Five Things You Need to Know Today, August 24

"Five Things You Need to Know Today" is a Patch column that provides readers with essential, daily information at a glance. Let us know what you think of the feature in the comments section.

Today is Wednesday, August 24. Here are five things you need to know:

1.  Stellar summer weather continues today – a little warmer than yesterday, with a high around 83 degrees. But tomorrow showers may be moving in in the afternoon, with possible thunderstorms after 5 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. So get out—outside, that is—today.

 2.  Yes, the shaking you may have felt yesterday afternoon just before 2 o’clock could well have been an earthquake, with a magnitude of 5.9, according to the National Weather Service. The earthquake, with an epicenter 27 miles east of Charlottesville, VA, was felt, the weather service reported, across much of the mid-Atlantic region.

 3.  Even though it’s August, an Oktoberfest is in the works for Woburn. The city’s Agricultural Commission’s Oktoberfest Planning Committee will meet this evening, Wednesday, Aug. 24, at Spence Farm on Wyman Street. The meeting will start at 6 p.m.

 4.  “Frank” and “Charles” were christened Friday at the . Those are the names of the two new vans that transport city seniors, so named in memory of two former van drivers, Frank Pedulla and Charles McElheney. Keep an eye out for a story on the vans, what they mean to some seniors who use them and the winding road they took to get here, along with good news—yes, good news—about how they were paid for.

 5.  Cross-country journey: On this day in 1932 Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the United States in a non-stop flight. She left from Los Angeles, CA, and arrived, 19 hours later, in Newark, NJ. Earhart was later lost during a 1937 attempt to circumnavigate the globe when her plane disappeared over the Pacific Ocean. 

To find out what is going on today in Woburn, check out our events listings.