This Memorial Day weekend was HOT! Super hot! In fact, on Memorial Day itself, according to Weather Underground, Faribault hit a high of 98. It's only May, Mother Nature!

According to NOAA, in the Twin Cities, the hottest Memorial Day topped at 95 degrees, St. Cloud hit 92, and Eau Claire hit 96. And no, we are not talking about this most recent Memorial Day, we are talking about Memorial Day in 1939.

Yep, 1939 was the last time it was THIS hot on Memorial Day!

So obviously many things are different now than they were back in the late 1930's, but what exactly was going on around the world and, more specifically, in Minnesota the last time we had to endure a scorcher for Memorial Day?

In September 1939, just a few months after a record-setting Memorial Day heat wave was the start of World War 2.

But let's take a look at what was going on specifically in Minnesota in 1939:

  • In 1939, small towns were booming and recovering from the Great Depression.
  • The railroad transportation industry was growing and so was the trucking industry.
  • Minneapolis was growing in the industrial sector and the Gateway District was named in order to establish the area as the commercial and governmental hub.
  • And "the Minneapolis Grain Exchange was the Business center of the city."

 

Sources:

 

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