It was the most important weather forecast in history.  Hundreds of thousands of Allied Troops waited for the word to invade Europe.  And President Eisenhower made the call.

My teachers had never brought up the weather-related issues involving D-Day, so I was surprised to learn of the situation as I was researching a weather paper that I am writing.  This forecast - in 1944 - was much more important than what passes for major weather concerns today - like will it rain on my outdoor wedding or class reunion?  This forecast impacted the course of world history.

D-Day was actually set to launch on June 5, 1944.  Aircraft, ships, and troops were poised and ready to go - and then the weather intervened.  Eisenhower and Churchill, and other top military brass convened on June 2nd to get the weather forecast for the invasion - scheduled for three days later.

It was not good - rain and heavy seas would complicate the attack.  Ike decided to postpone the invasion to June 6th.  President Eisenhower and the brain trust gathered again on June 4th and were told the rain would end and there would be breaks in the clouds by the afternoon of June 5th.

So, Ike made the call - deciding to to invade Normandy on June 6th.  If he didn't attack that day, Ike knew the tides would hamper any invasion for the next two weeks.  He feared that would give the Germans time to learn of his plans.

D-Day, as you know, was a huge success, as some 160,000 troops, some 10,000 air planes, and 4,000 warships stormed Normandy.  Ike - wearing his weather forecaster's hat - had made the right call.