This is 99% invisible.

I'm Roman Mars.

August 24, 1814,

marked the first and only time Washington, D.C. was occupied by outside forces.

The United States was two years into the war of 1812.

They'd taken on Great Britain, which was then the greatest naval power in the world.

And things weren't looking great for the American troops defending DC.

That's producer Vivian Lee.

British forces overtook the city and set fire to historic American landmarks,

including the Treasury Building, the Capitol Building, and even the White House.

The siege became known as the burning of Washington.

But then a freak occurrence, which in any other situation would have been a total disaster for DC.

Saved the city.

Dark clouds began to form, which turned into thunder and lightning, which then turned

into a full-blown tornado that headed straight for the British who were setting fires around the capital.

A number of British soldiers were killed by falling debris and the fires were extinguished by the rain.

The British retreated back to their ships, which had been severely damaged by the storm.

Thanks to a simple act of weather, the occupation of our nation's capital was over within a little more than a day.

The storm that saved Washington was just one of countless times that weather

played a crucial factor in war. Napoleon's army wasn't defeated by Russian forces but by a Russian winter.

And during World War II, General Patton famously distributed 250,000 prayer cards to the army

to enlist as many men as possible to pray for an end to the rain.

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