This document provides a summary of 4 events where weather significantly impacted history: 1) D-Day was almost postponed due to a major storm, but a last-minute weather break allowed the invasion to proceed as planned on June 6th, 1944. 2) During the Battle of the Bulge, low clouds and winter storms aided the surprise Nazi offensive in December 1944 but also hindered their advance. 3) Concerns over effects of unusually cold temperatures on o-ring seals were overruled prior to the Challenger shuttle launch on January 28, 1986, which ended in disaster. 4) Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans in 2005, demonstrating how weather can dramatically shape history.

1. Ellie Venteicher
World Geography
Grade 8
Mrs. Amici

2. Ellie Venteicher
World Geography
Grade 8
Mrs. Amici

3. Table of Contents
Introduction
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4
D-Day
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5
Battle Of the Bulge
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9
Challenger: Shuttle Flight 25
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13
Hurricane Katrina
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16
Conclusion

4. .......................................................................................................................................................
19
Bibliography
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21

5. Introduction
My report is about when weather changed history. Weather is often overlooked by
historians who tend to concentrate on dates and human influences. Without weather though
our history books would report very different outcomes to many historical events.
I chose a few cases from hundreds of examples. The first is D-day. Did you know the
date almost chosen for the invasion turned out to be the date of the worst storm ever
recorded on the English channel. If the allies had attempted the landing on that day the
mission certainly would have failed. My second topic is the weather during a major Nazi
offense known as Battle of the Bulge or “the Winter Offense”. During the attack the Nazis
caused a large bulge to form in the allie front line before the advance was stopped. The next
example of when weather changed history is the the Challenger disaster which was caused
by the cold temperatures and strong wind shear on the day of the launch. My final example is
Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina was a monster storm that destroyed New Orleans in
2005.

6. D-Day
When you think about D-Day what do you think of? Soldiers bravely wading
to the beaches of Normandy? Bombers overhead? Navy vehicles fighting across
the English Channel? There are many things you might think of when I say D-
Day. Most people however do not think of weather.
For months, top generals of the allied forces had been meeting in London to
plan what they called OPERATION OVERLORD. The generals included the
English General Montgomery and American General Eisenhower. These
generals had a huge task. They had to coordinate the largest invasion in history.
There was absolutely no room for error. This was also an attack that would
define World War II.
There was only one chance for this endeavor, if it failed there would not be
enough resources to take up a second offense. Also, a defeat would completely
destroy the morale of the war movement.
6

7. The generals could plan and stratigize for almost anything the enemy threw
at them. The one thing however they could not plan for was the weather. The
weather would have to be perfect to give the allies the best chance of success.
Since the plan called for the air force, navy, and army to operate simultaneously
the conditions had to allow for each branch to operate safely. The air force
needed cloud conditions, and a moonlit night with no the night before. The army
needed firm ground ( no rain before hand) and the navy needed wave conditions
and wind below 12mph.
The generals hired James Stagg, a leading meteorologist of the day, to try
and choose the best days for the invasion. Even with a team of world renown
meteorologists behind him, it was a monumental task. In 1944, predicting
weather just 48 hours ahead precisely was impossible and the English Channel
was notorious for unexpected weather and fierce storms.
They studied past information and other data and determined May and June
7

8. were the best months to commence the attack. It was too late to plan for May;
so, the meteorologists focused on June. They predicted a stretch of favorable
weather from the 3rd-6
th
and 15
th
-17
th
of June.
Eisenhower and the other generals set June 5
th
as the date of the invasion.
On June 4
th
, however; there came to light some serious weather concerns for the
next day. Eisenhower decided to postpone the invasion for 24 hours.
On June 5
th
, James Stagg and the other meteorologists informed
Eisenhower that early the next day there was going to be an unexpected weather
break. However, the break was not to last long. The generals now had a decision
to make; either take advantage of the break in the weather, but risk less than
ideal situations or wait almost a fore-night and attempt the invasion on the 17
th
.
The other generals did not want to commit to anything; so, it fell to Eisenhower to
make the decision.
Eisenhower decided it was too much of a risk to wait until the 17th so it was
8

9. set that June 6th, 1944 would become D-Day. It turned out that it was a good
decision to go ahead as the Germans did not expect the al1le Of the Bulge
9

10. Battle Of the Bulge
Bad weather resulted in the needless loss of many allies lives during the
Battle of the Bulge.
After the D-day campaign the allies advanced very rapidly through France
driving back the German forces. By December the allies were established in the
Ardennes. The Ardennes is a large expanse of remote forests and mountains.
Winters in the Ardennes region of northern France are notoriously harsh.
The allies defensive lines were thin, with only a few isolated divisions, since
this was a relatively calm region. Supply lines were also stretched to the breaking
point and troops were running low on food, ammunition, and fuel. In addition,
none of the soldiers had winter uniforms or coats. All the soldiers had were
summer uniforms and each other to keep warm. The solders couldn't light a fire
because the smoke would have announced their location to the Germans.
At dawn on December 16th , 1944, the front lines were bombarded with
10

11. bombs and bullets. Survivors say the noise was unbearable as it was a constant
deafening whistle of bombs flying through the air. The pandemonium that ensued
was incredible and there was complete confusion among the allied soldiers. Each
isolated division thought the attack was a localized occurrence. The thin lines of
communication had been destroyed and there was no way to discover the true
magnitude of what was happening.
The Nazis had launched a very large surprise offense as a last desperate
move against the advancing allies. The Nazis plan was to divide the allies by
forcing a semi wedge in their troops. The Nazis planned to capture strategic
towns such as St. Vith which was a vital road junction. Hitler's plan however
relied on the weather.
Weather conditions on the December 16th were favorable for the Nazis.
There was low cloud cover which helped to prevent the superior American air
force from assisting the ground troops. Also, fierce winter storms dumped snow
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12. on the region. The snow added to the confusion and was particularly hard for the
troops who didn't have winter gear. The winter weather also hindered the Nazis'
advance because of difficult travel on snow covered roads.
A large bulge formed in the front lines when the Nazis pushed the American
forces back. Soon, however the allies reorganized themselves and after several
heroic battles and confrontations were not only able to stop the Nazis' advance
but the allies also earned back lost land. The allies were able to go on to win the
war within months. Many historians agree that Hitler's plan was far fetched and
had little chance of succeeding.
The Battle of the Bulge the was deadliest confrontation in World War ll for
the United States. In the end, the allies suffered any where from 81,000 to
108,000 casualties. The Nazis' loses were estimated around 60,000 to 100,000
casualties.
The Battle of the Bulge was named after the large bulge the Nazi's put in the
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13. allies front line's. Another name for this battle however is “the Winter Offense”
because the battle took place during an historic blizzard. The weather helped the
Nazis greatly by preventing the allies from sending in troops, ammunition ,food or
winter supplies.
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14. Challenger: Shuttle Flight 25
Challenger's last mission was rescheduled for January 28 1986 after many
delays. The forecast for the morning of the launch called for an extremely cold
(for Florida) 31 degrees Fahrenheit.
During 1986 there was a set of launch safety requirements to meet before
liftoff. The scientists had never tested how extreme cold would affect liftoff. The
previous coldest launch temperature was 53 degrees so there had never been a
need. The engineers at Morton Thiokol ( the company that made the rocket O-
rings) expressed concern over whether the cold would effect the seal of the o-
rings. The o-rings were important because if the o-rings failed there was no
backup. The engineers at Morton Thiokol were overruled and the launch was
scheduled for the next morning.
The night before launch, the temperature plummeted to 18 degrees. Ice
crews worked all night clearing ice from the launch pad. Six foot icicles were
14

15. hanging from the launch equitment the next morning despite the crew's best
efforts. The shuttle was cleared to launch when the temperature reached 31
degrees, the minimum temperature needed to approve the launch at that time.
The launch went on as planned, the only sign of something amiss in the first
few seconds was a slight plume of black smoke from one of the engines. The
hole in the o-ring making the smoke was quickly “plugged” by a piece of solid
rocket fuel. Liftoff appeared perfect and everyone was celebrating when suddenly
72 seconds into the flight the rocket exploded.
The solid rocket fuel that had “plugged” the seal of the o-ring dislodged when
the challenger was buffeted by the strongest wind shear ever felt by a space
shuttle. Up until the very last moment no one knew there was a problem including
the ground grew and even the astronauts.
Unfortunately, all of the astronauts died in the accident. The National
Aeronautics and Space Administration or N.A.S.A. halted missions for two and a
15

16. half years while investigating the disaster. The investigation led to massive
changes in decision making, launch procedures and requirements, and the basic
design of space shuttles.
Evidence suggests the crew survived the initial explosion, but was unable to
escape the crew compartment since the accident happened at a relatively low
altitude. New safety measures where rigorously tested and put in place. NASA
also added a back up O-ring.
On September 29, 1988, the space shuttle, Discovery, launched ending the
two and a half year embargo on flights.
The challenger disaster resulted when extreme cold affected the o-rings and
uprecedented wind shear dislodged the solid rocket fuel initially pluging the leak
in the o-rings.
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17. Hurricane Katrina
On August 23rd, 2005 Tropical Depression 12 formed southeast of the Bahamas
from the remains of tropical depression 10. No one suspected the very unorganized
looking storm to become extraordinary. The storm picked up steam and on August 24th
gained the name Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane warnings were issued for south Florida.
Hurricane Katrina passed over the southern tip of Florida as only a category 1
hurricane. Even so there was the torrential rain cause major flooding and the winds
clocked in at speeds 85 to 95 miles per hour.
Hurricane Katrina emerged in the Gulf of Mexico the next day and quickly rebuilt
strength. It grew to a category two hurricane. The storm now packed a punch of sustained
105 mile per hour winds. The other development is a major shift in forecast. Instead of
circling back to the Florida panhandle Hurricane Katrina headed straight for New
Orleans.
Katrina had a huge growth spurt and went from a respectable category 2 to a
monster category 5 hurricane in about 24 hours. Substantiated surface winds passed 175
miles per hour (that is equivalent to a EF4 tornado). Katrina also had a 350-mile wide
wind field. Mandatory evacuations were ordered all along the gulf coast.
The New Orleans mayor stated "We're facing the storm most of us have feared.” The
National weather forecast included the phrase “potentially catastrophic”. Both these
predictions proved to be an understatement.
17

18. The predicted storm surge of 18 to 20 feet was one of the major concerns. New
Orleans lies below sea level, and New Orleans only protection against flooding is a
system of levies. There was nothing to stop the Gulf of Mexico from completely flooding
the city when the storm surge eventually breached the levies.
Roads were quickly clogged by people trying to evacuate. Travel took hours longer
than usual. The Super dome was opened to the public as a shelter of last resort. The
dome was stocked with enough food and water for 15,000 people to stay 3 days.
On August 29 2005, Katrina made landfall slightly east of New Orleans as a strong
category 4 hurricane. Katrina eye had been predicted to make landfall in New Orleans.
The shift east saved New Orleans from the storms strongest winds located in the
hurricanes eye-wall. People thought the city had dogged a bullet.
Damage from the wind had been minimal but the 15-19 foot storm surge had over
toped levies at St. Bernards Parish putting strain on the whole levee system. Before long,
many more levies had been over topped or breached. Within 24 hours an estimated 80%
of New Orleans was under water. New Orleans became part of lake Ponchartrain when
water levels equalized between the city and the lake.
Evacuations began, but the evacuations were slow. President Bush and the United
States government were blamed for the slow reaction to the disaster. Over 25,000
people were forced to stay in extremely bad conditions in the Super Dome for
eight days.
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19. The engineers were unable to start work on the levies for some time
because hurricane Rita hit the same area with additional massive flooding a
month later. It would be 43 days before engineers were completely able to dry
out the city.
The residences of New Orleans are still rebuilding from the disaster. The
hurricane changed the course of a city, destroyed thousands of homes, cost
billions of dollars in damage and changed how many people look at hurricanes.
Katrina has also effected politics in the United States such as how we respond to
natural disasters.
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20. Conclusion
Weather changed history in the examples I have given you.
D-Day could have been a disaster if the allies had not taken advantage or the window of
good weather that helped the landing succeed and allowed the allies to surprise the Nazis.
The bad weather during the Battle of the Bulge allowed Hitler to advance much further
than would have happened under ideal situations. Many lives were lost as a result.
The Challenger was exposed to the most extreme temperature and wind sheer ever
experienced by a space shuttle. The Challenger exploded mid flight due to o-ring failure
resulting from these weather conditions.
Hurricane Katrina was a monumental storm that our government and the people of New
Orleans were unprepared for. Many lives were changed forever as a result of our failure to
understand the power of the weather.
I hope you have enjoyed my report.