You could look at something a hundred times from space, but the next time you come around the world, suddenly it’s very different and gorgeous-looking, just because of the change of weather or the angle of the sun.

~ Chris Hadfield, First Canadian astronaut to walk in space; flew two missions in the International Space Station

The sky was a brilliant blue, touched by scattered clouds and illuminated by golden light emanating from the setting sun. Nature’s backdrop doesn’t get any better than on Brighton’s walk Tuesday evening. Not all weather events provide beauty alone. You might say the most important weather forecast in world history was June 6, 1944.

D-Day was originally planned for June 5, 1944. The invasion of France by the Allied forces – across the English Channel – would give them the foothold needed to defeat the Germans. Unfortunately, a strong storm threatened to arrive the same day. Upon hearing of the impending weather, U.S. General Dwight Eisenhower took action and shifted the time of invasion. Without a break in the weather, D-Day would have to be put off two weeks until tides and moon were right again. 

Critical decisions about when to send the Allied forces across the channel were based on weather forecasts compiled by Allied meteorologists, which predicted a break on June 6 of the unfavorable weather. Eisenhower’s chief meteorologist, Group Capt. James Martin Stagg, advised the postponement of the invasion of Normandy by one day to June 6 over protests from his fellow meteorologists; they felt the weather would be good enough.

Eisenhower ordered the invasion for June 6 with a simple: “OK, we’ll go.” He and his meteorologist made the right call; June 5 did indeed bring high winds, heavy seas and stormy conditions that would likely have caused the invasion to fail and set world history on a different course. And if they had waited the two weeks later (for the right tides and Moon), they would have been faced with an un-forecasted heavy gale. Many historians conclude the Allies’ victory would have been delayed by a year, allowing a German takeover and/or giving the Soviet Union control of the continent.

In addition, the Allies had broken Germany’s secret Enigma code, thus allowing them to gather and use the German’s weather observations in making their forecasts. Information gathered also revealed that Germans predicted weather conditions to remain unsuitable for an Allied assault on June 6. With this, the Allies were encouraged. Although conditions would be marginal, they were sufficient to launch the invasion. Forty four hundred Allied troops lost their lives on this day; the liberation of Europe began.

Cooler weather moves in over the weekend with warmer temperatures expected next week. Sunday is the anniversary of D-Day … Memorial Day continues. Out comes the flag again.