We’re no stranger to weird weather events

Freak snowstorms, golfball sized hailstones, and literally raining cats and dogs – our planet is no stranger to weird weather.

Feeling Foehn

On 22 January 1943, the temperature in the South Dakota town of Spearfish in the US soared upwards by 27 degrees Celsius in just two minutes. The temperature climbed rapidly from -20 to 7 degrees Celsius due to an intense foehn wind.

Tan Down Under

Marble Bar in Western Australia is known for its sweltering temperatures, and in 1923 temperatures didn’t dip below 37 degrees Celsius for 160 days. This world record was set between 31 October 1923 and 7 April 1924.

Incoming

Hailstones the size of softballs fell in Nebraska, US on 22 June 2003. Some residents opted to wear crash helmets to protect themselves as the huge stones smashed roofs and left deep craters in the ground. Record rain La Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean endured over six metres of rain over 15 days in January 1980, in one of the heaviest rainstorms of all time. This extreme weather was down to a tropical cyclone that left 7,000 people homeless.

Desert Deluge

The Atacama Desert in South America is one of the driest places on Earth. On average, this desert records just 0.17 centimetres of rainfall a year, but in March 2015 almost 14 years’ worth of rain fell in a single day.

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