Change the weather on one day, 1900-present

Roches

There are numerous times in history when the weather has favored -- or not favored -- a certain outcome. Many will know that June 5th, 1944 -- D-Day according to the original plans -- had nasty weather in the Channel, causing postponement to the following day. Eisenhower took a gamble on June 6th, the last day for 2 weeks with favorable tides and the last day with a full moon. The weather improved somewhat. But "What if there was bad weather on June 6th, 1944?" has probably been done.

What's the largest change in history that you can cause by changing the weather on a single day, 1900 to present?
 

Apollo 20

November 22, 1963. Crowds were thinner than expected as heavy rains, gusty winds and a low overcast kept workers in downtown Dallas indoors as President Kennedy's motorcade passed through the city en route to a luncheon speech. Poor weather delayed the President's departure from Dallas Love Field by nearly an hour as high gusty winds temporarily closed the airport.
 

RobinCarmody

Well, there's the fog which may well have prevented Hitler from being killed just after the outbreak of WW2, for a start.

And if it could have been known, absolutely for certain, that the autumn of 1978 in the UK would have been far more summer-like than the summer itself then I think Callaghan would have been much more likely to go for it: hot weather, especially out of season, has a tendency to take the traction away from alternatives and make people want more of the same (c.f. the exceptional spring heatwave in the run-up to the AV referendum in 2011).
 

georgy176

Jan 27 - 28, 1986. A current of warm air from the Gulf of Mexico threads its way up to Florida making for a warm night and early morning. Shuttle Challenger has a picture perfect launch at 11:37 am local time.

For the next seven days Challenger flies trouble free performing various maneuvers and experiments including the first Live classroom lesson watched by tens of thousands of eager students of all grades.

Challenger returns with another picture perfect landing and after a great photo op with the triumphant crew is moved to the maintenance hanger to get it ready for its next mission. It's a busy year for NASA.
 

Mark E.

April, 1912: one of the days the Titanic is at sea. A weather system slows the ship down or forces a course adjustment, allowing it to miss the iceberg and make it to New York. The survival of millionaire John Jacob Astor, among others could have made a difference.
 

herkles

February 15th, 1924: There is no rains and thus the dirt roads do not turn to mud increasing the turnout for Huey Long so he can become the democratic nominee for governor in 1924 which means he becomes governor.
 
Last edited:
History Learner

History Learner

Banned
D-Day and the role of the weather in it has already been mentioned, but the strategic effects of such haven't.

In the event of a weather imposed delay, the next possible landing time would've been the 18th, due to the right combination of tides and good weather. Unfortunately for the Allies, this means the invasion force will still be getting ashore when the worst Channel storm on record slams into the area without warning, as occurred IOTL. The storm dealt great damage to the artificial harbors, as well as cut off resupply and reinforcement for three days as well as rendered air support impossible. Adding to this, Rommel would've been back from leave in Germany and thus would've been in a position to order immediate counter-attacks once the situation became clear and given the helpless state of the Allied forces at such a moment, the end result could not be in doubt.
 
NHBL

NHBL

Kodoku said:
I feel as if the terrorists would've picked another day though.
Click to expand...

I feel that they would; good weather conditions are essential for a plan like that. Unless something broke to let people know that something was coming, they'd probably do it a different day with similar results.

Any close run election could have a different outcome if the weather in a particular district was different. Worse than OTL means that only the most determined come out to vote. Better weather can mean that more casual voters come out. The different demographics could change a key state or two.

Bad weather in Iran on November 4, 1979 could lead to a smaller group trying to storm the embassy--and failing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Top