United States

From millions of trees being knocked down, trapping thousands of hikers and canoers, to the world's most rain in one minute being set, the U.S. has had its fair share of extreme weather on July 4th.

A home on the south shore of Gunflint Lake in northeastern Minnesota is framed by the devastation caused by a storm that passed through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area over the Fourth of July weekend. Photo taken Tuesday, July 6, 1999. (AP Photo/Brian Peterson)

Other Extreme Weather on July Fourth
1911: Record heat blasted New England. The mercury soared to 104 degrees in Boston, Mass. Other extreme temperatures recorded include 106 degrees in Lawrence, Mass.; 105 degrees Vernon, Vt. (an all-time record high for the state); and 106 degrees in Nashua, N.H.

1980: Severe weather with hail up to the size of baseballs and tornadoes hammered Omaha and Lincoln, Neb.

1989: The first of a record five consecutive days of 100 degrees or higher was recorded in Denver, Colo. In fact, highs soared across the entire Southwest. Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz., set new record highs for the date, reaching 118 and 114 degrees, repectively.

1993: Snow fell in the Wasatch Mountains at an elevation of 9,000 feet.

1997: One man was hospitalized after being struck by a falling tree in an area 5 miles west of Hendersonville, N.C., as thunderstorms hit. Boats capsized at Rock Lake, while 500 trees were downed across Graham County.

2007: Fireworks were banned in many places across the Southwest due to extreme fire danger during an extended stretch of dry, very hot weather. Numerous record highs were reached in California, Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. Temperatures in the deserts approached the 120-degree mark and many highs at least reaching 100 degrees.

2008: A wildfire burning near Goleta, Calif., caused the evacuation of 1,700 homes and forced the cancellation of the Rotary Club's annual fireworks display.

2010: Kennedy Airport tied their record high of 101 degrees, set in 1966.