Thanksgiving's Seven Most Memorable Storms

While much of the United States will be calm for Thanksgiving Day, there are some trouble spots, including rain in California and lake-effect snow downwind of the Great Lakes.

Mother Nature was not so kind for some Thanksgiving holidays in our country's history. Below is a list of a few of the nation's most memorable Thanksgiving weather events in chronological order:

1. The Snow Bowl
Two days after Thanksgiving on Nov. 25, 1950, the Ohio State Buckeyes hosted the Michigan Wolverines in Columbus, Ohio, for a collegiate football game that would go down in history.
Now referred to by some as the "Blizzard Bowl," the game is famous for its blizzardlike conditions, as temperatures dropped 10 degrees during the game, accompanied by blowing snow and wind.

2. Hurricane Iwa
While hurricanes in the Hawaiian Islands are somewhat rare, the Hawaiian Island of Kauai was slammed by Hurricane Iwa just two days before Thanksgiving on Nov. 23, 1982. This hurricane was the first direct hit on the island since 1959.

3. San Joaquin Valley Dust Storm
Just one day after Thanksgiving in 1991, a blinding dust storm swept through California's main highway, the Interstate 5, in San Joaquin Valley area. As one of the main travel days around the holiday, this dust storm proved to be catastrophic as it caused a 100-vehicle chain accident on the freeway. More than 15 people lost their lives and more than 130 were injured as a result of the massive pileup.

4. 1992 Tornado Outbreak
The weekend before Thanksgiving, a three-day severe weather outbreak unleashed tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds across 13 states.

5. The Sleet Bowl
While this Nov. 25, 1993 Thanksgiving Day game went down in the history books for Leon Lett's fumble that cost the Dallas Cowboys the victory against the Miami Dolphins, the game also came with some unexpected weather, making it the first time ever that winter precipitation was recorded on Thanksgiving in Dallas.

6. Winds in Western Washington
Two days after the 1998 Thanksgiving holiday, dozens of flights were canceled out of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after portions of the building lost power due to high winds. Sustained winds of 50 mph swept through much of the western Washington area, downing trees and power lines on the way.

7. Major Lake-Effect Snowstorm
After a cold front swung across the snow-belt regions on Thanksgiving morning in 2005, winds shifted and ignited lake-effect snow as the bands headed southwestward.
 

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