Every tornado, hurricane, flood, blizzard, heat wave, record, earthquake, eruption, tsunami, wildfire and geomagnetic storm on record for January 16, 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 6.9 earthquake struck Kobe, Awaji-Shima, Nishinomiya, SW Honshu, Japan. It killed 6,434 people, injured 43,792, destroyed 186,175 houses and did $100 billion in damage. It caused a tsunami.
Tsunamis
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Kobe, Japan, with a maximum water height of 0.34 meters. It killed 6,434 people, injured 43,792, destroyed 186,175 houses and did $100 billion in damage.
Earthquakes
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Bonzanabad, Iran. It killed 129 people, injured 200 and destroyed 1,700 houses.
Severe storms
Cyclone Kyrill was a low-pressure area that evolved into an unusually violent European windstorm, forming an extratropical cyclone with hurricane-strength winds. It formed over Newfoundland on 15 January 2007 and moved across the Atlantic Ocean reaching Ireland and Great Britain by the evening of 17 January.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Tsunamis
A tsunami with a source recorded as landslide struck Loen, Norway, with a maximum water height of 40.5 meters. It killed 61 people.
Winter storms and snow
Snowstorm of January 16, 1994 was ranked category 3, Major, on NOAA’s Regional Snowfall Index, strongest in the Ohio Valley. It lasted from January 16, 1994 to January 18, 1994.
Hurricanes and tropical storms
Hurricane Karen reached its peak of 130 kt (150 mph), a category 4 storm.
Hurricanes and tropical storms
Hurricane Dudzai reached its peak of 124 kt (145 mph) with a central pressure of 940 mb, a category 4 storm.
Winter storms and snow
The cold air mass remained in place from the initial arctic air mass with freezing temperatures continuing. Bouts of precipitation brought more freezing rain, snow as well.
Cold
A strong arctic cold front moved through southern Mississippi and southeast Louisiana during the afternoon hours of the 16th. The cold air behind the front changed the precipitation from rain to freezing rain and snow across portions of the area to the north of Interstate 10.
Floods
A moderate to strong atmospheric river impacted much of California in the middle of the month. A weak surface low developed off the coast on January 15th bringing moderate to heavy rainfall to portions of the region.
Earthquakes
A magnitude 7 earthquake struck Guerrero, Mexico. It killed 2 people and injured 2.
8 on January 16, oldest first.
Strong thunderstorm winds destroyed a patio covering.
A tornado touched down in a church cemetary downing trees and knocking over 20 or so tombstones. The church was only slightly damaged. The tornado crossed the road and snapped hundreds of trees in some thick woods to the east of the cemetary.
On January 16th a strong occluded front crossed the Columbia Basin. This front developed from a deep low pressure system off the coast of Washington. A line of convective showers along the front brought wind gusts of 46 mph to Walla Walla, which is 25 miles southwest of Dayton.
A strong low pressure system with a deep moisture fetch pushed into central California during the afternoon of January 16 and brought moderate to heavy precipitation along with strong winds to much of the area through the afternoon of January 17.
A strong cold front and line of storms moved across central and southwest Florida during the early morning producing multiple tornadoes and strong straight line wind gusts.
An area of low pressure moving across the SE United States dragged its associated cold front across the FL peninsula, bringing severe thunderstorms to the region.
A strong cold front moved through the region during the early morning hours of January 16th. Limited instability kept thunderstorms confined to near the coast. However, a few reports of severe weather did occur along the Florida big bend with one tornado confirmed on Dog Island.
A large low pressure system spun northeast across Iowa on January 16, 2023, drawing mild temperatures northward into the area and sparking some showers and thunderstorms over portions of eastern Iowa.
3 on January 16, oldest first.
Hurricane Karen reached its peak of 130 kt (150 mph), a category 4 storm.
Tropical Cyclone Cheneso was a strong and deadly tropical cyclone that affected Madagascar in January 2023. The fourth tropical storm and fifth tropical cyclone of the 2022–23 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season, Cheneso developed out of a zone of disturbed weather status which was first monitored at RSMC La Réunion on 17 January.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Hurricane Dudzai reached its peak of 124 kt (145 mph) with a central pressure of 940 mb, a category 4 storm.
12 on January 16, oldest first.
Heavy rain brought a rapid rise in Crabtree Creek in Raleigh. The flooding occurred from Wake Forest Road downstream to Atlantic Avenue and to Capital Boulevard. The gage at Wake Forest Road rose to 1 foot above flood stage for a few hours time.
Synopsis: In advance of an upper level low approaching slowly from the west, light to moderate rain began falling in the mid afternoon of January 16.
Coastal areas of the Aguadilla municipality were flooded by 12 to 15 feet swells that flooded roads and forced several schools to close. Several fishermen boats were damaged as well as boat ramps and platforms at Barrio Higuey.
A series of weather disturbances over the weekend brought sub-tropical moisture to the Pacific Northwest producing heavy rainfall over the region.
An unseasonably warm and wet period resulted in small stream and main stem river flooding. The Inland Northwest remained in the warm sector of a flat ridge with warm air advection into the region.
A moderate to strong atmospheric river impacted much of California in the middle of the month. A weak surface low developed off the coast on January 15th bringing moderate to heavy rainfall to portions of the region.
A storm with strong winds, road flooding, and hazardous mountain travel with snow up to 3 feet deep impacted the area.
A potent cold front swept through the region on January 16th bringing widespread rain, gusty winds, low elevation snow, and thunderstorms. This system brought widespread roadway flooding, downed trees, small hail, and snow as low as 2400 ft in elevation.
An upper level disturbance produced scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms along and north of a stalling front over Central Texas. Locally heavy rain brought isolated flash flooding in the city of Fort Worth, TX.
An area of low pressure intensified as it entered interior New England on January sixteenth with a 991mb surface low being observed. This produced storm force easterly wind gusts over the outer waters of the Gulf of Maine and 16 foot nearshore waves with a period of 8 seconds.
An area of low pressure intensified as it entered interior New England on January sixteenth with a 991mb surface low being observed. This produced storm force easterly wind gusts over the outer waters of the Gulf of Maine and 16 foot nearshore waves with a period of 8 seconds.
A strong low pressure system moved up the eastern seaboard Sunday night into Monday bringing heavy snow to western and central Massachusetts and snow changing to rain elsewhere. Strong winds caused some damage and there were some coastal flooding issues as well.
23 on January 16, oldest first.
A strong gust of wind blew a teenage boy off the side of the roof of United Artists Plaza in East Meadow around 3:45 pm.
Roof damage to two houses and irrigation system twisted on farm complex.
Sustained winds of 40 to 45 mph blew through most of western Washington knocking out power to 300,000 homes. One man was killed as a tree was blown onto his pickup truck. Ferry service was distrupted and the 520 bridge across Lake Washington was closed for nearly 12 hours.
A vigorous cold front pushed across eastern Washington during the morning of the 16th. Thunderstorms with gusty winds developed along the front. Wind gusts of 40-50 kts were reported, but locally higher gusts were possible.
A strong cold front moved across Western Maryland midday on the 16th, producing winds in excess of 55 MPH. At the Cumberland Airport, a wind gust of 66 MPH was recorded at 11:59 AM. Near Cumberland, a roof was blown off a home and a garage.
A strong cold front moved across the Eastern Panhandle during the early afternoon of the 16th, producing wind gusts in excess of 55 MPH. Several trees were downed in Morgan County, and one home reported significant roof and shingle damage.
A strong cold front pushed into north Idaho with a line of rare winter thunderstorms along it. These thunderstorms produced gusty winds which caused some spotty damage across the area along with small hail.
Roof torn off mobile home...trailer tipped over...power outages.
The pressure difference between a low pressure system over the Canadian Maritimes and a building high pressure system over the Great Lakes produced measured wind gusts as strong as 49 mph in Berks County, the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos.
Cyclone Kyrill was a low-pressure area that evolved into an unusually violent European windstorm, forming an extratropical cyclone with hurricane-strength winds. It formed over Newfoundland on 15 January 2007 and moved across the Atlantic Ocean reaching Ireland and Great Britain by the evening of 17 January.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
A strong Santa Ana wind event caused widespread tree and property damage in the Inland Empire. One hanger at Corona Airport sustained major damage, numerous tractor-trailers were overturned, hundreds of trees were blown over, and power was knocked out.
A frontal system combined with strong winds aloft produced high wind gusts. Klickitat PUD reported 23 power poles down. Two trees fell in the Goldendale area. On the east side of Goldendale, a strong wind gust totaled an empty semi-truck as it traveled south bound on Highway 97.
Strong pressure gradient winds from the south resulted in sustained wind speeds near 20 mph with gusts as highs as 40 mph across all of Northeast Texas during the afternoon hours of January 16th. This made for very large swells on Lake Palestine in Northeast Texas.
Very strong northwest winds, sustained above 40 mph at times with gusts above 60 mph, developed in the late morning of January 16th, and persisted into the afternoon.
A deep low pressure system dropped southeast from Manitoba, Canada into the Great Lakes on this Thursday. As the low moved into the Great Lakes, its forward progress slowed considerably.
An intense upper level system and deep surface low pressure tracked across the region January 16, 2014. Very strong northwest winds sustained at 35 to 50 mph with gusts near 65 mph occurred.
A strong low moved from northern Alberta southeast to Lake Superior during the night of the 15th through the day on the 16th. A strong upper level trough was associated with the low. The pressure gradient was strong with winds at the 850 mb level around 50 kts.
Strong northwesterly winds developed in the wake of a strengthening low pressure system offshore of Cape Cod during the late morning to early evening of January 16th. Winds gusting as high as 47 miles per hour brought down a few large branches.
Strong winds occurred behind a cold front and deepening low pressure.
High winds occurred behind a cold front and deepening low pressure.
On January 16, 2026, gusty winds and snow squalls impacted southwest Iowa. A shortwave trough pivoting across the Northern Plains drove an initial cold front and strong cold air advection (CAA) into the region.
Northwest winds surged behind a strong arctic cold front which moved across the region early on January 16. The strongest winds were generally west of the James River Valley where gusts to 60 to 70 mph were common.
64 on January 16, oldest first.
Snowstorm of January 16, 1994 was ranked category 3, Major, on NOAA’s Regional Snowfall Index, strongest in the Ohio Valley. It lasted from January 16, 1994 to January 18, 1994.
The 1995 Súðavík avalanche was an avalanche that struck the small fishing village of Súðavík in Iceland’s Westfjords on 16 January 1995, killing 14 people, including eight children, and injuring twelve. The disaster, along with the avalanche that killed 20 in Flateyri later in the year, had a profound effect on the nation and sparked a massive buildup of avalanche dams to protect towns in danger zones.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
On this day in 1996, widespread freezing drizzle and freezing rain occurred over much of southeast Oklahoma. Numerous car accidents, including one fatality wreck near Fittstown, were reported.
From the National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma.
Strong winds, snow and cold temperatures combined to create blizzard conditions over east and north Wyoming. During that time, winds gusted to as high as 55 MPH creating wind chill temperatures as low as 70 degrees below zero.
One traffic fatality, numerous traffic accidents, several personal injuries from slipping on ice.
A burst of heavy snow, although accumulating only one to three inches, caused whiteout conditions in many locations, resulting in numerous vehicular accidents. In Akron (Summit County), there were dozens of car crashes and one person was injured in a nine car pile-up.
Lake effect snows dropped between six and twelve inches of snow in intense bands off Lake Erie. The snows combined with strong winds to produce hazardous conditions. The New York State Thruway was closed between Henrietta and Depew for a good portion of the 17th.
A cold front moved across the northeast during Thursday, January 16, 1997. Gusty winds and a mixture of light snow, sleet and freezing rain preceded and accompanied the front. Snow squalls followed the front.
Snow and ice cover that had accumulated since late December averaged 20 inches at the lakeshore to over 30 inches inland. The weight caused structures to collapse and damage to trees. Pipes burst because of the cold temperatures.
A man died when he hiked into a closed area of a ski resort and was buried in an avalanche.
A storm system moved from the Great Lakes region across northern New York Saturday night, January 15th and then across northern Vermont on Sunday, January 16th.
A storm system moved from the Great Lakes region across northern New York Saturday night, January 15th and then across northern Vermont on Sunday, January 16th. Across portions of north central and northeast Vermont, between 7 and 13 inches of snow fell.
A storm system moved from the Great Lakes region across northern New York Saturday night, January 15th and then across northern Vermont on Sunday, January 16th. Across portions of north central and northeast Vermont, between 7 and 13 inches of snow fell.
Icy roads resulted in slick conditions and caused the driver of a van to lose control. The van slid into a ditch 2 miles northeast of Minneapolis and rolled over killing the female driver and injuring 2 female passengers.
Icy roads caused the driver of a vehicle to lose control 1 mile east of Minneapolis. The vehicle rolled down the embankment and killed the female driver.
A storm system moved from the southern plains across the Tennessee Valley of Alabama into the southern Appalachians bringing snowfall amounts ranging from 2 to 8 inches across eastern Tennessee.
A winter storm produced 4 to 8 inches of snow across portions of central and eastern Virginia.
A winter storm slammed into eastern Kentucky during the afternoon of Thursday, January 17, 2003 and dumped heavy amounts of snow over the region.
Heavy snow moved into Middle Tennessee faster and heavier than forecasters thought. There was as much as 8 inches of snow in Gallatin and 7 inches at the NWS Office at Old Hickory.
A mixture of freezing rain and sleet developed during the evening hours of 16 January 2004 and ended before dawn on 17 January 2004 as surface temperatures climbed above freezing.
A major overrunning precipitation event took place in Southeast Alaska during this time. In response to a low pressure system approaching the Panhandle from the southwest, an arctic front moved down through Lynn Canal on Saturday the 15th.
An unseasonably cold air mass was in place over Oregon when a weak disturbance brought some moisture to the area. Low level snowfall was anticipated with forecast amounts of less than an inch, but the system had more moisture than expected.
Icy roads after a morning to afternoon light snowfall caused numerous accidents in the Yakima, Prosser and Tri Cities areas.
A mixture of freezing rain and ice pellets fell across portions of South Texas on the evening of the 16th and during the early morning of the 17th. Several roads and overpasses developed icy patches on them, requiring sanding by Texas Department of Transportation.
Cold air at the surface combined with shortwave energy aloft brought another round of winter weather to much of North Texas.
Right on the heels of the Ice Storm that affected the region a few days before, another surge of arctic air moved into West Central Texas on Monday the 15th.
Snowfall contributed to very slick roadways in the Columbia Basin. More than 100 traffic accidents were reported due to slick driving conditions.
A very cold arctic air mass ascending down upon Texas, combined with southwesterly upper level disturbances, produced freezing rain across the northern and central regions of southeast Texas.
A cold front moved through the area, and strong northerly winds developed causing lake effect snow to develop and intensify through the early morning hours. The lake effect snow began to diminish during the eveing hours.
The 2009 Afghan avalanches occurred near Kabul, Afghanistan on 16 January 2009. At least ten people were killed and twelve vehicles and machinery used to clear the road of snow were swept away when the avalanche struck a highway.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Significant travel problems developed due to blowing and drifting snow through the entire weekend of Friday, January 16th, through Sunday, January 18th.
One person was killed January 16th after a car skidded off an ice covered county road, hit a rock, rolled and ejected the driver. The accident occurred near Harpers Ferry (Allamakee County) after freezing drizzle earlier in the day had created a glaze of ice on untreated roads.
Very cold air aloft associated with an upper low crossing the Deep South made the atmosphere favorable for snow during the early morning hours of Thursday, January 17th.
A strong low moved from northern Alberta southeast to Lake Superior during the night of the 15th through the day on the 16th. A strong upper level trough was associated with the low. The pressure gradient was strong with winds at the 850 mb level around 50 kts.
Low pressure in the North Pacific brought strong winds to the southcentral area, causing changes in the snow pack in Hatcher Pass. Although the avalanche danger was moderate, an avalanche broke free and killed one person.
A strong surface low and cold front associated with a large and deep upper-level trough, brought light to moderate snow to much of north and central Georgia from the afternoon of the January 16th through the morning of January 17th.
A significant cold front moved through North and Central Texas over the MLK Jr. Holiday weekend. This brought cold air into the region, along with several areas of snow, sleet, and freezing rain.
Accumulating snow impacted the ArkLaMiss on January 16, 2018 with accumulations ranging from - 3 inches across much of the area.
A strong cold front and upper level disturbance crossed the middle Ohio River Valley and central Appalachians on the morning of the 16th. Light snow began just after midnight, and picked up toward sunrise as colder air surged in.
A slow moving weather system brought accumulating snowfall to eastern Kentucky on January 16, 2018. Snow first began falling along and north of Mountain Parkway during the overnight hours of January 15th into the 16th.
A cold front brought a shallow layer of subfreezing air to South Central Texas. Isentropic lift of warm moist air over this shallow cold layer led to wintry precipitation. Most of the precipitation was freezing rain and sleet, but there was some snow toward the end of the event.
Accumulating snow impacted the ArkLaMiss on January 16, 2018 with accumulations ranging from - 3 inches across much of the area.
A strong shortwave slammed into the Sierra on the evening of the 16th and brought widespread heavy snow to the Sierra along with strong winds. The lower valleys of northeast California received moderate to heavy spillover rainfall from this second shortwave.
A stronger storm system moved across the Sierra Nevada mainly on the 16th, with lighter snow showers and icy roads lingering into the morning of the 17th. This storm produced strong winds, but it also produced more significant precipitation that previous storms, mainly as snow.
A prolonged period of intermittent light freezing rain and freezing drizzle across the Texas Panhandle resulted in ice accumulations as high as 0.20 inch. Icy roads were reported across all counties of the Texas Panhandle.
In January 2020, at least 74 people were killed and several others were injured in Neelum Valley, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, after a series of avalanches triggered by heavy snowfall destroyed and buried houses.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
A high impact winter storm brought anywhere from one to three feet of snow to the Sierra. Accumulating snow made it down to about 2,500 feet for the foothills of the Sierra.
A clipper-like system quickly moved from the lower Great Lakes on the evening of January 15th, across central NY during the early morning hours of January 16th into the Gulf of Maine by midday.
A cold front that was associated with an upper trough which pushed through California on January 16 crossed central CA during the afternoon and evening hours, and provided much of the area with 6 to 8 hours of precipitation.
One person was killed in a single vehicle accident northwest of North Buena Vista (Clayton County) on January 16, 2021.
A winter storm in the Great Lakes on January 15th, transferred energy to a developing coastal low of the NJ coast during the morning of the 16th. Precipitation began late evening on the 15th across VT with rain in the valleys and wet snow in the higher elevations.
A storm system moved from the central Plains into the Southeast, bringing widespread wintry precipitation to the central Piedmont of central North Carolina.
A Nor'Easter impacted central Pennsylvania from the afternoon of January 16 into the morning of January 17, 2022, producing anywhere from 2 to 11 inches of snowfall from southeast to northwest across central PA.
A powerful storm system brought wintry precipitation along with strong winds > 40 MPH across much of north Georgia late on the 15th and through the 16th of January.
A complex winter storm brought a mixture of rain, sleet and freezing rain to most of the region, with snow in the mountains, on Sunday January 16th.
A persistent northeasterly flow prior to the event ensured that there was substantial cold air throughout the atmosphere.
A complex winter storm lifted across the Southeast US on January 16th, initially spreading a mix of light snow, sleet, and freezing rain across the eastern Kentucky during the morning hours.
A winter storm dumped 7-14 inches over eastern New York January 16-17. It was also windy with gusts generally between 30-45 mph. There were a few gusts that topped 50 and 60 mph. Snow emergencies were put in place in the Utica/Dolgeville area.
Low pressure developed over the southeastern CONUS while high pressure to the north supplied cold air to start.
A low pressure system tracked northeast through the Appalachians and created significant snow over southern and portions of central Ohio.
A long tracked and powerful winter storm, with a history from the Mississippi River valley through the southeast and north along the Appalachians into the northeast, impacted VT on January 17th.
A trough with an atmospheric river component aided in producing snowfall and wind across portions of central Nevada.
The cold air mass remained in place from the initial arctic air mass with freezing temperatures continuing. Bouts of precipitation brought more freezing rain, snow as well.
A series of weather systems brought impactful winter weather to the area with light snow developing across north central Montana, becoming more widespread across the region. Dangerously cold wind chills persisted along the Hi-Line.
13 on January 16, oldest first.
The cold wave of January 1977 produced the only known trace of snow in the greater Miami area of Florida ever reported. It occurred following the passage of a strong cold front, in combination with a high-pressure area situated over the Mississippi River Valley.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Minimum temperatures of 5 above zero to 5 below zero were common.Daytime readings were in the teens on the 18th and 19thfor the lowlands, with single digits across the mountains. Preliminary data indicates Glady of Randolph County had thecoldest reading on the 19th.
A man in his 50s was found frozen to death in a grassy area near a sidewalk in Redford Township at about 130 AM. Investigators said he was probably homeless. Detroit Metro reported a temperature of 16 degrees F.
A 65-year-old Carlisle man died on the morning of the 16th when his wheelchair became stuck in the snow in -18 F weather. It appeared the wheelchair became stuck in the snow as he was attempting to clear the pathway into his house.
An 82 year old male died from cold exposure in Elmwood Park in Cook County on January 16th. Low temperatures were in the single digits.
A prolonged stretch of cold weather across the area brought numerous consecutive days with morning low temperatures at or below freezing across the area.
An arctic air mass moved southward across the Upper Midwest during the weekend of January 16th and 17th. Actual air temperatures fell into the teens, and to near 20 degrees below zero Sunday morning.
During the evening of the 16th into the morning of the 17th, temperatures dropped to the 20 below to 35 below zero range across the entire area. Combined with steady winds of 5 to 10 mph, wind chill readings dipped into the 40 below to 50 below zero range again.
A strong arctic cold front moved through southern Mississippi and southeast Louisiana during the afternoon hours of the 16th. The cold air behind the front changed the precipitation from rain to freezing rain and snow across portions of the area to the north of Interstate 10.
Rain turned into a wintry mix of across Southeast Texas. Overnight minimum temperatures fell into the teens to middle 20s.
Arctic air surged over the Southern Plains on this day in 2018. With widespread temperatures well below freezing, the strong northerly winds produced wind chills well below zero! Over the Oklahoma panhandle near Guymon and Boise City, wind chill values dipped as low as 22 degrees below zero.
From the National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma.
The third wintry precipitation event of a six-week period of repeated sharp cold snaps may have had the greatest impact on both Rio Grande Valley residents and agricultural interests.
A long duration cold weather event continued as broad high pressure remained over a large portion of the eastern half of the country. Wind chills early the 17th bottomed out around -10 with lows of 0-5 in Northwestern Kentucky.
1 on January 16, oldest first.
Big Black River (nr. Saint Pamphile, PQ) recorded -50°F, Maine’s all-time minimum temperature, as the State Climate Extremes Committee lists it.
8 on January 16, oldest first.
The Unit 6 Arson Fire was discovered on January 16, 1995, in Texas, and burned 6,670 acres; the cause was recorded as arson/incendiarism.
The Chavaroo Fire was discovered on January 16, 1995, in New Mexico, and burned 1,700 acres.
The Unnamed Fire was discovered on January 16, 2000, in Kentucky, and burned 1,000 acres; the cause was recorded as arson/incendiarism.
The Indian Creek (Miami) Fire was discovered on January 16, 2006, in Roberts County, Texas, and burned 2,400 acres; the cause was recorded as human.
The U Lazy S Fire was discovered on January 16, 2008, in Garza County, Texas, and burned 1,200 acres; the cause was recorded as equipment and vehicle use.
Strong winds and lack of recent rainfall resulted in a widespread blowing dust event from late morning through mid-afternoon. Local areas experienced sharp reductions in visibilities near open fields.
A grass fire started at approximately 7:45 PM MST on January 16, 2025. The fire spread to approximately 1500 acres before being extinguished on January 17th. Utility poles and lines were reported damaged, along with burnt pasture.
The 165 Fire was reported on January 16, 2026, in Sedgwick County, Colorado, and burned 1,000 acres; the cause was recorded as human.
15 on January 16, oldest first.
An earthquake struck Manila, Philippines. It killed few people (about 1 to 50).
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Sichuan Province, China. It killed some people (about 51 to 100).
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Merida, Pamploma,herran, Venezuela, Colombia. It killed many people (about 101 to 1,000) and did severe (about $5 to $25 million) damage.
A magnitude 7 earthquake struck Guerrero, Mexico. It killed 2 people and injured 2.
A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck Caqueta, Putumayo, Colombia.
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Ecuador.
An earthquake struck Iran. It killed many people (about 101 to 1,000).
An earthquake struck Kashima, Japan. It caused a tsunami.
An earthquake struck Kashima, Japan. It caused a tsunami.
An earthquake struck Kashima, Japan. It caused a tsunami.
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Bonzanabad, Iran. It killed 129 people, injured 200 and destroyed 1,700 houses.
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck Reading, Felt to Canada, Pennsylvania, United States.
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Kobe, Awaji-Shima, Nishinomiya, SW Honshu, Japan. It killed 6,434 people, injured 43,792, destroyed 186,175 houses and did $100 billion in damage. It caused a tsunami.
A magnitude 5 earthquake struck Arrjan, Khuzestan, Iran.
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck Buru, Ambalau Island, Maluku, Indonesia. It killed 1 person and injured 22.
1 on January 16, oldest first.
Ragang, Philippines erupted with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 2. It killed few people (about 1 to 50).
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A tsunami with a source recorded as earthquake struck Livorno, Italy.
A tsunami struck Ligurian Sea, France.
A tsunami with a source recorded as landslide struck Loen, Norway, with a maximum water height of 40.5 meters. It killed 61 people.
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Kashima, Japan, with a maximum water height of 0.4 meters.
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Kashima, Japan, with a maximum water height of 0.4 meters.
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Kashima, Japan, with a maximum water height of 0.4 meters.
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Kobe, Japan, with a maximum water height of 0.34 meters. It killed 6,434 people, injured 43,792, destroyed 186,175 houses and did $100 billion in damage.
A tsunami with a source recorded as landslide struck Columbia River Valley, WA, United States, with a maximum water height of 9 meters.
A tsunami with a source recorded as volcano struck Tonga Islands, with a maximum water height of 0.36 meters.
1 on January 16, oldest first.
A G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm began January 16, 1938, reached Kp 8+ and lasted 27 hours, with a daily Ap as high as 120; at that Kp the aurora may be seen from about 43 degrees geomagnetic latitude.
7 on January 16, oldest first.
Lightning struck a brick house on Seawell Drive in Wake Forest about 20 miles northeast of Raleigh during the early afternoon. The lightning bolt hit the chimney of the new two story house, and the current ran throughout the house's wiring and into one of the bedrooms.
A 15 year old girl, Janella Iglesias, dies in the currents at First Beach In Ipan Talafofo. At 1719 Guam Fire Department call the U.S. Coast Guard for assistance for three swimmers over the reef in Talafofo. The Coast Guard dispatched a HC-5 helicopter.
Lightning struck the ground near a group of 34 soldiers training at the East Range, sending 5 of them to the hospital for treatment.
Patchy dense fog throughout the area caused numerous delays and cancellation of 49 flights. This day long fog eventually began to lift in the late afternoon to early evening hours from west to east across Oklahoma.
A series of storms over the northern Pacific generated large long period swell which impacted the coast of Northern and Central California from January 16 through January 18.
A Pacific storm system brought rough seas (6-9 ft) and gusty winds (20-30 kt locally 40 kt) to the coastal waters. Winds and seas resulted in 10 boats being beached near Zu iga Point (entrance to San Diego Bay) after the boats pulled from their moorings.
A major landslide happened at the town of Niscemi, in Province of Caltanissetta, Sicily, Italy in 2026. A 4 km section of land collapsed, damaging buildings and infrastructure and causing the evacuation of over 1000 residents.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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 2026-09-25.