[:np :ph on :ra 207 :dv bf 40 hr 6 sr 40 :break on]
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...ON THIS DATE IN WEATHER HISTORY.
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In 1926, lightning struck an ammunition magazine in
Northern New Jersey, igniting a red ball of fire that, in
turn, triggered a series of explosions.  The explosions
destroyed every building within a half mile radius and
sent debris airborne that landed as far as 22 MILES AWAY.
The explosions caused around $70 million damage and
injured 16.

In 1936, the hideous heat of the Dust Bowl Era invaded
the Eastern U.S., when Martinsburg West Virginia was
torched by a temperature of 112 degrees; Phoenixville
Pennsylvania by a feverish 111; Runyon, New Jersey at
110; while Cumberland and Frederick Maryland both reached
109.  These temperatures set all time record highs for
each state.  In 1913, Furnace Creek Ranch, located in
Death Valley California, was definitely a furnace when it
reached a broiling 134 degrees.  This was not only a
national record, but a world record as well.  The all
time record high temperatures in Kansas history are both
121 degrees, set in Fredonia on July 18, 1936, and in
Alton on July 24, 1936.