Everyone remembers the weather fourteen years ago. Every remembrance story, every “where were you when” conversation, every newscast before the attacks mentions how the sky was a brilliant, deep shade of blue the morning the world turned upside down. However, had the sky not been as clear as it was that day—if the hurricane off the coast of New England hadn’t ricocheted toward Canada—it’s very possible that the weather could have permanently changed the course of both American and world history.

When something major happens in our lives, we remember the strangest details. The smell of the car, the music on the radio, what we ate. One of the biggest things that people remember about that day thirteen years ago was the sky. Damn, that was a blue sky.