How cold was it?

Last weekend the Midwest experienced an outbreak of tornadoes that killed more than people. November weather just like in the spring in the midwest can be extreme and violent. If we look back in history we will see many days when such dangerous weather patterns have happened, but one that will forever remain at the top of the list was 94years ago this Friday. Nov. 11 is now a holiday, Veterans Day, formerly known as Armistice Day. This Friday is also the anniversary of the biggest cold snap in United States history. For most of our area, the morning of 11/11/11 dawned as a beautiful fall day. The weather had been unseasonably warm that year, as it has been here the past few days. In Kansas City the morning began with temperatures in the mid 60's. By late morning they had set a record high of 76 degrees Fahrenheit. By midnight Kansas City's temperature had dropped to 11 degrees. This low temperature also set a record. For the first time in recorded history a city recorded a record high and low on the same day. It is hard to imagine that in a mere ten hours, the temperature dropped and amazing 65 degrees.

I am not sure what the temperatures were in Nevada that day, but we must have had much of the same. Springfield's weather was even more dramatic than Kansas City's. Springfield reached a high of 80 degrees before the storm moved in. Within two hours the front had lowered the outside air to 40 degrees. By midnight Springfield's cold snap had dropped to 13 degrees a shift of 67 degrees.

Oklahoma City, which is normally warmer than our area, was also greatly affected. They fell from a hot 83 degrees to 17 degrees. Throughout the midwest record highs and lows were set which remain the records still today.

It was not just extreme temperatures that we find when we look back to that day. In Janesville, Wisconsin, the cold front collided with the warm most air resulting in an F4 Tornado which killed 9 people and injured 50.

All through the upper midwest there were more killer tornadoes. In Ohio the front caused a snow blizzard. In Oklahoma the wind change created a huge dust storm. In towns where the tornadoes had struck, workers rushed in to try and find people trapped from the storm. Within a couple of hours they were forced to stop searching as they found themselves totally overwhelmed by a massive blinding blizzard and temperatures falling close to zero.

That dramatic day will always be in the record books I hope as the worst, but there are indications that this might not be the case. The argument over global warming and our recent hurricane and tornado outbreaks is raging. Both sides give evidence that they know for sure that global warming is or is not happening. I doubt that either knows for sure, and it may be several years or decades before we know for sure.

There has even been a few movies recently about the idea of dangerous weather changes. Hollywood is always ready to jump in and get on the band wagon. While these movies do serve a purpose of awakening people to the possibility of global weather change. As is often the case they tend to exaggerate over the top.

I thought about those people back then. They had no weather channel complete with satellite and other modern weather tools to let them know ahead of time that the dramatic changes were coming. Imagine sending your kid to school that morning in short sleeves with no jacket, only to see the weather turn into a killer cold snap.

Last weekend in Indiana most of the people killed were in trailer homes. It seems that they are always the target that killer tornadoes seek out. It was even worse because it happened in the middle of the night, and many people did not or could not hear the warning sirens.

Here in good old Vernon County we are used to rapid weather change. In 1995 we had the now famous micro burst. A couple of years ago we saw places like Stockton practically wiped out. Even so as is often the case with human beings, we tend to never be quite as aware as we should be about the dangers of weather.

We are long overdue for a violent and dangerous winter. How many of you have the supplies and plans on hand to deal with a really devastating winter storm? In our insulated and complacent society, we no longer make preparations for the long term. We always think we will have time if the weather channel gives us warning to go and buy what we will need.

Nothing could be further from the truth as was evidenced by the inability of people to get what they needed the past few months when disaster struck.

Water a basic staple of human need was often not available much less the many other life sustaining supplies people needed.

In researching this cold snap I checked several web sites including WorldHistory.com. which was my main source for this article. The internet is full of the history of weather disasters.

How cold can it get? We might just find out and not like what we find. A few simple home preparations for all of us would be a great idea no matter what the season or the weather danger.