Hurricane Fabian was a powerful Cape Verde-type hurricane that hit Bermuda in early September during the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. Fabian, the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and first major hurricane of the season, developed from a tropical wave in the tropical Atlantic Ocean on August 25. It moved west-northwestward under the influence of the subtropical ridge to its north, and steadily strengthened in an area of warm water temperatures and light wind shear. The hurricane attained a peak intensity of 145 mph (230 km/h) on September 1, and it slowly weakened as it turned northward. On September 5, Fabian made a direct hit on the island of Bermuda with wind speeds of over 120 mph (195 km/h). After passing the island, the hurricane turned to the northeast, and became extratropical on September 8. Fabian was the strongest hurricane to hit Bermuda since Hurricane Arlene in 1963. It was both the most damaging and the first hurricane to cause a death on the island since 1926. The hurricane's powerful winds resulted in moderate damage and destroyed roofs throughout the island. A strong storm surge associated with the hurricane killed four people crossing a causeway on Bermuda, temporarily closing the only link between two islands. In all, Fabian caused around $300 million (2003 USD, $330 million 2006 USD) in damage and eight deaths.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Fabian

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1649:

English Civil War: King Charles I, who was defeated in both the First and the Second Civil War, was beheaded for high treason in front of the Banqueting House in London. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I_of_England

1826:

The Menai Suspension Bridge, connecting the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales, one of the world's first modern suspension bridges, opened. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menai_Suspension_Bridge

1930:

In Pavlovsk, USSR, meteorologist Pavel Molchanov launched one of the world's first radiosondes, a device attached to weather balloons to measure various atmospheric parameters. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/radiosonde

1945:

World War II: Allied forces liberated over 500 prisoners of war from a Japanese POW camp near Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_at_Cabanatuan

1948:

Nathuram Godse fatally shot Mahatma Gandhi , political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence movement, at Birla House in Delhi. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathuram_Godse

1964:

In a bloodless coup, General Nguyen Khanh overthrew General Duong Van Minh's military junta in South Vietnam, less than three months after Minh came to power in a bloody coup against then-President of South Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_South_Vietnamese_coup

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

mansuetude (n): (archaic) gentleness, meekness http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mansuetude

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected. This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny. --Franklin D. Roosevelt http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt