Pete's Weather Wonders

Wind Chill

The wind chill makes cold winter days feel bitter. That’s because your body makes an invisible blanket of heat right near your skin. When the wind blows, it takes the heat away, making you feel cold. So before you go out on cold windy days, bundle up!

Lightning

Lightning never strikes the same place twice, right? WRONG! The Pru's been hit by bolts many times…sometimes more than once in a same storm.

Fenway's First Opening Day

April 20, 1912 was the first opening day at the brand new Fenway Park. However, this was not the original date scheduled. The Red Sox first professional game was supposed to be on April 18th , but the weather didn't cooperate. Two days of spring showers delayed the start. The home team went on the win that game, beating the New York Highlanders, who later became the New York Yankees.

First American Tornado

You’ve heard of tornadoes touching down in New England. It’s rare, but it does happen. On average there are 2 tornadoes per year in New Hampshire. Most recently a twister touched down in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire. It has been categorized as an F2 storm. This means the winds were between 120 mph and 130 mph, strong enough to flip a pick-up truck and toss it fifty feet with passengers inside. In Massachusetts there is an average of 3 tornadoes per year. In fact, the first twister ever recorded in America was in Massachusetts in the summer of 1643. However some believe this strong gust may have been a downburst -type storm. If that is the case, the first documented tornado in American was in Rehoboth in August 1671.

Molasses Spill in North End

Picture a warm winter day in January 1919. This was the setting for a freak accident in the North End. Many hard working folks were just taking their lunch break when millions of gallons of molasses spilled onto the streets. Some say the mild temperature that day caused the tank to explode. Others claim the tank was just too full. Whatever the reason, on hot summer days people claim they can still smell the sweet stuff.

Zakim-Bunker Hill Bridge

The Leonard P. Zakim- Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge is suspended by cables. Do you ever worry about winds knocking it down? Don't, it was built to stand gusts up to 400 miles an hour. The highest winds in Boston reached about 110 miles per hour.

Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard

Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard are popular summer retreats for New Englanders. But did you ever wonder how the islands got to their spot off the coast of Cape Cod? Turns out they were formed by glaciers during the ice age.

"Year without a Summer"

Normally frost, flurries, and frigid temperatures would be a winter forecast. But that was not the case in 1816. There was a big chill during June, July, and August that year. Why? Well, it was caused by the eruption of the Tamboro volcano east of Java in April 1815. It sent so much debris into the atmosphere that the temperature on Earth was temporarily lowered. Since it does take time for volcanic matter to get distributed throughout the atmosphere, it was the summer of 1816 that was affected. That's why its called the "year without a summer."

Andrea Doria

Fog on the water is a common sight during New England summers. In July 1956 the ocean liner the Andrea Doria lost her fight with the fog. The ship sank off the coast of Nantucket when it was rammed by another ship, the Stockholm.

Bunker Hill

Learn More

• Lightning
• Fenway Park
• First American Tornado
• Molasses Spill in North End
• Zakim-Bunker Hill Bridge
• Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard
• Year without a Summer
• Andrea Doria
• The Battle of Bunker Hill