On this date in 1933, the infamous Chesapeake-Potomac hurricane began to wallop the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. It arrived at night and continued into the 23rd and would become the worst hurricane on record to strike that area. An 8-foot storm surge — or rise in ocean water above normally dry land — overwhelmed low-lying areas. “Norfolk is practically helpless and isolated — a third of the city already inundated,” The Washington Post reported. Winds of nearly 100 mph battered the area, and 19 people were killed.
The next day it would cause severe damage farther north through the rest of the Mid-Atlantic, including the D.C. area.
Here are other notables from the day:
- Average high: 87
- Average low: 71
- Record high: 99 (1983)
- Record low: 51 (1923)
- Record rainfall: 1.41 inches (1955)
