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Pat Shingleton: "A Fireball and The Signing..."

6 years 9 months 2 weeks ago Saturday, July 01 2017 Jul 1, 2017 July 01, 2017 4:15 AM July 01, 2017 in Pat Shingleton Column
By: Pat Shingleton:

Welcome to July with a final look-back to June 30, 1908, when riders on the Trans-Siberian railroad witnessed a fireball as bright as the sun streaking across the sky. It exploded above the Tunguska River and flattened over a thousand square miles of forest.  For 1,000 miles the fireball was seen and heard as scientists believe a chunk of asteroid vaporized in the lower atmosphere. July 1, 1935, found three major tornadoes ravaging Watford City, North Dakota. There was no trace of a school leveled at the mouth of the White River.  Atop Stone Mountain, Georgia, on this date in 1992, two brothers were only slightly injured by lightning while flying a kite. On July 1, 1776, the final debate was underway in Philadelphia concerning whether the 13 American colonies should declare their independence from Great Britain. As noted in a previous Weather News, John Dickinson of Pennsylvania appealed for loyalty to Britain.  When John Adams began his oration a summertime thunderstorm erupted. He delivered a powerful speech in the midst of flashes of lightning and rolling thunder. At Independence Hall, candles were lit for the Continental Congress while Adams continued his passionate address; louder than the weather outside.  The following day the momentous vote was taken during another storm.  Two days later, the front moved through the Philadelphia area ushering in cool air for the signing of the Declaration of Independence on the Fourth of July.

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