1941 December 13
Sweden
Winter cold
A minimum temperature of -63.9° F. (-53.3° C.) at Laxbacken. (32)
1942 January 6
Iraq
Cold
A temperature of 6° F. (-14° C.) at Rutbah. (32, 41)
1942 January 6
Brazil
Rain
A ‘cloudburst’ drowned 28 persons in Rio de Janeiro. (7)
1942 January 25
Romania
Winter cold
A temperature of -37.3° F. (-38.5° C.) at Bod. (32)
1942 January 26 -27
Winter cold
Europe
A minimum temperature of -23.8° F. (-31° C) in Denmark on Jan. 26: -17.3° F. (-27.4° C.) in the Netherlands on Jan. 27. (32)
1942 February 28
*
Sunspot
A very large sunspot group and major solar flare. This led to the discovery of solar radio noise by J.S. Hey. (15)
1942 March 12
Finland
Comet?
A rapidly moving stellar object, mag. 13, was discovered from Finland on 12 March. Rough calculations indicated that it would pass within 2 million miles of the Earth in April. (83)
1942 March 16
United States
Tornadoes
A tornado outbreak in Illinois, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama killed 149 persons. (31)
1942 April 27
Oklahoma, United States
Tornado
A tornado killed about 100 persons at Pryor. (7)
1942 May 6
England
Low humidity
A relative humidity of 9% recorded at Woodthorpe, Nottinghamshire. (93)
1942 May 13
Earthquake
Ecuador
A magnitude 8.3 shock devastated the port of Guayaquil. ‘Several hundred’ persons were killed. (47)
1942 May 31
Seiche?
Ohio, United States
A huge wave from Lake Erie drowned 7 persons in Cleveland. (74)
1942 June 22
Middle East
Heat
A temperature of 129° F. (54° C.) in Israel and 124° F. (51° C.) in Jordan. (32)
1942 July 19
Pennsylvania, United States
Floods
‘Flash floods’ devastated towns and villages in north central Pennsylvania. (32)
1942 July 31
Pennsylvania, United States
Lightning
8 persons were killed by lightning in the Philadelphia area. (32)
1942 August 1
South Korea
Heat
A temperature of 104° F. (40° C.) at Taegu. (32)
1942 October 16
India
Typhoon
A typhoon and storm surge drowned 40,000 persons in Bengal. (7)
1942 November 14
India
‘Cyclone’
A cyclone with heavy rains killed about 650 persons near Calcutta. (7)
1942 December 16
United States
Comet
A comet discovered by Dr. Whipple at Harvard. In January 1943 it was visible to the naked eye from Britain. (9)
1942 December 21
Turkey
Earthquake
A magnitude 7.3 shock killed 493 persons in central Anatolia. (46)
1943 January 13
North Dakota, United States
Temperature extreme
The temperature at Rapid City rose from -17° F. at 8 a.m. to 47° F. at 10 p.m. (35)
1943 January 22
South Dakota, United States
Temperature extreme
The temperature at Spearfish at 7.30 a.m. rose from -4° F. to 45° F. in two minutes. At 9 a.m. the temperature fell from 54° F. to -4° F. in 27 minutes. (26)
1943 February 20
Mexico
New volcano
A hole near Paracutin began to emit smoke. Next day a cone was 100 feet high and emitted lava. The eruption continued until March 4, 1952, when the cone was 1,500 feet high. (66)
1943 March 9
Ohio, United State
Earthquake
A shock beneath Lake Erie was felt in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York and Canada. Windows were broken and plaster cracked. (12)
1943 June - November
*
Sunspot
A long-lived sunspot made 7 passages of the solar central meridian. (15)
1943 June 22
Anatolia, Turkey
Earthquake
1,200 buildings were destroyed in the town of Adabazar. Over 1,300 persons were killed. (48)
1943 July 17
Spain
Heat
A temperature of 115.2° F. (46.2° C.) at Gualucacin. (32)
1943 July 21
Iraq
Heat
A temperature of 121° F. at Baghdad. (40)
1943 July 26
Oklahoma, United States
Heat
A temperature of 120° F. near Tishmoningo. (97)
1943 July 27
Texas, United States
Hurricane
J. P. Duckworth flew an AT-6 training aircraft into the eye of a hurricane near Bryan. (24)
1943 September 13
Florida, United States
Hurricane
A B-25 aircraft recorded a wind speed of 125 miles an hour in a hurricane near West Palm Beach. (24)
1943 October
Lancashire, England
Tornado
10 houses were partly destroyed and a woman killed by a tornado at Widnes. (99)
1943 November 25
Oklahoma, United States
Meteorites
A shower of stones fell at Leedy. Over 20 were found, total weight 50 kg. (38)
1944 January 15
Argentina
Earthquake
A shock which wrecked San Juan was reported to have killed 5,000 persons. (73)
1944 February
Chile
Heat
A temperature of 106.9° F. (41.6° C.) at Los Angeles. (32)
1944 March 19
Italy
Volcano
An eruption of Vesuvius began. (20, 21)
1944 March 26
Tibet
Meteorite
A stone-fall was said to have made a 10-foot diameter crater at Tulung Dzong. (38)
1944 May 20
Texas, United States
Meteor
A meteor near Pampa left a trail 23 miles high, visible for 20 minutes. (74)
1944 June 16
Iowa, United States
Tornado
A tornado in Souix County was stationary for up to 20 minutes before moving 3 miles in a U-turn. (25)
1944 June 23
Hokkaido, Japan
Volcano
A crater opened near the Usu volcano. On 2 July an explosion expelled 2 million tons of ash, with great crop and forest damage. The village of Fukada was abandoned. (101)
1944 June 23
United States
Tornadoes
Four tornadoes in parallel paths killed 153 persons in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland. (25)
1944 July 31
Portugal
Heat
A temperature of 111.4° F. (44.1° C.) at Coimbra. (32)
1944 August 23
Lancashire, England
Thunderstorm
A B-24 aircraft was struck by lightning or encountered a tornado near Southport. The crash kllled 60 persons, 51 on the ground. (49, 76)
1944 August 23
Holland
Summer heat
A temperature of 101° F. (38.6° C.) at Warnsveld. (100)
1944 September 5
North America
Earthquake
An earthquake centred 60 miles SE of Ottawa shook the eastern seaboard from Canada to Virginia. (74)
1944 November 24
Japan
Jet stream
B-29 bombers at 28,000 feet met a 150 m.p.h westerly wind near Honshu. Ground speeds of 445 m.p.h. were registered. (98)
1944 December 7
Japan
Earthquake
A magnitude 8.1 shock and seismic sea wave killed 1,223 persons in the Wakayama Prefecture.
1944 December 17
Near the Philippine Islands
Typhoon
Task Force 38 of the United States Navy lost 3 ships, 146 aircraft and 790 men in a typhoon. (66)
1945 January 1
Kuriles, Kamchatka
Volcano
An ‘enormous explosion’ from the Kiluche volcano. (94)
1945 January 18
England
Tornado
A tornado associated with a line squall destroyed buildings and trees at Whipsnade Zoo. Staff at first thought a ‘rocket-bomb’ (V2) had fallen. (61)
1945 January 24
England
Rime
A widespread deposit of rime in eastern England after an intensely cold spell.
1945 February 2
Kenya, Africa
Meteorite
A 13 lbs. stone fell at Meru. (38)
1945 March 14
South East Asia
Tornado?
A storm of ‘hurricane violence’ struck a B-29 Superfortress bomber base. 8 men were killed, 150 injured and 25 aircraft damaged. (1)
1945 May 4
United States
Meteor
An ‘enormous bolide’ passed over Pennsylvania and burst near Wilmington, Delaware. Houses were shaken and thousands of persons awakened. (1)
1945 June 14
Australia
Cold
A temperature of -8° F. at Charlotte Pass. (17)
1945 June 18
Madagascar
Cold
A temperature of 20.7° F. (-6.3° C.) at Antsirabe. (32)
1945 July
Uruguay
Cold
A temperature of 19.4° F. (-7° C.) at Paysandu. (32)
1945 July 5
Almeria Province, Spain
Whirlwind
A whirling column ‘of a luminous brown colour’ struck with a roar and started fires. (28)
1945 July 10
New Jersey, United States
Thunderstorm
An ‘electrical storm’ at Phillipsburg killed 8 persons and did ‘huge property damage’. (1)
1945 September 2
Russia
Tornado
A tornado up to 300 metres wide with a track 15 kilometres long destroyed buildings and caused ‘loss of life’ near Moscow. (79)
1945 September 16
Okinawa
Typhoon
The USS Repose recorded a barometric pressure of 25.55 inches (856 millibars) in a typhoon off Okinawa. (33)
1945 September 17
Japan
Typhoon
A typhoon struck Hiroshima 42 days after the atomic bomb attack. 1,229 persons were killed in Hiroshima prefecture, 741 elsewhere. (10)
1945 October 24
Sussex, England
Tornado
A tornado caused ‘considerable damage’ at Wivelsfield and Newtimber. (61)
1945 November 28
India
Earthquake
A submarine earthquake in the Arabian Sea caused a 40-foot seismic sea wave between Karachi and Makrun. The port of Pasni was ‘razed’. About 200 persons were killed. (50)
1946
Russian Arctic
Ball lightning
A ‘blinding white ball’ appeared inside an aircraft flying at 1,200 metres. It rolled under the radio operator’s seat and exploded, melting the metal legs. No-one was hurt. The air was clear. (44)
1946
East Africa
Meteorite impact?
An ‘enormous explosion’ north of Mount Kenya was reported to have flattened villages over a 60-mile diameter area. (87)
1946 January 21
Ukraine
Meteorites
A shower of stones totalling 50 kg. fell at Krymka. (38)
1946 January 25 -26
Switzerland
Earthquake
Towns of Sierre and Sion badly damaged. Church steeples collapsed. Shocks felt in N. Italy and Lyons. (52)
1946 February 4
Warwickshire, England
Tornado
A tornado at Witton, Birmingham, unroofed a building and injured 2 persons. (61)
1946 February 5
*
Sunspot
A giant sunspot group, area 5,200 millionths of the solar surface. “Much geophysical disturbance’. (15)
1946 March 5
Geneva, Switzerland
Solar flare
A white light solar flare in the giant sunspot group of Feb. 5. The flare was followed by a magnetic storm, complete short-wave radio fading, great increase in solar noise, ‘and other geophysical effects’. (15)
1946 April
North Sea
Waterspouts
14 waterspouts were seen in a few minutes (12 at once) off the English east coast. (85)
1946 April 1
Pacific Ocean
Earthquake and tsunami
An earthquake in the Aleutian Deep created a seismic sea wave 57 feet high which drowned 179 persons in Hawaii. The wave also struck Alaska, California, Chile and Easter Island. (88)
1946 May 16
Mexico
Meteorites
A meteorite fall at Santa Ana was reported to have destroyed many houses and injured 28 persons. (67)
1946 May 30
*
Solar event
The largest prominence yet photographed appeared near the south pole of the Sun. (84)
1946 June 1
Turkey
Earthquake
A shock in eastern Anatolia destroyed a number of villages and killed 883 persons. (53)
1946 June 23
Canada
Earthquake
A shock caused extensive damage in Vancouver Island. 2 persons were killed.
1946 June 28
New Mexico, United States
Meteorological research
A V2 rocket fitted with instruments for upper atmosphere study reached an altitude of 67 miles from White Sands.
1946 July 25
*
Solar flare
“One of the most brilliant and extensive (solar) flares ever recorded’ associated with a giant sunspot group. The flare extended to a distance of a solar semi-diameter. (15, 87)
1946 July 28
Gloucestershire, England
Tornado
A tornado at Kemble damaged trees and buildings. Dakota aircraft at an RAF station were ‘thrown about’. (75)
1946 July 27 - 28
Norway
Anomalous phenomena
Oslo was shaken by two great nocturnal explosions in the air. “Mysterious objects’ were reported flying over Norway during July. (54)
1946 July 28
Oklahoma, United States
Meteorite
A 62 lbs. stone fell at Walters. (38)
1946 August 2
Texas, United States
Meteorite
A stone fell into a swimming pool at Marathon. 70 kg. (154 lbs.) were found. (38)
1946 August 4
Dominican Republic
Earthquake
A submarine earthquake with seismic sea waves devastated coastal districts. The town of Matanzas was destroyed. 73 persons were killed. The shock was felt in Haiti, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Trinidad. (2)
1946 August 11 - 12
Sweden
Anomalous phenomena
On the night of Aug. 11-12, ‘rocket bombs’ were reported over Stockholm. During August, ‘ghost-rockets’ became ‘a common sight over Sweden’. (54)
1946 August 21
Denmark
Anomalous phenomena
‘Rocket missiles’ were sighted over Denmark. (54)
1946 September 6
Italy
Heat
A temperature of 114° F. (46° C.) at Foggia. (32)
1946 October 9 - 10
*
Meteors
The Draconid meteor shower reached an estimated hourly rate of nearly 3,000. It lasted 3 hours. This was the first meteor shower detected by radar. (64)
1946 December 19
North Atlantic Ocean
Gale
The MV Chinese Prince recorded a barometer reading of 27.18 inches (920.4 millibars) in the calm centre of a severe gale, 59° N., 13.6° W. (68)
1946 December 21
Japan
Earthquake
A submarine earthquake followed by a seismc sea wave killed 2,000 persons in Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu islands. (80)
1946 December 25
Fog
China
Four transport aircraft crashed in heavy fog over Shanghai. 91 persons were killed. (2)
1947 January 10
North Atlantic Ocean
Low barometer
Pressure fell below 940 millibars SW of Greenland in the centre of an enormous depression which filled almost the whole North Atlantic. (77)
1947 January 25
Portugal
Cold
A temperature of 12.2° F. (-11° C.) at Penhas Douradas. (32)
1947 February
North Wales
Snow
An accumulated level snow depth of 60 inches (1,524 mm.) in the Clwyd Hills. (32)
1947 February 10
Sweden
Ice
The port of Stockholm was closed by sea ice. Many vessels were frozen fast along the coast. (63)
1947 February 11
Baltic Sea
Ice
RAF aircraft dropped food to an icebound Norwegian steamer trapped for 5 days with exhausted supplies. (63)
1947 February 12
Siberia
Meteorites
A fireball as large as the Moon and as bright as the Sun passed over the Sikhote-Alin mountains, followed by a rain of iron meteorites which left about 30 craters up to 98 feet wide. (102)
1947 February 22
British Isles
Snow
Snowstorms affected the whole of Britain except the north of Scotland. 15 inches of snow fell in Yorkshire. Ice floes were reported in the North Sea, the English Channel and the Thames Estuary. (55)
1947 February 25
British Isles
Snow
‘The worst blizzard in living memory’ swept N. England, Wales, and Scotland.Several large towns were isolated. (56)
1947 March 2
Aberdeen, Scotland
Cold
The end of a period of continuous ground frost beginning on January 27. (42)
1947 March 4 - 6
England and Wales
Blizzards
Snowstorms ‘of almost unparalleled severity’ blocked 300 main roads. Drifts 30 feet deep at Llchfield. (59)
1947 March 7
New Mexico, United States
Meteorological research
A V2 rocket launched from White Sands photographed the Earth from a height of about 100 miles. (29)
1947 March 10
England
Floods
After a thaw, ‘floods of a magnitude almost unknown before’ affected over 30 English counties. At Chertsey the River Thames was 3 miles wide. (58)
1947 March 25
New Zealand
Earthquake
A submarine earthquake off the east coast generated seismic sea waves 30 feet high. Houses and roads were destroyed. No-one was hurt. (3)
1947 March 29
Iceland
Volcano
Hekla began its first eruption for 102 years. An ash cloud rose to 25,000 feet. Ash fell 200 miles away. (60)
1947 April 6
United States
Tornadoes
A tornado or tornado family travelled 221 miles from Texas to Kansas. 101 persons were killed in Oklahoma and 66 in Texas. (25)
1947 April 7
London, England
Sunspot
A giant sunspot, ‘the greatest ever recorded at Greenwich’ crossed the central solar meridian for the second time. Its maximum area was 6,200,000,000 square miles. (15, 106)
1947 April 9
United States
Tornadoes
A tornado outbreak from White Deer, Texas, through Oklahoma, to St. Leo, Kansas, killed 167 persons. (3)
1947 May 31
Oklahoma, United States
Tornado
A fire alarm and public address system gave half an hour’s warning of an approaching tornado to the town of Leedly. The town was two-thirds demolished. 6 persons were killed. (25)
1947 June 8 - 10
United States
Floods
Mississippi River floods inundated a million acres of farmland in central Missouri. 22,240 persons were made homeless. (2)
1947 June 27
Belgium
Heat
A temperature of 101° F. (40° C.) ‘on the coast’. (32)
1947 June 27
Essex, England
Thunderstorm
A storm 41,000 feet high, moving at 40 knots, formed a tornado near Colchester. (22)
1947 July 9
Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland
Ball lightning
A fireball ran along electric wires at Castle Douglas, struck a large oak tree and exploded, shattering it. Every fuse in the house blew. No rain or thunder. (4)
1947 July 29
Switzerland
Heat
A temperature of 101.7° F. (38.7° C.) at Basel. (32)
1947 August 1
Peru
Cold
A temperature of -4.4° F. (-20.2° C.) at Imata. (32)
1947 August 5
Austria
Heat
A maximum temperature of 100.3° F. in Vienna. (30)
1947 August 15 -16
Suffolk, England
Aurora
Aurorae were observed from Framlingham on 10 successive nights, August 10 - 22. The brightest was on Aug. 15 - 16 (8)
1947 October 23
Louisiana, United States
Fall
Hundreds of freshwater fish, of 5 different species fell on Marksville in foggy weather. Several persons were struck by falling fish. (19)
1948
*
Stellar phenomenon
Discovery of the powerful radio source Cassiopeia A. In 1951 a faint visual object in its position was photographed with the 200-inch telescope. (103)
1948 February 7
North Atlantic Ocean
Meteor?
A cylindrical, hollow ‘condensation trail’ was seen from an aeroplane in a clear sky. It extended from above 40,000 feet to about 8,000 feet, and was about 60 miles long. (19)
1948 February 18
Kansas, United States
Meteor
A huge bolide moving from SW to NE exploded near Norton. A ton of ‘very friable’ meteoritic material was recovered. (18)
1948 March 25
Oklahoma, United States
Tornado
Major E.J. Fawbush and Capt. R.C. Miller issued a tornado warning for the Tinker Air Force Base. A tornado struck the base at 6.10 p.m. (39)
1948 March 26
Ohio, United States
Fall
A green rain stained cars, houses, pavements and clothes at Dayton. (104)
1948 May
*
Sunspots
Four naked-eye sunspots were visible simultaneously. (15)
1948 May 26
Greenwich
Sunspots
Sunspot group appeared on eastern solar limb on 26 May and lasted to 11 November, 170 days. (106)
1948 May 31
Ireland
Tornado
A tornado uprooted trees and unroofed buildings at Kill, Co. Kildare. (6)
1948 June 10
Whipsnade
Ball lightning
A reddish-white ball twice football-sized exploded, scattering fragments. No damage found. (105)
1948 June 19
Peru
Heat
A temperature of 101.3° F. (38.5° C.) at Iquitos. (32)
1948 June 28
Japan
Earthquake
A mag. 7.3 earthquake destroyed the town of Fukui. Over 3,500 persons were killed, most in fires following the shock. (95)
1948 July 14
Kansas, United States
Thunderstorm
Destructive ‘downburst’ winds of over 100 m.p.h. for 5 minutes and 75 m.p.h. winds for 55 minutes were recorded in central Kansas. (31)
1948 July 29
Scotland
Summer heat
A maximum temperature of 90° F. (32.2° C.) was recorded at Prestwick, Kilmarnock and Ruthwell. (43)
1948 August 20
*
Lunar event
The lunar crater Picard and a bay in the Mare Crisium were covered with a ’shining, misty veil’. (96)
1948 September 5
Azores
Iceberg
An iceberg awash, about 30 feet long, was sighted 25 miles from Graciosa. The sea temperature was 72° F. (69)
1948 October
U.S.S.R.
Earthquake
An earthquake at Ashkhabad killed 20,000 persons.
1948 October 25
Pennsylvania, United States
Smog
A smoke-fog at Donora lasted until Oct. 25. 20 persons died. (27)
1948 November 5
Netherlands
Tornado
A tornadic waterspout passed over an anemometer in the island of Vlieland. Recorded wind speed exceeded 185 km/hr. (90)
1948 November 8
New Zealand
First observation of the ‘Eclipse Comet’, 1948l. Perihelion date Oct. 27. The comet reached magnitude 2 with a tail 20° long. (37)
1948 December 2
Ross and Cromarty, Scotland
Winter warmth
A maximum temperature of 65° F. (18.3° C.) at Achnashellach. (41)
1948 December 13
Worcester/Staffordshire, England
Tornado
A tornado at Netherton damaged 47 houses and injured 2 persons. (85)
1948 December 29
Nevada, United States
Earthquake
A magnitude 6 earthquake shook a 40,000 square mile area. Every one of the 75 houses in the town of Verdi was damaged. (89)
1949 January 11
Belgian Congo (Zaire), Africa
Cold
A minimum temperature of 29.3° F. (-1.5° C.) (32)
1949 January 11
Costa Rica
Cold
An air temperature of 30° F. (-1.1° C.) at Cerro Buena Vista. (32)
1949 February 25
Bay of Bengal
Marine luminescence
A ‘phosphorescent wheel’ was observed from the SS Laomedon. ‘Bars of phosphorescence’ rotated rapidly round a centre not visible. (72)
1949 March 1
Mexico
Cold
An air temperature of -19° F. (-28° C.) at Balerio. (32)
1949 April 16
London, England
Spring warmth
A maximum temperature of 85° F. (29.4° C.) at Camden Square. (41)
1949 June 2
Oklahoma, United States
Tornado
A tornado in Caddo County described a path that was almost a perfect circle 2 miles in diameter. (31)
1949 June 11
U.S.S.R.
Meteorites
A shower of about 20 stones fell at Kunashak. Total weight was over 200 kg. (38)
1949 July 6
Portugal
Anomalous heat
Early morning temperatures in several towns rose from 100° F. to 158° F. in two minutes. The Mondego River dried up. (36)
1949 July 10
U.S.S.R.
Earthquake
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake in Tadzhikistan killed 12,000 persons. (95)
1949 July 13
New Zealand
Fall
Thousands of fish fell on a 10-acre field near Hastings during a rain storm. (62)
1949 July 23
Straits of Malacca
Marine luminescence
A ‘phosphorescent wheel’ was observed from the SS City of Sydney. Revolving waves of light developed into a ‘revolving cartwheel’. (71)
1949 August 5
Ecuador
Earthquake
A mag. 7.5 earthquake killed over 6,000 persons along the eastern Andes. The city of Pelileo was ‘sunken 20 feet’. (80)
1949 August 22
British Columbia, Canada
Earthquake
A mag, 8.1 earthquake off Graham Island.
1949 October 20
Essex, England
Tornado
A tornado on the coast of the Thames Estuary unroofed houses and broke trees.
1950 January 16
Japan
Planetary phenomenon
T. Saeki telescopically observed a circular ‘grey cloud’ about 900 miles in diameter and 60 miles high on Mars. It was seen for 30 minutes. (92)
1950 April 25
Kent, England
Late snow
A blizzard left 6 to 18 inches of snow in Surrey and north Kent. Fruit trees in blossom were badly damaged. (13)
1950 May 21
East Anglia, England
Tornadoes
The strongest of at least three tornadoes moved from Wendover, Buckinghamshire to Blakeney, Norfolk, about 120 miles. Houses were unroofed at Linslade. (65)
1950 July 5
Hungary
Heat
A temperature of 106.3° F. (41.2° C.) at Pecs. (32)
1950 July 21
France
Tornado
A tornado at Cambrai killed 8 persons and injured 200. (25)
1950 August
China
Floods
The rivers Hwai and Yangtze flooded Anhwei, Kiangow and other Chinese provinces. 489 persons were killed and 5 million acres of cultivated land inundated. (80)
1950 August 6
Brazil
Meteorites
A shower of at least 20 stones fell at Patrimonio. (38)
1950 August 15
Assam, India
Earthquake
A mag. 8.7 earthquake killed over 1,000 persons. Geysers of hot water and steam shot from fissures, and landslides blocked rivers. (38)
1950 August 23
France, Netherlands
Tornadoes
A tornado struck an Air Force base at Avord, France. Several buildings collapsed and about 20 aircraft were wrecked. A tornado in the central Netherlands destroyed ‘tens of thousands of trees’. (25, 90)
1950 September 26
Pennsylvania, United States
Fall
A jelly-like mass about 6 feet long was seen to fall in a field at Philadelphia. It evaporated in half an hour. (28)
1950 September 26
British Isles
Optical phenomena
A blue Sun and Moon were seen from many places. An aircraft found a ‘thick brown haze’ at a height of 6 miles. It originated from great forest fires in Canada. (16, 23)
1950 October 4
South China Sea
Rare halo
A lunar halo of 34° radius was observed from the MV Silveroak. (72)
1950 December 26
Scotland
Fall
A mass of ice fell on a road and smashed at Dunbarton. 112 pounds of ice were collected. (19)
