When Weather Changed History

Sep 16, 2008 1:11 PM

Aurae Beidler :

Here's a comment I received today via e-mail:

On Tuesday, September 16, 2008, 03:24 PM, Lauren Shankman wrote:

Hi Aurae

I saw an online article you wrote in January about the premiere of When Weather Changed History.

Thought you might be interested to know that the first season was a success and 14 new episodes have been created. The premiere episode for season 2 is coming up October 5th at 9pmET and is focused on the Chicago Fire of 1871.

A full list of episodes is below for your reference-- we'd be happy to answer any questions you have about the program as well as the destinations featured in the series.
Best,
Lauren Shankman
on behalf of The Weather Channel
404.214.0722 x 110


EPISODE GUIDE: When Weather Changed History

The second season of this original series from The Weather Channel spotlights the weather that has impacted our world. Unexpected facts are revealed and highlight the ways in which the almighty power of nature has steered the march of history.

Episode list included on next comment -

Sep 16, 2008 1:13 PM

Aurae Beidler :

Continued
201: The Great Chicago Fire
October 8, 1871. Was it really Mrs. O’Leary’s cow?
The second season opens with a bit of myth-busting! Was it a cow or an unseasonably hot dry spell? While dispelling popular myths surrounding the legendary fire’s origin, the episode shows how Chicago was rebuilt with innovative new architecture, including the world’s first skyscraper. (Premiere: Oct. 5, 9 p.m. ET)


202: Galveston Hurricane
September 8, 1900. One storm forever changes the Gulf Coast.
Stronger than Hurricane Andrew and more deadly than Hurricane Katrina, the September 11 attacks and the Chicago Fire combined. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 sweeps the booming city of Galveston away, opening the door for Houston to flourish


203: Dust Bowl
1931-1939. A severe drought and “black blizzards” plague a region
The rains stop on the U.S. high Southern Plains, and for ten years a severe drought turns the region to dust. More than 70 years later, modern science helps explain weather conditions that led to this natural disaster. Still today, the region can’t shake its dusty past and again finds itself amid a multiyear drought.


204: Hindenburg Disaster
May 6, 1937. The golden age of airship travel comes to an end.
During a landing in severe thunderstorms at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey, the Hindenburg bursts into flames and crashes. The tragedy brought an end to the popularity of Zeppelin airship travel and the common use of hydrogen as fuel. Hydrogen is now making a comeback as a component for cell phone towers, forklifts and even aircraft tugs.


205: D-Day Invasion
May, 1943. Meteorologists determine launch details for the largest military force ever assembled.
The Allied forces devise a plan to liberate mainland Europe from the Nazis’ brutal grip by invading France at Normandy. The Allies need the weather to work to their advantage to win a decisive victory.


206: Titanic
April 14, 1912. On her maiden voyage, the “unsinkable” RMS Titanic hits an iceberg and sinks.
The unusual weather and abundance of floating icebergs on the North Atlantic Ocean plays a major role in this infamous tragedy. Transatlantic travel is changed forever as a result with new safety guidelines and the establishment of the International Ice Patrol.


Continued on next post.

Sep 16, 2008 1:15 PM

Aurae Beidler :

Continued
207: Nagasaki
Summer, 1945. Cloudy weather ultimately brings about the end of WWII
As World War II rages on in the Pacific, President Harry Truman and U.S. military leaders hope a powerful new technology can bring an end to the fighting. The Manhattan Project creates the atomic bomb and forever changes the face of warfare. Weather affects experimentation and the location and date of when the bombs will drop.


208: Killer Smog
October, 1948. A thick fog in Donora, PA, paves the way for the Clean Air Act
Weather conditions in the thriving mill town of Donora forms a thick fog, which mixes with mill emissions and creates toxic fumes. For days, residents struggle to breathe, 20 people die and thousands get sick. This deadly fog was a wake-up call about air pollution and forever changed the U.S. view of environment and public health.


209: Drowning the Heartland
June, 1993. The most severe, widespread flooding in U.S. history
Months of rain throughout the Upper Midwest help flood more than 150 lakes and rivers, causing hundreds of levees to fail, thousands of people to evacuate and at least 75 towns to be submerged. The 1993 flooding wrecks farmland and transportation systems and draws attention to failures of levee systems and building in flood plains.


210: Green Town
May 4, 2007 – present. How one community rebuilds after tornado decimation
On May 4, 2007, an EF-5 tornado nearly two miles in diameter hits Greensburg, Kansas. About 95 percent of Greensburg is destroyed. The rural town’s spirit shows through in its attempts to rebuild as the greenest town in America. As the town leverages environmentalism to rebuild and sustain itself in the wake of near-total destruction, it just may be writing a modern survival guide for rural America.


211: Deadly Heat
July, 1995. A silent killer hits Chicago and reinvents severe hot weather response
Just a nuisance to some, scorching temperatures and record humidity leave 739 dead among Chicago’s socially isolated, poor and elderly. The heat wave disaster forces Chicago to rethink its severe hot weather response and sets definitive criteria for what determines a heat-related death.


212: Katrina
August 29, 2005. Costliest U.S. natural disaster and its social ramifications
Hurricane Katrina slams into Alabama, Mississippi and southeast Louisiana with 175 mph winds. The storm takes more than 1,500 lives, causes 200 billion dollars in damage and leaves countless people homeless.

Sep 16, 2008 1:16 PM

Aurae Beidler :

Continued
213: Washington’s Weather
1775-1799. Weather’s role in the fight for independence by the father of our country
The military successes and failures of our nation’s first president, George Washington, hinge on weather. Weather conditions play a part in the Siege of Boston, the Battle of Long Island, the famous crossing of the Delaware River, and the army’s location at Valley Forge.


214: Super Outbreak
April 3-4, 1974. The worst tornado outbreak of the 20th century defies myths
The April 3 forecast is mild. Instead, tornadoes break across the Heartland with intensity and frequency never seen before in the nation. Within 24 hours, 148 tornadoes kill 313 and injure 5,000. The outbreak debunks several tornado myths, and communities across the country improve tornado warning processes.


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