2009.09.11
Sept. 11, 2001: The weather was perfect when the world stopped turning
I still remember the perfect blue sky. I marvelled at it driving into work that morning eight years ago, and looked up at it through the day at The Roanoke Times building where I was doing a stint as an interim metro editor. A cold front had pushed through the previous day, and a cool, dry Canadian air mass covered most of the United States. It was a perfect day ... except it wasn't. Not after about 9 a.m.
The weather didn't really matter at all that day ... except it did. I've long wondered how much the perfect weather played into the terrorists' choice of Sept. 11 for their attack on New York and Washington in 2001. There were no atmospheric disturbances at all to complicate their mission to fly hijacked planes into buildings. Their targets were in perfect view, easily seen in the crisp visiblity.
And the weather mattered a lot when it came to the national "ground stop" order to land thousands of planes after the attacks that morning. Not only were there no major storm systems, but almost no inclement weather of any kind anywhere in the U.S. Imagine how much more difficult the already gargantuan task of landing every airplane in U.S. airspace would have been with major hubs affected by heavy rain or wind or thunderstorms.
It's always that flawless and cloudless sky I come back to. Sept. 11, 2001, was the first of a long string of perfect weather days, progressively cooler into the weekend after 9/11, an early taste of fall. It was a sky not only unmarred by clouds, but unscarred by jet contrails -- except for military flights -- for a few days after 9/11.
And it was that blue sky I lost myself in many weeks that turbulent autumn as I hiked mountain trails during a dry fall with golden leaves. The world had gone mad, but serenity and sanity could still be found.
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I totally agree. I was working at the First Union Tower at the time, and I remember the sky being so blue. I was thinking that it would be the beginning of a perfect fall day. The next thing we knew, we were being told to pack up and leave work as our building was a possible target. So strange what triggers your memory.
Comment by Tami — September 11, 2009 @ 7:54 am
I remember walking across the VT campus that morning, also remarking at how crisp and clear everything was on the way to my 8am class. I remember about halfway through, a couple people who weren't paying much attention and were listening to their radios started saying something about a plane hitting a building, but I didn't catch too much. By the end of the class shortly before 930, the news was pretty well out and people were scrambling to find a TV to figure out what was going on. I don't think I went to another class that day, I'm not sure how many people actually did or if classes were canceled, I honestly don't remember things like that. It's sort of like how the morning of the shootings, I remember thinking it was an awfully cold and windy day for mid April as I drove to work. I remember seeing an awning for a restaurant in downtown Blacksburg that had ripped away from the building. Definitely strange how minute details like that stick with you.
Comment by Other John — September 11, 2009 @ 9:44 am
I also remember how empty and blue the sky seemed once all planes were grounded -- no clouds, not even any jet trails.
Comment by Dwayne Yancey — September 11, 2009 @ 12:22 pm
I remember that like it was yesterday. I remember staring in to the sky for a long time. It seems like several 9/11 anniversaries have been like that. Can you check back? I would say at least 4 or 5 have been perfectly clear and cool in the morning. That includes this morning.
Comment by Elliot Broyles — September 11, 2009 @ 9:09 pm
Elliot: Each of the Sept. 11 mornings from 2003 to 2006 would generally fit that bill, with lows 60 or below (50 in 2003) and no rain. Sept. 11, 2002, the first anniversary, was warmer, with a high in the mid 80s and low in the mid 60s. The last two 9/11s, in 2007 and 2008, have had some rain. (Temperatures stayed in the 60s in 2008, but didn't get below 70 in 2007, very fitting for an extremely warm August to October period that year.)
Sept. 11, 2001, was amazing in the widespread nature of clear, cool, calm weather across much of the country.
Comment by Kevin Myatt — September 11, 2009 @ 10:22 pm
Kevin, your words capture my feelings and memories. Thank you. The quiet sky (except for the patrolling air force jets) after air traffic was shut down is poignant for me. It seemed so peaceful, yet....
Comment by Jin D — September 12, 2009 @ 6:48 am
Thanks Kevin,
That is pretty interesting but your last line made me realize that I am only looking at a small part of the US here in Roanoke and that it was very calm all over on 9/11/01.
I know this blog is about weather but Tami's comment really brought back the terror we all felt that day. Once we figured out it was a terrorist attach, none of us really knew how big of a plot it was. I didn't know (or didn't remember) the First Union Tower being evacuated but that is a true reminder of how scary that day really was.
Comment by Elliot Broyles — September 12, 2009 @ 11:09 am
This brought back so many memories..along with some tears. I very much remember watching the footage of the towers being hit and noticing that the backdrop to all of that horror was a pristine blue sky. Such a cruel contrast that day.
Comment by Angela — September 14, 2009 @ 7:35 am