Every tornado, hurricane, flood, blizzard, heat wave, record, earthquake, eruption, tsunami, wildfire and geomagnetic storm on record for August 20, in any year, each linked to its full record.
Every event with a place, colored by kind. Tap one to open its record.
By deaths, damage and strength together, across every archive.
Earthquakes
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Kathmandu, Bihar, Nepal-India. With the tsunami it caused, it killed 998 people and did $131.5 million in damage.
Earthquakes
An earthquake struck Nisa, Turkmenistan. It killed 5,000 people and did severe (about $5 to $25 million) damage.
Tornadoes
An F4 tornado touched down in Renville, Bottineau counties, North Dakota and tracked 25.1 miles, 400 yards wide at its widest, killing 7 and injuring 30. From Grazulis's record of significant tornadoes: Antler, ND to Lyleton, MB.
Tornadoes
An F4 tornado touched down in Winnebago, Freeborn, Mower counties, Iowa and tracked 40.3 miles, killing 6 and injuring 60. From Grazulis's record of significant tornadoes: IA to Austin, MN.
Tornadoes
An F4 tornado touched down in Carver County, Minnesota and tracked 8.3 miles, 400 yards wide at its widest, killing 5 and injuring 30. From Grazulis's record of significant tornadoes: Waconia, MN.
Other weather
On 20 August 2014, Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan was struck by a series of landslides following heavy rain. The rain triggered 166 slope failures which included 107 debris flows and 59 shallow slides.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Tornadoes
An F4 tornado touched down in Clark, Hamlin counties, South Dakota and tracked 15.6 miles, 300 yards wide at its widest, killing 2 and injuring 35. From Grazulis's record of significant tornadoes: Willow Lake/Bryant, SD.
Tornadoes
An F4 tornado touched down in Hamilton County, Iowa and tracked 10.8 miles, 400 yards wide at its widest, killing 1 and injuring 8. From Grazulis's record of significant tornadoes: SE Ellsworth, IA.
Hurricanes and tropical storms
An unnamed storm crossed the coast near Lamar, TX as a category 4 hurricane, 130 kt (150 mph), central pressure 925 mb. S. state of Texas, as measured by atmospheric pressure, causing numerous fatalities and severe damage, mostly around the town of Indianola.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Hurricanes and tropical storms
Hurricane Charlie crossed the coast near Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico as a category 4 hurricane, 115 kt (130 mph). Hurricane Charlie was the deadliest Atlantic hurricane of the 1951 Atlantic hurricane season, the most powerful tropical cyclone to strike the island of Jamaica until Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, and at the time the worst natural disaster to affect that island. The third named storm, second hurricane, and first major hurricane of the season, it developed from a tropical wave east of the Lesser Antilles.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Hurricanes and tropical storms
Hurricane Hilary crossed the coast near Lázaro Cárdenas, Baja California, Mexico as a tropical storm, 50 kt, central pressure 990 mb. It killed 3 people in all, by the National Hurricane Center’s count.
Tornadoes
An F3 tornado touched down in Calhoun County, Iowa and tracked 6.2 miles, 400 yards wide at its widest, killing 2 and injuring 20. From Grazulis's record of significant tornadoes: E Jolley/N Rockwell City, IA.
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An F4 tornado touched down in Carver County, Minnesota and tracked 8.3 miles, 400 yards wide at its widest, killing 5 and injuring 30. From Grazulis's record of significant tornadoes: Waconia, MN.
An F4 tornado touched down in Clark, Hamlin counties, South Dakota and tracked 15.6 miles, 300 yards wide at its widest, killing 2 and injuring 35. From Grazulis's record of significant tornadoes: Willow Lake/Bryant, SD.
The 1904 Waconia Cyclone was a destructive tornado that affected much of the city of Waconia in central Carver County, Minnesota, on August 20, 1904. The cyclone killed a total of 5 people in Waconia and injured a total of 20.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
An F4 tornado touched down in Renville, Bottineau counties, North Dakota and tracked 25.1 miles, 400 yards wide at its widest, killing 7 and injuring 30. From Grazulis's record of significant tornadoes: Antler, ND to Lyleton, MB.
An F3 tornado touched down in Bottineau, Rolette counties, North Dakota and tracked 40.5 miles, 100 yards wide at its widest, killing 1 and injuring 2. From Grazulis's record of significant tornadoes: S Westhope/S Souris, ND.
An F2 tornado touched down in Greenville County, South Carolina and tracked 5.3 miles, 30 yards wide at its widest, killing 1 and injuring 15. From Grazulis's record of significant tornadoes: Greenville, SC.
An F4 tornado touched down in Winnebago, Freeborn, Mower counties, Iowa and tracked 40.3 miles, killing 6 and injuring 60. From Grazulis's record of significant tornadoes: IA to Austin, MN.
An F4 tornado touched down in Hamilton County, Iowa and tracked 10.8 miles, 400 yards wide at its widest, killing 1 and injuring 8. From Grazulis's record of significant tornadoes: SE Ellsworth, IA.
An F3 tornado touched down in Calhoun County, Iowa and tracked 6.2 miles, 400 yards wide at its widest, killing 2 and injuring 20. From Grazulis's record of significant tornadoes: E Jolley/N Rockwell City, IA.
An F3 tornado touched down in La Crosse County, Wisconsin and tracked 15 miles, 400 yards wide at its widest, injuring 3. From Grazulis's record of significant tornadoes: N New Amsterdam to S West Salem, WI.
An F3 tornado touched down in Hardin County, Iowa and tracked 16.8 miles, 800 yards wide at its widest, injuring 3. From Grazulis's record of significant tornadoes: S Radcliffe to NW Eldora, IA.
An F3 tornado touched down in Harper County, Kansas and tracked 0.9 miles, 200 yards wide at its widest. From Grazulis's record of significant tornadoes: NE Danville, KS.
An F2 tornado touched down in Cuyahoga County, Ohio and tracked 0.5 miles, 500 yards wide at its widest, killing 4 and injuring 20.
An F3 tornado touched down in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire and tracked 1 miles, 27 yards wide at its widest, injuring 1.
On August 20, 1970, a destructive tornado impacted the Canadian city of Sudbury, Ontario, killing six people and injuring 200 more in what became known as the Sudbury tornado. The tornado, which received a rating of F3 on the Fujita Scale, extensively damaged Sudbury and inflicted an estimated CA$17 million to the area.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
A tornado touched down in the Weber Memorial Campground in eastern Weber county. 6 people camping were injured from flying debris. A funnel cloud was observed in the Wellsville area in Cache county.
A strong waterspout formed over the Atlantic Ocean just southeast of Beach Haven and moved northwest. It became a tornado as it moved across Long Beach Island around 350 p.m. EDT along the Beach Haven/Long Beach Township border.
Numerous trees and power lines were reported down. A tree was reported to have fallen onto a house causing some roof damage.
The remnants of Tropical Storm Erin produced significant flash flooding along a line from northern Jasper County to northern Laclede County. Numerous roads were washed out across Lawrence, Greene, Polk, Dallas, and Webster counties. This prompted several water rescues.
A stationary boundary stretched from west to east through northern Ohio during the morning hours of the 20th, and remained nearly stationary for the next several days. In addition to producing heavy rain a few of the thunderstorms became severe.
The 2009 Southern Ontario tornado outbreak was a series of severe thunderstorms that spawned numerous tornadoes in Southwestern Ontario, Central Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) on August 20, 2009, and was the largest single-day tornado outbreak in Ontario history and the largest in Canadian history. During the afternoon and evening, 19 tornadoes touched down with four of them producing F2 damage.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
A line of thunderstorms developed north of a warm front that was slowly moving from south to north across Wisconsin. The line of storms moved east across northern Wisconsin during the morning, producing penny to nickel size hail in Vilas County and Oneida County.
Six tornadoes struck southwest Michigan on August 20th. An EF-1 tornado touched down just southwest of Bangor on August 20th and tracked northeast through town. The entire city lost power as well as hundreds of trees. Multiple structures in Bangor were damaged as well.
An organized and slow moving low pressure area within a very moist airmass resulted in 9 to 15 inches of rain and historic flash flooding from the west side of Madison to Mazomanie, and south to Belleville.
A passing cold interacted with an unstable airmass to produce severe thunderstorms that spawned weak tornadoes and damaging winds during the late afternoon and early evening hours of August 20th.
An EF3 tornado touched down in Warren County, Iowa and tracked 5.4 miles, 710 yards wide at its widest.
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An unnamed storm crossed the coast near Lamar, TX as a category 4 hurricane, 130 kt (150 mph), central pressure 925 mb. S. state of Texas, as measured by atmospheric pressure, causing numerous fatalities and severe damage, mostly around the town of Indianola.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
An unnamed storm reached its peak of 130 kt (150 mph), a category 4 storm.
Hurricane Charlie crossed the coast near Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico as a category 4 hurricane, 115 kt (130 mph). Hurricane Charlie was the deadliest Atlantic hurricane of the 1951 Atlantic hurricane season, the most powerful tropical cyclone to strike the island of Jamaica until Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, and at the time the worst natural disaster to affect that island. The third named storm, second hurricane, and first major hurricane of the season, it developed from a tropical wave east of the Lesser Antilles.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Hurricane Charlie reached its peak of 115 kt (130 mph), a category 4 storm.
Hurricane Judy reached its peak of 135 kt (155 mph) with a central pressure of 910 mb, a category 4 storm.
The remnants of Hurricane Alicia brought heavy rain and flooding to parts of southern and central Oklahoma on August 20, 1983. Rainfall of four to six inches in less than six hours occurred in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, the hardest hit part of the state. Major flooding occurred west of El Reno, while high water crept into a few buildings at the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman.
From the National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma.
Hurricane Bob crossed the coast near Rockland, ME as a tropical storm, 60 kt, central pressure 981 mb. Hurricane Bob was one of the costliest tropical cyclones in New England history. The second named storm and first hurricane of the 1991 Atlantic hurricane season, Bob developed from an area of low pressure near The Bahamas on August 16.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Hurricane Dolly crossed the coast near Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo, Mexico as a category 1 hurricane, 65 kt (75 mph), central pressure 999 mb. Hurricane Dolly caused flooding throughout Mexico in August 1996. The fourth named storm and third hurricane of the season, Dolly developed from a tropical wave to the west-southwest of Jamaica on August 19.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Hurricane Gordon crossed the coast near Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal as a category 1 hurricane, 65 kt (75 mph), central pressure 984 mb.
Hurricane Hilary crossed the coast near Lázaro Cárdenas, Baja California, Mexico as a tropical storm, 50 kt, central pressure 990 mb. It killed 3 people in all, by the National Hurricane Center’s count.
Hurricane Franklin was a long-lived and powerful tropical cyclone that brought tropical-storm force winds to parts of the Greater Antilles and Bermuda. The sixth named storm, second hurricane and first major hurricane of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season, Franklin impacted Hispaniola as a tropical storm before strengthening into a high-end Category 4 hurricane several days later.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
33 on August 20, oldest first.
Torrential rain fell across southeast New Jersey as a low pressure system developed over the Delmarva Peninsula and slowly moved northeast across southern New Jersey.
A low pressure system developed over the lower Midwest on Wednesday, August 20th. As it moved slowly east-northeast, it intensified. The low passed over Pennsylvania and moved south of Long Island during Thursday morning.The low produced heavy rain and strong gusty winds.
Torrential rain fell across southeast New Jersey as a low pressure system developed over the Delmarva Peninsula and slowly moved northeast across southern New Jersey.
Torrential rain fell across southeast New Jersey as a low pressure system developed over the Delmarva Peninsula and slowly moved northeast across southern New Jersey.
Torrential rain fell across southeast New Jersey as a low pressure system developed over the Delmarva Peninsula and slowly moved northeast across southern New Jersey.
Between 8 and 9 inches of rain fell in a localized area around Bradford in little more than 12 hours. Rain overnight on the 19th dropped about 3.5 inches in the Bradford area up to sunrise.
Heavy rain fell in a band from eastern Juniata County northeast across Selinsgrove and Lewisburg to Muncy. Rainfall totals of 8 to 9 inches were reported in the Richfield area.
The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that lightning injured six people and set one house on fire. One person was injured in his Woodstock house when a lightning bolt traveled through the electrical wiring of a lamp located on the piano he was playing.
A few thunderstorms fired up along an occluded front on the afternoon of August 20 in eastern New York. With a humid air mass in place, a couple of the storms reached severe limits and produced very heavy rainfall.
Over three inches of rain in less than an hour flooded 19 businesses and 125 homes in Yucca Valley. Twenty-one swift water rescues were performed on people trapped in their vehicles by flood waters.
Highway 62 in Yucca Valley flooded, major damage to other roads. Two injuries from people trapped in vehicles after trying to cross flooded roads. Five homes flooded.
Heavy rain against the east side of Mount San Jacinto caused a flash flood to move down Palm Canyon wash, through Cathedral City, and down the White Water river through the towns of Coachella, Indio, Oasis, and Mecca.
Slow-moving thunderstorms with very heavy rainfall produced flash flooding across the southcentral Texas panhandle. The flash flooding resulted in stranded campers at Palo Duro Canyon State Park and caused damage to homes and vehicles and one fatality in Amarillo.
Moisture from the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin interacted with a stationary front to cause heavy rain producing thunderstorms over portions of northern Ohio.
A stationary boundary stretched from west to east through northern Ohio during the morning hours of the 20th, and remained nearly stationary for the next several days.
Rain was the big weather story of the month. The month began with drought concerns over much of western and southern Iowa.
Thunderstorms developed ahead of and along a cold front producing flash flooding and wind damage across Southeast Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, and Northern West Virginia.
Little change took place in the overall weather pattern with a nearly stationary frontal boundary remaining over the state. The morning convection moved off allowing for afternoon solar isolation to take place, destabilizing the atmosphere once again.
Widespread rainfall of 6 to 14 inches caused overland and river flooding from Fort Myers to Sebring and extreme western Polk County.
Thunderstorms that formed along a frontal boundary produced flash flooding in Lamar County and several instances of wind damage across North Texas.
An upper-level disturbance pushed into west-central Illinois during the afternoon of August 20th, triggering widespread showers and thunderstorms. Due to a very moist airmass and relatively slow storm motion, locally heavy rainfall of between 1 and 3 inches occurred.
While a strong subtropical ridge persisted across most of the southern United States, the remnants of Tropical Depression Number Five (TD5) continued to circulated around the subtropical ridge.
An unstable airmass was located over Iowa. A cold front moved into the western part of the state during the afternoon. Thunderstorms erupted around mid day and tracked east across the southern and eastern part of the state.
Mean layer troughing positioned over SE Georgia as upper level divergence increased within the right rear quadrant of the upper level jet stream.
Another surge of monsoon moisture led to an outbreak of thunderstorms over the Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin. A low pressure system further enhanced the storms on the 22nd.
As a warm front moved north across eastern Ohio and the northern West Virginia Panhandle, repeated thunderstorms caused flash flooding across portions of the area.
A series of short waves in a strong northwesterly upper-level flow pattern, along with moderate to high instability, combined to produce isolated to scattered reports of thunderstorm wind damage across North and Central Georgia each afternoon and evening.
The largest severe weather event to strike Middle Tennessee in the summer of 2014 affected the area during the afternoon hours on August 20.
Thunderstorms moved from higher terrain north and southeast of the Phoenix metro area toward the lower deserts along multiple outflow boundaries. Multiple severe thunderstorm warnings were issued as storms were producing 50-60 mph winds.
The western edge of an upper ridge was over West Texas and an approaching upper trough was over the Rocky Mountains. Upper lift associated with the trough as well as upper disturbances moved over the area. High moisture was present across West Texas.
A midlevel Pacific low pressure system undercut the area of high pressure over the Great Basin as it dropped into the Northern Rockies. Monsoon moisture increased across the region with precipitable water values ranging from 125 to 175% of normal across the Four Corners.
An easterly wave that had been in place over southern New Mexico and Arizona all week finally tracked over New Mexico on August 20, 2022. As it did so, it brought an above normal amount of precipitation as precipitable water amounts rose to near record values.
The remnants of Tropical Storm Hilary caused gusty winds, record rainfall, and flooding across sections of central and northern Nevada.
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Power lines reported to be downed by high winds.
Severe thunderstorms developed across the area ahead of a cold front. The thunderstorm winds downed trees and power lines. Some of the downed trees caused structural damage to homes. At Conesus Lake, a dock and boat were damaged.
Devastating thunderstorm winds destroyed two hangars and an airplane and damaged several other hangars at the Farmville Municipal airport.
High winds knocked down trees and power lines in an early morning thunderstorm. Heavy rain in a short time caused some temporary flooding problems also.
Thunderstorm winds downed some trees and power lines.
A police car was blown off the road by high winds.
Several trees were blown down by high winds, one of which damaged a carport.
Strong thunderstorm winds toppled a dead pine tree at Camp Frontier about 20 miles north of Mirror Lake. The tree struck a 12 year old girl in the head, killing her instantly.
Strong winds, estimated at more than 100 mph, caused severe building damage, demolished two grain elevators, destroyed sheds, damaged homes, and blew down power lines. Flying debris injured a man at the feed mill, where much of the damage occurred.
Strong winds damaged several hangars at the airport. Several small aircraft were also damaged by the winds.
Multicell thunderstorms developed across the Upstate during the afternoon, with a few evolving into long-lived supercells. Damaging straightline winds moved a barn off it's foundation and destroyed some metal buildings near Walhalla.
Polk county 911 reported power lines and trees down.
The Floyd county 911 center reported that power lines were down near Wax Lake.
Thunderstorms developed during the afternoon in Central Iowa along an old stationary front in hot and humid conditions. The thunderstorms moved into Eastern Iowa and became severe. Winds of 50 mph were common along the main gust front breaking many small limbs from trees.
Strong thunderstorm winds resulted in numerous trees down in a campground in Hampton Falls, on the evening ofAugust 20. Several campers where damaged or destroyed, and 10 people sustained injuries.
Severe thunderstorms swept across western, central, and northeast Massachusetts and caused widespread damage.
A large oak tree was blown down at Roper Mountain Rd and Blacks Dr. The tree fell on a moving vehicle, killing the 39-year-old man who was driving. Another tree was blown down on I-385.
An outbreak of very severe thunderstorms moved south across a large part of southwest Kansas. There was one fatality.
A couple of areas of severe thunderstorms pounded south central Nebraska during the late afternoon and early evening hours. One area was south and southeast of Hastings, around Superior, Red Cloud, Geneva and Hebron.
An upper trough provided dynamics and a veering vertical wind shear profile that led to severe mulitcell and supercell thunderstorms. This resulted in damaging winds and golfball size in eastern El Paso County.
A deep upper trough was digging southward from the Great Lakes toward the southeast. This was pushing a cold front toward Georgia from the northwest.
A strong area of low pressure tracked eastward across the northern Great Lakes during the afternoon and evening of the 20th. Scattered showers and thunderstorms developed ahead of the cold front and tracked eastward across the area.
A short wave moving up the leading flank of an elongated large-scale trough that extended from the Upper Mississippi River Valley to the Central Plains provided large-scale lift for thunderstorm development over southern Wisconsin.
Early on August 21st a thunderstorm caused trees to into a house on Pioneer Road in Idaho Falls killing an 82 year old man in his bedroom. Trees were also downed on East Lincoln Road.
A cold front moved into northern Arkansas on the 20th. As the front encountered hot, humid air, thunderstorms erupted and a few of the storms became severe. The remains of the front lingered in northern Arkansas for a couple of days, setting off additional thunderstorms.
A front tracked through east Tennessee on the 20th during the afternoon hours. Numerous thunderstorms formed during the day. Many trees were downed. At least one barn was damaged. Hail as large as a golfball was seen.
Prevailing westerly steering flow combined with a moist and unstable airmass produced scattered strong to severe afternoon and evening storms.
An unusual August cool front shifted south across East Texas, Southern Arkansas, and North Louisiana during the afternoon hours of August 20th, south of an upper low and attendant upper trough that tracked east across the Mid and Lower Mississippi Valleys.
A line of thunderstorms developed in Iowa early in the morning of August 20, 2019, and continued moving southeast through the afternoon hours. Thunderstorms developed thanks to an upper level wave.
Remnants of a large cluster of nocturnal thunderstorms over Iowa pushed into west-central Illinois during the early morning of August 20th.
The overnight hours of Tuesday the 20th into the early morning of Wednesday the 21st were quite stormy, especially within the northeast half of South Central Nebraska.
Severe weather only clipped the far southeastern fringes of the 24-county South Central Nebraska area on this Friday afternoon, but it was an active few hours within especially Thayer County as an initially-isolated severe storm gradually grew upscale into more of a linear…
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A Monroe man was found dead in his home after he died from a heat stroke. The air conditioner in the home did not work but a fan was on.
A woman in the town of Crowder died due to the extreme heat.
High temperatures contributed to one death in the Las Vegas area. The death occurred on the 20th, when the high temperature was 101 degrees, and temperatures had been 100 degrees or higher for 31 out of 34 days.
High pressure to the south resulted in plenty of sunshine and warm temperatures.|The death of an infant that was left in a car occurred as the sunshine and warm temperatures heated the car to 119 degrees.
Strong high pressure centered near the Four Corners brought deadly heat and excessive heat warning conditions to the region. Eleven fatalities (9 direct and 2 indirect) were reported by the Maricopa County Department of Public Health.
Very hot temperatures were recorded in southeast Arizona from Safford and the Tucson Metro westward on August 20th and 21st. Several new high temperature records were established. Two heat-related fatalities occurred in southern Pima County.
A prolonged period of unseasonably high temperatures was observed in southeast California during the middle of August. Daily afternoon temperatures reached up to 105-115 each day, with lows only falling into the upper-70s to low-80s.
A period of very hot and extremely humid weather began on Sunday, August 20 and lasted through Friday, August 25. Although the temperature rarely threatened climatological records, the humidity caused the heat index to reach extreme levels.
Hot temperatures 3 to 6 degrees degrees above normal were experienced across southeast Arizona resulting in moderate Heat Risk. The Pima County Medical Examiner determined that heat was the primary cause of death of two individuals found in desert areas.
Temperatures in Southeastern Arizona were 6 degrees above normal with Moderate to Major HeatRisk. The Pima County Medical Examiner found that the cause of death for 8 individuals. Six were heat contributed, three in Tucson, one in Oro Valley, one in Marana, and one in Safford.
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Greenville 2 NNW recorded 112°F, Georgia’s all-time maximum temperature, as the State Climate Extremes Committee lists it (a tie with an earlier value).
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The Huck Fire started on August 20, 1988, in Wyoming, and burned 123,340 acres.
The Hunter Fire started on August 20, 1988, in Wyoming, and burned 4,755 acres.
The Reservation Hill Fire started on August 20, 1991, in Nevada, and burned 4,855 acres.
The Fountain Fire was discovered on August 20, 1992, in California, and burned 64,000 acres; the cause was recorded as arson/incendiarism.
The Crooked Creek Fire was discovered on August 20, 1992, in Idaho, and burned 23,654 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The Rainbow Fire was discovered on August 20, 1992, in California, and burned 8,800 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The Warm Springs Fire was discovered on August 20, 1992, in Idaho, and burned 6,500 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The Barker Fire was discovered on August 20, 1992, in California, and burned 5,050 acres; the cause was recorded as arson/incendiarism.
The Ota 9 Fire was discovered on August 20, 1994, in Ada County, Idaho, and burned 5,111 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The 3 Creek Well Fire was discovered on August 20, 1996, in Idaho, and burned 25,315 acres; the cause was recorded as human.
The Pine Ridge Fire was discovered on August 20, 1999, in Yellowstone County, Montana, and burned 3,900 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The E Whites 2 Fire was discovered on August 20, 2000, in Texas, and burned 13,000 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The Cedar Butte Fire was discovered on August 20, 2000, in Carter County, Montana, and burned 8,000 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The North Fork Fire was ignited by a rail-splitter accidentally and burned 4132 acres southeast of Bass Lake. There were two primary structures lost but no fatalities or injuries.
The North Fork Fire was discovered on August 20, 2001, in California, and burned 4,132 acres; the cause was recorded as equipment and vehicle use.
The Lightning Complex (Two Corral) Fire was discovered on August 20, 2003, in Oregon, and burned 10,504 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The Blackfoot Lake Complex (Ball Creek) Fire was discovered on August 20, 2003, in Montana, and burned 7,520 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The Haas Ridge Fire was discovered on August 20, 2003, in Oregon, and burned 4,861 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The Rooster Comb Fire was discovered on August 20, 2003, in Malheur County, Oregon, and burned 3,659 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The Bland Mountain 2 Fire was discovered on August 20, 2004, in Douglas County, Oregon, and burned 4,705 acres; the cause was recorded as human.
The Rattlesnake Complex was discovered on August 20, 2006, in Valley County, Idaho, and burned 43,600 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The Snow Canyon Fire was discovered on August 20, 2006, in Elko County, Nevada, and burned 22,234 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The East Humboldt Fire was discovered on August 20, 2006, in Elko County, Nevada, and burned 8,638 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The Unnamed Fire was discovered on August 20, 2006, in Maui County, Hawaii, and burned 3,973 acres.
The Dry Creek Complex was discovered on August 20, 2009, in Yakima County, Washington, and burned 48,902 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The Hoyt Fire was discovered on August 20, 2009, in Churchill County, Nevada, and burned 10,670 acres; the cause was recorded as equipment and vehicle use.
The Mule Creek Fire was discovered on August 20, 2010, in Twin Falls County, Idaho, and burned 13,745 acres; the cause was recorded as equipment and vehicle use.
The Red Rock Complex was discovered on August 20, 2011, in Wyoming, and burned 9,670 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The Robinette Fire was discovered on August 20, 2011, in Coryell County, Texas, and burned 6,180 acres; the cause was recorded as human.
The Locomotive Fire was discovered on August 20, 2011, in Box Elder County, Utah, and burned 5,916 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The Tanner Fire was discovered on August 20, 2011, in Arizona, and burned 5,460 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The Cache Creek Fire was discovered on August 20, 2012, in Wallowa County, Oregon, and burned 73,582 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The Goat Rock Complex was reported on August 20, 2015, in Lincoln County, Montana, and burned 11,331 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The Bear Lake Fire was reported on August 20, 2015, in Beaverhead County, Montana, and burned 6,313 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The Stewart Creek Fire was reported on August 20, 2018, in Camas County, Idaho, and burned 5,375 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The Vivian fire burned over 12,000 acres and cost roughly 1.5 million dollars in damage and suppression costs.
The Vivian Fire was reported on August 20, 2019, in Foard County, Texas, and burned 12,021 acres.
The Noelke Fire was reported on August 20, 2019, in Irion County, Texas, and burned 3,554 acres.
The Constellation Fire was reported on August 20, 2020, in Yavapai County, Arizona, and burned 12,252 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The Superstition Fire was reported on August 20, 2020, in Pinal County, Arizona, and burned 9,539 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
The Patrol Point Fire was reported on August 20, 2022, in Idaho County, Idaho, and burned 16,561 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
Upper Ruby Wildfire was started on August 20 by unconfirmed lightning. It is located 16 miles Northwest of Cusick. It was contained September 3.
Stayman Wildfire was started on August 20 by unknown human cause. It was contained on August 26.
The Chipmunk Fire was reported on August 20, 2026, in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and burned 17,000 acres; the cause was recorded as natural.
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An earthquake struck Nisa, Turkmenistan. It killed 5,000 people and did severe (about $5 to $25 million) damage.
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Nisa, Turkmenistan. It did severe (about $5 to $25 million) damage.
An earthquake struck Manila, Santa Cruz, S Luzon, Philippines. It killed some people (about 51 to 100).
An earthquake struck Bosnia-Herzegovina, Balkans NW, Croatia. It caused a tsunami.
An earthquake struck Valparaiso, Chile. It caused a tsunami.
A magnitude 7 earthquake struck Off Coast Central, Chile. It caused a tsunami.
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Luzon, Philippines. It killed 1 person, injured 200 and did severe (about $5 to $25 million) damage. It caused a tsunami.
A magnitude 5 earthquake struck Tonbak,kangan,sabakhi,akhtar, Iran. It killed 1 person.
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Kathmandu, Bihar, Nepal-India. With the tsunami it caused, it killed 998 people and did $131.5 million in damage.
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Galafi, Yabaki, Ethiopia, Djibouti. It killed 6 people.
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck N. Sumatera, Aceh, Banda Aceh, Medan, Indonesia.
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck Satara, Maharashtra, India.
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Vanuatu Islands. It caused a tsunami.
A magnitude 7 earthquake struck Vanuatu Islands. It caused a tsunami.
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck Off East Coast Honshu, Japan. It caused a tsunami.
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Kupwara, Kashmir, India. It killed 1 person and injured 3.
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Asamayama, Japan erupted with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 3. It killed 6 people.
Asamayama, Japan erupted with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 3. It killed 3 people.
Stromboli, Italy erupted with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 2. It destroyed 1 house. The eruption caused a tsunami.
The 1955 Hawaiian submarine eruption was a submarine eruption that occurred 90 km (56 mi) northeast of Necker Island on August 20, 1955. Steaming water, water discoloration and an eruption column took place during the eruption.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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A tsunami with a source recorded as earthquake struck Dubrovnik, Croatia.
A tsunami with a source recorded as earthquake struck Central Chile.
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7 earthquake struck Central Chile, with a maximum water height of 1.4 meters.
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck W. Luzon Island, Philippines. It killed 1 person, injured 200 and did severe (about $5 to $25 million) damage.
A tsunami with a source recorded as volcano and landslide struck Stromboli Island, Italy. It destroyed 1 house.
A tsunami struck Southern Atlantic Ocean, South Africa, with a maximum water height of 2.55 meters.
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Vanuatu Islands, with a maximum water height of 0.19 meters.
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7 earthquake struck Vanuatu Islands, with a maximum water height of 0.15 meters.
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6 earthquake struck Sanriku, Japan, with a maximum water height of 0.01 meters.
2 on August 20, oldest first.
A G3 (strong) geomagnetic storm began August 20, 1979, reached Kp 7 and lasted 12 hours, with a daily Ap as high as 43; at that Kp the aurora may be seen from about 50 degrees geomagnetic latitude.
A G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm began August 20, 1991, reached Kp 8- and lasted 24 hours, with a daily Ap as high as 67; at that Kp the aurora may be seen from about 47 degrees geomagnetic latitude.
19 on August 20, oldest first.
A girl, 10 to 13 years old was killed by a wire downed during the storms. The downed wire was not reported till 9:04 PM EDT, when the girl was found.
Boater struck and killed by lightning on Lake Livingston.
A swimmer was caught in a rip current off Silver Strand State Beach near Cays Boulevard and drowned.
Rip currents at Kure Beach drowned a person who was attempting to rescue another person.
A 22 year old male drowned in a rip current 100 feet offshore of Sand Key in Clearwater.
Lightning caused fire burned down a 7500 square foot home.
Two women standing about 30 feet apart on the bank of a canal while fishing were affected by a lightning strike. One women died four days later from her injuries.
Lightning struck the roof of a middle school in west Mobile. A fire smoldered overnight before anyone noticed it, damaging thirty to forty percent of the roof. The school is expected to remain closed until after christmas while repairs are made.
Three people sought shelter under a tree during a thunderstorm. Lightning stuck the tree. One person was killed and one person as injured. This happened about 8 miles south of McNary.
A 57 year old woman drowned in a rip current at Daytona Beach Shores.
A period of strong easterly winds caused strong rip currents to form along the beaches of Southeast Florida.
A rip current formed off of Kure Beach.
A lightning strike from an intense thunderstorm started a fire with burned a church to the ground.
On 20 August 2014, Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan was struck by a series of landslides following heavy rain. The rain triggered 166 slope failures which included 107 debris flows and 59 shallow slides.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
An 18-year old male was struck and killed by a lightning strike in Fulton, MO. He was retrieving a book from a pick-up truck when struck.
A pair of swimmers drown after going swimming at Harrington Beach State Park during a period of dangerous swimming conditions.
An adult male drowned at Fort Morgan as the result of a rip current.
Seaside Lifeguards and Seaside Fire & Rescue responded to multiple swimmers caught up in rip currents during the weekend. There was one fatality.
Around 7:50 PM CST on the 20th, Evanston FD received a report of a teenager that had gone under the water while swimming at Lighthouse Beach. The 17-year-old boy was recovered and transported to a nearby hospital. He was later announced deceased.
Gathered from this site’s archives: the tornado record (NOAA SPC, and Grazulis before 1950), IBTrACS and the National Hurricane Center, NOAA NCEI’s Storm Events Database, Regional Snowfall Index, billion-dollar disasters list, State Climate Extremes Committee and hazard databases, USGS, NIFC, GFZ Potsdam’s Kp index (CC BY 4.0), the National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma, and Wikidata (CC0), with article leads from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0, each credited where it appears. Rebuilt 2026-09-24.