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Grasshoppers, hail, rain, lightning all possible during Obama speech

By Alan Gathright, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published August 15, 2008 at 3:28 p.m.
Updated August 15, 2008 at 3:28 p.m.

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Planners of Barack Obama's acceptance speech for the Democratic presidential nomination at Invesco Field may want to keep a weather-eye out for history of a different kind.

Think: grasshopper swarms blotting out the sun and lightening strikes, marble-size hail and 53 mph winds.

All these have occurred in the Denver area on Aug. 28 through recorded history, according to National Weather Service.

A Focus on the Family video drew international headlines with a video humorously urging people to pray for a "biblical" deluge on Obama's big night under open skies with 75,000 people.

"One of the guys here joked that 'Focus on the Family is praying for the wrong stuff. They could be praying for the grasshoppers, they might get that instead of the rain,' " recounted Carl Burroughs of the National Weather Service in Boulder.

That's because records show Aug. 28, 1875 was smack in the midst of a 12-day swarm of grasshoppers that "almost darkened the sun," blanketed streets, "devastated" Denverites' gardens and devoured ripening grain crops in the countryside.

An AccuWeather.com forecast for Obama's address calls for rain and a temperature of 39 degrees, though — as any Coloradan will tell you — Rocky Mountain weather can change in a minute — let alone 13 days.

Still, that 15-day forecast calls for a hot day on Aug. 28, with a high of 91, followed by a cool, rainy night.

History says that's not out of the ballpark of possibilities.

The record high for Aug. 28 was 94 degrees in 1969. The record minimum temperature was 42 degrees in 2004.

A record .68 inch of rain fell on that day in 1882.

The severity of summer thunderstorms tends to weaken as the days cool toward the end of August.

But on that day in 1970, a 53 mph wind gust was recorded at Stapleton International Airport.

On Aug. 28, 1968, lightening strikes seriously injured a man riding a roller coaster at a Denver amusement park and an airline worker at Stapleton while triggering several house fires in the city.

On that day in 2002, three-quarter inch hail rattled Parker.

On the bright side, snow had never been recorded in Denver in August.

But, there was 1.3 inches of hail on Aug. 31, 1951.

Comments

  • August 15, 2008

    3:59 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Shaupeen writes:

    Bring on the locusts!

  • August 15, 2008

    4:17 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Scott writes:

    Is the messiah the first born in his family? ;-)

    Scott

  • August 15, 2008

    4:42 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Newenergycommie writes:

    I want to see Him part the South Platte.

  • August 15, 2008

    5:09 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Sensible writes:

    CheapEnergyNow -

    I can't stop laughing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • August 15, 2008

    5:24 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    sheepherder writes:

    Cheapenergy..best post of the day goes to you!

  • August 15, 2008

    5:53 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    me2 writes:

    I think you can eat locusts. They do in China.

  • August 15, 2008

    7:34 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    sweetie writes:

    Gee,I didn't know they were anyone else that thought like me.LOL

  • August 19, 2008

    4:20 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    EngageBrainB4Typing writes:

    Help me out.. is a "lightening strike" one that begins very quickly? What kind of strike is it, i.e. what "strikes"?

    Or do you guys just believe that spell-checkers are the bees knees and have so disposed of editors?

  • August 20, 2008

    10:07 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    vowel_Movement writes:

    Kenyan's have no truck with eating grasshoppers, locusts or anything else, even each other at times. I'm not sure about dung beetles but the beetles will have a field day during the DNC.

    .