Pat Shingleton for Aug. 8, 2012

On Aug. 8, 1993, record-setting floods in Des Moines, Iowa, ended, marking the first time since July 11 the city’s tap water was safe to drink. On the same date in 1999, an F-2 tornado cut a 300-yard path in Mattituck, Long Island.

A stone fireplace’s chimney saved one resident from an approaching wall of water. On Aug. 8, 2004, lightning struck two teenage boys corralling cattle in Wauneta, Neb. Knocked unconscious, they survived. Aug. 9, 2001, found the artificial turf at a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game reaching 149 degrees as 24 fans were treated for heat exhaustion.

Finally, on this date in 1985, baby boy Michael Shingleton was a day old while outside, Tropical Storm Beryl was 50 miles west of New Orleans, with 40-mph winds.

Fastcast: Showers.