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Posted by: BriSr Jan 1 2009, 03:51 PM
January 1 Happy New Year

MN History
1864 Extremely bitter cold in Minnesota. Twin Cities had a high of 25 degrees below zero.

1997 Freezing rain along the North Shore causes numerous accidents. 
In Lake County, vehicles could not get up hills and were blocking roads. Highway 61 was closed for several hours from Two Harbors to Silver Bay.

2003 On this date there is an inch of snow or less on the ground from Duluth to the Iowa border. In the Twin Cities there isn't even a dirty snowbank to be found.

U.S. History
# 1864 - Snow, gales and severe cold hit the Midwest. It was the most bitter cold New Year's day of record with afternoon highs of 16 below zero at Chicago IL and 25 below at Minneapolis MN. (David Ludlum)

# 1934 - Heavy rain which began on December 30th led to flooding in the Los Angeles Basin area of California. Flooding claimed the lives of at least 45 persons. Walls of water and debris up to ten feet high were noted in some canyon areas. Rainfall totals ranged up to 16.29 inches at Azusa, with 8.26 inches reported in Downtown Los Angeles. (The Weather Channel)

# 1949 - A six day blizzard began over the Northern Rockies and the Great Plains. The storm produced the most adverse weather conditions in the history of the west. (David Ludlum)

# 1979 - The temperature at Maybell CO plunged to 60 degrees below zero to tie the state record set back in 1951 at Taylor Park. (The Weather Channel)

# 1987 - A winter storm brought rain and snow and high winds to the Southern and Middle Atlantic Coast Region. The storm, which occurred in a period of unusually high astronomical tides, produced a tide of 9.4 feet at Myrtle Beach SC (their highest since Hurricane Hazel in 1954) which caused a total of 25 million dollars damage in South Carolina. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - Arctic cold gripped the north central U.S. The morning low of 31 degrees below zero at Alamosa CO was a record for the date. Squalls in the Great Lakes Region produced 17 inches of snow at Elmira NY. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1989 - Those who woke up New Year's morning unable to see much farther than the end of their nose had a good excuse, at least in the central U.S., as dense fog prevailed from Texas to Wisconsin. (National Weather Summary)

# 1990 - The new year and decade began on a rather peaceful note. Snow was primarily confined to the Great Lakes Region, the Upper Ohio Valley, and the Sierra Nevada Range of California. Subzero temperature readings were confined to Minnesota and North Dakota. (National Weather Summary)

# 1994 - Strong winds along the eastern slopes of the Central Rockies gusted to 70 mph at Arlington WY, and gusted to 80 mph near Estes Park CO. Heavy snow in the northeast mountains of Oregon produced 14 inches at Tollgate. A series of storms the first three days of the year produced 20 inches of snow at Lowman, in the west central mountains of Idaho. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

...and more History
# 1916 - Rainmaker Charles Hatfield offered to bring rain to a parched San Diego, California for $10,000. He began to burn strange chemicals on this date to summon rain. It did begin to rain on January 10th. The problem was that it didn't stop raining for days and damaging floods resulted. The city refused to pay him the money.

# 1918 - New England experienced its coldest New Years Day in modern history. Boston dropped to -3F, New Haven CT -7F, Northfield VT -24F, and Van Buren ME -32F.

# 1935 - The familiar Associated Press Wirephoto Weather Maps started on this date.

# 1997 - Heavy rains over northern California spawned mudslides and swelled rivers. The storm would cause the worst damage in the history of Yosemite National Park as melting snow and heavy rains washed out roads, bridges and facilities. The park was closed for nearly three months.

# 2002 - 60 foot high flames from wildfires pushed dangerously closer to Sydney, Australia as 100 degree temperatures and strong winds fanned the Black Christmas Fires that had been burning since Christmas Eve. Over 750,000 acres of Australian bush burned in the fires. 


Posted by: BriSr Jan 2 2009, 09:23 AM
January 2

MN History
1941 Grand Portage gets over 4.5 inches of precipitation in 24 hours. That's roughly how much normally falls there during the winter months (Nov.-Feb).

U.S. History
# 1910 - A great flood in Utah and Nevada washed out 100 miles of railroad between Salt Lake City UT and Los Angeles CA causing seven million dollars damage. (David Ludlum)

# 1961 - The coldest temperature of record for the state of Hawaii was established with a reading of 14 degrees atop Haleakela Summit. (David Ludlum)

# 1987 - A winter storm moving up the Atlantic coast brought heavy snow and high winds to the northeastern U.S. Wind gusts reached 82 mph at Trenton NJ and Southwest Harbor in Maine. Snowfall totals ranged up to two feet at Salem NH and Waterboro ME. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - "Old Man Winter" took a siesta, with snow a scarcity across the nation. For the second day in a row Alamosa CO reported a record low of 31 degrees below zero. (National Weather Summary)

# 1989 - Strong and gusty winds prevailed along the eastern slopes of the northern and central Rockies. Winds gusted to 71 mph at Colorado Springs CO and Livingston MT. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1990 - The first winter storm of the new year and decade developed in the southwestern U.S., and blanketed the northern mountains of Utah with 12 to 23 inches of snow. Up to 22 inches of snow was reported in the Alta-Snowbird area. The storm brought Las Vegas NV their first measurable precipitation in four and a half months, since the 17th of August. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1994 - High winds buffeted the Northern Front Range of Colorado during the morning hours. Peak wind gusts included 105 mph atop Squaw Mountain near Idaho Springs and 89 mph at Fort Collins. A fast moving "Alberta Clipper" brought up to six inches of snow to Iowa. Up to a foot of snow blanketed the Snowy Range Mountains in southeastern Wyoming. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

...and more History
# 1777 - George Washington retreated across the frozen mud to escape the British at Trenton and reach safe shelter in northern New Jersey.

# 1885 - Coldest temperature ever recorded at Duluth MN, -41F.

# 1893 - Thirteen inches of snow fell at Little Rock, AR to establish the city's record for greatest 24 hour snowfall.

# 1904 - Nineteen inches of snow fell at the Blue Hill Observatory in Milton, MA as a major snowstorm struck New England.

# 1949 - Seven weeks of nearly continuous blizzards began across the American Great Plains. Temperatures plummeted to as lows as -50F. The death toll reached 200 and the loss of livestock was unbelievable. One hundred fifty-thousand head of sheep and cattle perishing during the storms.

# 1955 - Hurricane Alice became both the latest and the earliest hurricane on record in the Atlantic when she became a hurricane on December 31, 1954 and battered the Leeward Islands with winds of 85 mph on this date.

# 1992 - Miami established s twenty-four hour precipitation record for January when 4.26 inches fell.

# 1993 - A one hundred fifty inches snow pack was measured at the 7800 foot level in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California.

# 1997 - Heavy rains and melting snow caused disastrous flooding the West, closing Reno's casinos for the first time in memory and forcing thousands to flee their homes.

# 1999 - A snowstorm trapped thousands of holiday travelers on planes at Detroit's Metro Airport. Many were stuck on planes for hours when snow plows were unable to clear paths to the gates. 


Posted by: BriSr Jan 3 2009, 02:03 PM
January 3

MN History
1977 14.2 inches of snow falls on Mankato.

1981 Arctic air visits state. Embarass, Wannaska, and Tower all hit 38 below zero.

U.S. History
# 1777 - An overnight freeze enabled George Washington and his troops to flank the British at Trenton, cross their lines at Princeton, and seek security in the hills of northern New Jersey. (David Ludlum)

# 1961 - A three day long icestorm was in progress over northern Idaho which produced an accumulation of ice eight inches thick, a U.S. record.  Heavy fog, which blanketed much of northern Idaho from Grangeville to the Canadian border, deposited the ice on power and phone lines causing widespread power outages. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)

# 1987 - A powerful Pacific coast storm blasted the western U.S. with high winds, heavy rain and heavy snow. Winds gusted to 96 mph at Cape Blanco OR, and snowfall totals reached 20 inches in the Sierra Nevada Range of California. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - After a day of rest, ":Old Man Winter": came back as a triple threat, hitting both coasts with winter storms, and blasting the central U.S. with cold arctic air. Snow and ice in the eastern U.S. caused 4.5 million dollars damage to homes and vehicles in North Carolina, the storm in the western U.S. produced two feet of snow in the Lake Tahoe area of Nevada, and temperatures in North Dakota plunged to 30 degrees below zero, with wind chill readings as cold as 95 degrees below zero. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1989 - Thirteen cities in the southeastern U.S., and five more in Washington and Oregon, reported new record high temperatures for the date. Highs of 78 degrees at Galveston TX and 82 degrees at Lake Charles LA were records for the month of January. (National Weather Summary)

# 1990 - A winter storm in the southwestern U.S. spread snow across Colorado and New Mexico. Heavy snow fell in southwestern Colorado, with 13 inches reported at Wolf Creek Pass. Snow spread into the Central Plains Region during the day, with six inches reported at Garden City KS. (National Weather Summary)

# 1994 - A heavy wet snow blanketed much of the state of Ohio, with 12 to 18 inches reported in counties along the Ohio River. Newport received 21 inches. Thunder and lightning accompanied the snow, with five inches reported in Washington County and Noble County between 7 AM and 8 AM Tuesday. Parts of Washington County were without electricity for eight days following the storm.(National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

...and more History
# 1883 - Residents of the Midwest and Ohio Valley observed a brilliant meteorite. Witnesses said that the trail left by the meteorite was visible for as long as thirty minutes.

# 1921 - The first radio broadcasts of weather forecasts began on this date as the University of Wisconsin began using the new medium. Within two years, over 140 radio telephone stations would be broadcasting weather reports by radio.

# 1949 - An F4 tornado killed 57 and injured 435 at Warren, AR. Damage was $1.3 million. An alert school bus driver stopped to allow an F3 tornado to pass in front of his bus south of Haynesville, LA.

# 1970 - The barometer at Barrow, AK went out of sight with a reading of 31.43 inches.  

# 1971 - The temperature reached 96F at Cotulla, Texas. The reading was just 2 degrees shy of the U.S. record for January.

# 1993 - The barometer at Canton, NY plummeted to an incredibly low 28.20 inches, the lowest ever recorded at a non-coastal station in the United States. Intense low pressure moving along the Appalachian Mountains caused the record low barometer readings.

# 1996 - New England was under siege from the first of three major snowstorms to hit the eastern U.S. in ten days. Rochester NY picked up twenty-three inches to mark the greatest 24 hour snowfall in the city's history. Boston recorded 13.1 inches.

# 1997 - Major flooding continued in six western states as runoff from days of heavy rains and melting snow surged down rivers. Levee breaks on the Feather and Yuba Rivers forced thousands of Californians from their homes in the middle of the night, many having to be rescued by helicopter.

# 1997 - Europe's worst cold in 30 years continued to grip the continent for the eleventh consecutive day. Over 200 deaths were blamed on the cold temperatures. Parts of the Thames River in England froze for the first time since the end of World War II.

# 2002 - You know the weather is bad when The Weather Channel closes their offices for the day. Parts of the Deep South ground to a standstill as a rare 2 day winter storm brought snow to the area, including Atlanta, where only essential personnel reported for work at the network.

# 2002 - One person was killed and fifteen were injured in a massive seventy-eight car pileup outside Bakersfield CA. A bank of heavy fog shrouded State Route 58, severely reducing visibility and causing the crash on both sides of the highway. 



Posted by: BriSr Jan 4 2009, 03:36 PM
January 4

MN History
1971 Snowstorm over upper midwest. Winona gets over 14 inches.

1981 Air cold enough to freeze a mercury thermometer pours into state. Tower hits 45
below zero.

U.S. History
# 1888 - Sacramento, CA, received 3.5 inches of snow, an all-time record for that location. The heaviest snow in recent history was two inches on February 5th in 1976. (4th-5th) (The Weather Channel)

# 1971 - A blizzard raged from Kansas to Wisconsin, claiming 27 lives in Iowa. Winds reached 50 mph, and the storm produced up to 20 inches of snow. (David Ludlum)

# 1982 - Milwaukee, WI, was shut down completely as a storm buried the city under 16 inches of snow in 24 hours. It was the worst storm in thirty-five years. (David Ludlum)

# 1987 - A storm moving off the Pacific Ocean spread wintery weather across the southwestern U.S., with heavy snow extending from southern California to western Wyoming. Up to 15 inches of snow blanketed the mountains of southern California, and rainfall totals in California ranged up to 2.20 inches in the Chino area. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - Frigid arctic air invading the central and eastern U.S. left Florida about the only safe refuge from the cold and snow. A storm in the western U.S. soaked Bodega Bay in central California with 3.12 inches of rain. (National Weather Summary)

# 1989 - Up to a foot of snow blanketed the mountains of West Virginia, and strong winds in the northeastern U.S. produced wind chill readings as cold as 60 degrees below zero in Maine. Mount Washington NH reported wind gusts to 136 mph along with a temperature of 30 below zero! (National Weather Summary)

# 1990 - A winter storm moving out of the southwestern U.S. spread heavy snow across Nebraska and Iowa into Wisconsin. Snowfall totals in Nebraska ranged up to 7 inches at Auburn and Tecumseh. Totals in Iowa ranged up to 11 inches at Carlisle. In Iowa, most of the snow fell between midnight and 4 AM. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1994 - A major winter storm blanketed much of the northeastern U.S. with heavy snow. More than two feet was reported in northwestern Pennsylvania, with 33 inches at Waynesburg. There were ten heart attacks, and 185 injuries, related to the heavy snow in northwest Pennsylvania. Whiteout conditions were reported in Vermont and northeastern New York State. A wind gusts to 75 mph was clocked at Shaftsbury VT. In the Adirondacks of eastern New York State, the town of Tupper reported five inches of snow between 1 PM and 2 PM. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

...and more History
# 1641 - The Mount Parker volcano erupted on the island of Mindanao. Dust from the eruption circled the globe, blocking sunlight and dropping global temperatures from 1641-1643.

# 1780 - A major snowstorm buried George Washington and his troops at their headquarters in Morristown, NJ.

# 1859 - New England buried in heavy snow. Thirty-six inches fell at Hartford and twenty-six inches fell at Middletown CT.

# 1917 - An F3 tornado struck a school at Vireton, OK, killing 16 people. It ranks as the fourth worst school tornado disaster in U.S. history.

# 1946 - A series of tornadoes struck Northeast Texas, killing 30. The deadliest tornadoes struck near Palestine and Nacogdoches.

# 1949 - Cheyenne, WY was hard hit by sixty hours of snow and near-hurricane force. The mercury plummeted to -7F.

# 1981 - The second cold wave of the 1980-81 winter season dropped the mercury to -27F at Burlington, VT and Caribou, ME. Old Forge, NY dropped to an amazing -42F and Houlton ME to -41F!

# 1982 - Six to eight feet of snow fell in twenty-six hours at Squaw Valley, California. Up to twenty-five inches of rain caused serious mudslides in the San Francisco area. 36 people died in the storm. Sixty seven inches of snow fell at Echo Summit to establish the state's twenty-four hour snowfall record.

# 1992 - Coastal storm caused major damage to boardwalks and severe beach erosion along the Delaware coast, where the storm was reportedly as bad as the 1962 Ash Wednesday storm.

# 1994 - New England and the Northeast were buffeted by a major coastal storm. Six inches of snow fell in one hour at Elkins, WV.

# 1995 - A series of strong Pacific storms brought several inches of precipitation to most of California and dumped one to twelve feet of snow on the highest elevations of the southern California coastal ranges. Thousands of people were forced from their homes by flooding.

# 1997 - Record-breaking warmth occurred from Texas through the Ohio Valley to the Middle Atlantic States. Over one hundred and eighty record highs were tied or broken between the 2nd and 4th.

# 2003 - The Atlanta Falcons rewrote history at Lambeau Field in Green Bay when they beat the Packers 27-7. The Packers had never lost a playoff game at home, and Packer QB Brett Favre was 35-0 when the temperature at game time was 34F or less.

# 2003 - Heavy snows fell over the Northeast just one week after a Christmas Day storm brought heavy snowfall amounts to parts of the same region. Some areas picked up an additional one to two feet of snow. 17.4 inches fell in Burlington, VT making it the second snowiest day since records have been kept there. 



Posted by: BriSr Jan 5 2009, 09:23 AM
January 5

MN History
1984 Warm-up across Minnesota. Twin Cities reaches 43.

U.S. History
# 1835 - It was a record cold morning in the eastern U.S. The mercury at the Yale Campus in New Haven CT plunged to 23 degrees below zero, and reached 40 below in the Berkshire Hills of Connecticut. (David Ludlum)

# 1904 - Bitterly cold air gripped the northeastern U.S. Morning lows of -42 degrees at Smethport PA and -34 at River Vale NJ established state records. (The Weather Channel)

# 1913 - The temperature at the east portal to Strawberry Tunnel reached 50 degrees below zero to tie the record established at Woodruff on February 6, 1899. (David Ludlum)

# 1982 - A three day rainstorm in the San Francisco area finally came to an end. Marin County and Cruz County were drenched with up to 25 inches of rain, and the Sierra Nevada Range was buried under four to eight feet of snow. The storm claimed at least 36 lives, and caused more than 300 million dollars damage. (Storm Data)

# 1987 - A massive winter storm spread heavy snow from the southwestern U.S. into the Rockies. In Utah, the Alta ski resort reported a storm total of 42 inches of snow. Winds gusted to 64 mph at Albuquerque NM. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - Thunderstorms helped produce heavy snow in the Lower Great Lakes Region. Snow fell at the rate of four to five inches per hour, and snowfall totals ranged up to 69 inches at Highmarket NY. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1989 - A strong Pacific cold front produced heavy snow and high winds in Nevada. Winds gusted to 80 mph north of Reno, while up to two feet of snow blanketed the Lake Tahoe ski area. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1990 - Thunderstorms produced heavy rain in the Central Gulf Coast Region. New Orleans, LA, was drenched with 4.05 inches of rain in 24 hours. An overnight storm blanketed the mountains of northern Utah with up to eleven inches of snow. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

...and more History
# 1884 - A severe cold wave had the Midwest in a deep freeze. All-time low temperature records were recorded at Denver, CO (-32F), St. Louis, MO (-22F) and Omaha, NE (-32F).

# 1993 - When you think of Hawaii, you don't normally think of ice, but on this date winds to 100 mph downed ice laden power lines on Maui's Mount Haleakala. Up to eighteen inches of ice accumulated on the summit.

# 1998 - On this date in 1998, one of the worst ice storms in United States history was getting underway. Up to three inches of ice coated a large area from New England into Canada. At one point during the storm, 4 million people were without electricity. Fifty six people died. $1 billion in damage.

# 1999 - The new all-time record low for the state of Illinois was established at Congerville when the mercury bottomed out at -36F.

# 2002 - A freak winter storm brought extreme cold and snow to parts of Southeastern Europe. 6 inches of snow fell in Athens, Greece, and heavy snow brought the city of Istanbul to a standstill. 




Posted by: BriSr Jan 6 2009, 08:42 AM
January 6

MN History
1942 Not a good pothole day in Pipestone. Temperature rose from 32 below zero to 41
above in 24 hours.

U.S. History
# 1880 - Seattle, WA, was in the midst of their worst snowstorm of record. Hundreds of barns were destroyed, and transportation was brought to a standstill, as the storm left the city buried under four feet of snow. (David Ludlum)

# 1884 - The temperature dipped to one degree below zero at Atlanta, GA. It marked the final day of a severe arctic outbreak in the South and Midwest. (David Ludlum)

# 1987 - A storm moving across the western U.S. spread heavy snow into the Central Rockies. Casper WY received 14 inches of snow in 24 hours, a January record for that location. Big Piney WY reported 17 inches of snow. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - It was a bad day for chickens. Heavy snow in Arkansas, with totals ranging up to 16 inches at Heber Springs, claimed the lives of 3.5 million chickens, and snow and ice up to three inches thick claimed the lives of another 1.75 million chickens in north central Texas. Up to 18 inches of snow blanketed Oklahoma, with Oklahoma City reporting a record 12 inches of snow in 24 hours. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1989 - A "bonafide blizzard" ripped through south central and southeastern Idaho. Strong winds, gusting to 60 mph at the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, whipped the snow into drifts five feet high, and produced wind chill readings as cold as 35 degrees below zero. The blizzard prompted an Idaho Falls air controller to remark that "the snow is blowing so hard you can't see the fog".(National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1990 - Rain and gale force winds prevailed along the Northern Pacific Coast. Winds at Astoria OR gusted to 65 mph. Unseasonably warm weather prevailed over Florida. Five cities reported record high temperatures for the date, including Miami with a reading of 86 degrees. The hot spot in the nation was West Palm Beach with a high of 87 degrees. (National Weather Summary) 

...and more History
# 1821 - A major snowstorm finally came to a close across the Mid Atlantic states into southern New England. Eighteen inches of snow fell at Philadelphia, PA, fourteen inches at New York City and twelve inches at Washington, DC.

# 1856 - Thoreau's "long and snowy winter" continued with the season's deepest snowfall. Twelve inches of snow fell at Boston, MA and eighteen inches fell at Providence, RI.

# 1886 - The "Great Blizzard of 1886" struck the Midwest without warning. High winds, subzero temperatures and heavy snowfall caused as many as 100 deaths.

# 1983 - All fifty states had at least one location that was above freezing on this date, an unusual occurrence for January.

# 1992 - The sun peeks out in Milwaukee, WI, for the first time since December 21, 1991, setting a city record for consecutive cloudy days.

# 1993 - A nearly continuous five day snowstorm brought a record 23.3 inches of snow to Salt Lake City UT, and left a record twenty-six inches of snow on the ground. A state of emergency had to be declared because of the snow.

# 1994 - 55.5 inches of snow fell in twenty-four hours at Alta UT, setting a new record for the location. A total of seventy inches fell between the 4th and the 6th.

# 1996 - "The Blizzard of 96" began clobbering the major cities of the Northeast setting many new snowfall records. Travel in New York was impossible, where twenty inches of snow fell in Central Park, making it the 3rd biggest snowfall ever there. Twenty five inches of snow paralyzed Washington, D.C. 100 people died in the storm. Damage totaled $2 billion.

# 2002 - Welcome rains fell on parts of New South Wales in Australia where 20,000 fire fighters have been battling wildfires since Christmas Eve. Dubbed the Black Christmas Fires, the wildfires burned over 1.2 million acres. Many of the fires were believed to have been intentionally set and arrests made.

# 2002 - A father and son fishing on a sand bar along the English coast were drowned when a thick fogbank suddenly overspread their position, disorienting them. The father called frantically for help on his cell phone as the incoming tide began to engulf them. The pair drowned within earshot of rescuers.

# 2003 - A Continental Airlines Express jet with 51 people aboard slid off the end of a runway at Hopkins International Airport in Cleveland, OH during a snowstorm, causing the nose gear to collapse. Fortunately, no one was injured. Five inches of snow fell at Cleveland during the storm. 



Posted by: BriSr Jan 7 2009, 09:38 AM
January 7

MN History
1873 Great Blizzard. Three day blizzard caused extreme hardship for pioneers from out
east who were not used to the cold and snow. Visibility was down to three feet. Cows
suffocated in the deep drifts and trains were stuck for days. More than 70 people died,
some bodies were not found until spring. Weather conditions before the storm were mild,
just like the Armistice Day storm.

2003 Record warmth over state. Many places reach the 50's including the Twin Cities.
St. James hit 59 and the Twin Cities reached 51. Nine golf courses were open in the Twin
Cities and 100 golfers were already at the Sundance Golf Course in Maple Grove in the
morning.

U.S. History
# 1873 - A blizzard raged across the Great Plains. Many pioneers, unprepared for the cold and snow, perished in southwest Minnesota and northwestern Iowa. (David Ludlum)

# 1971 - The temperature at Hawley Lake, located southeast of McNary, AZ, plunged to 40 degrees below zero to establish a state record. (The Weather Channel)

# 1987 - A storm in the southwestern U.S. produced 30 inches of snow north of Zion National Park in southern Utah, with 18 inches reported at Cedar Canyon UT. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - A winter storm in the southeastern U.S. produced 27 inches of snow in the Bad Creek area of South Carolina, and claimed the lives of two million chickens in Alabama. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1989 - A tornado in southern Illinois obliterated half the community of Allendale, injuring fifty persons and causing more than five million dollars damage, while thunderstorm winds gusting higher than 100 mph caused ten million dollars damage at Franklin KY. Twenty-five cities, from the Gulf coast to Michigan, reported record high temperatures for the date. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1990 - A rapidly intensifying low pressure system and a vigorous cold front brought heavy rain and high winds to the Pacific Northwest. Two to five inches rains soaked western Washington and western Oregon, and winds gusting above 70 mph caused extensive damage. Wind gusts on Rattlesnake Ridge in Washington State reached 130 mph. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

...and more History
# 1821 - A major snowstorm dumped fourteen inches of snow at Baltimore and New York City. Eighteen inches fell at Philadelphia and a foot fell at Washington.

# 1886 - Florida suffered one of its worst freezes in history as a severe cold wave hit the South.

# 1913 - The temperature dropped to 0F at Tucson AZ, setting the all time record low for that location.

# 1973 - A major ice storm crippled Atlanta, Georgia with 4 inches of freezing rain. Between 7pm and 9pm, 2.27 inches of liquid equivalent precipitation fell in just two hours between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. as the temperature hovered at 32 degrees. Schools and businesses were closed for several days. Up to 300,000 had no electricity for a week.

# 1988 - A winter storm killed two million chickens in Alabama. The same storm produced twenty seven inches of snow in the Bad Creek area, South Carolina. Thirteen inches of snow fell at Little Rock AR, which would have been a record if the airport was the official observation station.

# 1989 - A rare F4 tornado struck Allendale, IL, destroying a large part of the town. It was part of a small outbreak of tornadoes across southern Illinois and Indiana. The storms occurred as record warmth resulted in twenty-five record highs across the nation.

# 1992 - Rare thunderstorms rumbled over the northern Plains. Sioux Falls, SD recorded their first January thunderstorm since 1939. Six tornadoes occurred near Grand Island NE, the state's first January tornadoes of record.

# 1992 - An intense blizzard buried eastern metro Denver with up to two feet of snow. Strong winds piled the snow into drifts four to eight feet high. I-70 and I-25 were closed to the east and south of the city.

# 1997 - A severe thunderstorm downburst produced a 146 mph wind gust at Seymour-Johnson AFB in Goldsboro, NC.

# 1997 - An unusual snowstorm hits parts of New Mexico and Arizona. Up to 3 feet of snow fell on the Sandia Peaks, which tower over the eastern suburbs of Albuquerque. As much as 2 feet fell on the highest peaks around Tucson, AZ. They were the first snowflakes Tucson had seen since March 16, 1991.

# 1998 - Heavy rains brought severe flooding to the rugged mountains of northeast Tennessee and western North Carolina. 12 people were killed. The hardest hit area was in the rugged Appalachian mountains of Carter County TN, where seven people lost their lives.

# 1998 - A second low pressure system was producing freezing rain over New England as one of the greatest ice storms in United States history continued. By the end of the storm, electrical service would be out across seventy percent of the state of Maine.

# 2002 - Snow fell in unusual places in the Middle East, like Amman, Jordan. Amman's hilly streets were ice coated, stranding many people. Traffic came to a standstill in Jerusalem as heavy snow fell. 



Posted by: BriSr Jan 9 2009, 07:05 PM
January 8

MN History
1902 January thaw across state. Twin Cities warms to 46 degrees.

U.S. History
# 1953 - A severe icestorm in the northeastern U.S. produced up to four inches of ice in Pennsylvania, and two to three inches in southeastern New York State. In southern New England the ice coated a layer of snow up to 20 inches deep. The storm resulted in 31 deaths and 2.5 million dollars damage. (David Ludlum)

# 1973 - A severe icestorm struck Atlanta GA. The storm paralyzed the city closing schools and businesses, and damage from the storm was estimated at 25 million dollars. One to four inches of ice coated northern Georgia leaving 300,000 persons without electricity for up to a week. Between 7 PM and 9 PM on the 7th, 2.27 inches (liquid content) of freezing rain, sleet and snow coated Atlanta, as the temperature hovered at 32 degrees. (7th-8th) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)

# 1987 - A winter storm moving out of the Southern Rockies into the Central Plains Region produced 14 inches of snow at Red River NM, and 17 inches in the Wolf Creek ski area of Colorado. Wichita KS was blanketed with seven inches of snow. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - A winter storm spread heavy snow across the northeastern U.S., with up to ten inches reported in southern New Jersey. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1989 - Strong northwesterly winds and bitterly cold temperatures prevailed in the north central U.S. Winds in the Great Lakes Region gusted to 58 mph at Chicago IL, and reached 63 mph at Niagara Falls NY. Squalls in western New York State produced 20 inches of snow at Barnes Corners and Lowville. Snow squalls in Upper Michigan produced 26 inches around Keweenaw. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1990 - High winds plagued the northwestern U.S., with the state of Oregon hardest hit. Two persons were killed in Oregon, and nine others were injured, and the high winds downed fifty-five million board feet of timber, valued at more than twenty million dollars. Winds gusted to 90 mph near Pinehurst ID, and wind gusts reached 96 mph at Stevenson WA. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

...and more History
# 1859 - This is the only day that New York City's temperature remained continuously below zero.

# 1923 - Los Angeles recorded its hottest January temperature ever with a reading of 90 degrees.

# 1937 - Nevada recorded its coldest temperature ever (-50F) at San Jacinto.

# 1940 - Heavy snowfalls occurred over interior sections of the mid-Atlantic to New England. Twenty-four inches fell at Grafton, NH. The twenty inches at Jay Peak, VT brought their snow cover total to ninety-one inches! 16.6 inches fell at Wilkes-Baare Scranton PA, bringing their total for the month to 36.9 inches, their snowiest January of record. 

# 1979 - This was the coldest day in almost a century in the Russian capital of Moscow as the mercury plunged to -49F.

# 1990 - Winds gusted to 108 near Fort Collins, CO and 104 mph at Winter Park CO as strong winds buffeted the West. The Chinook winds created havoc with traffic, causing many multiple car pileups.

# 1998 - Over three million Canadians were without power as the worst ice storm in the nation's history affected five provinces with a thick coating of freezing rain. The city of Montreal was especially hard hit. At least fifteen deaths were attributed to the storm, including people who died as huge chunks of ice fell from buildings when the melting process began.

# 1998 - Nearly 600,000 people were without power in parts of New England, hard-hit by the same ice storm that was paralyzing parts of Canada.. As much as 2 to 4 inches of ice coated areas from Northern New York to Maine. 

# 1998 - For some reason, there is often a period of warmer than normal temperatures across the U.S. between January 7th and 10th. It was true on this date as temperatures ran as much as twenty-seven degrees above normal over the eastern U.S. The morning low of 65 degrees at Dulles International in Washington DC was actually warmer than the previous record high temperature for the date. Cherry blossoms actually bloomed in the nation's capital.

# 2002 - At least 40 record high temperatures were set across the Central Plains and Upper Midwest as westerly down slope winds from the Rockies warmed the area. Temperatures were as much as forty degrees above normal from eastern Colorado to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

# 2002 - The combination of black ice, dense fog and excessive speed for the poor conditions caused a fifty-nine car pileup on I-80 near the Salt Lake City, UT airport. Fourteen people were taken to hospitals, but only one was injured seriously, and no one was killed.

# 2003 - A Turkish Airlines Rj-100 airliner crashed as it attempted to land at Diyarbakir in southeastern Turkey in heavy fog. Seventy-five people died in the accident. Only five survived.





Posted by: BriSr Jan 9 2009, 07:13 PM
January 9

MN History
1934 Sleet and ice storm over southwest Minnesota. Hardest hit was Slayton, Tracy and
Pipestone. The thickest ice was just east of Pipestone with ice measuring 6 to 8 inches in
diameter. At Holland in Pipestone County three strands of #6 wire measured 4.5 inches in
diameter and weighed 33 ounces per foot. The ice was described as: "Very peculiar in
formation being practically round on three sides, the lower side being ragged projectiles
like icicles: in other words pointed. The frost and ice were wet, not flaky like frost
usually is. In handling this, it could be squeezed into a ball and did not crumble."

1982 Both January 9th and 10th saw some of the coldest windchills ever seen in
Minnesota. Temperatures of -30 and winds of 40mph were reported in Northern
Minnesota. This would translate to windchills of -71 with the new windchill formula, -
100 with the old formula.

U.S. History
# 1875 - The temperature at Cheyenne, WY, dipped to an all-time record cold reading of -38 degrees. (The Weather Channel)

# 1888 - Severe cold gripped much of the western U.S. At Portland OR the Columbia River was frozen for two weeks, and in southern California temperatures dipped below freezing in some of the citrus growing areas. (David Ludlum)

# 1987 - A winter storm spread heavy snow from the Central Plains into the Great Lakes Region. Heavier totals included 9 inches at Sun City KS, 7 inches at Columbia MO, 11 inches at Terre Haute IN, and up to 10 inches in the southern suburbs of Chicago IL. (National Weather Summary) ( Storm Data)

# 1988 - A storm in the northeastern U.S. produced ten inches of snow at Boston MA, and 14 inches at Worcester MA. A winter storm in the northwestern U.S. produced a foot of snow in three hours at McCall ID. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1989 - Strong winds prevailed along the eastern slopes of the Rockies in Colorado. Winds gusted to 113 mph at the Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, and reached 115 mph at Boulder. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1990 - A third storm in four days hit the Pacific Northwest. Winds in Oregon gusted above 100 mph at Netarts and at Oceanside. Up to 8.16 inches of rain was reported around Seaside OR, and the total of 4.53 inches of rain at Astoria OR was a record for the date. Twelve cities in the western U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. The high of 70 degrees at Cedar City UT was a record for January. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

...and more History
# 1880 - A rapidly deepening low pressure system produced extremely strong winds along the Pacific Northwest coast. Reports of wind damage were widespread. The roof of the Oregon capital was partially blown off. It was the second major storm in three days along the Pacific Northwest coast.

# 1932 - Pink snow fell in Durango, CO as dust from the Painted Desert mixed with a snowstorm.

# 1950 - A series of three major snowstorms with with almost no break paralyzed much of Oregon. The snows were generally the heaviest in Oregon history. 224 inches of snow fell during the month at Timberline Lodge, OR.

# 1976 - Snow squalls dumped sixty-eight inches of snow on the town of Adams, NY. The fifty-four inches that fell in twenty-four hours is still the state record.

# 1977 - St. Cloud, MN recorded their coldest temperature ever with a reading of -43F at 8 a.m.. Between January 3-19, the low temperatures there dropped to -15F or lower on fourteen of the seventeen days!

# 1979 - Major ice storm struck Portland, OR.

# 1992 - For 350 straight hours (two weeks) ending on this date, the sky observation was listed as completely cloudy in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN. Even though the clouds were abundant, the temperatures were relatively mild, with readings running nineteen degrees above normal.

# 1993 - 17.2 inches of snow fell in Topeka KS in twenty four hours.

# 1997 - Comair Flight 3272 crashed into a field near Ida, OH during a major snowstorm. All twenty-nine people aboard died. The cause of the crash: ice built-up on the wings of the EMB-120 aircraft.

# 1998 - One of the worst ice storms in U.S. history was coming to a close across upstate New York and northern New England.. A one-to-three-inch coating of ice left as many as 500,000 people without power and made road travel nearly impossible. In Maine, four out of five residents lost electrical service.

# 2000 - It did not snow on this date in Houghton, MI. Remarkable, because it snapped a record streak of fifty-three consecutive days with snow in the city. 




Posted by: BriSr Jan 10 2009, 01:32 PM
January 10

MN History
1975 "Blizzard of the Century" begins also called the "Superbowl Blizzard" One of the
worst Blizzards ever. Stranded people watched the Vikings lose the Superbowl on the
12th. The pressure hit a low of 28.62. This was the record until 1998.

1990 January heat wave. Twin Cities warms to 49 degrees.

U.S. History
# 1800 - Savannah, GA, received a foot and a half of snow, and ten inches blanketed Charleston SC. It was the heaviest snowfall of record for the immediate Coastal Plain of the southeastern U.S. (David Ludlum)

# 1911 - The temperature at Rapid City, SD, plunged 47 degrees in just fifteen minutes. (The Weather Channel)

# 1949 - Snow was reported at San Diego, CA, for the first and only time since 1882. Snow was noted even on some of the beaches in parts of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Burbank reported 4.7 inches, and Long Beach and Laguna Beach received one inch of snow. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)

# 1975 - The "Storm of the Century" hit Minnesota. A severe blizzard moved northward across the state producing up to two feet of snow. High winds drove wind chill readings to 80 degrees below zero, and at Duluth MN the barometric pressure dipped to 28.55 inches. The storm, which claimed 35 lives, occurred on the 102nd anniversary of the infamous "Pioneer Blizzard" in Minnesota. (David Ludlum)

# 1982 - The temperature at O'Hare Airport in Chicago, IL, plunged to an all-time record of 26 degrees below zero, and high winds drove the wind chill reading to 77 degrees below zero. The temperature in Downtown Chicago reached 23 degrees below zero. A week later a second arctic surge sent the temperature plunging back down to 25 degrees below zero. (Weather Channel) (National Weather Summary)

# 1987 - Bitter cold air invaded the Rocky Mountain Region, with subzero readings reported as far south as Gallop NM. Pocatello ID reported a record low reading of 14 degrees below zero. (National Weather Summary)

# 1988 - A storm in the northwestern U.S. produced wind gusts to 97 mph at Netarts OR, and up to two feet of snow in the mountains of Oregon. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1989 - The first documented January tornado of record in Utah struck the south part of Sandy. Asphalt shingles were driven one half inch into a fence. (The Weather Channel) Clear skies, light winds, and up to 24 inches of snow cover, allowed the temperature to plunge to 45 degrees below zero at Roseau MN, and to -43 degrees at Warroad MN. The afternoon high at Grand Forks ND was 16 degrees below zero. (National Weather Summary)

# 1990 - Strong southerly winds ahead of a Pacific cold front helped temperatures in the central U.S. soar as much as 50 degrees during the day. A total of fifty cities in the central U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date, with afternoon highs in the 70s reported as far north as Nebraska and eastern Colorado. Highs of 53 at devils Lake ND, 76 at Grand Island NE, 73 at Lincoln NE, and 73 at North Platte NE, established records for the month of January. (National Weather Summary) 

...and more History
# 1720 - Tornado kills sixty people and injured more than 300 in San Justo, Argentina.

# 1836 - "The Big Snow" dumped as much as forty inches of snow over northern and western Pennsylvania and interior New York. As much as twenty-four inches fell across southern New Jersey. Eighteen inches was recorded at New York City and fifteen inches fell at Philadelphia, PA.

# 1962 - A massive landslide of ice, rock and mud crashed down the north side of Peru's highest Mountain, Nevada de Huascaram. The one-mile wide mass of debris, nearly fifty feet deep, moved eleven miles in fifteen minutes and was as wide as one mile. Thirty five hundred people were killed.

# 1975 - An F4 tornado struck McComb, MS just after 8 a.m., hitting two schools as 325 students took shelter. Only five were injured. The twister destroyed eighty eight homes and thirty businesses across the city. Nine people were killed along the forty-seven mile path of the tornado.

# 1981 - The eastern half of the United States was in the deep freeze as a major arctic blast affected the country. Records were set all across the Midwest. The coldest reading was -36F at Sault Ste. Marie, MI. Wind chills as low as -98F were reported at Fargo, ND.

# 1982 - January 10-11 were the most uncomfortable days ever recorded east of the Rockies according to NOAA as one of coldest air masses in the twentieth century was affecting the United States. Forty-one cities established new records lows for the date, many setting all time records. Chicago O'Hare fell to -26F with 20 mph winds that made the wind chill factor drop to -77F! The cold weather was caused by an intense Arctic high pressure system over Saskatchewan. The pressure at the center was measured at 31.15 inches of mercury!

# 1982 - A "snow devil" developed at Edinboro, Pennsylvania. The funnel shaped vortex, about one hundred feet tall and twenty to twenty-five feet wide, ripped small trees out of the ground.

# 1982 - Miserable conditions at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati where the Chargers played the Bengals in an NFL playoff game with a kickoff temperature of -9 degrees.

# 1993 - Salt Lake City recorded its greatest snowstorm in history with 23.3 inches of snow in four days.

# 1996 - The third in a series of four major snowstorms in ten days dumped heavy snows over the mid-Atlantic and Northeast U.S. The Washington/Baltimore area was just digging out from the blizzard two days earlier when another three to six inches fell. Boston's 5.4 inches increased its snow cover to thirty-two inches, which set an all-time record. The two inches that fell at Philadelphia brought the total for the month to 33.7 inches, its snowiest January ever.

# 2002 - An international snowmobile race in Eagle River, WI was nearly canceled for lack of snow! A snow less winter was forcing winter festival organizers all over the upper Midwest to truck in their snow. The world's largest ice fishing contest in Brainerd, MN had to be canceled because the ice was not thick enough for vehicles to drive on the frozen lakes. 



Posted by: BriSr Jan 11 2009, 01:37 PM
January 11

MN History
1899 An odd flash of lightning lit the clouds up around 9 pm at Maple Plain.

1975 Blizzard continues with hurricane force winds in southwestern Minnesota.

U.S. History
# 1918 - A tremendous blizzard completely immobilized the Midwest, stopping mail service for two weeks. The vast storm then moved through the Great Lakes Region and the Ohio Valley. Winds reached 60 mph at Toledo OH, and the temperature plunged from 28 above to 15 below zero during passage of the cold front. (David Ludlum)

# 1972 - Downslope winds hit the eastern slopes of the Rockies in northern Colorado and southeastern Wyoming. Boulder CO reported wind gusts to 143 mph and twenty-five million dollars property damage. (David Ludlum)

# 1987 - A storm in the northeastern U.S. buried the mountains of central Vermont with up to 26 inches of snow, and snowfall totals in Maine ranged up to 27 inches at Telos Lake. Winds gusted to 45 mph at Newark NJ and Albany NY. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - Snow and high winds in Utah resulted in a fifty car pile-up along Interstate 15. Winds in Wyoming gusted to 115 mph at Rendezvous Peak. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1989 - A cold front which the previous day produced 21 inches of snow at Stampede Pass WA and wind gusts to 75 mph at Mammoth Lakes CA, spread snow across Colorado. Totals in Colorado ranged up to 17 inches at Steamboat Springs. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1990 - Strong northwesterly winds associated with a deep low pressure system crossing the Upper Great Lakes Region ushered cold air into the central U.S. Winds gusted to 72 mph at Fort Dodge IA, and wind gusts reached 75 mph at Yankton SD. Snow and high winds created blizzard conditions in northwestern Minnesota. Squalls produced heavy snow in parts of Upper Michigan and northern Lower Michigan, with 16 inches reported at Wakefield. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

...and more History
# 1898 - A late night F4 tornado struck Fort Smith, AR. Fifty-five people died, making it one of Arkansas' deadliest tornadoes. A street sign was found twenty-two miles away.

# 1918 - An afternoon F3 tornado destroyed a small rural school near Dothan, AL. The teacher and seven of the forty students were killed. Nearly every building in the town of Webb, AL was damaged by the twister. Ten people died along the twister's path along with 120 injuries, 70 of them in Webb.

# 1951 - An unusually strong California tornado (F2) struck Los Gatos and Sunnyvale, causing $1.5 million in damage. San Jose, CA also was hit by an F2 tornado.

# 1952 - A major snowstorm set several California snowfall records including forty-four inches at Marlette Lake and 149 inches at Tahoe during the five-day storm.

# 1969 - Heavy snow fell across northern Oregon on the 11th and 12th. There was heavy damage to trees, which knocked out ninety percent of the power in the area. Blizzard conditions brought traffic to a standstill, particularly over Mt. Hood, where traffic was backed up for eighteen miles.

# 1972 - Idaho hit hard by wind and snowfall that was said to be the worst in memory. Two thousand travelers were stuck on the road and had to spend the night in the National Reactor Test Facility near Idaho Falls, ID.

# 1980 - The temperature at the Great Falls, MT International Airport rose from -32F to 17F in just seven minutes as a Chinook wind warmed the arctic air. This temperature rise stands as the most rapid temperature change ever registered in the United States.

# 1982 - A huge arctic outbreak invaded the Deep South. Temperature fell to -5F at Atlanta, GA and -2F at Birmingham, AL. Pensacola, FL fell to 8F and Orlando recorded 32F. Thirty-four record lows were established across the country.

# 1989 - Santa Ana winds of up to one hundred miles per hour raked southern California. The Pepsi/Slice blimp was destroyed by the high winds at the Ontario Airport. Trucks on I-10 and I-15 were toppled.

# 1997 - Wind chills of -81F and sixteen foot snowdrifts paralyzed the Dakotas. South Dakota would be declared a Federal disaster area. Extremely cold temperatures plunged all the way to the Texas coast with readings at least thirty degrees below normal over a wide area. At least thirty-one people died in the extreme weather.

# 1997 - An emergency was declared in Buffalo, NY as the city experienced its fourth heaviest blizzard. Two feet of snow fell in some areas. Driving was banned for a time so that snowplows could do their jobs without running into stalled cars.

# 1998 - The first major snow in six years fell in Jerusalem, putting Israelis in a festive spirit. 




Posted by: BriSr Jan 12 2009, 10:06 AM
January 12

MN History
1888 "Blizzard of '88." It hit during a mild day when many children were heading home
from school. They made up the majority of the 200 people that died. At the end of the
storm the thermometer at St. Paul read -37.

2000 Snow falls in a narrow band over the Twin Cities. Maplewood receives 5.5 inches,
while Chanhassen gets 12.

U.S. History
# 1888 - A sharp cold front swept southward from the Dakotas to Texas in just 24 hours spawning a severe blizzard over the Great Plains. More than 200 pioneers perished in the storm. Subzero temperatures and mountainous snow drifts killed tens of thousands of cattle. (David Ludlum)

# 1985 - A record snowstorm struck portions of western and south central Texas. The palm trees of San Antonio were blanketed with up to thirteen and a half inches of snow, more snow than was ever previously received in an entire winter season. (Weather Channel) (Storm Data)

# 1987 - Twenty-seven cities in the Upper Midwest reported new record high temperatures for the date. Afternoon highs of 72 degrees at Valentine NE and 76 degrees at Rapid City SD set records for the month of January. (National Weather Summary)

# 1988 - Parts of North Dakota finally got their first snow of the winter season, and it came with a fury as a blizzard raged across the north central U.S. Snowfall totals ranged up to 14 inches at Fargo ND, winds gusted to 65 mph at Windom MN, and wind chill readings in North Dakota reached 60 degrees below zero. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1989 - A dozen cities in the southeastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date as readings warmed into the 70s and 80s. Fort Myers FL reported a record high of 86 degrees. (National Weather Summary)

# 1990 - Gale force winds produce squalls with heavy snow in the Great Lakes Region. Totals in northwest Pennsylvania ranged up to eleven inches at Conneautville and Meadville. Barnes Corners, in western New York State, was buried under 27 inches of snow in two days. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

...and more History
# 1911 - The thermometer at Rapid City, SD read 55F at 6 a.m.. Two hours later, the temperature had plunged to -13F, setting a record for two hour temperature drops in the United States.

# 1912 - Iowa recorded its coldest temperature ever at Washta (-47F). The record would be tied on 2/3/1996 at Elkrader, IA.

# 1981 - Massachusettes recorded its coldest temperature ever at Chester (-35F).

# 1982 - Arctic air mass continued into invasion of the south, moving into Florida. Homestead, FL recorded a reading of 29F, and Orlando fell to 23 degrees. Major damage was reported to citrus and vegetables.

# 1982 - Snow and freezing rain moved into Birmingham, AL hours before it was expected. Serious icing occurred overnight as temperatures hovered near freezing. 16,000 people ended up in emergency shelters overnight in Birmingham as the precipitation arrived earlier than expected, turning highways into skating rinks. Atlanta, GA was also hard-hit by the ice storm.

# 1991 - Thirty three sailors died in a cargo ship which sunk in a major Atlantic storm southeast of Newfoundland.

# 1996 - The fourth and final in a series of snowstorms to affect the east coast dumped heavy snows, including thirty inches at Oakland, PA. The deep snow cover, up to 50 inches in some areas, would be completely gone in most areas in just two weeks following a major warming trend and heavy rains.

# 1997 - An amazing lake effect snow event off on Lake Ontario brought eighty six inches of snow in forty-eight hours to Montague, NY. The town is located atop the Tug Hill Plateau and is notorious for heavy lake effect snows off on Lake Ontario. Seventy inches fell in less than twenty-four hours. 



Posted by: BriSr Jan 13 2009, 10:26 AM
January 13

MN History
1987 Warm air invades state with a balmy high of 48.

U.S. History
# 1886 - A great blizzard struck the state of Kansas without warning. The storm claimed 50 to 100 lives, and eighty percent of the cattle in the state. (David Ludlum)

# 1888 - The mercury plunged to 65 degrees below zero at Fort Keough, located near Miles City MT. The reading stood as a record for the continental U.S. for sixty-six years. (David Ludlum)

# 1912 - The temperature at Oakland, MD, plunged to 40 degrees below zero to establish a state record. (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders - 1987)

# 1987 - Dry and mild weather prevailed across the country. Nineteen cities in the Upper Midwest reported record high temperatures for the date, including Grand Island NE with a reading of 67 degrees. (National Weather Summary)

# 1988 - A fast moving cold front ushered arctic cold into the north central and northeastern U.S. Mason City IA reported a wind chill reading of 51 degrees below zero, and Greenville ME reported a wind chill of 63 degrees below zero. Winds along the cold front gusted to 63 mph at Rochester NY, and a thunderstorm along the cold front produced wind gusts to 62 mph at Buffalo NY, along with snow and sleet. (National Weather Summary)

# 1989 - Friday the 13th was bad luck primarily for the south central U.S. as an upper level weather disturbance spread a mixture of snow and sleet and freezing rain across Texas and Oklahoma. Snowfall totals in central Oklahoma ranged up to 8.5 inches at Norman. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1990 - A winter storm in the southwestern U.S. produced more than a twelve inches of snow in the mountains of California and Nevada. In northern California, Huntington Lake was buried under 40 inches of snow, and up to 20 inches was reported in northeastern Nevada. Heavy rain soaked some of the lower elevations of California. Gibraltar Dam CA was drenched with 5.33 inches of rain in two days. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

...and more History
# 1862 - Flooding in California, known as the "Nochian Flood", produced a vast sea in the Sacramento Valley. San Francisco, CA had a total rainfall for the month of 24.36 inches.

# 1903 - A tropical cyclone struck the Society Islands in the South Pacific, causing a storm surge as high as forty feet. One thousand people perished. .

# 1913 - The temperature at Rapid City, SD rose sixty four degrees in fourteen hours.

# 1937 - The Ohio River floods covered most of the town of Jeffersonville, sending 13,000 people fleeing. 90,000 people were forced to evacuate Evansville, IN. Seventy percent of Louisville, KY was inundated. The town of Paducah, Kentucky was deserted in the face of the rising water.

# 1944 - Damaging ice storm from Texas to Mississippi caused $18 million in damage.

# 1950 - The Seattle-Tacoma area was hit by a major blizzard that dumped up to fifty inches of snow in some areas and dropped temperatures to below zero. Thirteen people died in the storm that paralyzed parts of eastern Washington, northern Idaho and Oregon. 21.4 inches of snow fell at the SEA-TAC airport.

# 1952 - During the first days of 1952,the Southern Pacific Railroad found itself battling a series of fierce winter snow storms that threatened all train operations. Their flagship passenger train, the Streamliner City of San Francisco finally set out over the Sierras on this date. The train became trapped in an avalanche. It would take three cold, long days to free the 226 passengers.

# 1964 - Williamsport, PA was buried under twenty four inches of snow. Nineteen inches fell in Nantucket, MA and Scranton, PA.

# 1972 - An elementary school in suburban Atlanta was struck by lightning, sparking a fire. The students had to evacuate the building into the raging storm.

# 1982 - A major winter storm spread snow, sleet and freezing rain across the South, from Texas to South Carolina. The temperature plunged to -5F in Atlanta, GA. Major damage was reported to agricultural and citrus crops in southern Florida.

# 1982 - Air Florida Flight 90 crashed onto the Fourteenth Street Bridge and into the icy Potomac River during a terrible blizzard in Washington, DC. Ice build up on the wings caused the plane to crash right after takeoff. Only five of the seventy-nine people aboard survived.

# 1996 - The eastern half of Pennsylvania was reeling under its heaviest snow cover in memory. The area around the state capital had nearly four feet of snow on the ground. Parts of the northern Susquehanna Valley had nearly five feet of snow cover. Six days later, most of the snow would melt and combine with an unseasonably warm rainstorm to produce the worst flooding since Hurricane Eloise in 1975.

# 1997 - In Utah, an estimated four thousand skiers and snowboarders were home after being stranded for much of the weekend. Two feet of fresh snow and several avalanches had blocked the highway to the Snowbird and Alta ski resorts for two days.

# 1997 - A winter storm spread freezing rain over much of southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana., knocking out power to over 100,000 people. One unexpected side effect of the ice storm was a pronounced baby boom nine months later in area hospitals.

# 1997 - Weather observers at Lake Charles, LA had to run across the runway at the airport to chip thick ice off of the anemometer when the dial in their office showed calm winds despite a stiff southeast breeze. 

# 2000 - Snow finally fell in Boston MA, ending the longest snow less streak in the city's history at 304 days. It was also the latest start to a snow season in Beantown.

# 2002 - Packer Fans in Green Bay only had one complaint about the weather as their beloved team lined up to play the 49ers in an NFL Playoff game at Lambeau Field. It was too warm. Game time temperatures were in the upper 20s, nothing like the -13 at the Ice Bowl in 1967 when Green Bay hosted Dallas. 



Posted by: BriSr Jan 14 2009, 11:42 AM
January 14

MN History
1952 Glaze, Sleet and Ice storm across Minnesota from St Cloud south into Iowa. 1,100
Northwestern Bell telephone wires down. The Buffalo Ridge in the Pipestone area the
hardest hit with ¾ inches of solid ice on Northern State Power wires with icicles to 3
inches. Northwestern Bell reported ice to 1 ½ inches of ice on their wires in the same
area. Thunder and a shower of ice pellets accompanied the storm in New Ulm and
Mankato. Minneapolis General Hospital treated 81 people, victims of falls on icy streets.

1981 Over 24,000 Canadian Geese are at Silver Lake in Rochester.

U.S. History
# 1863 - The greatest snowstorm of record for Cincinnati OH commenced, and a day later twenty inches of snow covered the ground. That total has remained far above the modern day record for Cincinnati of eleven inches of snow in one storm. (David Ludlum)

# 1979 - Chicago, IL, was in the midst of their second heaviest snow of record as, in thirty hours, the city was buried under 20.7 inches of snow. The twenty-nine inch snow cover following the storm was an all-time record for Chicago. (David Ludlum)

# 1987 - Arctic cold invaded the north central U.S. By evening blustery northwest winds and temperatures near zero at Grand Forks ND were producing wind chill readings of 50 degrees below zero. (National Weather Summary)

# 1988 - A powerful Pacific storm produced rain and high winds in the western U.S. In Nevada, a wind gust to 90 mph at Reno was an all-time record for that location, and wind gusts reached 106 mph southwest of Reno. A wind gust to 94 mph was recorded at nearby Windy Hill. Rainfall totals in Oregon ranged up to six inches at Wilson River. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1989 - A winter storm spread snow and sleet and freezing rain from the Middle Mississippi Valley to the northeastern U.S. Freezing rain in West Virginia caused fifteen traffic accidents in just a few minutes west of Charleston. Tennessee was deluged with up to 7.5 inches of rain. Two inches of rain near Clarksville TN left water in the streets as high as car doors.

# 1990 - A winter storm in the southwestern U.S. blanketed the mountains of southwest Utah with 18 to 24 inches of snow, while sunshine and strong southerly winds helped temperatures warm into the 60s in the Central Plains Region. Five cities reported record high temperatures for the date, including North Platte NE with a reading of 63 degrees. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

...and more History
# 1831 - The greatest snowstorm recorded in American history until this time occurred from Georgia to the northeast and west to the Ohio Valley. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania had thirty inches and Pittsburgh recorded twenty two inches.

# 1882 - The hills above Los Angeles were whitened by snow as Southern California recorded its greatest snowfall. San Bernadino received fifteen inches. A trace fell in San Diego. Snow totals reached as much as twenty inches on Baja California with snow all the way to the edge of the Mojave.

# 1888 - The temperature in Eureka, CA fell to 20F as a cold spell affected the Golden State. The temperature at San Francisco dropped to 29F.

# 1910 - The luxury liner Lusitania was struck by an eighty foot wave that heavily damaged the ship as it made its way from Liverpool to New York City. The storm that caused the high wave also produced blizzard conditions on the East Coast, including New York City, where fifteen inches of snow fell.

# 1932 - The home of a thirteen member family in Lexington, TN was destroyed by a tornado. Ten fatalities resulted.

# 1974 - Severe flooding in Idaho was the result of unseasonably warm temperatures, Chinook winds and heavy rains. The flooding is regarded to be the worst weather disaster in the history of the state. Damage totaled $50 million.




Posted by: BriSr Jan 15 2009, 04:28 PM
January 15

U.S. History
# 1852 - Between January 15th and February 24th a total of 1378 railroad cars were drawn by horses across the frozen Susquehanna River to engines waiting at Havre De Grace, MD. (The Weather Channel)

# 1932 - Up to two inches of snow whitened the Los Angeles basin of California. The Los Angeles Civic Center reported an inch of snow, and even the beaches of Santa Monica were whitened with snow, in what proved to be a record snowstorm for Los Angeles. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)

# 1952 - A six day snowstorm was in progress in the western U.S. The storm produced 44 inches of snow at Marlette Lake NV, 52 inches at Sun Valley ID, and 149 inches at Tahoe CA, establishing single storm records for each of those three states. In addition, 24 hour snowfall totals of 22 inches at the University of Nevada, and 26 inches at Arco ID, established records for those two states. The streamliner, 'City of San Francisco' was snowbound in the Sierra Nevada Range, near Donner Summit. (David Ludlum)

# 1987 - A powerful storm over the Southern Plateau and the Southern Rockies produced 24 inches of snow at Colorado Springs CO, including 22 inches in 24 hours, a January record. High winds in the southwestern U.S. gusted to 65 mph in the Yosemite Valley of California. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - A small storm over the Atlantic Ocean produced heavy snow along the coast of North Carolina. The five inch total at Wilmington NC was their third highest for any storm in January in 117 years of records. (National Weather Summary)

# 1989 - A storm in the northwestern U.S. produced up to 14 inches of snow in the Cascade Mountain Range. Light snow in the north central U.S. was just enough to push the snowfall total for January at Fargo ND past their previous all-time monthly record of 30.7 inches.

# 1990 - While one Pacific storm crossed the Central Rockies, another approached the west coast. The northern mountains of Utah were buried under 17 to 35 inches of snow while the mountains of southern Utah received another 12 to 16 inches. Eighteen cities in the central U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date as readings warmed into the 50s and 60s. Wichita KS reported a record high of 68 degrees. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

...and more History
# 1780 - New York Harbor froze over completely during the famous Hard Winter of 1779-1780. It stayed frozen solid for five weeks. The ice was so thick that cannon could be transported across it.

# 1958 - Four hurricane reconnaissance planes have been lost since the practice was started in the mid 1940s. Three have been lost in the Pacific, one in the Atlantic. A WB-50 from the 54th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron was lost during Supertyphoon Orphelia southwest of Guam.

# 1987 - A major snowstorm hit New Mexico with much as four feet of snow fell in some areas. Severe blizzard conditions crippled the Albuquerque, NM area.

# 1993 - Fairbanks, AK measured forty-seven inches of snow on the ground, the deepest snow cover ever recorded.

# 1995 - Williston, ND recorded its greatest twenty-four hour snowfall when 12.6 inches of snow fell.

# 1995 - Caribou, ME recorded their all-time January high of 53F. What is interesting is that just four days earlier a daily record low of -33F degrees was recorded.

# 2002 - Heavy rains finally brought Australia's worst bushfire crisis in eight years to an end, dousing the remaining fires that have been burning near Sydney since Christmas Day. Over 1.25 million acres were burned by the fires, many of which were started by arsonists. 



Posted by: dmc76 Jan 15 2009, 04:37 PM
I love this thread...keep it up  
Posted by: BriSr Jan 16 2009, 09:10 AM
As ordered, we have plenty more history. Always interesting, and goes to show how extreme the weather has been, and will continue to be. I love posting this thread, myself.

January 16

MN History
1921 Winds gusting up to 59 mph created a sand blizzard across southwest Minnesota
and a snowstorm across the north.

U.S. History
# 1964 - Fort Worth, TX, received 7.5 inches of snow, and Dallas reported a foot of snow. (David Ludlum)

# 1987 - A winter storm produced a total of 61 inches of snow at Rye CO, and wind gusts to 100 mph in Utah. The storm then spread heavy snow from the Texas panhandle to Indiana. Tulia TX received 16 inches of snow, and up to 14 inches was reported in western Oklahoma. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - A small storm in the western U.S. produced a foot of snow and wind gusts to 70 mph in the Lake Tahoe Basin of Nevada. Showers and thunderstorms produced 2.28 inches of rain at Brownsville TX,their third highest total for any day in January. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1989 - Strong chinook winds plagued much of the state of Wyoming. Winds gusted to 80 mph at Cody, and wind gusts to 100 mph were reported in eastern and northwestern Wyoming. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1990 - Heavy snow fell across the Prince Williams Sound area and the Susitna Valley of southern Alaska. Valdez was buried under 64.9 inches of snow in less than two days, including a record 47.5 inches in 24 hours. Up to 44 inches of snow was reported in the Susitna Valley. The heavy snow blocked roads, closed schools, and sank half a dozen vessels in the harbor. (Storm Data) 

...and more History
# 1831 - "The Great Snowstorm" raged from Georgia to Maine. As much as thirty inches of snow was reported from Pennsylvania northward across southern New England. Fifteen to twenty inches of snow was reported across New York City. Washington DC had thirteen inches.

# 1916 - San Francisco was affected by a tremendous Pacific storm that caused extensive wind damage throughout central California.

# 1959 - Bennet's Bridge, NY received fifty-one inches of snow in sixteen hours from a lake effect snowstorm generated as cold air swept across the relatively warm waters of Lake Ontario.

# 1977 - Arctic air settled into the Plains and temperature records fell: Fargo, ND (-35F); Omaha, NE (-21F); Kansas City MO (-13F); Chicago IL (-19F); Des Moines, IA (-18F); Springfield MO (-16F); St. Louis (-14F).

# 1982 - The second severe arctic outbreak of the season infiltrates the Central U.S. Zero degree temperatures were recorded into Texas. The mercury dropped from 55F to -1F at Amarillo and from 62F to 10F at Oklahoma City.

# 1988 - A major Pacific coastal storm battered southern California. Trees were uprooted in the San Diego area by sixty-five mph winds. The barometer at Los Angeles dropped to a record low reading of 29.25 inches.

# 1990 - Until 1990, no tornado had ever been recorded in the United States on January 16th. Once the "jinx" was broken on this date, tornadoes occurred on January 16th in 1993 and 1997 in Florida.

# 1994 - Bitter cold across the Great Lakes and Northeast: Alpena MI ties its record low for January with -28F. Boston suffered through its coldest day in 26 years with an average temp for the day of only 2F. -43F at Watertown NY was the nation's lowest temperature. Blackouts were reported over a large area of Virginia as the power drain overwhelmed utilities. 


Posted by: BriSr Jan 17 2009, 12:19 PM
January 17

MN History
1982 File this one under the "Don't even mention the windchill." The citizens of Tower
woke up to -52 degrees F.

1996 Severe icestorm over the western and northern Twin Cities with accumulations 1/2
to 1 inch. A foot of snow fell over central Minnesota.

U.S. History
# 1817 - A luminous snowstorm occurred in Vermont and New Hampshire. Saint Elmo's fire appeared as static discharges on roof peaks, fence posts, and the hats and fingers of people. Thunderstorms prevailed over central New England. (David Ludlum)

# 1893 - The mercury dipped to 17 degrees below zero at Millsboro, DE, to establish a state record. (The Weather Channel)

# 1972 - A single storm unloaded 77.5 inches of snow at Summit, MT, to establish a state record. (The Weather Channel)

# 1982 - Strong chinook winds caused severe wind damage in Boulder, CO. Wind gusts to 118 mph was recorded on the roof of the Environmental Research Laboratories (ERL), and a wind gust to 137 mph was measured atop the roof of the NCAR building (in the southwest part of the city, 600 feet above ground level). The high winds uprooted trees and damage roofs. (Storm Data)

# 1987 - A winter storm spread snow from the Southern Rockies into the Middle Mississippi Valley and southwestern sections of the Great Lakes Region, and freezing rain across Texas and oklahoma. Snowfall totals ranged up to 16 inches at Tulia TX, with 12 inches at Wellington KS. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - A Pacific storm battered the southern coast of California. Winds gusting to 65 mph uprooted trees in San Diego. Los Angeles reported an all-time record low baromteric pressure reading of 29.25 inches. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1989 - Strong chinook winds along the eastern slopes of the Rockies gusted to 90 mph near Rollinsville CO, and reached 94 mph near Big Timber MT. Heavy snow blanketed parts of the Upper Mississippi Valley, with eight inches reported in Douglas County WI. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1990 - Twenty cities across the southeastern half of the country reported record high temperatures for the date. Record highs included 61 degrees at Williamstown PA and 85 degrees at Brownsville TX. Evening thunderstorms produced large hail and damaging winds from eastern Texas to Mississippi. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

...and more History
# 1837 - The green flash was apparently first documented by Captain Back of the H. M. S. Terror while in the arctic during its expedition of 1836-1837. He wrote: 'In the morning however, at a quarter before ten o'clock while standing on an ice hummock about seventeen feet high, and looking toward the east, I had observed the upper limb of the sun, as it filled a triangular cleft on the ridge of the headland, of the most brilliant emerald color, a phenomenon which I had not witnessed before in these regions.'

# 1857 - Famous "Cold Storm" paralyzed areas from North Carolina to Maine. One to two foot snowfalls were the norm rather than the exception. Twenty foot drifts were reported in Norfolk, VA. Temperatures were below zero from Virginia northward. At Cape Henry, NJ, one could walk out 100 yards on the frozen ocean. The Chesapeake Bay was frozen out to a mile and one-half from shore.

# 1867 - A major snowstorm was accompanied by a cold wave over the northeast. Up to twelve inches of snow and hurricane force winds were common. Some areas were snowbound for ten days.

# 1979 - Portland, ME recorded its greatest single snowstorm of record and most snow in twenty-four hours. 27.1 inches of snow fell in two days.

# 1979 - Parts of Hawaii received a year's worth of rain in six days as five feet fall in some areas.

# 1982 - Record cold across the eastern United States: Pittsburgh, PA set a record with -18F.

# 1982 - Huge Arctic Outbreak across the eastern United States: the mercury at Tower, MN plunged to -52F. Jackson, MS recorded a temperature of -5F. Chicago fell to -25F. The reading of -26F at Milwaukee was their coldest reading in 111 years.

# 1994 - The Northridge Earthquake caused extensive damage to the San Fernando Valley of California. Sixty-one people were killed and damage exceeded $15 billion. Extensive damage to road systems resulted in major traffic delays for months.

# 1994 - Louisville, KY recorded its greatest snowstorm as well as its greatest 24 hours snowfall ever with 15.9 inches. A huge mass of arctic cold air covered the eastern U.S. and was overrun by moist air from the southwest, producing the snow. Lucasville OH picked up 30 inches of snow.

# 1995 - The city of Kobe, Japan was devastated by a pre-dawn earthquake that measured 7.2 on the Richter scale. It was the most powerful earthquake ever to strike a modern city directly. Over 6,300 people were injured and another 43,000 left homeless. The massive tremor and unbelievable destruction that was left proved that Japan is not earthquake-proof.

# 1996 - Strong low pressure system across the southwestern United States: Albuquerque, NM recorded their lowest barometer reading ever with 29.22 inches. Winds gusted to eighty-nine mph at White Sands NM and 75 mph at El Paso, TX. Guadeloupe Pass TX had sustained winds to 105 mph with wind gusts to to 128 mph. A supermarket roof collapsed at Anthony TX as a result of the high winds, killing one person.

# 1999 - A unusually strong storm system for so early in the year, produced several tornadoes over Arkansas and western Tennessee, killing eight and injuring 131. Damage totaled $40 million. Hardest hit was Jackson, TN, where two separate tornadoes (one an F3, one an F4) struck the northern and southern sections of the town. 200 homes were destroyed, 300 others damaged. Six people died in Jackson. 




Posted by: BriSr Jan 18 2009, 09:35 PM
January 18

MN History
1994 Governor Arne Carlson ordered all Minnesota public schools closed due to the
extreme cold and severe winter weather. Morning readings were in the 30-below-zero
range. The biggest problem was from high winds that came with the cold.

1996 Blizzard begins across the upper midwest. The Twin Cities Airport was spared the
heavy snow, but received nearly one inch of rain. Heavy ice coatings in the northwest
metro caused thousands of power outages. Windchills were as low as -88 (on the old
windchill scale) at Crookston. Snowstorm totals were 18 inches at Ely, 12 inches at St.
cloud. Mail delivery was stopped for the day in Duluth and I-94 was closed all day from
Rothsay and Moorhead. Flooding problems were caused in the Twin Cities due to backed
up water.

U.S. History
# 1857 - A great cold storm swept across the Atlantic Seaboard. Snowfall totals of 12 inches were common, whole gales caused shipwrecks and damage property on islands, and temperatures near zero prevailed from Virginia northward. Great drifts of snow blocked transportation. Richmond VA was cut off from Washington DC for a week. (David Ludlum)

# 1973 - A baby was carried 300 to 400 yards by the strong winds of a tornado at Corey LA, yet received only minor injuries. (The Weather Channel)

# 1987 - A storm in the south central U.S. blanketed Oklahoma City with eight inches of snow, their highest total since 1948. Snowfall totals in Oklahoma ranged up to 13 inches at Gage, with drifts five feet high. Roof collapses across the state resulted in seven million dollars damage. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - A storm in the southwestern U.S. produced a 15 to 20 foot surf along the southern coast of California resulting in more than fifty million dollars damage. A small tornado in Orange County CA lifted a baseball dugout fifteen feet into the air and deposited it in the street, 150 yards away. The same storm also produced 26 inches of snow at Duck Creek UT. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1989 - While fair and mild weather prevailed across the forty-eight states, bitter cold gripped Alaska. The high temperature for the day at Fairbanks was 30 degrees below zero. Thunderstorms along the western Gulf coast drenched parts of southwest Houston with more than four inches of rain. (National Weather Summary)

# 1990 - A winter storm produced heavy snow and high winds across the southwestern U.S. Snowfall totals ranged up to 18 inches at Lake Arrowhead CA and Ashford AZ. High winds in New Mexico gusted to 100 mph east of Albuquerque. Unseasonably warm weather continued from Texas to the Atlantic coast. Twenty cities reported record high temperatures for the date including Roanoke VA with a reading of 71 degrees. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

...and more History
# 1930 - Oklahoma recorded its all-time state record low temperature with -27F at Watts.

# 1943 - Idaho recorded its coldest temperature ever (-60F) at Island Park Dam.

# 1950 - Oregon continued in the grips of one of its worst winter months ever. A major winter storm brought a thick glaze of ice to Columbia River Gorge, stopping automobile traffic in its tracks. Hundreds of motorists were stranded and had to be rescued by train. Even that was difficult with the coating of ice. The storm caused widespread power outages.

# 1980 - Tropical Cyclone Hyacinthe produces 223.5 inches of rainfall over a ten day period from Commerson, La Reunion Island to set the worldwide mark for rainfall from a tropical cyclone. The same storm dumped 127.6 inches of rain in just seventy-two hours at Grand-Ilet, La Reunion Island.

# 1980 - Dense fog caused a ship to ram the Alno Bridge near Gotenberg Sweden and a 500 foot span of the bridge collapsed. Eight people died when seven cars went off the edge of the broken span.

# 1982 - Extreme cold in the Northeast: Princeton, NJ recorded -9F and Bridgehampton, NY, on Long Island, dropped to -10F.

# 1985 - Tropical Cyclone Nigel struck the Fiji Islands, causing $1 million in damage and twenty fatalities.

# 1986 - Heavy rains in Washington state dumped six to nine on the Seattle area, causing many mudslides. An AMTRAK train was derailed when the soil under the track gave way. Twenty-eight people were injured as a result.

# 1992 - Up to seven inches of snow fell across North Alabama in an unusual snowstorm.

# 1993 - A cold blast of air over the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley: Chicago's high temperature only reached -11F degrees, tying the record for the coldest high temperature that the Windy City has ever recorded. Tower, MN fell to -44F. Thirty-six inches of snow fell in just nine hours at Adams, NY.

# 1993 - Salt Lake City broke its seasonal snowfall when the total reached severity-six inches.

# 1996 - Heavy rain and snowmelt over New England caused disastrous flooding. 125,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes. Eight people would die and over $1 billion of damage would result.

# 2000 - The National Weather Service unveiled its new supercomputer, an IBM SP computer with a 786 processor, located in Bowie MD. The computer replaced an older Cray C-90 computer had been in use since 1994 but it was destroyed in a fire in September 1999. Five times faster than the Cray C-90 it replaced, the new IBM was one of the two fastest weather computers in the world. 


Posted by: dmc76 Jan 18 2009, 10:54 PM
Thirty-six inches of snow fell in just nine hours at Adams, NY.

Thats amazing  
Posted by: BriSr Jan 19 2009, 08:13 AM
January 19

MN History
1994 The cold continued from the previous day with -47 at Brainerd and, despite the
heat island effect, the Twin Cities' airport hit -27.

U.S. History
# 1810 - The famous "cold day" in New England. Gale force winds wrecked homes, and accompanied a sudden overnight drop in temperature of 50 degrees. Tragedy struck Sanbornton NH where three children froze to death. (David Ludlum)

# 1933 - Giant Forest CA received 60 inches of snow in just 24 hours, a state record, and the second highest 24 hour total of record for the U.S. (David Ludlum)

# 1987 - A storm tracking toward the northeastern U.S. produced up to 14 inches of snow in northern Indiana. Peru IN reported a foot of snow. Six cities in Florida reported new record high temperatures for the date. The afternoon high of 88 degrees at Miami equaled their record for the month of January. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - A powerful storm hit the central U.S. producing blizzard conditions in the Central High Plains, and severe thunderstorms in the Lower Mississippi Valley. Snowfall totals ranged up to 36 inches at Wolf Creek Pass CO, with 31 inches at Elsmere NE. Tornadoes claimed five lives in Tennessee, and a tornado at Cullman AL injured 35 persons. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1989 - The high temperature for the day at Fairbanks, AK, was a frigid 41 degrees below zero, and the morning low of 24 degrees below zero at Anchorage AK was their coldest reading in fourteen years. (National Weather Summary)

# 1990 - Thunderstorms produced large hail and damaging winds in eastern Texas and Louisiana. Tornadoes at Garland TX and Apple Springs TX each injured one person. Heavy snow spread from the Southern and Central Rockies into the Great Plains. Storm totals in New Mexico reached 36 inches at Gascon. Totals in the Central Plains ranged up to 15 inches near McCook NE and Garden City KS. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

...and more History
# 1786 - The reading of -24F at Hartford, CT was the coldest temperature ever seen on a thermometer up to that time.

# 1893 - The temperature rose forty-two degrees in fifteen minutes at Fort Assiniboine, MT. The mercury jumped from -5F to 37F.

# 1925 - Maine recorded its coldest temperature ever (-48F) at Van Buren.

# 1961 - The "Kennedy Inaugural Storm": A major snowstorm moved up the east coast on the day of President Kennedy's inauguration. Washington D.C. picks up one of the lower snowfall totals with seven inches. As much as 28 inches fell in Warwick, R.I.

# 1977 - On this date, the virtually unthinkable happened. It snowed in Miami, FL. Actual snowflakes were flying in the air at Miami Beach and as far south as the northern Florida Keys for the first time in recorded history. The trace of snow that fell at Homestead, Florida is the southernmost snowfall in U.S. history.

# 1988 - A swarm of fourteen tornadoes affected parts of Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and Arkansas. The most violent tornado was an F4 that occurred near Kosciusko MS, but an F3 tornado in Fayette County Tennessee was the most deadly, causing 3 fatalities.

# 1994 - Sixty seven record lows set for the date from Minnesota to Virginia. Ten cities recorded their lowest temperature ever. All time record lows were set at: Indianapolis IN (-27F); Akron OH (-25F); Pittsburgh, PA (-22F); Louisville KY (-22F); Columbus, OH (-22F); and Cleveland, OH (-20F.) Indiana recorded its coldest temperature ever when the mercury fell to -37F at New Whiteland, IN.

# 1994 - Parish,NY picked up several hours of snow accompanied by thunder and lightning with forty-two inches of new snow falling as lake effect snows continued off of Lake Ontario.

# 1995 - 19.7 inches of snow fell on Columbia, MO. The storm would break records for the greatest twenty-four hour snowfall and greatest single snowstorm total. Blizzard conditions resulted as winds gusted to 45 mph.

# 1996 - Moderate to heavy rains and an incredible snowmelt triggered by a rapid warm-up caused serious flooding along the Delaware, Susquehanna, upper Ohio, Potomac and James River basins in Pennsylvania, with crests as much as twenty feet above flood stage. The flooding killed thirty-three people, forced over 200,000 from their homes, and destroyed or damaged hundreds of roads and bridges. 



Posted by: BriSr Jan 20 2009, 08:48 AM
January 20

MN History
1917 16 inches of snow falls in the Twin Cities.

1982 Just over 17 inches of snow fell in the Twin Cities. Amazingly, it was to be
outdone two days later.

U.S. History
# 1937 - The wettest Inaugural Day of record with 1.77 inches of rain in 24 hours. Temperatures were only in the 30s as Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in for his second term. (David Ludlum)

# 1943 - Strange vertical antics took place in the Black Hills of South Dakota. While the temperature at Deadwood was a frigid 16 degrees below zero, the town of Lead, just a mile and a half away, but 600 feet higher in elevation, reported a balmy 52 degree reading. (David Ludlum)

# 1954 - The temperature at Rogers Pass, MT, plunged to 70 degrees below zero to establish a new record for the continental U.S. (David Ludlum)

# 1978 - A paralyzing "Nor'easter" produced a record 21 inches of snow at Boston, 15 to 20 inches in Rhode Island, and one to two feet of snow in Pennsylvania. Winds along the coast of Connecticut gusted to 70 mph. (David Ludlum)

# 1987 - Gale force winds lingered along the northern Atlantic coast in the wake of a holiday weekend storm. High winds along the eastern slopes of the Northern Rockies gusted to 67 mph at Livingston MT, and high winds in southern California gusted to 70 mph near San Bernardino. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - A storm in the Upper Midwest produced heavy snow and gale force winds. Up to 27.5 inches of snow was reported along the Lake Superior shoreline of Michigan, with 22 inches at Marquette. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1989 - The temperature in the Washington D.C. area warmed into the lower 50s for the Presidential Inauguration during the late morning hours, before gusty northwest winds ushered in colder air that afternoon. (National Weather Summary)

# 1990 - While heavy thunderstorm rains drenched the Central Gulf Coast States, with 4.23 inches reported at Centreville AL in 24 hours, unseasonably warm weather continued across Florida. Five cities in Florida reported record high temperatures for the date. Tampa FL equaled their record high for January of 85 degrees. (National Weather Summary) 

...and more History
# 1854 - Major tornado struck Brandon and Mount Vernon in Ohio.

# 1937 - California recorded its coldest temperature ever (-45F) at Boca.

# 1951 - The Mount Lamington volcano in New Guinea had not erupted in recorded memory, but in January 1951, it began to belch smoke from its cone. On the 20th, rocks spewed from the mountain, followed by huge cloud of steam and dust that rolled down the mountain at great speed, killing 6000 people, nearly the entire population of the North Coast.

# 1984 - An Arctic cold wave in the east between the 18th and 22nd claimed forty-two lives in fourteen states. One of the coldest readings was -40F in Minong, WI. Subzero readings were measured from the Rockies to New England.

# 1985 - Many all time record lows set during an Arctic outbreak, including: Akron/Canton OH (-24F); Asheville, NC (-16F); Chicago, IL (-27F); Jacksonville, FL (+7F); Nashville, TN (-17F); and Raleigh/Durham (-9F). The extreme cold actually caused television cable wires to shrink, resulting in service disruptions across the state of Virginia.

# 1993 - Heavy rains across Louisiana caused flooding. Nearly eleven inches fell in Lafayette, LA along with nine inches in Baton Rouge.

# 1993 - Major storm in Washington State caused $130 million in damage. 750,00 people had no power in the Puget Sound area. The storm had a central pressure of 980 millibars. Seattle recorded their second highest wind gust ever with 64 mph at SEATAC. Near the mouth of the Columbia River, winds gusted to 100 mph.

# 1994 - Very cold conditions over the Northeast: Cleveland, OH and Pittsburgh, PA ended their longest continuous subzero periods with fifty-two and fifty-six hours respectively. Temperature bottomed out at -45F at Rangeley, ME. 


Posted by: BriSr Jan 21 2009, 10:56 AM
January 21

MN History
1936 Warroad fell to a bone-chilling 55 below zero.

1922 High pressure areas that move across this region in the depths of winter are
stronger than at any other times of the year. The barometer at Collegeville hit 31.11
inches. A record high pressure for the state.

U.S. History
# 1863 - A severe coastal storm dropped heavy rain on the Fredericksburg area of Virginia. It disrupted a Union Army offensive in an ill famed "mud march". (David Ludlum)

# 1982 - The second of two major snowstorms to hit southern Minnesota came to an end. Minneapolis received 20 inches of snow in 24 hours to break the previous record of 17 inches in 24 hours established just a few days earlier. A record 38 inches of snow covered the ground following the two storms, with drifts ten feet high. (David Ludlum)

# 1985 - Three days of snow squalls at Buffalo NY finally came to an end. The squalls, induced by relatively warm water in Lake Erie, produced 34 inches of snow at the International Airport, with up to 47 inches reported in the suburbs of Buffalo. The New York "blizzard of 85" left many counties disaster areas. (19th-21st) (Weather Channel) (Storm Data) President Reagan was sworn in for a second term in the coldest Inauguration Ceremony of record. Cold and wind resulted in wind chill readings as much as 30 degrees below zero. (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders - 1987)

# 1987 - Low pressure over Minnesota produced high winds in the Northern Plains Region. Winds gusted to 66 mph at Rapid City SD, and reached 70 mph at Belle Fourche SD. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - High pressure over northern Nevada and low pressure off the coast of southern California combined to produce high winds in the southwestern U.S. Wind gusts in the San Francisco area reached 70 mph at Fremont. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1989 - Cold and snow prevailed in the northeastern U.S. Up to 13 inches of snow was reported between Woodford and Searsburg in Vermont. Montpelier VT reported a wind chill reading of 42 degrees below zero. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1990 - Unseasonably warm weather prevailed across the state of Florida. Eight cities reported record high temperatures for the date, including West Palm Beach with a reading of 86 degrees. Rain in southern New England changed to freezing rain, then to sleet, and then to heavy snow during the late morning. Most of Massachusetts was blanketed with 6 to 10 inches of snow. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

...and more History
# 1854 - Coldest day of the famous "California Cold Winter" with 19F recorded at Sacramento, CA.

# 1893 - Record snows fell across west Texas. Lubbock broke their single storm snowfall record with 16.8 inches. Plainview, TX recorded eighteen inches. Dalhart, TX picked up fifteen inches of the white stuff.

# 1918 - Temperature rose 83 degrees at Granville, N.D. in the space of a few hours, from a morning reading of -33F to 50F by afternoon.

# 1985 - North Carolina's coldest temperature ever (-34F) at Mt. Mitchell. Neighboring South Carolina also recorded their coldest ever. The official reading is -19F at Caesar's Head, SC, but a -20F observation was recorded near Long Creek, SC.

# 1985 - More eastern cold: Jacksonville, FL recorded its all-time record low (7F). Macon, GA had its coldest day ever with 6F. It was the coldest Inauguration day in history as President Reagan is sworn in for a second term during cold and wind that resulted in wind chill readings of -30F. Many counties in New York were declared disaster areas, because of heavy snow.

# 1993 - Winds gusted to an incredible 176 mph at Lake Tahoe, CA, with sustained winds measured at 122 mph as a major Pacific low pressure system moved ashore. Twenty-one inches of snow fell in twenty-four hours at Sierra Ski Ranch, bringing the snow pack there to 163 inches.

# 1994 - Frigid conditions persisted over the Northeast. All-time record lows were established at Williamsport, PA (-20F), Wilkes-Baare Scranton, PA (-21F), Harrisburg, PA (-22) and Allentown, PA (-15). The morning low in Worcester, MA was below zero for the seventh day in a row to establish a new record.

# 1999 - Eighty-seven tornadoes were reported across the South, establishing a one-day January record for the country. Eight people were killed in Arkansas and Tennessee as twisters ripped through parts of both states. Hardest hit were Beebe, AR, Little Rock, AR and Clarksville, TN. 163 tornadoes were reported in January shattering the old mark of 52 set in 1975.

# 2000 - A powerful ocean storm off the coast of New England developed an "eye" as the central pressure fell to 28.16 inches, the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane. 


Posted by: BriSr Jan 24 2009, 05:45 PM
January 22

MN History
1936 Perhaps the coldest windchill the Twin Cities has ever seen was -67 on this day
with the new windchill formula (-87 with the old formula). The temperature was -34 with
a wind speed of 20mph. All traffic in the Twin Cities was severely hampered and a
number of fatalities were caused by the cold.

1982 The Twin Cities got 21.1 inches of snow, with a total of nearly 40 inches on the
ground.

U.S. History
# 1943 - Chinook winds during the early morning hours caused the temperature at Spearfish SD to rise from 4 below zero to 45 above in just two minutes, the most dramatic temperature rise in world weather records. An hour and a half later the mercury plunged from 54 above to 4 below zero in twenty-seven minutes. (David Ludlum)  

# 1987 - A winter storm spread snow from central Mississippi through northern Georgia to New England. Up to 15 inches of snow fell across the heavily populated areas of Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Traffic tie-ups nearly paralyzed the Washington D.C. area. Winds gusted to 76 mph at Chatham MA, and in Pennsylvania, snowfall totals ranged up to 21 inches at Dushore. Williamsport PA received five inches of snow in just one hour. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - The nation was free of winter storms for a day, however, winds in southern California gusted to 80 mph in the Grapevine area of the Tehachapi Mountains, and winds along the eastern slopes of the Rockies reached 100 mph in the Upper Yellowstone Valley of Montana. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1989 - Low pressure brought heavy rain and gale force winds to Florida. Daytona Beach was drenched with 5.48 inches of rain in 24 hours to establish a January record for that location, and winds at Titusville FL gusted to 63 mph. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1990 - It was a very tame and peaceful mid winter day. Mild weather prevailed across the nation, with rain and snow primarily confined to the northeastern U.S. and the Pacific Northwest. Warm weather continued in Florida. Highs of 83 degrees at Hollywood and 85 degrees at Miami were records for the date. (National Weather Summary)

# 2005 - A major winter snowstorm, referred to as the Blizzard of 2005, affected the Northeastern United States. More than one foot of snow covered much of southern New England in the storm's aftermath, with well over two feet in some areas of Massachusetts. Strong winds created blizzard conditions with low visibilities and considerable blowing and drifting of snow. 

...and more History
# 1781 - Great coastal storm sweeps New York/New England coasts. Several men-of-war sunk, causing problems for the British war effort.

# 1904 - An unseasonable F4 tornado leveled the northern part of the town of Moundville, AL just after midnight, killing thirty seven. The tornado reportedly glowed with a phosphorescent glow. An engineer on a northbound Great Southern train saw the destruction right after it occurred, and backed his train twelve miles in reverse to the town of Akron, where he sent a telegram for help.

# 1930 - Illinois recorded its coldest temperature ever at Mt. Carroll (-35F). The reading would be tied during the winter of 1995-96, when the temperature plummeted to -35F at Elizabeth.

# 1982 - Boulder, CO recorded a wind gust to an incredible 150 mph!

# 1985 - Virginia recorded its coldest temperature ever (-30F) at Mountain Lake.

# 1989 - Chandalar Lake, AK recorded a balmy high temperature of -66F!

# 1997 - A major snowstorm hit northern California, dumping snow at the rate of two inches per hour on the Sierra Mountains. A six foot snowdrift trapped Amtrak's California Zephyr in Donner Pass, much like a similar storm had done in January 1952. Fortunately, the AMTRAK train was freed after just a few hours, not three days like the 1952 event. 


Posted by: BriSr Jan 24 2009, 05:51 PM
January 23

U.S History
# 1780 - The coldest day of the coldest month of record in the northeastern U.S. A British Army thermometer in New York City registered a reading of 16 degrees below zero. During that infamous hard winter the harbor was frozen solid for five weeks, and the port was cut off from sea supply. (David Ludlum)

# 1971 - The temperature at Prospect Creek, AK, plunged to 80 degrees below zero, the coldest reading of record for the United States. (David Ludlum)

# 1987 - Strong winds ushered bitterly cold air into the north central U.S., and produced snow squalls in the Great Lakes Region. Snowfall totals in northwest Lower Michigan ranged up to 17 inches in Leelanau County. Wind chill temperatures reached 70 degrees below zero at Sault Ste Marie MI and Hibbing MN. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - Northeastern Colorado experienced its most severe windstorm in years. A wind gust to 92 mph was recorded at Boulder CO before the anenometer blew away, and in the mountains, a wind gust to 120 mph was reported at Mines Peak. The high winds blew down a partially constructed viaduct east of Boulder, as nine unanchored concrete girders, each weighing forty-five tons, were blown off their supports. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1989 - Low pressure brought heavy snow to Wyoming, with 18 inches reported at the Shoshone National Forest, and 17 inches in the Yellowstone Park area. Gunnison CO, with a low of 19 degrees below zero, was the cold spot in the nation for the twelfth day in a row. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1990 - A Pacific cold front brought strong and gusty winds to the northwestern U.S. Winds in southeastern Idaho gusted to 62 mph at Burley. Strong winds also prevailed along the eastern slopes of the northern and central Rockies. Winds in Wyoming gusted to 74 mph in Goshen County. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

...and more History
# 1812 - A second major series of earthquakes was felt as part of the New Madrid Shocks of the winter of 1811-1812. Many observers reported that the January 23 shocks were as strong as the main earthquake on December 16th of the preceding year.

# 1916 - The temperature at Browning, MT dropped from 44F to -56F in 24 hours to establish a record 24 temperature drop for the United States.

# 1935 - The Blizzard of 1935 dumped a wide swath of snow from Florida to New England. The snowfall came from two storms that struck back to back. Snowfalls of one foot or greater were measured in New York City, Boston and Portland, ME. Fifty-two inches fell at Winthrop MA. . Thousands of jobless men were hired by the Home Relief Program and the Federal Relief Administration to shovel snow for 25 cents an hour.

# 1940 - 21.6 inches of snow fell at Richmond VA, setting a record. Six days of below zero temperature readings followed the storm.

# 1943 - The song says that it never rains in Southern California. Don't tell that to the folks at Hoegees Camp in the San Gabriel Mountains where 26.12 inches fell in twenty-four hours to set the state precipitation record.

# 1955 - Mobile Alabama recorded its largest snowfall in 55 years as 3.5 inches fell.

# 1966 - Major nor'easter dumped 21.1 inches of snow on Rochester, NY.

# 1969 - Massive F4 tornado carved a 105 mile path across six counties in Mississippi, killing thirty-two people. The twister affected many rural areas and small towns, except for the town of Hazelhurst where eleven people died.

# 1973 - On this date, the Eldfell Volcano erupted along a 1.5 mile fissure on the island of Heimaey, Iceland, creating a spectacular curtain of fire. The brave efforts of volunteers prevented the lava flow from closing the entrance to the harbor of the important fishing town of Vestmannaeyjar, literally saving the island's livelihood.

# 1982 - Blizzard in the upper Midwest dumped tremendous snows across Minnesota and Iowa. 18.5 inches fell at Minneapolis, MN. Eighteen inches fell at Sioux City, IA. Winds of up to sixty mph piled up drifts to twenty feet tall!




Posted by: BriSr Jan 24 2009, 05:56 PM
January 24

MN History
1925 Solar eclipse seen across northern Minnesota during the morning. The Duluth
Herald reported that chickens were "puzzled by the dark morning" and didn't leave their
roosts.

1950 Ice storm over southwest Minnesota. Ice on telephone wires from 1/3 to 1.5 inches.
Bismarck, North Dakota had 17 inches of snow. A Northern Pacific passenger train
derailed at Detroit Lakes with no injuries.

1968 A rare severe thunderstorm hits the Twin Cities and left a coating of ice an inch
thick. 10 thousand homes were without power.

U.S. History
# 1916 - The temperature at Browning MT plunged 100 degrees in just 24 hours, from 44 degrees above zero to 56 degrees below zero. It was a record 24 hour temperature drop for the U.S. (Weather Channel) (National Severe Storms Forecast Center)

# 1935 - Snowstorms hit the northeastern U.S. and the Pacific Northwest producing record 24 hour snowfall totals of 23 inches at Portland ME and 52 inches at Winthrop MA. (David Ludlum)

# 1956 - Thirty-eight inches of rain deluged the Kilauea Sugar Plantation of Hawaii in 24 hours, including twelve inches in just one hour. (David Ludlum)

# 1963 - A great arctic outbreak reached the southern U.S. The cold wave broke many records for duration of cold weather along the Gulf Coast. A reading of 15 degrees below zero at Nashville TN was an all-time record low for that location. (David Ludlum)

# 1982 - Chinook winds plagued the foothills of southeastern Wyoming and northern and central Colorado for the second straight Sunday. The winds gusted to 140 mph at Wondervu CO, located northeast of Denver. Chinook winds a week earlier produced wind gusts to 137 mph. (Storm Data)

# 1987 - Temperatures in Minnesota plunged far below the zero mark. International Falls MN reported a morning low of 35 degrees below zero, and Warroad MN was the cold spot in the nation with a low of 45 below zero. A storm developing in northeastern Texas produced severe thunderstorms with large hail in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. Camden AR reported golf ball size hail. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - A blizzard rapidly developed in the north central U.S. In just one hour weather conditions in eastern North Dakota switched from sunny skies, light winds and temperature readings in the 20s, to rapidly falling temperatures and near zero visibility in snow and blowing snow. High winds in Wyoming, gusting to 72 mph at Gillette, produced snow drifts sixteen feet high. Northwestern Iowa experienced its second blizzard in just 24 hours. High winds in Iowa produced wind chill readings as cold as 65 degrees below zero. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1989 - Heavy snow blanketed the Rockies and the Northern High Plains Region. Hettinger ND received 12 inches of snow. Wolf Creek Pass CO was blanketed with 16 inches of snow in just 24 hours. Severe cold prevailed across Alaska. Between the 24th and the 29th of January, a total of thirty stations in the state report all-time record low temperatures. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1990 - A deep low pressure system brought high winds and heavy snow to the western Aleutian Islands of Alaska. Winds gusting to 82 mph at Shemya reduced the visibility to near zero in blowing snow. Rain and gale force winds lashed the northern Pacific coast. Thunderstorms produced locally heavy rains over the central Gulf coast states. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

...and more History
# 1857 - Extreme cold in New England: temperatures dropped to -50F in parts of Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. -11F on Nantucket. -30F in Boston suburbs. These readings were the coldest temperatures recorded before the U.S. Weather Bureau came into existence.

# 1922 - Wisconsin recorded its coldest temperature ever (-54F) at Danbury. This reading is also the coldest temperature ever recorded east of the Mississippi River.

# 1967 - The tornado outbreak across the Central U.S. was the furthest north an outbreak ever recorded in the winter. Thirty-two total tornadoes occurred, with fourteen in Iowa. Nine twisters occurred in Missouri, eight in Illinois and one in Wisconsin. Iowa had never recorded a tornado in January up to this point. Seven people died.

# 1982 - Whirlwinds damaged cars and airplanes in Boulder, CO.

# 1997 - Rare mid-winter tornadoes strike parts of Alabama and Tennessee. One twister struck the eastern part of Tuscaloosa Alabama, killing one person and injuring eight. The tornado struck a strip shopping center, crushing the roof of a crowded grocery store and tossing cars in the parking lot like toys. 



Posted by: BriSr Jan 25 2009, 09:42 PM
January 25

MN History
1916 Severe ice storm hits Mower County. Hundreds of birds killed.

U.S. History
# 1821 - The Hudson River was frozen solid during the midst of the coldest winter in forty-one years. Thousands of persons crossed the ice from New York City to New Jersey, and refreshment taverns were set up in the middle of the river to warm pedestrians. (David Ludlum)

# 1837 - At 7 PM a display of the Northern Lights danced above Burlington, VT. Its light was equal to the full moon. Snow and other objects reflecting the light were deeply tinged with a blood red hue. Blue, yellow and white streamers were also noted. (The Weather Channel)

# 1965 - Alta, UT, was in the midst of a storm that left the town buried under 105 inches of snow establishing a record for the state. (David Ludlum)

# 1987 - The second major storm in three days hit the Eastern Seaboard producing up to 15 inches of snow in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Up to 30 inches of snow covered the ground in Virginia following the two storms. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - High winds created blizzard conditions in the mountains of Colorado. Winds gusted to 109 mph at Echo Lake, and a wind gust to 193 mph was reported atop Mount Evans. A "nor'easter" moving up the Atlantic Coast spread heavy snow from the Carolinas to New England, with as much as 16 inches reported in the Poconos of eastern Pennsylvania. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1989 - Bitter cold air, coming down from Alaska, settled over the Northern Rockies. Wilson WY reported a morning low of 48 degrees below zero. Thunderstorms produced severe weather in the south central U.S. One thunderstorm in north central Texas spawned a tornado which injured three persons at Troy. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1990 - Low pressure developed explosively over east central Missouri and moved into Lower Michigan producing high winds and heavy snow across parts of Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin. Wind gusts to 60 mph and up to a foot of snow created near blizzard conditions in southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Wind gusts in Indiana reached 76 mph at Wabash. Thunderstorms associated with the storm produced wind gusts to 54 mph at Fort Madison IA. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

...and more History
# 1940 - The temperature at Richmond, VA dropped to -6F, the first of six consecutive days with below zero readings. The cold followed on the heels of the city's biggest snowstorm ever, as 21.6 inches of snow fell over a three-day period.

# 1978 - Meteorologist Bert Reeves was concerned as he studied the weather charts for the day of the National Weather Service in Indianapolis IN. He would issue a blizzard warning for the entire state of Indiana. It turned out to be a good move, as a major blizzard paralyzed much of the Upper Midwest, with South Bend IN getting dumped on by an amazing 4 feet of snow!

# 1983 - Central pressure drops to 940 millibars in massive storm in the Gulf of Alaska. The intensity was the equivalent of a strong category three hurricane.

# 1987 - Oklahoma was reeling from one of its worst winter storms ever as up to two inches of ice accumulated from Duncan to Norman to Tulsa OK. Many areas were without power for up to two weeks.

# 1990 - A vicious storm hit Europe with winds of up to 120 mph. Forty five people were killed in Great Britain with damage estimates as high as $1.3 billion. Even the beautiful double-decker buses of London stopped in the face of the storm for fear they would be tipped over by the high winds.

# 1991 - The temperature at Saranack Lake, NY fell to -25F.

# 1999 - Residents of the San Joaquin Valley in California were treated to a rare occurrence: snow! Snow had only fallen in the area fifteen times since 1937, when three inches fell at Bakersfield, CA during the early morning hours on this date. The snowfall easily surpassed the old record of 1.5 inches.

# 2000 - Forecasters were caught by surprise by a major winter storm in the nation's capital. Afternoon forecasts called for light snow, thinking the storm would pass further out to sea. The storm hugged the coast and dropped a foot of snow on Washington. The storm dumped 20.2 inches of snow on Raleigh, NC, establishing an all-time snowfall record and paralyzing the city. 


Posted by: BriSr Jan 26 2009, 10:07 AM
January 26

U.S. History
# 1978 - A paralyzing blizzard struck the Midwest. One to three feet of snow fell in Michigan, and 20 to 40 inches was reported across Indiana. Winds reached 70 mph in Michigan, and gusted above 100 mph in Ohio. The high winds produced snow drifts twenty feet high in Michigan and Indiana stranding thousands on the interstate highways. Temperatures in Ohio dropped from the 40s to near zero during the storm. (David Ludlum)

# 1983 - The California coast was battered by a storm which produced record high tides, thirty-two foot waves, and mudslides, causing millions of dollars damage. The storm then moved east and dumped four feet of snow on Lake Tahoe. (22nd-29th) (The Weather Channel)

# 1987 - A winter storm spread heavy snow across the Middle and Northern Atlantic Coast States, with 18 inches reported at Vineland NJ, and wind gusts to 65 mph at Chatham MA. Snow cover in Virginia ranged up to thirty inches following this second major storm in just one week. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - A snowstorm in the northeastern U.S. produced 19 inches at Austerlitz NY and Stillwater NY. A storm in the Great Lakes Region left 16.5 inches at Marquette MI, for a total of 43 inches in six days. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1989 - Snow and high winds created blizzard-like conditions in northwestern Vermont. Winds at Saint Albins gusted to 88 mph. In Alaska, the town of Cold Foot (located north of Fairbanks) reported a morning low of 75 degrees below zero. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1990 - A winter storm spread high winds from the northwestern U.S. to Wyoming and Colorado, with heavy snow in some of the high elevations. Stevens Pass WA received 17 inches of snow, half of which fell in four hours. In extreme northwest Wyoming, Togwotee Mountain Lodge received 24 inches of snow. Winds in Colorado gusted to 90 mph at Rollinsville. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

...and more History
# 1937 - The Ohio River was in flood from Pittsburgh, PA to Cairo, IL. The river was an amazing eighty feet above flood stage at Cincinnati, OH.

# 1940 - Alabama and the Deep South were in the deep freeze. The official reading at the Birmingham City weather office was 1F. The airport reading, the official location now, was -10 degrees. Skaters were actually able to skate on the frozen surface of the Black Warrior River west of Birmingham, where ice was six inches thick near the banks. An unheard of event! The cold followed on the heels of a ten inch snowfall on January 23rd.

# 1950 - An unusually warm fall and January left waters in Schuylkill and Tulpehocken Rivers warm enough for unheard of mid-winter swimming at Reading, PA.

# 1967 - Twenty-nine hours after it started, the unprepared city of Chicago was buried under twenty-three inches of snow. Winds gusted to fifty mph, creating whiteout conditions and drifts up to twelve feet high. . Thousands of cars and buses were abandoned by their drivers all over the city, making the job of plowing the streets nearly impossible. It still stands as Chicago's greatest snowstorm.

# 1980 - Grand Ilet in the South Indian Ocean east of Madagascar recorded the world record twelve hour rainfall with a whopping forty-six inches of rain. The twenty-four hour record belongs to nearby Cilaos on La Reunion Island, with over seventy-three inches in 1952.

# 1994 - More snow at Wilkes-Barre Scranton, PA brought their total for the month to forty-two inches, making it the city's snowiest month ever.

# 1996 - Birmingham, AL recorded 4.71 inches of rain during strong thunderstorms, setting a record for the most January rainfall ever in the Magic City. 




Posted by: BriSr Jan 27 2009, 08:27 PM
January 27

U.S. History
# 1772 - The "Washington and Jefferson Snowstorm" occurred. George Washington reported three feet of snow at Mount Vernon, and Thomas Jefferson recorded about three feet at Monticello. (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders - 1987)

# 1966 - Oswego, NY, was in the midst of a five day lake effect storm which left the town buried under 102 inches of snow. (David Ludlum)

# 1967 - Residents of Chicago, IL, began to dig out from a storm which produced 23 inches of snow in 29 hours. The snow paralyzed the city and suburbs for days, and business losses were enormous. (David Ludlum)

# 1989 - The last half of January was bitterly cold over most of Alaska. Nearly thirty stations established all-time record low temperatures. On this date Tanana reported a low of -76 degrees. Daily highs of -66 degrees were reported at Chandalar Lake on the 22nd, and at Ambler on the 26th. (The Weather Channel)

# 1987 - A powerful storm moving into the western U.S. produced 13 inches of snow at Daggett Pass NV, and 16 inches in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon. Winds gusted to 63 mph at Reno NV, and wind gusts in Oregon exceeded 80 mph. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - The nation got a breather from winter storms, however, cold arctic air settled into the southeastern U.S. Hollywood FL reported a record low reading of 39 degrees. (National Weather Summary)

# 1989 - Low pressure in north central Alaska continued to direct air across northern Siberia and the edges of the Arctic Circle into the state. The temperature at Fairbanks remained colder than 40 degrees below zero for the eighth day in a row. Lows of 68 below at Galena, 74 below at McGrath, and 76 below at Tanana, were new records for the date. Wind chill readings were colder than 100 degrees below zero. (National Weather Summary)

# 1990 - Another in a series of cold fronts brought high winds to the northwestern U.S., and more heavy snow to some of the higher elevations. The series of vigorous cold fronts crossing the area between the 23rd and the 27th of the month produced up to 60 inches of snow in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 2005 - Month-to-date snowfall at Boston Logan International Airport totaled 43.1 inches, making January the snowiest month on record. 

...and more History
# 1805 - New York, NY received twenty-four inches of snow in forty-eight hours. It reportedly snowed continuously the entire time.

# 1937 - Ohio River crested at 74.1 at Portsmouth, well above flood wall of 60 feet.

# 1940 - Florida experiences a three-day freeze. There was tremendous damage to citrus crops with losses totaling $10 million. Georgia's lowest temperature ever occurred on this date near Calhoun with a reading of -17F.

# 1994 - Massive high pressure led to record cold temperature readings over New England and New York, including -48F at Crown Point, NY and -46F at Shoreham, VT. -29F at Burlington, VT was a new record for the day by nine degrees. It was the third day in a row that a record low was set at Caribou, ME with a reading of -23F.

# 1998 - Flat Top, WV, at an elevation of 3300 feet set a new January twenty-four hour snowfall record for the state of West Virginia as thirty-five inches fell on the 27th and 28th. Surrounding areas at lower elevations had nearly all rain. Bluefield and Beckley, WV both established new twenty-four hour snowfall records.

# 2000 - A major winter storm struck Arkansas with heavy snow. Up to twenty inches fell across southern portions of the state with the largest official total sixteen inches at Hope, AR. Little Rock picked up seven inches. It was the worst winter storm in Arkansas since 1988. 



Posted by: BriSr Jan 28 2009, 04:20 PM
January 28

MN History
1846 Not too shabby for a January day. The high in the Twin Cities was 50, which is the
normal high for the beginning of March.

1914 A very rare thunderstorm observed at Maple Plain during the evening. Heavy
thunder and vivid lightning was observed.

U.S. History
# 1922 - The "Knickerbocker" storm immobilized the city of Washington D.C. The storm produced 28 inches of snow in 32 hours, and the heavy snow caused the roof of the Knickerbocker movie theatre to collapse killing 96 persons. (David Ludlum)

# 1963 - The low of -34 degrees at Cynthiana, KY, equaled the state record established just four days earlier at Bonnieville. (The Weather Channel)

# 1987 - A storm moving out of the Central Rockies into the Northern Plains Region produced up to a foot of snow in the Colorado Rockies, and wind gusts to 99 mph at Boulder CO. High winds in Colorado caused 5.6 million dollars damage. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - Barometric pressure readings of 30.55 inches at Miami FL, 30.66 inches at Tampa FL, and 30.72 inches at Apalachicola FL were all-time record high readings for those locations. (National Weather Summary)

# 1989 - Nome, AK, reported an all-time record low reading of 54 degrees below zero, and the temperature at Fairwell AK dipped to 69 degrees below zero. Deadhorse AK reported a morning low of 49 degrees below zero, and with a wind chill reading of 114 degrees below zero. In the Lower Forty-eight States, a winter storm over Colorado produced up to 15 inches of snow around Denver. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1990 - Strong and gusty winds prevailed across the northwestern U.S., and heavy snow continued over the mountains of Washington State and Oregon. In Idaho, Mullan received seven inches of snow, and winds gusted to 65 mph southeast of Burley. Heavy rain soaked coastal sections of western Oregon. Rainfall totals of 1.20 inches at Portland and 1.57 inches at Eugene were records for the date. Winds in Oregon gusting to 60 mph downed power lines in Umatilla County knocking out power to more than 13,000 homes, just prior to the kick-off of the "Super Bowl" game. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

...and more History
# 1868 - The Columbia River froze in Oregon. Pedestrian traffic and sleighs were able to cross from Vancouver to Portland on the frozen river.

# 1887 - Snowflakes "as large as milk pans" fell across several square miles of Montana. The flakes, which were measured at 15 inches across and I8 inches thick, hold the unofficial size record !

# 1940 - Amazing photographs show thick ice on the Mississippi River at the unlikeliest of locations, Vicksburg, MS, as the Deep South was in the throes of an intense cold wave.

# 1948 - Ice Storm from Arkansas to South Carolina caused $20 million in damage and thirty fatalities.

# 1951 - The worst ice storm in U.S. History struck from Texas to West Virginia between January 28-February 1, causing $100 million in damage and twenty-five fatalities. Tennessee was one of the hardest-hit states, with roads remaining impassable up to ten days after the event.

# 1977 - The twelve inches of snow that fell in three days at Buffalo, NY would not have been big news in a city used to big snows. The Great Buffalo Blizzard started like many other snow squalls from Lake Erie, but during this storm, strong northwest winds lifted up the snow piled on frozen Lake Erie and blasted the city with it. People were trapped wherever they were, in their cars, homes, or offices. 9 people froze to death in their stranded automobiles.

# 1986 - The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded after liftoff from Cape Canaveral. Cold weather on the morning of liftoff was blamed for causing O-rings to fail that caused the explosion.



Posted by: bubbles Jan 29 2009, 02:28 PM
QUOTE(BriSr @ Jan 28 2009, 03:20 PM) 
January 28
# 1887 - Snowflakes "as large as milk pans" fell across several square miles of Montana. The flakes, which were measured at 15 inches across and I8 inches thick, hold the unofficial size record !

Wow! I can only imagine how amazing and beautiful that would have been! So were they 8 or 18 inches thick? 
Posted by: BriSr Jan 29 2009, 03:57 PM
QUOTE(bubbles @ Jan 29 2009, 02:28 PM) 
Wow! I can only imagine how amazing and beautiful that would have been! So were they 8 or 18 inches thick?
18". They just had a typo error in the the statement. I try to proof read a bit to fix those errors, but didn't catch that one. 
Posted by: BriSr Jan 29 2009, 04:04 PM
January 29

MN History
1977 Due to the extreme cold, the St. Paul Winter Carnival was held indoors for the first
time.

U.S. History
# 1780 - On the coldest morning of a severe winter the mercury dipped to 16 degrees below zero at New York City, and reached 20 degrees below zero at Hartford CT. New York Harbor was frozen for five weeks, allowing a heavy cannon to be taken across the ice to fortify the British on Staten Island. (The Weather Channel)

# 1921 - A small but intense windstorm resulted in the "Great Olympic Blowdown" in the Pacific Northwest. Hurricane force winds, funneled along the mountains, downed vast expanses of Douglas fir trees, and the storm destroyed eight billion board feet of timber. Winds at North Head WA gusted to 113 mph. (David Ludlum)

# 1983 - A series of Pacific coast storms finally came to an end. The storms, attributed in part to the ocean current, "El Nino", produced ocean swells 15 to 20 feet high which ravaged the beaches of southern California. Much of the damage was to homes of movies stars in the exclusive Malibu Colony. (The Weather Channel)

# 1987 - A strong storm moving out of the Central Rockies spread snow across the north central states, with up to eight inches of snow in Wisconsin, and produced wind gusts to 64 mph at Goodland KS. A thunderstorm produced three inches of snow in forty-five minutes at Owing Mills MD. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - Rain and snow were primarily confined to the northwestern U.S. An afternoon reading of 34 degrees at International Falls MN was a record high for the date. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1989 - Bitter cold air continued to pour into Alaska. At McGrath, temperature dipped to 63 degrees below zero. Strong winds blowing through the Alaska Range between Fairbanks and Anchorage produced a wind chill reading of 120 degrees below zero at Cantwell. (National Weather Summary)

# 1990 - Severe thunderstorms in the southeastern U.S. spawned a tornado which destroyed three mobile homes near Blythe GA injuring six persons. A fast moving cold front produced high winds in the western U.S. Winds along the coast of Oregon gusted to 65 mph at Portland, and high winds generated 22 to 26 foot seas which battered the coast. Winds near Reno NV gusted to 78 mph. High winds also buffeted the Central High Plains, with gusts to 94 mph reported at La Mesa CO. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

...and more History
# 1966 - Strong coastal storm brought blizzard conditions and gale force winds to the East Coast. Snow drifted to ten feet. Some snowfall amounts: Roanoke, VA: 17 inches; Washington and Baltimore: 12 inches; Newport PA: 16 inches.

# 2002 - A major three-day winter storm blasted parts of Kansas and Missouri. A catastrophic ice storm occurred south of the snow area, with two inches of ice and snow accumulating in the Kansas City, MO area. Thousands of trees were felled by the storm, blocking roads, felling utility lines and causing fires. 325,000 people were reportedly without power in Kansas City alone. 


Posted by: BriSr Jan 30 2009, 08:54 PM
January 30

MN History
1893 Blizzard hits the state with temperatures falling 40 degrees in five hours at Park
Rapids.

1994 Duluth has a record low of -35.

U.S. History
# 1936 - Birmingham, AL, established a single storm record and 24 hour record with 11 inches of snow. (29th-30th) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)

# 1977 - The great "Buffalo Blizzard" finally abated after three days. The storm added a foot of new snow to 33 inches already on the ground. Winds gusting to 75 mph reduced visibilities to near zero, produced snow drifts twenty-five feet high, and kept wind chill readings 50 degrees below zero. The blizzard paralyzed the city, and caused 250 million dollars damage. (David Ludlum)

# 1987 - A winter storm brought more heavy snow to the North Atlantic Coast Region, with 13.6 inches reported at Hiram ME. January proved to be the snowiest of record for much of Massachusetts. Worcester MA reported an all-time monthly record of 46.8 inches of snow. (National Weather Summary)

# 1988 - Strong southerly winds, gusting to 53 mph at Kansas City MO, spread warm air into the central U.S. Nineteen cities reported record high temperatures for the date. Snow and strong northwest winds ushered cold arctic air into the north central states. The temperature at Cutbank plunged from 54 degrees to a morning low of 7 degrees below zero. (National Weather Summary)

# 1989 - The temperature at McGrath, AK, dipped to 62 degrees below zero, and Fairbanks reported a reading of 51 degrees below zero, with unofficial readings in the area as cold as 75 degrees below zero. The massive dome of bitterly cold air began to slide down western Canada toward the north central U.S. Strong southwest winds ahead of the arctic front pushed the temperature at Great Falls MT to 62 degrees, and gusted to 124 mph at Choteau MT, overturning trucks and mobile homes, and a dozen empty railroad cars. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1990 - A major winter storm produced heavy snow from Indiana to New England. It was the biggest storm in two and a half years for eastern New York State. Snowfall totals in the mountains of Maine ranged up to 20 inches at Guilford and Lovell. Other heavy snowfall totals included 17 inches at Utica NY, and 19 inches at Bethel VT, Ludlow VT, and New London NH. The storm claimed three lives in eastern New York State, and four lives in Vermont. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 2005 - A significant ice storm struck parts of northern Georgia on the 30th-31st. Ice accretion was as great as 2 inches in Monroe county, located southeast of Atlanta. Power outages in the area at the height of the storm affected nearly 320,000 homes and businesses. 

...and more History
# 1927 - Central New York hit by record snowstorm. Twenty-seven inches of snow fell at Syracuse.

# 1954 - January tornadoes in Canada are extremely rare, but one occurred on this date near Liverpool, Nova Scotia.

# 1966 - All time record cold for the following states: Alabama (-27F) at New Market; Mississippi (-19F) at Corinth; North Carolina (-29F) at Mount Mitchell.

# 1969 - Thirty-four inches of snow was on the ground at Eugene OR as the state dug out from five days of record snows. Twelve foot drifts blocked some roads.

# 1996 - Sault Ste. Marie, MI broke their seasonal snowfall record for the year with over 180 inches, easily breaking the old record of 178.6 inches set in 1976-77.

# 2002 - An very cold, but unofficial reading of -62F was recorded in Middle, UT. The official all-time record low temperature for the state of Utah is -69F set at Peter's Sink on February 1, 1985.

# 2002 - .A little over half an inch of snow fell at the Tucson International Airport, the first measurable snow in eleven years in the southern Arizona city. Snow fell periodically throughout the day and thundersnow was even reported during the evening hours. Some heavily traveled roads in the Tucson Metro area were closed the following morning as black ice formed on bridges.

# 2002 - A widespread area of freezing rain and snow affected the southern Plains and Midwest. Kansas City and Oklahoma City were especially hard hit. It was reported to be the worst ice storm in 120 years at Kansas City. A foot of snow fell at Chicago, IL. 


Posted by: BriSr Jan 31 2009, 03:10 PM
January 31

MN History
1893 The temperature dropped 40 degrees in five hours during a blizzard at Park Rapids.

U.S. History
# 1911 - Tamarack, CA, was without snow the first eight days of the month, but by the end of January had been buried under 390 inches of snow, a record monthly total for the U.S. (The Weather Channel)

# 1949 - The temperature at San Antonio, TX, plunged to a record low of one degree below zero. Helena MT reached 42 degrees below zero. (David Ludlum)

# 1966 - A blizzard struck the northeastern U.S. When the storm came to an end, twenty inches of snow covered the ground at Washington D.C. (David Ludlum)

# 1982 - A snowstorm struck Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. Twenty-five inches of snow at Greenville IL, located east of Saint Louis, paralyzed the community. The storm left 4000 motorists stranded for two days. (David Ludlum)

# 1987 - A storm in the Pacific Northwest produced wind gusts to 85 mph in Oregon, and nearly two inches of rain in twelve hours in the Puget Sound area of Washington State. Ten inches of snow at Stampede Pass WA brought their total snow cover to 84 inches. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1988 - Thirty-one cities in the central and northeastern U.S. reported new record high temperatures for the date, with many occurring during the early morning hours. Temperatures in western New York State reached the 60s early in the day. Strong northerly winds in the north central U.S. produced wind chill readings as cold as 60 degrees below zero in North Dakota. (National Weather Summary)

# 1989 - The barometric pressure at Norway, AK, reached 31.85 inches (1078.4 mb) establishing an all-time record for the North American Continent. The temperature at the time of the record was about 46 degrees below zero (The Weather Channel). Severe arctic cold began to invade the north central U.S. The temperature at Great Falls MT plunged 85 degrees in 36 hours. Valentine NE plummeted from a record high of 70 degrees to zero in just nine hours. Northwest winds gusted to 86 mph at Lander WY, and wind chill readings of 80 degrees below zero were reported in Montana. Sixty-four cities in the central U.S. reported record highs for the date as readings reached the 60s in Michigan and the 80s in Kansas. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

# 1990 - High winds in Montana on the 28th, gusting to 77 mph at Judith Gap, were followed by three days of snow. Heavy snow fell over northwest Montana, with up to 24 inches reported in the mountains. An avalanche covered the road near Essex with six feet of snow. Snow and high winds also plagued parts of the southwestern U.S. Winds gusted to 54 mph at Show Low AZ, and Flagstaff AZ was blanketed with eight inches of snow. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

...and more History
# 1920 - Northfield, VT recorded the highest barometric pressure ever observed in the lower forty-eight states with a reading of 31.14 inches of mercury. The cold high pressure would be followed by a major winter storm just three days later that paralyzed the region.

# 1937 - Major Oregon snowstorm: twenty-five inches at Salem, OR and 16 inches at Portland, OR.

# 1953 - The Netherlands experienced its worst flood disaster in five centuries as a furious storm attacked the North Dutch Coast, with the greatest surge on record for the North Sea. Over one million acres of land was underwater. Over 1800 people died. Damage was totaled at over $500 million.

# 1982 - Heavy snow fell from Missouri to Indiana. Twenty-five inches fell at Greenville, IL. St. Louis, MO recorded fourteen inches. The storm stranded as many as 4000 motorists in Illinois for up to two days.

# 1990 - Atlantic City, NJ finished its warmest January ever ,which followed directly after its coldest December ever!

# 1991 - The month wrapped up as the wettest ever at Apalachicola, FL and Lake Charles LA with 20.80 and 14.29 inches of rain respectively.

# 1992 - Hundreds of people were buried and killed in the worst avalanches in recent times in eastern Turkey. The village of Gomec, Turkey was one of the hardest hit when over half of its population was killed along with 132 Turkish soldiers in an avalanche that buried the town.

# 1994 - Coldest month ever in Caribou, ME: average temperature -7F, breaking the old record of 1.3F in January 1857.

# 2002 - Astronomers were treated to a show as two major storms on Jupiter were interacting. One of the storms was a gigantic "white oval" that is the size of the earth and over 70 years old. The other storm was the Great Red Spot, a centuries old tempest that is twice as large as Earth. Space weather is a new field of study.