Uploaded April 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The weirdest weather the US has ever had! From sudden bouts of darkness to tornadoes filled with flames and creatures falling from the sky.
#6 Tornado Tantrums (1974 & 2011)
Tornadoes plague the midwest almost annually, and at times, more than one can touch down in a given place. But on April 3 and April 4 in 1974, a flood of tornadoes spread across 13 states in the Ohio valley, causing over a billion dollars (adjusted for inflation) in damage and claiming the lives of 335 people in the process. An astounding 148 twisters tore into the U.S., with some reaching a circumference of 5 miles wide! Then again in 2011, from April 25 to April 28, another flurry of tornadoes ravaged America, hitting as far north as Pennsylvania and New York and reaching down to the Deep South. As warm air at the ground level collided with the colder airs above, and atmospheric wind shears moved in, these catastrophic disasters left their mark on populated areas repeatedly throughout the 3-day span. This time, 349 twisters took the lives of over 300 people, and caused 10.8 billion dollars in damage!
#5 Dark Day (1780)
In the 18th Century, meteorology wasn’t anywhere near as exact or capable of explaining weather-related phenomena the way is today. So it’s no wonder that accounts of the day when the sky went dark on May 19, 1780 are so superstitious and foreboding. Following right on the tail end of the American Revolution, the newly founded nation was already tense. So when the Sun turned red, black rain fell from the sky carrying the scent of coal fire, and the population had to rely on candlelight in the middle of the day to see, you can understand how frightened Americans might’ve felt. Rather than any sort of Armageddon or Judgment Day, though, this scary ordeal can be attributed to a forest fire in the Ontario forests. The origin of the legendary Dark Day in New England wasn’t discovered until 2007, when forestry experts out of the University of Missouri discovered fire scars in the woods of Ontario corresponding to that date!
The weirdest weather the US has ever had! From sudden bouts of darkness to tornadoes filled with flames and creatures falling from the sky.
#6 Tornado Tantrums (1974 & 2011)
Tornadoes plague the midwest almost annually, and at times, more than one can touch down in a given place. But on April 3 and April 4 in 1974, a flood of tornadoes spread across 13 states in the Ohio valley, causing over a billion dollars (adjusted for inflation) in damage and claiming the lives of 335 people in the process. An astounding 148 twisters tore into the U.S., with some reaching a circumference of 5 miles wide! Then again in 2011, from April 25 to April 28, another flurry of tornadoes ravaged America, hitting as far north as Pennsylvania and New York and reaching down to the Deep South. As warm air at the ground level collided with the colder airs above, and atmospheric wind shears moved in, these catastrophic disasters left their mark on populated areas repeatedly throughout the 3-day span. This time, 349 twisters took the lives of over 300 people, and caused 10.8 billion dollars in damage!
#5 Dark Day (1780)
In the 18th Century, meteorology wasn’t anywhere near as exact or capable of explaining weather-related phenomena the way is today. So it’s no wonder that accounts of the day when the sky went dark on May 19, 1780 are so superstitious and foreboding. Following right on the tail end of the American Revolution, the newly founded nation was already tense. So when the Sun turned red, black rain fell from the sky carrying the scent of coal fire, and the population had to rely on candlelight in the middle of the day to see, you can understand how frightened Americans might’ve felt. Rather than any sort of Armageddon or Judgment Day, though, this scary ordeal can be attributed to a forest fire in the Ontario forests. The origin of the legendary Dark Day in New England wasn’t discovered until 2007, when forestry experts out of the University of Missouri discovered fire scars in the woods of Ontario corresponding to that date!
