Every tornado, hurricane, flood, blizzard, heat wave, record, earthquake, eruption, tsunami, wildfire and geomagnetic storm on record for January 17, 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 6.7 earthquake struck Northridge, California, United States. It killed 57 people, injured 11,846, destroyed 40,000 houses and did $40 billion in damage. It caused a tsunami.
Tsunamis
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck West Coast, USA, United States, with a maximum water height of 0.1 meters. It killed 57 people, injured 11,846, destroyed 40,000 houses and did $40 billion in damage.
Floods
A series of floods and mudslides took place in January 2011 in several towns of the Mountainous Region, in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Casualties occurred in the cities of Nova Friburgo, Teresópolis, Petrópolis, Bom Jardim, Sumidouro and São José do Vale do Rio Preto.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Billion-dollar disasters
A winter storm disaster that cost $2.2 billion in 2024 dollars and killed 70, on NOAA’s billion-dollar list. It lasted from January 17, 1994 to January 20, 1994.
Earthquakes
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Quchan, Iran. It killed 1,000 people and did extreme (about $25 million or more) damage.
Earthquakes
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck Gisenyi, Rwanda. It killed 1,001 people, injured 400, destroyed 307 houses and did severe (about $5 to $25 million) damage.
Tornadoes
An F4 tornado touched down in Madison County, Tennessee and tracked 16 miles, 500 yards wide at its widest, killing 6 and injuring 106.
Floods
From 17 to 29 January 2020, heavy rainstorms associated with Subtropical Storm Kurumí caused widespread flooding and landslides in Brazil's Southeast Region states of Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Volcanoes
Nyiragongo, Democratic Republic of the Congo erupted with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 1. It killed 100 people and did severe (about $5 to $25 million) damage.
Earthquakes
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Cumana, Venezuela. With the tsunami it caused, it killed 50 people, injured 800 and did severe (about $5 to $25 million) damage.
Tsunamis
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Cumana, Venezuela, with a maximum water height of 6 meters. It killed 50 people, injured 800 and did severe (about $5 to $25 million) damage.
Tornadoes
Several trees were blown down.
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An unrated tornado touched down in Barren County, Kentucky and tracked 7 miles, killing 8 and injuring 30. From Grazulis's record of significant tornadoes: Park City to Cave City, KY.
An F2 tornado touched down in Randolph, Terrell counties, Georgia and tracked 13.5 miles, 50 yards wide at its widest, killing 1 and injuring 50. From Grazulis's record of significant tornadoes: S Shellman/Graves, GA.
A tornado ripped through a residential section, tearing shingles from roofs, uprooting trees and scattering debris over a several block area. There was damage to 31 homes.
Eighteen homes sustained damage, 4 with major damage, many trees and signs blown over by tornado. Most damage occurred when the tornado moved east from 59th and Clinton to 72nd and Cholla.
A short lived but strong tornadic circulation developed on the left side of a bow echo type thunderstorm north of Bonham. The tornado destroyed 3 mobile homes and resulted in 5 injuries to the occupants. Minor damage to homes and another mobile home also occurred.
A supercell thunderstorm embedded within a squall line that moved through Dallas County produced 7 short track tornadoes and a downburst in the southern portion of the county.
Tornado number two developed near I-35/Idlewild Ct. and lifted near Marsalis/Pleasant Run Rd.
An F4 tornado touched down in Madison County, Tennessee and tracked 16 miles, 500 yards wide at its widest, killing 6 and injuring 106.
Several trees were blown down.
An F3 tornado touched down in Crockett County, Tennessee and tracked 10 miles, injuring 4.
An F3 tornado touched down in Haywood, Madison counties, Tennessee and tracked 22 miles, 300 yards wide at its widest, injuring 2.
An F1 tornado touched down in Hardeman, Fayette counties, Tennessee and tracked 12 miles, 350 yards wide at its widest, killing 1 and injuring 4.
An F1 tornado touched down in Carroll County, Tennessee and tracked 10 miles, killing 1 and injuring 1.
Hail ranged in size from dime to golfball.
A tornado touched down near Slayden. Two mobile homes were destroyed. A new house under construction was levelled. A parked 18-wheeler was overturned. A few trees were blown down with one tree falling on a house.
F1 tornado took the roof off a Cee-Bee Grocery store. Employees in the store sought shelter in the freezer.
A strong tornado was spawned in southeast Independence County about 4 miles south-southeast of Oil Trough. As the tornado tracked northeast, it heavily damaged a home in the Macks community...with the roof removed. Several vehicles at the home were damaged by flying debris.
A strong tornado in southeast Independence County moved into western Jackson County. The tornado caused mostly tree and power line damage and blew down some highway signs before it dissipated about 2 miles west-southwest of Jacksonport.
By January 13th, the medium-range forecast models were becoming consistent in predicting a major precipitation event that would affect interior central California beginning the 17th and continuing for several days.
Low pressure moved across the southern Great Lakes during the morning hours on January 17th. A strong cold front crossed southern Indiana during the early afternoon.
A tornado occurred during the afternoon hours of January 17th out ahead of a cold front that pushed across central and southern Mississippi during the evening and overnight hours later that day.
As a line of showers and thunderstorms moved across Middle Tennessee during the early afternoon hours on Tuesday, January 17th, thunderstorms reached severe thresholds across Rutherford County, resulting in an EF0 tornado and a funnel cloud reported in this county.
Deep low pressure moved across the southern Great Lakes the morning of January 17. A cold front associated with this storm swept southeast of the Ohio River during the early afternoon hours.
A strong and deepening area of low pressure across the northern Gulf pushed a strong line of thunderstorms across the Florida peninsula. Numerous supercell thunderstorms were observed and a few produced strong tornadoes along and near the coast.
An EF2 tornado touched down in Manatee County, Florida and tracked 9.2 miles, 300 yards wide at its widest, killing 2 and injuring 4.
A low pressure system pushed a rapidly-moving squall line across east-central Florida during the morning. A thunderstorm within the line acquired rotation as moved from interior Martin County toward the coast and resulted in a brief tornado in the town of Hobe Sound.
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Hurricane Dani reached its peak of 115 kt (130 mph) with a central pressure of 925 mb, a category 4 storm.
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The combination of significant prior snow cover, warm temperatures, and rainfall produced widespread tributary flooding in the Ohio river basin. Some ice jam flooding also occurred in the northern Scioto basin.
Ice jams developed on the Chagrin River near Eastlake and several other locations as warm temperatures, melting snow, and rain caused the ice to break and water to rise. Some evacuations occurred but the ice jams broke before significant flooding developed.
Recent rains have brought high levels to many southern Indiana Rivers.
A series of floods and mudslides took place in January 2011 in several towns of the Mountainous Region, in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Casualties occurred in the cities of Nova Friburgo, Teresópolis, Petrópolis, Bom Jardim, Sumidouro and São José do Vale do Rio Preto.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
During the morning of January 17th, a developing low pressure system tracked northeast across the southern Great Lakes and the associated cold front triggered a line of storms in the abnormally warm, moist airmass.
Several clusters of showers and thunderstorms along and in advance of a strong cold front. A few of the storms were strong, producing small hail and frequent lightning.
High intensity rainfall since 17 January 2015 caused major flooding across several parts of Sarawak and Sabah. Around 13,878 people had been evacuated with one teenage girl became the only casualty.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
A strong stationary low pressure system off the British Columbia coast brought impressively high seas into the Oregon Coast. Wave heights up to 37 feet were recorded at buoys off the coast, with top one-tenth wave heights up to 45 feet.
From 17 to 29 January 2020, heavy rainstorms associated with Subtropical Storm Kurumí caused widespread flooding and landslides in Brazil's Southeast Region states of Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
On the morning of the Monday 17th of January 2022, Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, and its neighbouring department, department of Canelones, went through a period of heavy rain that developed into a flood that submerged a number of neighbourhoods of the city underwater. The previous weekend, the country had experienced the highest heatwave in its recorded history.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Low pressure rapidly intensified into a strong storm (980 mb) and tracked over western New England on the morning of January 17th. This allowed for a strong easterly flow to develop as the system passed to our west.
Low pressure rapidly intensified into a strong storm (980 mb) and tracked over western New England on the morning of January 17th. This allowed for a strong easterly flow to develop as the system passed to our west.
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An estimated $22 thousand of wind damage occurred to two mobile homes.
High winds moved through Lake Gaston uprooting several trees and causing $50,000 in damage to six boats and four boat houses.
High winds did widespread but mostly minor damage across west Texas and Southern New Mexico. The most serious incident was a roof partially ripped off a supermarket in Anthony, TX killing three people.
Several semi trucks blown off the road. Many structures with roof damage. Numerous power outages.
A strong cold front moved into Oklahoma during the evening of January 17th. Strong gradient winds with and behind the front were sustained at up to 44 mph at Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City with gusts as high as 52 mph.
High winds generated by a strong pressure gradient severely damaged an apartment complex in Amarillo, TX. Sustained winds of 40 to 50 mph with gusts from 50 to 70 mph were reported across the northern Texas panhandle.
A wind event for the history books occurred with a peak wind gust of 128 mph at Guadalupe Pass. The sustained wind was hurricane force from about 1000 am until about 300 pm with a maximum sustained wind of 105 mph.
High winds accompanying a powerful cold front gusted to an estimated 60 to 70 mph and caused roof damage to a green house and an adjacent roller ring near 10th and Fairlawn.
Some apartments at the Thomas Apartment complex were unroofed and some mobile homes were damaged.
A dry cold front moving through the area brought widespread strong winds to southeast Arizona. Low visibilities in blowing dust were common with some areas near zero visibility. A roof was blown off a 200 foot long agriculuture shed near Bowie.
Spotter reported quarter size hail.
A National Weather Service damage survey indicated a macroburst containing winds near 100 MPH caused extensive damage across southern Todd County. Most of the damage was in the Zion, Hermon, Allensville, and Trenton areas.
Multiple trees down
A thunderstorm along a squall line produced a microburst at Oak Grove, at and near the Fort Campbell military installation. Several mobile homes were damaged. Numerous trees were down, and the roof was damaged on a church on Kentucky 115.
A National Weather Service damage survey revealed a microburst with 90 MPH winds demolished numerous barns and moved a mobile home off its foundation. Three persons were injured in the mobile home. The injuries consisted of cuts and a separated shoulder.
Thunderstorm winds damaged many homes throughout the southern and central portion of the county. Especially hard hit was the Parkers Mill area where 50 to 70 homes received structural damage according to the Public Safety Officer of the county.
Thunderstorm winds overturned a mobile home and blew down a barn. The roof was removed from the Farm Bureau building in Charleston. At the Charleston Inn, windows were blown out and the roof was damaged. A large sign was snapped off, and a steel light post was snapped.
Several roofs and automobiles received damage.
A National Weather Service damage survey indicated a microburst containing winds estimated near 90 MPH overturned 2 mobile homes and demolished three or four barns.
Thunderstorm winds estimated near 95 MPH overturned a vehicle. A house along Highway 51 was heavily damaged and pushed off its foundation. In the same area, a small shed and a large truck shed were destroyed.
East of Mayfield, thunderstorm winds destroyed a barn, blew a nearby mobile home off its foundation, and blew windows out of houses. Numerous trees and power lines were down. A tool shed was destroyed.
Thunderstorm winds caused extensive damage to a house 4 miles east of Greenville. Another house about 6 miles east of Greenville was damaged. Numerous trees and power lines were down in eastern Wayne County.
Thunderstorm winds blew the roof off a building adjacent to the Southern Hills Shopping Center. This building houses 4 businesses and is located in the southwest portion of the city.
Thunderstorm winds destroyed 7 trailers in a trailer park. Three houses were partially unroofed.
Very strong thunderstorm winds blew outbuildings over, destroyed a mobile home, and blew windows out of a service station. Trees were down, including some on houses. At a gas station on Highway AD, the station's canopy was destroyed and the front glass door was blown out.
A carport and shed were demolished, and a one third of the roof was blown off a house.
Thunderstorm winds ripped the roof off of two apartments, partially removed the roof of another apartment, damaged eight houses, and snapped trees and utility poles.
Wind collapsed the side of an oil storage tank in Deer Park. As a result, a scaffolding within the interior of this tank holding two men toppled killing one of these men.
Strong winds caused some isolated power outages and downed a few trees in the Portland area.
Strong winds developed across the entire area in the wake of a strong cold front and associated with a deep low pressure center that moved across southern Ontario. Winds gusts to around 70 mph and remained quite strong all night.
Low pressure moved across southern Ontario and pulled a strong cold front across the region during the evening hours. Thunderstorms which accompanied the front produced wind gusts up to around 70 mph. The strong winds downed trees and power lines and poles.
A line of strong to severe thunderstorms formed along and ahead of a strong cold front on January 17th. These storms produced widespread wind damage across eastern Kentucky.
A very strong area of low pressure passed to the north of Lake Erie during the afternoon hours of January 17th. Strong and damaging winds occurred along and behind a cold front trailing the low. Peak wind gusts at many locations were over 60 mph.
A strong and intensifying area of low pressure moved just north of the St. Lawrence River across southeast Ontario and Quebec provinces in Canada during the night of January 17th and early morning hours of January 18th.
A very strong area of low pressure passed to the north of Lake Erie during the afternoon hours of January 17th. Strong winds occurred along and behind a cold front trailing the low. Peak wind gusts at many locations were over 60 mph.
A deepening area of low pressure tracking from northern Missouri into the southern Great Lakes brought strong to severe thunderstorms to south-central Illinois during the pre-dawn hours of January 17th.
A strong low pressure center passed just to the north of Lake Ontario on the evening of January 17th, which sent a cold front with strong winds through portions of Central New York. This resulted in downed trees, power outages, and minor damage to structures.
A line of thunderstorms raced east ahead of a cold front. The cold front trailed from a low pressure center over southern Lower Michigan southwest across the Middle Mississippi Valley. A southwest low-level jet around 60 knots enhanced the potential for gusty winds.
High wind was expected on the coast only, but in the event the KPDX-KBLI gradient briefly increased to nearly +15 mb. This brought spotty high wind to a few inland zones. A zero lead time high wind warning went out that covered most zones.
There was high wind on the central coast and over the northwest interior.
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Snowstorm of January 17, 1978 was ranked category 2, Significant, on NOAA’s Regional Snowfall Index, strongest in the Northeast. It lasted from January 17, 1978 to January 21, 1978.
On January 16th through 18th back in 1987, a winter storm brought heavy snow to much of western and northwest Oklahoma. Accumulations as high as 14 inches were reported. Southwest Oklahoma and western north Texas experienced a significant ice storm, where as much as 2 inches of ice combined with several inches of snow to cause numerous traffic accidents and downed power lines.
From the National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma.
A blizzard spread across the area from the west. Snow accumulating 3 to 12 inches was accompanied by 50 to 60 mph winds and very cold temperatures. The blizzard was accompanied by wind chill readings around 70 below zero.
A major winter storm with sustained winds of 40 mph and gusts to 65 mph dropped 5 to 6 inches of snow over Sheridan, Cherry, Grant, Thomas and Custer counties of North Central Ne. Three inches to trace amounts fell over Southwest and West Central Ne.
A major winter storm brought blizzard conditions with significant snowfall to western and central Minnesota. Snowfall reached a foot or more in Little Falls, Melrose, Alexandria and Staples with 6 to 11 inches in St. Cloud, Benson and Canby.
A strong low pressure center located over the central plains combined with strong arctic high pressure moving south out of Canada to bring blizzard conditions to North Dakota.
Freezing rain caused severe icing which resulted in damage to trees and power lines. The damage was increased by strong winds which developed as the freezing rain changed to snow.
Freezing rain caused severe icing of roads and damage to trees and power lines. Indirect damage occurred because of power failures, including broken pipes. Strong winds following the freezing rain added to the damage.
A blizzard moved over the area from the northwest with snow and winds up to 45 mph. New snowfall was generally 2 to 4 inches, but schools, businesses, and other activities were brought to a halt and travel was impossible at times with zero visibility and blocked roads.
Icy roads caused several traffic accidents and injuries on I-84.
Low pressure became organized as it moved northeast of Iowa during the late night of the 17th and early morning of the 18th. By sunrise on the 18th, the low had intensified to a 990 mb low pressure over central Wisconsin.
This was a major freezing rain event for the Anchorage Municipality area. Compounding the problem was the false sense of security some drivers had acquired after motoring along major roads which were pretty much ice free.
A northeast flow of cold air produced lake effect snows then backed to northwest from Sunday afternoon (16th) through Monday afternoon (17th). A strong band of snow developed offshore on Lake Ontario and then moved onshore as the winds backed.
Snowstorm of January 17, 2009 was ranked category 1, Notable, on NOAA’s Regional Snowfall Index, strongest in the Northeast. It lasted from January 17, 2009 to January 19, 2009.
A light freezing rain and drizzle event occurred across portions of the Cumberland Plateau during the late evening hours on the 17th and the early morning hours of the 18th.
An unusually long spell of periodic dense freezing fog persisted across much of the area from January 12th through the 19th. Fog was most dense during the nighttime and morning hours.
A series of Pacific storms moved across interior Northern California bringing heavy snow, strong winds, and dangerous travel conditions to the mountains.
Low pressure, driven by a vorticity maximum that moved across central and southern sections of Wisconsin, tracked across northern Illinois.
Northwest winds caused blowing and drifting snow over an area which extended from Brookings County South Dakota into southwest Minnesota.
A winter storm produced a protracted mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain across most of the northern half of New Jersey with less of an impact across southwest and coastal central New Jersey.
A wintry mix of precipitation occurred across Kent and New Castle Counties on the evening and overnight on the 17th. Snow and sleet accumulations were around an inch or less and ice accretions averaged one to two tenths of an inch.
A powerful upper level storm system moved across the region, producing rainfall at the onset of the event which changed to snow as the upper low moved across the region and colder air moved into the region behind it.
Low pressure off the southeast U.S. Coast strengthened as it quickly tracked out to sea just south of the area on January 17th.
An arctic cold front moved east across the Great Lakes Region on Sunday January 17th, ushering the coldest air of the season into the area.
An arctic cold front moved east across the Great Lakes Region on Sunday January 17th, ushering the coldest air of the season into the area.
After brief respite from the January cold, and lake effect snow, arctic air flowed over the eastern Great Lakes Sunday, January 17th, with early weekend air temperatures in the 40s plummeting back below freezing.
A wet storm brought thunderstorms with heavy rain creating large puddles on roads and minor urban flooding, especially over portions of the northern Sacramento Valley and northeast foothills. Wind 40-50 mph brought down trees causing some power outages.
Another series of strong storms brought more flooding rains and strong coastal and ridge tops winds to the region.
Freezing fog overnight and into the morning hours of January 18, 2017 caused several accidents on local roadways. The most notable incident occurred when a vehicle slid into another vehicle, causing one fatality and one injury.
A well directed atmospheric river of Pacific moisture enhanced into widespread snow and freezing rain over eastern Washington during January 17th and 18th. Heavy snow impacted the mountains and valleys north and west of the Columbia Basin.
Low pressure deepening off the North Carolina coast produced significant snowfall over most of eastern North Carolina during the late evening of January 17th through the early morning of January 18th.
A cold front and subsequent closed low aloft brought measurable snow to the region beginning early in the morning on Wednesday the 17th.
An active weather pattern over the southern Rockies for the 2018-2019 winter season delivered the first substantial snowpack to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in several years. At 11:30 a.m.
A strong upper level low pressure system brought periods of mixed precipitation to central Indiana late during the evening of the 17th and continuing through the night. Precipitation began as a snow/sleet mix and transitioned to freezing rain before all rain.
A large storm system, which produced heavy snow during the onset, switched over to freezing drizzle, then back to light snow before transitioning to blowing snow and blizzard conditions.
This system resulted in a prolonged winter event with snow beginning across southern Iowa before expanding across central and northern Iowa, where the bulk of the snow fell.
A surface trough over the eastern Great Lakes region allowed for light lake effect snow showers to develop during the late afternoon on January 17th.
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A cold front ushered in an arctic airmass on the evening of January 17th, as well as bringing widespread wind and snow to eastern Utah and western Colorado.
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"Cold Sunday" was a meteorological event which took place on January 17, 1982, when unprecedentedly cold air swept down from Canada and plunged temperatures across much of the United States far below existing all-time record lows.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The coldest air mass of the winter season moved into Eastern Pennsylvania on Friday the 17th. The high pressure system came straight from the arctic tundra and moved southeast reaching the Middle and South Atlantic States on the 19th and 20th.
The coldest weather of the winter occurred from the 17th through the 19th. During that period, lows reached as low as -6 at Detroit's metro airport, and -9 at Flint's Bishop airport and the National Weather Service forecast office at White Lake.
The coldest arctic air of the winter season enveloped southeast and southcentral Wisconsin, resulting in many school closings and cancellation of evening activities. There were 3 frostbite injury cases reported in Milwaukee county.
An arctic cold front swept across the region during Sunday afternoon, January 16th.
A 95 year old man died of hypothermia after locking himself out of his residence. The temperature that evening was -1 F at 9:00 pm and fell to -6 F by midnight.
Low temperatures around 20 with highs near freezing contributed to the cold exposure death of a man.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office diagnosed the death of a woman as hypothermia. Temperatures were below zero Fahrenheit with wind chill temperatures 20 below zero at the time.
Arctic air surged over the Southern Plains on the 16th and 17th of January 2018. Along with wind chill values below zero for much of the day on the 16th, low temperatures on the morning of the 17th also dipped below zero. The lowest temperature in Oklahoma was negative 7.6 degrees at Miami, in far northeast Oklahoma.
From the National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma.
The frozen body of a woman was found next to her car outside her rural home. Temperatures were slightly below zero early that morning and hypothermia may have contributed to her death.
Cold Temperatures occurred from January the 16th to January the 18th, with overnight low temperatures ranging from 10-13 degrees each night. During this period there was was one fatality due these cold temperatures in Yazoo County.
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Millsboro recorded -17°F, Delaware’s all-time minimum temperature, as the State Climate Extremes Committee lists it.
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Blowing dust reduced visibility to near zero which caused 25 vehicles to pile up on Interstate 10 about 10 miles south of Phoenix.
The Island Creek Fire was discovered on January 17, 2005, in Maryland, and burned 1,800 acres; the cause was recorded as arson/incendiarism.
The Heidel Fire was discovered on January 17, 2008, in Lea County, New Mexico, and burned 2,000 acres; the cause was recorded as human.
Strong winds created blowing dust across portions of East Arkansas during the morning of January 17th, 2009. A fatal three vehicle accident occurred as a result of the blowing dust.
A wildfire started about five miles northeast of Bushland and spread southward...just north of the intersection of West Mile View Drive and Mile View Drive...and just south of Tascosa Road. The wildfire started around 1345 CST and burned about one hundred acres.
The large wildfire began about one mile north of McLean around 1230CST and consumed approximately six hundred and forty acres. One vacant home and one shed were completely destroyed, however there were no reports of injuries or fatalities.
The Sour Fire was reported on January 17, 2021, in Yavapai County, Arizona, and burned 1,226 acres; the cause was recorded as human.
On 16 January 2026, major wildfires began burning in the Biobío and Ñuble regions of Chile. They have burned over 45,000 hectares as of 21 January 2026.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The Silver Lake Fire was reported on January 17, 2026, in Wakulla County, Florida, and burned 4,816 acres; the cause was recorded as human.
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A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Marmara Sea, Turkey. It caused a tsunami.
An earthquake struck Kirman, Chatrud, Iran. It killed many people (about 101 to 1,000) and did severe (about $5 to $25 million) damage.
An earthquake struck Ligurian Coast, Italy. It caused a tsunami.
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Quchan, Iran. It killed 1,000 people and did extreme (about $25 million or more) damage.
An earthquake struck Albania.
A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck Peru.
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Cumana, Venezuela. With the tsunami it caused, it killed 50 people, injured 800 and did severe (about $5 to $25 million) damage.
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Ionian Sea, Greece. It caused a tsunami.
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Northridge, California, United States. It killed 57 people, injured 11,846, destroyed 40,000 houses and did $40 billion in damage. It caused a tsunami.
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck Gisenyi, Rwanda. It killed 1,001 people, injured 400, destroyed 307 houses and did severe (about $5 to $25 million) damage.
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck Guizhou Province, China. It killed 7 people, left 1 missing and injured 9.
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Qadis, Badghis, Afghanistan. It killed 28 people, injured 4, destroyed 800 houses and did $400,000 in damage.
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Nyiragongo, Democratic Republic of the Congo erupted with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 1. It killed 100 people and did severe (about $5 to $25 million) damage.
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A tsunami with a source recorded as earthquake struck Ligurian Sea, Italy.
A tsunami with a source recorded as earthquake struck Northern Australia, with a maximum water height of 1.8 meters.
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Cumana, Venezuela, with a maximum water height of 6 meters. It killed 50 people, injured 800 and did severe (about $5 to $25 million) damage.
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Ionian Sea, Greece.
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck West Coast, USA, United States, with a maximum water height of 0.1 meters. It killed 57 people, injured 11,846, destroyed 40,000 houses and did $40 billion in damage.
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A G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm began January 17, 1955, reached Kp 8- and lasted 21 hours, with a daily Ap as high as 59; at that Kp the aurora may be seen from about 47 degrees geomagnetic latitude.
A G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm began January 17, 2005, reached Kp 8- and lasted 63 hours, with a daily Ap as high as 84; at that Kp the aurora may be seen from about 47 degrees geomagnetic latitude.
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A winter storm disaster that cost $2.2 billion in 2024 dollars and killed 70, on NOAA’s billion-dollar list. It lasted from January 17, 1994 to January 20, 1994.
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High swells estimated at 10 feet swamped and capsized a ship boat about 12 miles of Sandy Point in St. Croix. Two of their occupants managed to climb on top of the boat and were rescued two days later. The third person was never found and presumed dead.
A swell from a powerful low far northwest of the islands generated surf of 15 to 30 feet along the north- and west-facing shores of Niihau and Kauai, and the north-facing shores of Oahu, Molokai, and Maui; 10 to 20 feet along the west-facing shores of Oahu, Molokai, and Maui; 10…
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.