Historically, September 5 has seen a wide range of significant weather events, including powerful hurricanes and typhoons, early season snowfalls, deadly floods, and extreme heatwaves.

Notable hurricanes and tropical storms

• 1919: The Galveston Hurricane reached the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on this day as it strengthened into a Category 4 storm. The catastrophic system would go on to be the deadliest weather disaster in U.S. history, claiming 8,000 lives.
• 1933: A major hurricane made landfall in Brownsville, TX killing 40 people and causing $12 million in damages. The storm brought destructive winds and flooding, seriously impacting the region.
• 1950: Hurricane Easy lingered over the Tampa Bay, Florida area, causing extensive damage and dropping 38.7 inches of rain in Yankeetown in just 24 hours. This set a U.S. record at the time.
• 1996: Hurricane Fran, a Category 3 storm, made landfall near Cape Fear, North Carolina. It caused 26 deaths and was one of the most expensive natural disasters in the state’s history.
• 2004: Hurricane Frances, a Category 2, made landfall on Hutchinson Island, Florida, bringing numerous tornadoes and causing an estimated $10 billion in damages. Also on this day, Hurricane Ivan rapidly intensified into a Category 4 in the Atlantic, setting a record for the most southerly location for a major hurricane.
• 2017: Hurricane Irma became a Category 5 storm with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph, making it one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes ever observed in the open ocean.
• 2018: Tropical Storm Gordon made landfall near the Alabama-Mississippi border, with remnants later bringing severe thunderstorms to California.
• 2019: On this day and the next, Hurricane Dorian moved up the coast of the Carolinas, causing widespread flooding, storm surges, and spawning multiple tornadoes.

Significant typhoons

• 1964: Typhoon Ruby struck Hong Kong with wind gusts of 166 mph. It killed 734 people across southeastern China.
• 2022: After hitting Japan, Typhoon Hinnamnor made landfall in South Korea, killing several people. This was part of an active September for tropical systems worldwide.
• 2025: Typhoon Peipah made landfall in western Japan, prompting warnings for landslides and flooding from torrential rain.

Other weather events

• 1666: The Great Fire of London, which began on September 2, was finally put out on this day. The fire spread rapidly due to strong westerly winds.
• 1888: Lightning struck a herd of 837 sheep in northwestern Utah, killing the entire herd. A nearby sheepherder was knocked unconscious but survived.
• 1925: Centerville, AL recorded a scorching 112 degrees Fahrenheit, the state’s all-time highest temperature. Every weather station in AL reported readings above 100 degrees on that afternoon, signaling a severe heatwave.
• 1929: An early season snowfall dropped 16 inches of snow in Fox Park, Wyoming, and also fell in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
• 1975: Strong winds on Interstate 10 near Toltec, AZ reduced visibility to near zero, causing a 22-car pile-up that killed two people and injured 14 more.
• 1983: Large hail, up to 2.5 inches in diameter, pounded parts of South Dakota, causing extensive damage to crops, buildings, and trees.
• 1987: Thunderstorms brought 5.5″ of rain to Charleston, SC triggering major flooding and road closures: over two days, rainfall totaled 13.5″. The overall period between Aug 30 and Sep 8 saw Charleston receive more than 18″ of rain, severely damaging homes and crops.
• 2025: A heatwave in British Columbia, Canada, set a new national maximum temperature record for September, reaching 40.8°C (105.4°F) in Ashcroft.