On This Day: January 17

Tornado Talk Summary

Twenty-two tornadoes were confirmed on January 17, 1999. They encompassed the states of Arkanasas, Mississippi and Tennessee. The strongest were in TN with 2-F3s reported and the strongest and deadliest, an F4 that moved through parts of Madison County and the town of Jackson. Read the full summary about that event here! 

From Storm Data: An aerial view of a Jackson-Madison County school bus that was tossed about 300 yards from its bus barn. (Photograph courtesy of Robert Cohen, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN.

SIGTOR Spotlight

Highlighting a Tornado Before 1950
from Significant Tornadoes by Thomas Grazulis!

January 17, 1870: Grazulis documents a tornado that moved from near Park City, KY to Cave City. Fifty homes were damaged/destroyed. Eight people were killed, some of the bodies were found 300 yards from where they were sleeping when the twister hit. 30 were injured. Grazulis has no rating for this tornado. 

18 Jan 1870, Tue Detroit Free Press (Detroit, Michigan) Newspapers.com

Twister From The 2000s

January 17, 2016: An EF2 tornado tracked for 9 miles near Duette, FL. Two people were killed in the destruction of a trailer; four others were injured.   Source. 

The destroyed trailer. Photo via the Damage Assessment Toolkit (DAT).

Weather Rewind

There is more weather phenomenon than just tornadoes? 

On This Day in OTHER weather history!

January 17, 1994: The Northridge Earthquake rattled the Los Angeles Metro. The 6.7 magnitude quake collapsed many buildings and destroyed portions of the Golden State Freeway. 57 people were killed, and over 8,700 others were injured. Source. 

Part of the collapsed freeway, photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Pieces of the Past

A Look Back Through The Ages!  On This Day In History! 

Sources:  onthisday.com, thisdayinmusic.com & Britannica! 

Historical Event

On this day in 1991, Operation Desert Storm begins, with US-led coalition forces bombing Iraq, during the Gulf War. Check out more historical events at onthisday.com! 

Famous Birthday

On this day in 1922, Betty White, American actress best known for her comedic work on numerous television sitcoms, most notably The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls, was born in Oak Park, Illinois. She died in 2021. Source:  Britannica. 

Film & TV

On this day in 1984, Supreme Court rules (5-4) that private use of home VCRs to tape TV programs for later viewing does not violate federal copyright laws! Get more daily history at onthisday.com! 

Music Trivia

On this day in 1966, NBC-TV in the US bought The Monkees series, placing it on their 1966 autumn schedule. The series centered on the adventures of The Monkees, a struggling rock band from Los Angeles, California and introduced a number of innovative new-wave film techniques to television. Get into the groove with more music trivia at thisdayinmusic.com! 

Photo of the Day

January 17, 1917: The United States paid Denmark $25 Million to acquire the Virgin Islands. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Note:  There are some images/videos in our summaries that were licensed to us to be used only on this website. If you would like to use an image/video in your project or blog, please contact us and we will grant permission if possible.

Newspaper clips are embedded via newspapers.com. Please see their terms and conditions.

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