August 17
24 entries from the federal record fall on August 17, across every year it covers.
Tropical cyclones
Storms at their strongest near the U.S. on this date.
- 1869Unnamed storm, category 2 near Calhoun County, TX
- 1871Unnamed storm, category 3 near Martin County, FL
- 1881Unnamed storm, tropical storm near Monroe County, FL
- 1915Unnamed storm, category 4 near Brazoria County, TX
- 1955Diane, tropical storm near Charleston County, SC
- 1970Unnamed storm, tropical storm near Northampton County, VA
Tornadoes
Tornadoes rated F3/EF3 or stronger, or that killed, on this date.
- 1965F3, 0.3 mile path Horry, SC
- 1985F3, 2 mile path Wabaunsee, KS
Deadly and costly storms
Earthquakes
Magnitude 5 or more in the lower 48 and Hawaii, 6.5 or more in Alaska, on this date (local time).
- 1922M5.0, near Shandon, California San Luis Obispo County, CA
- 1959M7.2, Hebgen Lake, Montana Gallatin County, MT
- 1991M6.0, near Scotia, California Humboldt County, CA
- 1992M5.2, near Big Bear Lake, California San Bernardino County, CA
- 1995M5.4, near Ridgecrest, California Kern County, CA
Wildfires
Fires of 50,000 acres or more that began on this date.
- 2020August Complex, 1.07 million acres CA
- 2020North Complex, 316,524 acres CA
- 2020Hennessey Fire, 314,015 acres CA
- 2013Rim Fire, 257,334 acres CA
- 2018South Sugarloaf Fire, 241,278 acres NV
- 2020Lionshead Fire, 197,622 acres OR
- 2011Pagami Creek Fire, 85,079 acres MN
- 2020Wallbridge Fire, 55,152 acres CA
- 1996Powderville Fire, 54,975 acres MT