On This Day: September 17

Tornado Talk Summary

On September 17, 2004, the largest tornado outbreak in Virginia history swept across the state. Per the SPC, 38 tornadoes formed across Virginia. This outbreak was spawned by the remnants of Hurricane Ivan, a former Category 5 storm that decimated portions of the Caribbean and Gulf Coast. Officially, the most powerful of the Virginia portion of the event was an F3 that struck Remington, VA. However, this summary shows the Stanardsville tornado was likely even stronger. In fact, as difficult as it was to find information on this tornado, it could be one of the more powerful ever documented in the region. Intrigued? Read the premium summary here

An aerial view of the stationary vortex created by the tornado (NWS Baltimore/Washington).

SIGTOR Spotlight

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

September 17, 1944: A home ws unroofed and other buildings sustained damage by an estimated F2 tornado in Curry County, NM. It moved across portions of Clovis. Seven were injured. 

Twister From The 2000s

On September 17, 2018, the remnants of Hurricane Florence tracked through Virginia, spawning several tornadoes. The strongest was an EF2 that hit Chesterfield County. Several businesses were heavily damaged or destroyed. A man was killed in the destruction of a warehouse. For more information, check out the summary from NWS Wakefield

The destroyed warehouse, where a man was killed. Photo via NWS Wakefield.
A store that was damaged, photo via NWS Wakefield.
A tree that fell through a home. Photo via NWS Wakefield.

Weather Rewind

There is more weather phenomenon than just tornadoes? 

On This Day in OTHER weather history!

September 17, 1923: A forest fire spread onto the University of California Berkley campus. It caused over $10,000,000 in damage and sadly killed two people. More information can be found here

The fire raging across the campus. Photo via NWS Aberdeen.

Pieces of the Past

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

Sources:  onthisday.com, thisdayinmusic.com & Britannica

Historical Event

In 1787, The US Constitution was signed by delegates at the Philadelphia Convention. Check out more historical events at onthisday.com

Famous Birthday

On this day in 1975, Jimmie Johnson, American race-car driver who won seven National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) championships, was born in El Cajon, CA. Source:  Britannica

Film & TV

On this day in 1972, the TV comedy “M*A*S*H”, adapted from the movie, starring Alan Alda, Loretta Swit, Wayne Rogers, and McLean Stevenson debuted on CBS in the US! Get more daily history at onthisday.com

Music Trivia

On this day in 1931, The first long-playing record, a 33 1/3 rpm recording, was demonstrated at the Savoy Plaza Hotel in New York by RCA-Victor. The venture was doomed to fail however due to the high price of the record players, which started around $95 (about $1140 in today’s dollars) and wasn’t revived until 1948. Get into the groove with more music trivia at thisdayinmusic.com

Photo or Radar of the Day

September 17, 1976: The Space Shuttle Enterprise is unveiled by NASA. This image was catalogued by Armstrong Flight Research Center of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under Photo ID: ECN-8611.

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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