I wonder when this will happen again?
Satan’s Storm
Texas residents in Kopperl, Texas experienced a most unusual event on June 15, 1960. A heat wave so hot as if it came from hell itself – it was named “Satan’s Storm.” It was a normal evening like any other night in Texas; when, all of sudden, a strong wind came bursting through the town with gusts up to 75 miles per hour, causing damage like knocking down trees and taking off roofs. But that was not the worst part of it. Suddenly, the temperature began rising from a comfortable 70 degrees up to 120 degrees, then on up to 130 degrees, and continued to climb as high as 140 degrees in just a few minutes. The air was so intensely hot that it made it extremely difficult for people to breathe. People became alarmed when their air conditioners stopped working because of transformers in the area getting overheated. Even the town thermometer broke! Imagine waking up to that! Some people rushed out of the house thinking that their houses were on fire and others thought it was the end of the world. Some people said it was so hot that their throats literally burned and there were parents wrapping their children in wet blankets trying to cool them down.
By morning, it was all over. The temperature was back to normal but what a “hellish” night they had to endure. Stepping outside, the residents could view the aftermath, which consisted of burnt crops as well as leaves on the trees and shrubs crumbled to mere dust – it looked as though it had been set on fire. We now know this to be what is called a heat burst, which is descending air that warms really fast because of atmospheric compression.