9/11 weather: 2012 conditions closely resemble 2001
September 11, 2012 weather map (National Weather Service)On the 11-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, today’s crystal blue skies over the Eastern U.S. bear remarkable similarity to those on that tragic day.
Meteorologist Sean Potter, writing for Weatherwise magazine, opens his retrospective on the weather of 9/11/2001 like this:
“Tuesday, September 11, 2001, dawned temperate and nearly cloudless in the eastern United States.”
The still, clear weather enabled the hijacked flights to take-off and may have assisted the terrorists in carrying out their plots. As Potter explains:
It certainly aided them in navigating and finding their targets, as none of the hijackers was a professional pilot, though several had taken pilot training courses in the United States. “For those heading to an airport,” the 9/11 Commission report stated, “weather conditions could not have been better for a safe and pleasant journey.” The 8:51 a.m. temperature reading was 68°F at Central Park, 72°F at La Guardia, and 73°F at both JFK and Newark Airports.
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