Elvis and Camille

Damage from Camille in 1969

Historically late on this day in 1969 Hurricane Camille roared onto the coast at Gulfport, Mississippi. In my life time this was the benchmark storm growing up that people and forecasters always referred to when talking about big hurricanes, that was until Katrina in 2005. Camille was a small but potent Category 5 storm that hit the region at night with a 20 foot storm surge. Over 260 people died in the storm, mostly drowning deaths along the coast and further north in the Appalachian mountains of northern Virginia. The storm was one of the strongest on record worldwide with winds of 200 mph and a central pressure of 905mb. Damage was complete in coastal communities all along the Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana coasts.

ELVIS: Also of note on this date was the death of Elvis at age 42 in 1977. Most people remember where they were when the heard the news, I was on a VIA train. Of course I am going to put a weather spin on this. I was only 11 years old and was traveling with my mother and grandmother to Ottawa for the day. I remember it was unseasonably cool and very rainy in both Ottawa and Montreal. A quick look at the stats showed a high of 18C with rain and fog in both cities, 4.8mm in Montreal and 16.0mm in Ottawa.

**More showers are possible today as an upper level low continues to spin over eastern North America. The heaviest rain yesterday remained over New England and New York. It will be warmer today and the instability could result in a shower or two this afternoon in southern Quebec. Skies will clear for Wednesday with warmer weather, close to 29C.