Bubonic Plague

• According to researcher David Engelthaler, the bubonic plague that ravaged Europe for almost 500 years was "a disease of nature," with climate playing an important role in the survival and spread of the bacteria that caused the disease. During the 14th to 19th centuries, climate change had led to exceptionally harsh winters throughout Europe, while springs and summers were too cold and damp for crops to grow to full maturity for harvest. This led to food shortages and wars as people fought over diminishing resources. This scarcity of food also led to more urbanization, as desperate farmers abandoned their rotting crops and moved to cities. As cities became overcrowded, poor sanitation led to a rise in the population of rats and other vermin that acted as carriers for diseases that accompanied ships and caravans that shipped goods from other parts of Europe and Asia. When temperatures would rise for brief periods, these warmer conditions were more conducive to the spread of disease. In fact, the infamous Black Death that began in 1347 and the 1665 Great Plague of London both resulted from minor temperature rises during an overall period of cooler temperatures.
  
  

D-Day

• The Allied forces' D-Day invasion was one of the most decisive battles of World War II, but it was almost delayed due to differing opinions of meteorologists. According to an article in Britain's "Telegraph" newspaper, meteorologists predicting the weather conditions for the planned assault date on June 5 could not come to an agreement. Given the conflicting information, General Dwight D. Eisenhower considered moving the invasion ahead two weeks, to June 19, the earliest date when meteorologists predicted favorable weather. Ultimately, Eisenhower took a risk and the invasion was delayed just one day, to June 6. The weather conditions, as it turned out were ideal --- light winds, calm waves and good visibility --- and the invasion was a success. If the invasion had been delayed, however, the entire course of the war could have changed, as June 19 was the beginning of a massive three-day storm that would have made landing on the beaches of Normandy almost impossible.
  
  

Dust Bowl

• According to 2004 research from NASA, the "Dust Bowl" drought that devastated the American Midwest during the Great Depression was caused by cooler-than-normal surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean that combined with warmer temperatures in the Atlantic. These changes in ocean temperatures created shifts in large-scale weather patterns that reduced the typical level of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in a significant reduction in rainfall throughout America's Great Plains. This led to the drought and dust storms that are described by NASA researcher Siegfried Schubert as "the major climatic event in the nation's history."
  
  

George Washington's Foggy Escape

• On August 27, 1776, General George Washington led an army comprised largely of volunteers, many of whom didn't even have weapons, to face the British at the Battle of Long Island. The battle went poorly for the badly outnumbered Americans, who incurred 300 casualties and 800 wounded. One factor that worked in Washington's favor, however, was the weather. As Washington and his troops retreated, they were able to glide silently across the East River unseen, thanks to a thick fog that allowed them to escape without being captured or killed. The Revolutionary War might have gone in a very different direction had Washington not escaped that day.