JANUARY 1st - 10th WEATHER HISTORY
http://www.examiner.com/weather-in-wilmington/charlie-wilson
Charlie Wilson Wilmington Weather ExaminerSubscribeSponsor an Examiner A member of the American Meteorological Society, 
Charlie Wilson has combined his knowledge of Meteorology & Weather History with his Education background in Communications.
 (Ref. Charlie Wilson Weather History) 
----------------------------------------- January 1st: 1858 French astronomer Le Verrier was appointed to see if the military disaster at Sevastopol could have been avoided with an accurate weather forecast. He found that it could have and set out to establish a telegraphic weather reporting network. On this date, he made his first daily weather bulletin. Once again, military needs resulted in the birth of an important Meteorological service. 1864 Snow, gales and severe cold hit the Midwest. It was the most brutal coldest New Year's Day on record with afternoon highs of -25° at Minneapolis, MN and -16° at Chicago, IL. A farmer near Huntertown, IN reported the same high temperature as Chicago, with a low of -21°. In his weather diary he made the remark "rough day". Louisville, KY dropped 67 degrees to -20°. Lansing, MI set a record low with -23°. 1885 The temperature plunged to -63° at Poplar River, MT. The residents ofRegina, Saskatchewan Canada also rang in the New Year with a record cold temperature of -58°. Locations across the U.S. that reported record lows for the date included: Bismarck, ND: -36°, Fargo, ND: -35°, Huron, SD: -33°, Duluth, MN: -26°, North Platte, NE: -20°, Omaha, NE: -18°, Dodge City, KS: -18°, Des Moines, IA: -17°, Lewiston, ID: -2°-Tied and Fort Smith, AR: 8°-Tied. 1886 Norway's coldest night on record occurred as the low temperature dropped to -60.5° at Karasjok. 1910 Severe flooding almost completely destroyed about 84 miles of railroad along Clover Creek and Meadow Valley Wash and severely damaged agricultural property in the lower Moapa Valley and in the Panaca Valley in California. Peak discharges were estimated at 11,000 cubic feet per second at Caliente on Meadow Valley Wash, and 7,000 cubic feet per second at the Wells Siding Dam site on the Muddy River. Fresno, CA recorded their greatest New Years Day snowfall on record with 0.6 of an inch. 1916 Rainmaker Charles Hatfield offered to bring rain to a parched San Diego, CA for $10,000. On this date, he began to burn strange chemicals 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 suffered through its coldest New Years Day in modern history. The temperature plunged to -32° at Van Buren, ME., -24° at Northfield, VT, -20° at Bethlehem, NH and -7° at New Haven, CT. Locations reporting daily record lows included: Syracuse, NY: -9°, Hartford, CT: -8°, Amarillo, TX: -8°, Williamsport, PA: -7°, Milton, MA: -6°, Worcester, MA: -5°, Mansfield, OH: -4°, New York (Central Park), NY: -4°, Boston, MA: -3°, Avoca, PA: -3°, Providence, RI: -3°, Dayton, OH: -1°, Wilmington, DE: 0°, Buffalo, NY: 0°-Tied, Cincinnati, OH: 1°, Pittsburgh, PA: 1°, Lexington, KY: 3°, Lynchburg, VA: 3°, Erie, PA: 3°-Tied, Harrisburg, PA: 4°, Athens, GA: 6°, Columbia, SC: 6°, Richmond, VA: 6°, Greensboro, NC: 8°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 8°, Roanoke, VA: 8°, Wilmington, NC: 11°, Charlotte, NC: 11°-Tied, Raleigh, NC: 12°, Augusta, GA: 12°, Norfolk, VA: 12°, Gainesville, FL: 18°, Tallahassee, FL: 19°, Savannah, GA: 20°, Jacksonville, FL: 21°, Pensacola, FL: 25°-Tied, West Palm Beach, FL: 35°, Miami, FL: 36° and Key West, FL: 51°. While the east shivered, locations across the west enjoyed record high temperatures for the date including: Escondido, CA: 85°, Yuma, AZ: 82°, Phoenix, AZ: 80°, Tucson, AZ: 78°, Santa Maria, CA: 77°, Pueblo, CO: 71°, Pendleton, OR: 67°, Colorado Springs, CO: 64°, Lander, WY: 64°, Spokane, WA: 62°, Salem, OR: 62°, Elko, NV: 60°, Winnemucca, NV: 60°, Seattle, WA: 60°, Helena, MT: 59°, Lewiston, ID: 59°, Flagstaff, AZ: 58° and Grand Junction, CO: 53°. 1934 Heavy rainfall led to flooding across most of southern California starting on 12/30/1933 and ending on this day, except around San Diego and the deserts. On this day 6.90 inches at Placentia, 6.21 inches fell at Fullerton, 5.38 inches at Orange, 5.16 inches at Yorba Linda, 5.04 inches at Anaheim, 4.81 inches at Garden Grove, 4.69 inches at Buena Park, 3.55 inches at San Juan Capistrano, 3.41 inches at Santa Ana, 3.24 inches at Newport Beach, 2.96 inches at Laguna Beach, 3 inches at San Clemente, 2.68 inches at Oceanside, 2.65 inches at Redlands, 2.44 inches at Escondido, 1.56 inches at Carlsbad, 0.67 inch at San Diego and 0.48 inch at Victorville. Storm totals in southern slopes of mountains topped 12 inches, the heaviest: 16.29 inches at Azusa. From 12/31/1933 to this day 7.36 inches of rain fell in 24 hours at Los Angeles, a 24 hour record for the city. The Los Angeles storm total was 8.26 since 12/30/1933. 45 people died in the floods. Walls of water and debris up to ten feet high were noted in some canyon areas. Damage was estimated at $5 million dollars. 1935 The Associated Press Wire Photo Service made its debut, delivering the famous weather maps, twice each day to newspapers across the country. 1947 Severe thunderstorms produced hailstones the size of oranges at Sydney, Australia causing moderate damage. 1949 A 6-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. 1964 While temperatures were quite chilly east of the Mississippi River some areas from the Rockies to the West Coast enjoyed record high temperatures including: Riverside, CA: 88°, Santa Ana, CA: 81°, Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 80°, Long Beach, CA: 79°, Idyllwild, CA: 73°, Reno, NV: 68°, Great Falls, MT: 61°, Ely, NV: 61°, Sheridan, WY: 59°, Havre, MT: 58°, Yakima, WA: 53° and Glasgow, MT: 48°. 1965 The New Year began with a 5-day snowstorm that dumped a total of 71.7 inches at Cartwright, Newfoundland Canada. The New Year started out very wet at Peoria, IL as 4.43 inches fell, making this the wettest January day on record in the city. 1970 The biggest mid-winter snowfall accumulation in two decades paralyzed traffic across portions of the north Black Hills of South Dakota. Three to four feet of new snow accumulated over the New Year's Holiday. For the three day period ending this date, a few accumulations included 46 inches at Deadwood and 37 inches at Lead. Gusty winds of 25 to 40 mph produced additional problems by creating widespread drifting which blocked roads. Further west, Lewiston, ID set a record low with -6°. 1974 Mayo, Yukon Territory, reported a high barometric pressure reading of 31.53 inHg. 1976 An intense area of low pressure moved across parts of the northern Plains spreading widespread snow across South Dakota. The snow began on New Years Eve in the west and the spread east across the rest of the state on New Years Day. North winds increased to near 40 mph with gusts to 50 mph which created near blizzard conditions through New Years Day. Snowfalls ranged from 4 to 12 inches across the state with some reports of over 20 inches in the Black Hills. For several days after the storm, overnight lows ranged from -20°to -35°. Behind the storm, a few locations reported record low temperatures including: Bishop, CA: 8°-Tied, Fresno, CA: 21°, Stockton, CA: 22°, Santa Maria, CA: 24° and Yuma, AZ: 27°. A few locations started the year off with record highs including: Corpus Christi, TX: 82° and Dallas, TX: 76°. 1979 A deep amplified upper level trough combined with arctic high pressure brought extreme cold from the Plains to the West Coast. The temperature at Maybell, CO plunged to -60° to tie the state record set back in 1951 at Taylor Park. This record was broken on 2/1/1985. Olympia, WA set their all-time record low with -8. This reading broke the previous daily record by 16 degrees. Locations that reported daily record low temperatures included: Kalispell, MT: -37°, Casper, WY: -29°, Missoula, MT: -28°, Spokane, WA: -22° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Pendleton, OR: -12°, Yakima, WA: -10°, Wichita, KS: -5°-Tied, Roswell, NM: -2°, Midland-Odessa, TX:: 5°, Eugene, OR: 7°, Wichita Falls, TX: 7°, Quillayute, WA: 10°, San Angelo, TX: 11°, Astoria, OR: 14°, Portland, OR: 14°, Waco, TX: 15°-Tied, Sacramento, CA: 23°, Austin (Bergstrom), TX: 25° and Lake Charles, LA: 26°. Upper level high pressure brought a warm start to the year across Florida. Orlando, FL tied their record high with 83°. 1981 An upper level ridge brought record high temperatures from the Rockies to the West Coast including: Palm Springs, CA: 84°, Borrego Springs, CA: 81°, Phoenix, AZ: 81°, Tucson, AZ: 79°, Las Vegas, NV: 69°, Big Bear Lake, CA: 67°, Albuquerque, NM: 62°, Flagstaff, AZ: 61°, Astoria, OR: 60°, Portland, OR: 60°, Grand Junction, CO: 56°, Quillayute, WA: 55°, Pocatello, ID: 53° and Alamosa, CO: 51°. 1984 A severe cold spell finally broke on New Year's Day at Topeka, KS when the mercury finally rose above 32° after 554 hours. An unprecedented cold spell set temperature records every morning from 12/18 to 12/25/1983. A deep snow cover kept temperatures at or below zero for a record-setting 95 consecutive hours from 12/21 – 12/25/1983. The lowest temperature of -17° occurred on 12/22/1983. 1985 A severe ice storm struck southern Lower Michigan as a layer of ice up to one inch thick downed tree limbs and power lines. There were three deaths and eight injuries directly related to the ice storm. Over 430,000 electrical customers were without power, some for as long as 10 days. Total damage was estimated at nearly $50 million dollars. 1987 A winter storm brought rain, snow and high winds to the Southern and Mid-Atlantic Coast. 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. Damage totaled $25 million dollars in South Carolina. Further to the north, more than one foot of snow blanketed portions of Pennsylvania. 1988 Arctic cold gripped the north central U.S. courtesy of a strong upper level over Hudson Bay in Canada and surface high pressure across the northern Rockies. The morning low of -31° at Alamosa, CO was a record for the date. Squalls in the Great Lakes Region produced 17 inches of snow at Elmira, NY. 1989 The year began with dense fog prevailed from Texas to Wisconsin producing visibilities as low as zero. Brownsville, TX started off the New Year with a record high of 83°. 1990 The New Year and decade began on a rather peaceful note across the U.S. Snow was primarily confined to the Great Lakes Region, the Upper Ohio Valley, and the Sierra Nevada Range of California. Subzero temperatures were confined to Minnesota and North Dakota. 1993 On this date through the 2nd, an intense storm system brought accumulations of sleet and freezing rain to much of Oklahoma. Although rain amounts were light, generally less than .10 of an inch, it was enough to cause very slippery road conditions. Morning rush hour was severely hampered in many areas. Traffic accidents were numerous. The icy weather caused numerous traffic including a 35 car pile up in Oklahoma City shortly after midnight. The ice also caused havoc with area airport operations. Two passenger jets slid off icy runways at Will Rogers World Airport. Fortunately, temperatures rose to just above freezing and icing was no longer a problem by noon. 1994 Strong winds along the eastern slopes of the Central Rockies gusted to 80 mph near Estes Park, CO and 70 mph at Arlington, WY. A series of storms the first 3 days of the year produced 20 inches of snow at Lowman, in the west central mountains of Idaho and 14 inches at Tollgate, OR. 1996 A small F0 tornado touched down in the Eau Gallie area of Melbourne near U.S. Highway 1 in eastern Florida. It moved east northeast about one half mile and lifted as it approached the Indian River Lagoon. The tornado blew down trees on top of houses and garages and overturned a large travel trailer. 1997 Heavy rains over northern California produced mudslides and swollen 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 3 months. A series of thunderstorms moving into Yosemite National Park, CA resulted in major flooding in Yosemite Valley from the combination of heavy rain and melting snowpack. This was the onset of the January 1997 flooding event that resulted in losses of $190 million to the Central California Interior. Upper level high pressure extending from west Texas to the West Coast brought record highs to a few locations including: Lubbock, TX: 76°, Bakersfield, CA: 74°, Midland-Odessa, TX: 73°-Tied, Clayton, NM: 70°, Denver, CO: 66°, Stockton, CA: 66°, Sheridan, WY: 64°, Sacramento, CA: 64°, Winnemucca, NV: 62°, Olympia, WA: 55°, Burns, OR: 53° and Pocatello, ID: 53-Tied°. 1999 A major winter storm affected areas from the Midwest and later the Ohio Valley, during the first few days of 1999. Snow began falling across portions of central Illinois before noon on New Year's Day, and continued at moderate to heavy rates for most of the following 24 hour period. Areas from Charleston southward also saw the snow mixed with rain or freezing rain at times. Once the snow ended, high winds developed, causing severe blowing and drifting snow, and dangerous wind chills. The heaviest snow band extended from near Quincy, to Virginia, then through the Peoria and Bloomington areas to Champaign, where 14 or more inches of snow were common. The weight of the heavy snow caused many roofs and porches to collapse, causing one death and one injury. Ste. St. Marie, MI and Jackson, KY reported record morning lows of -23° and 11° respectively. 2002 Intense lake effect snow squalls buried sections of Lewis County in New York with tremendous snows. Snowfalls for the four day period ending on this day were 127 inches at Montague, 104 inches at Highmarket and 86 inches at North Osceola. The 127 inches at Montague is one of the greatest snowfalls ever recorded for a single lake effect snow event. 60 foot high flames pushed dangerously close to Sydney, Australia as 100 degree temperatures and strong winds fanned the Black Christmas wildfires that had been burning across New South Wales since Christmas Eve. Over 750,000 acres of Australian bush burned in the fires. Sadly, many of the fires were set by arsonists. 2004 Heavy snow derailed a passenger car on the California Zephyr 40 miles west of Truckee in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. The westbound Amtrak train was detained for 14 hours by the weather and accident, stranding 300 people. 2006 On this day in 2006 record high temperatures in the 70s, very low relative humidity values, high winds, and two and a half months without measurable precipitation combined to produce a very active fire weather day in parts of eastern New Mexico. A grass fire driven by wind burned 50,000 acres west of Hobbs on New Year's Day. The western side of Hobbs had to be evacuated, including the community college, a casino, and several neighborhoods. Three firefighters sustained minor injuries, but no one was seriously injured. Eleven homes, two businesses and 10 vehicles were destroyed by the fire. In addition to the wildfire west of Hobbs, NM two fires burned near the town of Tatum. No structures were damaged in these fires, however, U.S. Highway 380 was closed from Roswell to the Texas state line during the day. According to local authorities, one fire near Tatum was caused by fireworks and the other was sparked by a car accident. Locations reporting record high temperatures for the date included: Waco, TX: 86°, Austin, TX: 85°, Del Rio, TX: 85°, Corpus Christi, TX: 84°, Austin (Bergstrom), TX: 84°, Dallas (DFW), TX: 83°, San Angelo, TX: 83°, San Antonio, TX: 83°, Victoria, TX: 83°, Dallas (Love Field), TX: 82°, Abilene, TX: 82°-Tied, New Orleans, LA: 81°, Wichita Falls, TX: 81°, Houston, TX: 81°-Tied, Oklahoma City, OK: 77°, Little Rock, AR: 77°, Tulsa, OK: 76°, Midland-Odessa, TX: 76° and Fort Smith, AR: 76°-Tied. Sydney, Australia records a high of 111.6°, the second hottest day on record here, their highest maximum temperature on record here is 113.5° recorded in 1939. Records date back to 1859. Meanwhile, Sydney Airport recorded its hottest day on record reaching 113.4°. 2009 A strong blizzard which began on New Years Eve continues to hit the Canadian Maritimes. The storm was characterized by very low barometer readings including: Sable Island, Nova Scotia: 966 millibars or 28.54 inHg and Sidney, Nova Scotia, 970 millibars or 28.65 inHg.) with strong winds. One gust in Halifax Harbor reached 85 mph. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island was buried under 19.3 inches of snow while Yarmouth Airport, Nova Scotia received 16 inches of snow and Cheticamp, Nova Scotia, recorded 14 inches. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- January 2nd: 1872 Observers in Kingston, Port Dover and Port Stanley telegraphed the first weather reports to the Toronto Observatory, the headquarters of Canada's newly formed weather service. 1885 Duluth, MN recorded its coldest temperature ever, with a reading of -41°. 1893 13 inches of snow fell at Little Rock, AR to establish the city’s record for greatest 24 hour snowfall. 1904 A major snowstorm brought 19 inches of snow to Blue Hill Observatory in Milton, MA. 11.8 Inches of snow at Boston, MA 1910 A great flood in Utah and Nevada washed out 100 miles of railroad between Salt Lake City, UT and Los Angeles, CA causing $7 million dollars damage. 1949 For 7 weeks, blizzard after blizzard pounded the Great Plains. Temperatures plunged to -50° in some areas. Over 200 people perished. Livestock was hard hit, with over 150,000 head of sheep killed. On this date, the worst blizzard in many years struck northern Colorado. The storm produced blizzard conditions with wind gusts up to 50 mph all day on the 3rd when temperatures stayed in the single digits. That resulted in dangerous wind chill readings from -40° to -55°. The former Stapleton Airport in Denver received 13.3 inches while downtown Denver received 11.8 inches. Snow fell for 51 straight hours in downtown Denver. Numerous lives were lost and livestock losses were high across the northeastern Plains of Colorado where extensive airlift operations were needed. Further west, even a trace of snow was reported at Bakersfield, CA. 1955 Hurricane Alice became both the latest and the earliest hurricane on record in the Atlantic Basin when she became a hurricane on 12/31/1954 and battered the Leeward Islands with winds of 85 mph. 1960 The hottest official temperature ever recorded in Australia occurred on this date in the southern town of Oodnadatta when the temperature rose to 123.3°. The Northern Territory in Australia also recorded its hottest day on record as the high at Finke peak reached 118.9°. 1961 The coldest temperature on record for the state of Hawaii was established with a reading of 14° atop Haleakela Summit. This record would be broken on 5/17/1979 when the summit atop Mauna Kea dropped to 12°. 1974 Thailand's coldest night on record occurred as the temperature dropped to 29.5° at Sakon Nakhon. 1976 A strong winter storm affected nearly all of South Dakota as well as much of Minnesota beginning on the 1st. Snow began across western South Dakota on New Year's Eve and continued into portions of Minnesota on the second. Northerly winds at 40 to 50 mph created blizzard conditions in many areas. Snow depths varied from 4 to 12 inches in most areas with nearly two feet piling up in the northern Black Hills. In southwest Minnesota the highest amounts occurred in the Marshall area where 12 inches was received. After the storm moved off to the northeast skies cleared out and a very cold air mass settled into the area. The combination of fresh snow cover and clear skies, perfect radiational cooling conditions, allowed morning low temperatures to plunge to -20°to -35°. 1979 The temperature at Jump River, WI plunged to -47°. This was later tied on 12/19/1983 for their all time coldest temperature. A combination of high pressure over the interior with a storm off Baja California produced Santa Ana wind gusts to 60 mph along the I-8 corridor, but a 90 mph gust was unofficially reported by Caltrans. Interstate 8 was closed for a then record 20 hours stranding more than 1,000 motorists. Power outages occurred all over San Diego County. The rainstorm in Baja California washed out the Trans-Peninsular highway near El Rosario about 156 miles south of Ensenada. 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. 22 inches of snow fell at Lowell, MA and Nashua, NH and up to 2 feet at Salem, NH and Waterboro, ME. High winds combined with astronomical tides caused coastal flooding. 1988 For the 2nd day in a row Alamosa, CO reported a record low of -31°. 1989 Strong and gusty winds prevailed along the eastern slopes of the northern and central Rockies. High winds between 60 and 70 mph were recorded at Boulder, CO and along the Eastern Foothills. Winds gusted to 71 mph at Colorado Springs, CO & Livingston, MT and 49 mph at the former Stapleton Airport in Denver.. 1990 The first winter storm of the New Year developed in the southwestern U.S., and blanketed the northern mountains of Utah with 1 to 2 feet 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 dating back to August 17th. 1992 Miami, FL established a 24-hour precipitation record for January when 4.26 inches fell. The previous record was 3.07 inches set on 1/30/1953. A record blizzard hit parts of the Middle East. Amman, Jordan received 26 inches, their heaviest snow in 40 years and 16 inches at Jerusalem, Israel. 1993 In the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California, the Sugar Bowl Ski Patrol reported a snow depth of 90 inches at the 7,000 foot level. A depth of 150 inches was measured at 7,800 feet. Since 12/29/1992, a total of 72 inches had fallen at the 7,000 foot elevation, with 93 inches at 8,300 feet. 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 a foot of snow blanketed the Snowy Range Mountains in southeastern Wyoming and 6 inches of snow to parts of Iowa. The snow fell at a rate of about an inch per hour at its heaviest. Much of the state received four to six inches of snow. This was the first widespread snow event of the 1993-1994 winter season for Iowa. 1997 Heavy rains and melting snow caused disastrous flooding in parts of the West, closing Reno, Nevada’s casinos for the first time in memory and forcing thousands to flee their homes. 1999 The "Blizzard of '99" dumped 21.6 inches of snow on Chicago, IL for the city's 2nd largest snowstorm on record. Drifts were as high as 8 feet. Grand Rapids, MI recorded 22 inches for their greatest snowstorm ever. Detroit, MI reported a foot of snow and Milwaukee, WI was buried under 15.4 inches; the city's biggest snowstorm in 52 years. The first winter storm of the season brought 8 to 13 inches of snow to southwest and central Wisconsin. Strong northeast winds created 2 to 4 foot drifts, making many roads impassable. Heavy snow of 6 to 8 inches fell across part of northeast South Dakota from the late afternoon hours of the 1st to the early morning hours on this date. Strong north winds of 15 to 30 mph combined with temperatures in the single digits generated wind chills from -25°to -40°and visibilities below 1/4 of a mile at times. Some snowfall amounts included, 6 inches at Kidder, Victor, Sisseton, Webster, Waubay, Wilmot, and 8 inches at Britton and near Peever. Generally, storm totals ranged from 2 feet in northwest Indiana and southwest Michigan to 12 to 18 inches across north central Indiana into south central Michigan and northwest Ohio and 6 to 8 inches in east central Indiana and west central Ohio where significant sleet and freezing rain fell on top of the heavy snow. Thousands of holiday travelers were stranded 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. In Toronto, Ontario Canada, through the 12th, a total of 44.5 inches of snow buried the city. The mayor called in the military to help with snow removal. Snow-clearing costs totaled $70 million dollars. 2004 It was a warm day across western north Texas, as the mercury soared to 80 degrees at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls. This high temperature broke a 17-year record by 1 degree for the warmest temperature for that date, as the previous record was 79 degrees set in 1987. 2006 A microburst from a severe thunderstorm likely killed more than 35 snow geese found in farm fields southeast of Springfield in Montgomery, Christian and Shelby Counties in Illinois. Aspendell, CAreceived 56 inches of snow in less than 24 hours. Bishop, CA received up to18 inches of new snow before turning to rain. The rapid snow melt caused several roads to become impassable due to flooding. Heavy rainfall of 2 to 3 inches fell in the central valley from the 1st to this date. Hanford, CA reported 2.82 inches of rain in a 30 hour period and 3.47 inches fell in Tulare. Fresno, CA set a daily precipitation record of 1.88 inches on this date asmany streets flooded in the Valley and water was reported to be two feet deep in West Visalia. The rain was accompanied by gusty winds of 40 to 50 mph that downed trees and knocked out power to over 60,000 customers. 2007 The treacherous Rogers Pass, British Columbia Canada received more than 28 inches of snow fall in less than 24 hours. Several hundred motorists are stranded on the Trans-Canada Highway west of Banff, Alberta after heavy snowfall sets off avalanches rumbling through the mountain pass. 2010 The morning temperature dropped to -30° at Sioux Falls, SD, their coldest temperature recorded since 1974. A blizzard dumped 32.9 inches of snow on Burlington, VT, the city's all-time biggest snowstorm in 120 years of recordkeeping. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- January 3rd: 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. 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 30 minutes. 1911 Brutal record cold prevailed from the Plains to the West Coast. Locations reporting record lows for the date included: International Falls, MN: -35°, St. Cloud, MN: -31°, Grand Forks, ND: -31°, Aberdeen, SD: -30°, Duluth, MN: -30°, Huron, SD: -29°, Rochester, MN: -28°, Norfolk, NE: -27°, Valentine, NE: -24°, Sioux Falls, SD: -23°-Tied, North Platte, NE: -22°, Scottsbluff, NE: -22°, Sioux City, IA: -20°, La Crosse, WI: -20°-Tied, Dodge City, KS: -17°, Ste. St. Marie, MI: -17°, Green Bay, WI: -17°, Colorado Springs, CO: -16°, Concordia, KS: -14°, Topeka, KS: -10°, Wichita, KS: -10°, Kansas City, MO: -10°, Springfield, MO: -9°, Oklahoma City, OK: -9°, Columbia, MO: -8°, Amarillo, TX: -6°, Albuquerque, NM: -5°, Roswell, NM: -3°, Dallas (DFW), TX: 4°, Abilene, TX: 5°, Waco, TX: 8°, El Paso, TX: 9°, Austin, TX: 12°, Del Rio, TX: 14°, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 15°, Houston, TX: 16°, San Antonio, TX: 16°, Tucson, AZ: 17°, Victoria, TX: 18°, Galveston, TX: 19°, Corpus Christi, TX: 21°, Phoenix, AZ: 25°-Tied and Brownsville, TX: 28°. Gainesville, FL reported a record afternoon high of 81°. 1913 Calgary, Alberta Canada recorded its wettest January day on record as 1 inch was measured. 1918 A trough across the East and a ridge out West brought some record temperatures. Extreme cold brought record lows from parts of the Lakes to the East Coast including: Oakland, MD: -30°, Hagerstown, MD: -18°, Muskegon, MI: -16° (broke previous record by 15 degrees), Burlington, VT: -12°, Williamsport, PA: -8°, Mansfield, OH: -5°, Avoca, PA: -5°, Elkins, WV: -5°, Lexington, KY: -2°, Charleston, WV: -2°, Frederick, MS: -1°, Huntington, WV: -1°, Wilmington, DE: 4°, Harrisburg, PA: 4°, Roanoke, VA: 4°, Providence, RI: 5°, Richmond, VA: 7°, Lynchburg, VA: 8°, Greensboro, NC: 9°, Norfolk, VA: 11°, Wilmington, NC: 15° and Columbia, SC: 15°. Meanwhile record high temperatures occurred from the Rockies to the West Coast including: Yuma, AZ: 81°, Amarillo, TX: 74°, Pueblo, CO: 70°, Colorado Springs, CO: 66°, North Platte, NE: 66°, Scottsbluff, NE: 65°, Albuquerque, NM: 64°, Goodland, KS: 63°, Flagstaff, AZ: 62°, Valentine, NE: 60°, Cheyenne, WY: 59°, Great Falls, MT: 57°, Elko, NV: 57°, Winnemucca, NV: 57°, Lander, WY: 55°, Missoula, MT: 53°, Salt Lake City, UT: 52° and Grand Junction, CO: 52°-Tied. 1921 The first radio broadcasts of weather forecasts began 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. 1940 Fort Wayne, Indiana's longest stretch without a sub-zero temperature, 1,413 days, ended when the temperature fell to -1°. Prior, the most recent sub-zero temperature was -6° on 2/19/1936. Record lows for this date included: Paducah, KY: 2°, Beckley, WV: 2° and Charleston, SC: 19°. 1949 The Great Blizzard of 1949 grew in intensity with heavy snow, strong winds and bitter cold temperatures. On this day Cheyenne, WY recorded their highest daily precipitation total ever in January with 1.32 inches. Many areas recorded all-time daily record snowfalls including 26.7 inches at Chadron, NE with snowfall estimated at 25 to 30 inches burying Cheyenne and much of southeast Wyoming. This combined with temperatures at or below zero all day and wind gusts over 50 mph paralyzed the region. Warren, AR was hit by a F4 tornado. 55 people were killed and 435 others were injured. Total damage was $1.3 million dollars. 1961 A 3-day long major ice storm was in progress over northern Idaho which produced an accumulation of ice 8 inches thick, a U.S. record. Heavy ice fog, which blanketed much of northern Idaho from Grangeville to the Canadian border, deposited ice on power and phone lines causing widespread power outages. 1970 The barometer at Barrow, AK soared to a reading of 31.43 inHg. 1971 The temperature reached a scorching 96° at Cotulla, TX, just two degrees shy of the U.S. record for January. Other locations in Texas that reported record highs for the date included: Corpus Christi: 88°, San Antonio: 86°, Austin (Bergstrom): 84° and Austin (Camp Mabry): 83°. 1974 Heavy rain and snow began on this day and ended on the 5th across parts of southern California. One drowning death occurred near Temecula. Many highways were closed because of flooding and mud slides. Over 18 inches of snow fell in the San Bernardino Mountains. As a result, structures and a few roofs collapsed due to the weight of snow. Power lines and trees snapped. The high temperature in Las Vegas, NV was 32°, one of only 10 times that the temperature did not climb above the freezing mark. A few locations from the Plains to the West Coast reported record low temperatures for the date including: Scottsbluff, NE: -24°, North Platte, NE: -23°, Denver, CO: -17°, Bishop, CA: -3°, Lewiston, ID: 0°-Tied, Las Vegas, NV: 12° and Borrego Springs, CA: 25°. Boston, MA recorded their latest ever measurable snow into a winter season with 0.6 inches. 1983 0.1 inches of snow fell at Billings, MT, the only measurable snowfall during the month; tying January 2006 as the least snowy January on record. 1987 A 3 inch snowfall broke the record for this date at Little Rock, AR. The previous record was 2.5 inches in 1942. This snowfall is deeper than the amount of snow received during the entire year for 1986. The 1986 snowfall total was 2.7 inches. 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 parts of the Sierra Nevada Range of California. 198 Both coasts were hit with winter storms, and the central U.S. was blasted 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 2 feet of snow in the Lake Tahoe area of Nevada, and temperatures in North Dakota plunged to -30°, with wind chill readings as cold as -95°. 1989 Many cities across the south and in Washington and Oregon reported record high temperatures for the date. Lake Charles, LA and Galveston, TX tied their record highs for January with 82° and 78° respectively. Locations reporting daily record highs included: San Antonio, TX: 86°-Tied, Victoria, TX: 85°, Houston, TX: 83°, Del Rio, TX: 83°, Baton Rouge, LA: 81°, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 81°, New Orleans, LA: 80°, Mobile, AL: 79°, Phoenix, AZ: 79°, Tallahassee, FL: 78°, Denver, CO: 63°, Eugene, OR: 60°, Pendleton, OR: 60°-Tied, Portland, OR: 60°-Tied and Yakima, WA: 57°. 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 6 inches reported at Garden City, KS. 1993 The barometer at Canton, NY plummeted to 28.20 inHg, the lowest ever recorded at a non-coastal station in the U.S. An intense area of low pressure moving along the Appalachian Mountains caused record low barometer readings across the East. 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 5 inches reported in Washington and Noble Counties in just one hour. Parts of Washington County were without electricity for 8 days following the storm. High winds pummeled the eastern Foothills of the Colorado Rockies. Wind gusts to 99 mph were recorded on Squaw Mountain, south of Idaho Springs, 85 mph at Rocky Flats and 41 mph at the former Stapleton Airport in Denver. No significant damage was reported. . A tornado touched down four times at Frostproof, FL in Polk County damaging cars, buildings, signs, and citrus trees. Windows were blown out of vehicles and stores. Brief tornado touchdowns were also reported in Alachua, Bradford, Baker, and Duval Counties. 1995 Heavy rain started on this day and ended the next day resulting in flash flooding at Seal Beach, Norco, and Oceanside, CA. A mudslide killed six people at La Conchita near Santa Barbara. Six to 12 inches of snow fell in the mountains. Snow also fell in the high desert, with two inches of heavy, wet snow down to 2,300 feet. 1996 The first in the series of snowstorms to strike the eastern U.S. over the next ten days was in progress over New England, New York, and Pennsylvania. Rochester, NY was buried under 23 inches of snow in 24 hours for the city's greatest 24 hour snowfall on record. 21 inches was recorded at Oswego, NY and 18 inches fell at Batavia, NY. Other snowfall totals included 16 inches at Milton, MA, 14 inches at Montpelier, VT, 13.3 inches at Montrose, PA and 13.1 inches at Boston, MA. Central Illinoiswas affected by a major winter storm beginning on the 2nd through this date. The storm produced up to 8 inches of snow, and 30 to 40 mph winds created near whiteout conditions at times. Numerous minor accidents were reported across the region, although two accidents resulted in four serious injuries. Moderate to occasional heavy snow moved across central, northeast, and east central Missouri. Two to four inches of snow fell with the greatest amounts along the Mississippi river in eastern Marion and Ralls Counties causing traffic and airport delays. Very strong Chinook Winds gusted over 100 mph along the Colorado Front Range Foothills and portions of metro Denver. Structural damage, shattered auto windows, downed signs and power outages resulted. Some of the strongest wind gusts included: Boulder Municipal Airport: 104 mph, South Boulder: 98 mph, Jefferson County Airport: 96 mph, National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder: 94 mph, Rocky Flats Environmental Test Facility: 91 mph and Wondervu: 90 mph. Winds only gusted to 39 mph at Denver International Airport. 1997 Major flooding continued in 6 western states as runoff from days of heavy rains and melting snow surged down rivers. A levee broke on the Feather and Yuba Rivers in California forcing thousands of residents from their homes in the middle of the night, many rescued by helicopter. 17 deaths resulted from the flooding The greatest flood on record occurred at Yosemite Valley, CA. The Merced River crested at Pohono Bridge at 23.45 feet, an 80 year high. Extensive damage occurred to park trails, roads, sewer and water systems and housing totaling $178 million dollars in damage there alone. A powerful area of low pressure and deep Arctic high pressure brought almost all winter elements to central and northeast South Dakota as well as west central Minnesota from the afternoon on this date to the morning of the 5th. The storm first began with widespread freezing rain, especially over northeast South Dakota and west central Minnesota, where significant accumulations of ice occurred on roads, trees, and power lines. Late during the evening on this date, the freezing rain changed to sleet and then snow, with substantial snowfall accumulations of 6 to as much as 27 inches by late on the 4th. As the deep Arctic high pressure pushed in through the morning and afternoon of the 4th, northwest winds increased to 25 to 45 mph gusting to 55 mph creating widespread blizzard conditions, drifts up to 20 feet, and wind chills from -40°to -70°. The heavy accumulation of ice and snow across parts of central and mainly across northeast South Dakota resulted in the roof collapse of over 150, mainly rural, buildings. The collapse of so many buildings from snow and ice was believed to be the first in this area. On most other buildings, the snow had to be shoveled or blown off. One man was killed in west central Minnesota as he was trying to shovel snow off the roof of a building. A few homes during the storm were buried by the huge snow drifts near Lake Poinsett. Many power outages also occurred across parts of central and northeast South Dakota as power lines and poles were downed from the heavy ice accumulation. Some people were without power for several days in the extreme cold conditions. At Aberdeen, SD heavy snow blocking a furnace exhaust vent, sent 3 family members to the hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning. Also, the snowmobile club, the drift busters were called upon for the first time in several years to deliver medicine, take patients to the hospital, and carry essential workers to work and home. Emergencies were difficult to respond to, taking many hours to short distances. Interstates 29 and 90 were both closed for a few days along with most state highways. Area airports were closed or flights were canceled or delayed. The heavy snowfall from this storm brought the widespread snowpack up to 2 to 5 feet. For the winter season so far, the area had record snowfall and record cold. Snowfall amounts of 1 to over 2 feet included, 27 inches at Wheaton, SD, 24 inches at Sisseton, SD, 22 inches at Britton, SD, 20 inches at Webster, SD, 18 inches at Faulkton, SD, 16 inches at Mellette and Browns Valley, MN, 15 inches at Ortonville MN, 14 inches at Pierre and Roscoe, SD, 13 inches at Selby and Aberdeen, SD and 12 inches at Eureka, and Redfield, SD. Europe’s worst cold wave in 30 years continued to grip the continent for the 11th 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. 1999 A total of 78 vehicles piled-up in two areas on Highway 58 about 15 miles east-southeast of Bakersfield, CA due to dense fog. One person was killed and 15 others were injured. 2002 Parts of the Deep South grounded to a standstill as a rare 2 day winter storm brought snow. Even the Weather Channel offices in Atlanta, GA were closed. 2005 A record daily rainfall for January of 0.81 inches fell at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, NV. 2008 Heavy snow blanketed Romania cutting power to hundreds of towns and villages, blocking roads and forcing Bucharest's two airports and some Black Sea ports to close. Snow accumulation reached 19 to 23 inches in places with snow drifts reached more than 6 feet. 2009 A violent and deadly storm blasted across KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa killing 18 people, including a family of four who are struck by lightning inside their Ndwendwe home. More than 2,000 households were damaged by one of the worst storms in living memory. Damages included uprooted trees, collapsed roofs, and burst water mains. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- January 4th: Vostok, Antarctica is the coldest recording station on the planet. In August, during the southern hemisphere's winter, the average low temperature is around -100°. The daily highs climb all the way to -80°. That's an average and that's without counting the effects of the wind chill. 1641 The Mount Parker volcano on the Philippine island of Mindanao erupted. Dust from the eruption circled the globe, blocked sunlight and dropped global temperatures through 1643. 1780 A major snowstorm buried George Washington and his troops at their headquarters in Morristown, NJ. 1859 A powerful winter storm across New England buried Hartford, CT under 36 inches of snow and 26 inches at Middletown, CT. 30 inches fell in 12 hours at Goffstown, NH. 1888 Sacramento, CA received 3.5 inches of snow, an all-time record for that location. The heaviest snow in recent history was 2 inches on 2/5/1976. 1917 A tornado with F3 damage cut a 15-mile path and struck a school at Vireton in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, killing 16 people. It ranks as the 4th worst school tornado disaster in U.S. history. 1946 A series of tornadoes struck northeast Texas, killing 30 people. The deadliest tornadoes struck near Palestine and Nacogdoches. 1949 A blizzard continued its onslaught across parts of the Rockies and northern Plains but finally began to wane late in the day. By the time it was over, 41 inches of snow had buried Chadron, NE while 30 to 40 inches of snow fell over in and around Cheyenne, WY. Cheyenne was hit hard by 60 hours of snow and near-hurricane force winds. Between 20 and 30 inches was recorded at Laramie, WY. 17 lives were lost in the storm while many were marooned for days due to impassable roads and huge drifts. Behind the storm record cold hit parts of the West Coast. Los Angeles, CA tied their all-time record low with 28° (2/6/1883 & 1/7/1913). Palomar Mountain, CA also tied their all-time record low with 8° (12/30/1947). Locations that reported daily record lows included: Elko, NV: -28°, Ely, NV: -22°, Flagstaff, AZ: -20°, Missoula, MT: -19°, Winnemucca, NV: -16°, Burns, OR: -14°, Salt Lake City, UT: -8°, Reno, NV: -7°, Bishop, CA: 2°, Victorville, CA: 6°, Eugene, OR: 14°, Tucson, AZ: 16°-Tied, Sacramento, CA: 23°, Stockton, CA: 23°, Phoenix, AZ: 24°, Escondido, CA: 27°, Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 27°, Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 28°, Long Beach, CA: 28°, San Francisco Airport, CA: 29° and San Diego, CA: 29°. 1965 Prince Rupert British Columbia Canada's coldest day occurred as the temperature dropped to -12°. 1971 Beginning the previous day, a blizzard stranded thousands of people from New Mexico to Michigan with heavy snow and wind gusts to 50 mph. Belleville, KS measured snow drifts up to 20 feet high. Heavy snowfalls of 10 to 15 inches, locally to 20 inches were common across Iowa, parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin. It was a record snow as some locations either tied or broke their 24-hour snowfall records including: Sparta, WI: 18 inches, Genoa, WI: 16 inches, Muscoda, WI: 16 inches, La Crescent, MN: 16 inches (tied with 3/6/1959 & 3/14/1997), Waucoma, IA: 15 inches (tied with 3/8/1959), Charles City, IA: 13 inches, Curtiss, WI: 13 inches (tied with 11/19/1957), Mauston, WI: 13 inches (tied with 1/27/1996 and Hillsboro, WI: 12 inches. Gusty winds exceeding 50 mph with temperatures dropping to below zero produced wind chill readings of -40° to -70°. Highways were closed, thousands of motorists were stranded and activities associated with travel ceased. Belleville, KS measured snow drifts up to 20 feet high. 27 people died as a result of the storm in Iowa alone. Behind the storm record lows occurred out west while record highs across parts of the Southeast. Idyllwild, CA plunged to 3°, their third lowest temperature on record. Other locations that reported record lows included: Ely, NV: -25°, Flagstaff, AZ: -22°, Albuquerque, NM: -4°, Palomar Mountain, CA: 5°, Mt. Laguna, CA: 8°, El Paso, TX: 9°, Santa Maria, CA: 24°, Lakeside, CA: 24°, El Cajon, CA: 26°, La Mesa, CA: 28°, Pt. Loma, CA: 29° and Chula Vista, CA: 29°. Ice skating was done on Lake Cuyamaca just outside of Julian, CA. Locations across the Southeast that reported record highs for the date included: Fort Myers, FL: 87°, Orlando, FL: 85°, Tampa, FL: 84°, Savannah, GA: 78° and Charleston, SC: 77°-Tied. 1976 In Australia, Tasmania recorded their hottest day on record as the mercury soared to 105.4° at Hobart. 1981 A strong upper level trough across the Great Lakes and East Coast combined with arctic high pressure across the northern Plains brought record cold. Toronto, Ontario Canada fell to their all-time record low of -24.3° and Lansing, MI set a new January record low with -29°. Locations that reported daily record low temperatures for the date included: Old Forge, NY: -42°, East Haven, VT: -42°, Houlton, ME: -41°, Enosburg Falls, VT: -41°, International Falls, MN: -39°, Ste. St. Marie, MI: -32°, Caribou, ME: -27°, Burlington, VT: -27°, Houghton Lake, MI: -26°-Tied, Concord, NH: -21° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Grand Rapids, MI: -20°, Alpena, MI: -19°, Portland, ME: -18°, Syracuse, NY: -18°, Flint, MI: -16°, Albany, NY: -13°, Toledo, OH: -13°, Detroit, MI: -12°, Williamsport, PA: -12°, Binghamton, NY: -10°, Rochester, NY: -10°, Mansfield, OH: -10°, Avoca, PA: -9°, Providence, RI: -9°, Worcester, MA: -8°, Pittsburgh, PA: -8°, Milton, MA: -8°-Tied, Buffalo, NY: -7°, Hartford, CT: -7°, Muskegon, MI: -6°, Akron, OH: -6°, Boston, MA: -4°, Allentown PA: -4°, Youngstown, OH: -2°, Bridgeport, CT: -1°, Newark, NJ: 1° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), New York (LaGuardia), NY: 4°, Jackson, KY: 6°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 8°, Lynchburg, VA: 10°-Tied, Wallops Island, VA: 14°, Cape Hatteras, NC: 20° and Orlando, FL: 32°. A weak ridge from the Rockies to the west coast brought a few record highs including: Las Vegas, NV: 67°, Olympia, WA: 57°, Grand Junction, CO: 55° and Quillayute, WA: 55°. 1982 A major Pacific storm dumped 6 to 8 feet of snow at Squaw Valley, CA in just 26 hours. Up to 25 inches of rain fell in the San Francisco Bay area, causing severe mudslides. Echo Summit set the state's 24-hour snowfall record with 67 inches. 6 to 8 feet of snow fell in 26 hours at Squaw Valley, CA. A strong winter storm brought moderate to heavy accumulations across the upper Midwest. Milwaukee WI was shut down completely as the city was buried under 16 inches of snow in 24 hours. It was the worst storm there in 35 years. Generally 6 to 12 inches was reported from parts of Iowa, Minnesota into Wisconsin Behind the storm a trough brought record lows to a few locations including: Havre, MT: -31°, Great Falls, MT: -28° and Quillayute, WA: 19°. 1987 A storm moving off the Pacific Ocean spread wintry 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. Lots of street flooding occurred, including road washouts in the high desert. Two people died on slick roads in San Diego County. The San Diego River flooded Mission Valley, stranding cars and closing roads. Road washouts occurred in the high desert. Scattered power outages also resulted. A mud slide in Pomona blocked traffic on the 60 freeway. A ski resort in Big Bear received up to two feet of snow at the higher lifts. Up to 15 inches fell elsewhere in the San Bernardino Mountains. Mt. Laguna reported 9 inches and 4 inches at Cuyamaca Park. The storm spread heavy snow from the Central Plains into the Great Lakes Region. Heavier totals included: 11 inches at Terre Haute, IN, 10 inches in the southern suburbs of Chicago, IL, 9 inches at Sun City, KS and 7 inches at Columbia, MO. Ahead of the storm a weak upper level ridge brought record highs to parts of the Rockies and upper Plains including: Colorado Springs, CO: 66°, Rapid City, SD: 57°, Huron, SD: 54°, Glasgow, MT: 48° and Fargo, ND: 40°-Tied. 1988 Cold 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. 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° in parts of Maine. Mount Washington, NH reported wind gusts to 136 mph along with a temperature of -30°. Islip, NY reported a record low of 11, while a few locations across the Plains checked in with a record highs for the date including: Brownsville, TX: 85°, North Platte, NE: 65° and Norfolk, NE: 59°. 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. Behind the storm, Redding, CA set a record low with 26°. 1992 A low pressure area with sub-tropical characteristics developed explosively over the Gulf Stream waters east of Cape Hatteras, NC and apparently deepened 18 millibars in just 3 hours. The central pressure dropped from 994 (29.35 inHg) to 976 millibars (28.82 inHg) and bottomed out at 968 millibars (28.68 inHg) 3 hours later. An offshore buoy recorded a pressure drop of 9.2 millibars in just one hour. Major coastal flooding and beach erosion occurred along the New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia coasts as the storm made landfall. A wind gust to 89 mph occurred at Chincoteague, VA and 83 mph was recorded at Indian River, DE. Ocean city, MD was hit very hard with winds sustained at 50 mph and gusts to 70 mph. At the Ocean City airport, the runways were flooded at their worst ever. Substantial beach erosion was reported at Rehoboth Beach, DE which rivaled damage one by the great March 1962 storm. Total damage reached $45 million in New Jersey alone. Rainfall at inland locations over the Mid-Atlantic was very heavy in some places with Witts Orchard, VA checking in with a 24 hour total of 7.56 inches. 1994 A major winter storm blanketed much of the northeastern U.S. with heavy snow. More than 2 feet was reported in northwestern Pennsylvania, with 33 inches at Waynesburg. There were 10 heart attacks, and 185 injuries, related to the heavy snow in northwest Pennsylvania alone. Whiteout conditions were reported in Vermont and northeastern New York State. A wind gust to 75 mph was reported at Shaftsbury, VT. In the Adirondacks of eastern New York State, the town of Tupper reported 5 inches of snow in one hour. 6 inches of snow fell in one hour at Elkins, WV and Syracuse, NY reported 5 inches of snow per hour for two consecutive hours. Syracuse measured 18 inches for the storm. Other big snowfall totals included 20 inches at Renovo, PA and 18.5 inches at Tully, NY. As the storm passed off the New Jersey coast, a gravity wave was induced near Allentown, PA. The barometric pressure plunged 22.4 millibars (0.66 inHg) from 997.7 (29.46 inHg) to 975.3 millibars (28.80 inHg) in just 45 minutes at Allentown and then rebounded almost as much in only 15 minutes. The gravity wave propagated northeastward and produced similar pressure fluctuations in New England. Boston, MA recorded a wind gust to 66 mph as the wave passed, along with heavy sleet. Heavy rains occurred across parts of Florida. Widespread rainfall of 3 to 7 inches, with a maximum of 14.33 inches, was measured across east Palm Beach County during a 24-hour period. Roadways were flooded and minor water damage was reported to some businesses in Delray Beach and Boca Raton. The combination of heavy rains and low astronomical tides caused many sea walls along canals to collapse. Sugarcane harvesting was halted due to the flooding of fields. 1995 A series of strong Pacific storms began tracking into California shortly after the New Year. The storms brought several inches of precipitation to most of the state, and dumped snow in some cases measured in many feet 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 Mid-Atlantic States. Locations that reported record highs for the date included: Corpus Christi, TX: 88°, San Antonio, TX: 85°, Austin, TX: 84°, Vero Beach, FL: 84°, Del Rio, TX: 83°, Shreveport, LA: 82°, Waco, TX:: 82°, Little Rock, AR: 79°, Houston, TX: 79°, Columbus, GA: 78°, Meridian, MS: 78°, Jackson, MS: 78°-Tied, Mobile, AL: 76°, San Angelo, TX: 76°, Raleigh, NC: 75°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 74°, Tupelo, MS: 74°-Tied, Washington, D.C.: 73°, Memphis, TN: 73°, Fort Smith, AR: 72°, St. Louis, MO: 72°, Lynchburg, VA: 72°, Midland-Odessa, TX: 71°, Roanoke, VA: 71°, Asheville, NC: 69°, Oak Ridge, TN: 69°, Springfield, IL: 68°, Evansville, IN: 68°, Columbus, OH: 67°, Cincinnati, OH: 66°, Peoria, IL: 65°, Indianapolis, IN: 65°, Cleveland, OH: 65°, Chicago, IL: 64°, Moline, IL: 64°, Champaign, IL: 64°, Akron, OH: 64°, Dayton, OH: 64°, Youngstown, OH: 64°, Fort Wayne, IN: 63°, South Bend, IN: 63°, Toledo, OH: 63°-Tied, Mansfield, OH: 62°, Detroit, MI: 61°, Flint, MI: 61°, Lansing, MI: 61°, Muskegon, MI: 61° (broke previous record by 14 degrees), Grand Rapids, MI: 60°, Rockford, IL: 60°, Milwaukee, WI: 60° and Dubuque, IA: 53°. Some of these records occurred before sunrise. The Flood of January ’97 caused significant flooding in California’s San Joaquin Valley and the adjacent foothills. Numerous houses adjacent to the San Joaquin River flooded, while agricultural lands near the Merced River were inundated. Flooding also impacted areas in the South Valley, especially Earlimart and Porterville. 2003 Heavy snows fell across 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 1 to 2 feet of snow. A record dry spell that lasted 53 days ended at Des Moines, IA. Upper level high pressure off the southern California coast combined with surface high pressure across the Great Basin brought record high temperatures to parts of California including: Riverside, CA: 89°, Palm Springs, CA: 82°, Borrego Springs, CA: 82°, Idyllwild, CA: 71°, Big Bear Lake, CA: 64° and Stockton, CA: 62°. 2007 Unusually cold weather covered northern districts of Bangladesh that produced temperatures as low as 41°, the coldest in 38 years. At least 130 fatalities result from the cold weather. 2008 One of the most powerful Pacific storms in years brought high winds, locally heavy rains and significant high elevation snow to interior Central California through the 5th. The heaviest rain fell in the foothills and in the southern Sierra Nevada up through about 7,000 feet in elevation where rainfall amounts reached as much as 9.41 inches at Wawona. In the High Sierra above 8,000 feet, the storm produced significant snowfall amounts in the Sierra with Aspendell reporting a total of 3 feet in 48 hours. Strong winds of 50 to 70 mph also destroyed the roof of a school and flipped over two glider planes in Avenal. Other wind gusts clocked included 75 mph at Crane Flat, 67 mph at Inyokern and 66 mph at Kettleman Hills. Bishop, CA reported 4 inches of rain, setting their all-time greatest one day rain total. On this date through the 6th, Iran's heaviest snowfall in more than a decade left at least 21 people dead, some buried under avalanches, some frozen to death and others killed in traffic accidents. As much as 22 inches of snow in areas of northern and central Iran forced schools and government offices to close, blocked major roads and lead to the cancellation of all domestic and international flights. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- January 5th: 1835 It was a record cold morning in the eastern U.S. The mercury plunged to -40° in the Berkshire Hills of Connecticut and the Yale Campus in New Haven, CT plunged to -23°. 1884 Several all-time temperature records were observed as one of the most severe cold waves ever struck the Midwest: Several locations set all-time record lows including: All-time records included Omaha, NE: -32°, Des Moines, IA: -30°, Peoria, IL: -27° and -22° at St. Louis, MO. Locations that reported daily record lows included: Bismarck, ND: -35°, Huron, SD: -35°, La Crosse, WI: -29°, Minneapolis, MN: -28°, Moline, IL: -27°, Madison, WI: -27°, Indianapolis, IN: -25°, Milwaukee, WI: -24°, Springfield, IL: -22°, Louisville, KY: -20°, Chicago, IL: -18°, Columbus, OH: -16°, Cleveland, OH: -13°, Lansing, MI: -11°, Cincinnati, OH: -10°, Toledo, OH: -10°, Nashville, TN: -10°, Pittsburgh, PA: -6°, Fort Smith, AL: -5°, Knoxville, TN: -5°, Erie, PA: -4°, Memphis, TN: 0°, Atlanta, GA: 3°, Little Rock, AR: 8°, Montgomery, AL: 13°, Mobile, AL: 19°, Pensacola, FL: 21° and Brownsville, TX: 31°. Many of these records are still on the books. 1895 Springfield, ILfinally had a measurable snowfall. This was the first occurrence of measurable snow during the winter of 1894-95, establishing a record for the latest first measurable snowfall during a winter season. 1904 Bitterly cold air gripped the northeastern U.S. Morning lows of -42° at Smethport, PA and -34° at River Vale, NJ established state records. Locations that reported daily record lows included: Williamsport, PA: -17°, Dayton, OH: -15°, Avoca, PA: -15°, Rochester, NY: -14°, Akron, OH: -10°, Portland, ME: -9°, Syracuse, NY: -9°, Milton, MA: -7°, Erie, PA: -7°, Worcester, MA: -6°, Harrisburg, PA: -5°, Buffalo, NY: -4°, Boston, MA: -3°, Philadelphia, PA: -2°, New York (Central Park), NY: -1° and Wilmington, DE: 4°. 1913 In Utah, the temperature at the east portal to Strawberry Tunnel plunged -50° to tie the record established at Woodruff on February 6, 1899. This record was broken on 2/1/1985. Locations that set daily record lows for the date included: Medford, OR: 13°, Yuma, AZ: 25° and San Diego, CA: 36°-Tied. 1949 Arctic high brought record low temperatures to the West Coast including: Ely, NV: -25°, Missoula, MT: -17°, Victorville, CA: 6°, El Paso, TX: 8°, Las Vegas, NV: 16°, Tucson, AZ: 17°, Fresno, CA: 20°, Stockton, CA: 20°, Bakersfield, CA: 21°, Sacramento, CA: 22°, Riverside, CA: 23°, Escondido, CA: 24°, Santa Ana, CA: 24°, Phoenix, AZ: 24°, Santa Maria, CA: 24°, San Francisco, CA: 26°, Long Beach, CA: 29°, San Diego, CA: 30°, San Diego, CA: 30°, Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 31° and Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 32°. 1956 An ice storm covered parts of the Maritime Provinces of Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, Canada leaving hundreds of people without power and water. 1962 Twin tornadoes, 100 yards apart, destroyed 10 homes, 10 trailers and damaged 300 homes at Crestview, FL. One person was killed and 65 people were injured. 1974 Heavy rain and snow began on the 3rd and ended on this day across southern California. One drowning death occurred near Temecula. Many highways were closed because of flooding and mudslides. Over 18 inches of snow fell in the San Bernardino Mountains. As a result, structures and a few roofs collapsed due to the weight of snow. Power lines and trees snapped. Victorville reported 17 inches, their greatest daily snowfall amount on record. 18 inches fell at Idyllwild, their greatest daily snowfall on record for January, and the third all-time greatest snowfall. Chino Lake Naval Air Station reported 11 inches of snow, their greatest snowfall on record. Las Vegas, NVreceived 9 inches of snow in a 24 hour period making this the second greatest snowfall on record. Some locations from the Rockies to the West Coast reported record low temperatures for the date including: Great Falls, MT: -26°, Sheridan, WY: -20°, Denver, CO: -17°, Lewiston, ID: -5°, Yakima, WA: -5°, Bishop, CA: 3° and Astoria, OR: 16°. The warmest temperature ever recorded in Antarctica occurred as Vanda Station on the South Coast reported 59°. 1982 A 3-day rainstorm in the San Francisco area in California finally came to an end. Marin and Cruz Counties were drenched with up to 25 inches of rain, and the Sierra Nevada Range was buried under 4 to 8 feet of snow. The Golden Gate Bridge was closed for only the 3rd time in history. The storm claimed 36 lives, and caused more than $300 million dollars damage. Yosemite Valley picked up 29.5 inches of snow, their greatest 24-hour snowfall on record. A few locations reported record low temperatures including: Great Falls, MT: -30°, Billings, MT: -17°, Yakima, WA: -7°, Quillayute, WA: 9° and Portland, OR: 19°. 1987 A massive winter storm spread heavy snow from the southwestern U.S. into the Rockies. In Utah, the Alta ski resort reported 42 inches of snow. Winds gusted to 64 mph at Albuquerque, NM. 1988 Thunderstorms helped produce heavy snow in the Lower Great Lakes Region. Snow fell at the rate of 4 to 5 inches per hour, and snowfall totals ranged up to 69 inches at Highmarket, NY. A series of storm systems brought heavy snow and bitterly cold arctic air to the southern plains through the 11th. A large portion of Oklahoma received at least 10 inches of snow, with north Texas receiving up to 3 inches. Some locations across western Oklahoma measured 16 to 18 inch total amounts over the period, with snow drifts reaching 4 feet. Oklahoma City totaled 12.1 inches of snow over a three day period, from the 5th to the 7th, which was Oklahoma City's all time record, storm total accumulation. This was recently broken on 12/24/2009 when 14.1 inches fell. Accompanying the heavy snow were record breaking cold temperatures. The mercury dropped below the freezing mark on the 4th in Oklahoma City, and stayed there until the afternoon of the 11th. The lowest temperature in Oklahoma City during the period came on the morning of the 8th, when a low of -4°was reached. Locations reporting daily record low temperatures for the date included: Valentine, NE: -29°, Rapid City, SD: -17°-Tied, Marquette, MI: -13°, Newark, NJ: 10°, Islip, NY: 10° and New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 12°-Tied. 1989 A strong Pacific cold front produced heavy snow and high winds in Nevada. Winds gusted to 80 mph north of Reno, NV, while up to 2 feet of snow blanketed the Lake Tahoe ski area. Redding, CA set a record low for the date with 26°. 1990 A winter storm brought heavy snow from the 4th through this date across the upper Midwest. Snow began over the southwestern part of Iowa and developed quickly over the rest of the state. Snowfall accumulations were generally 4 to 8 inches across Iowa and parts of southern Minnesota and Wisconsin with 9 inches reported at Grand Meadow, MN and Audobon and Little Sioux, IA reporting 8 inches. A stationary front produced thunderstorms with heavy rain across 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 11 inches of snow. 1992 Sioux Falls, SDwas mired in dense fog with visibilities under a quarter of a mile. For 9 consecutive days from 12/31/1991 to 1/8/1992 Sioux Falls had dense fog at one time or another on each day. That set their record for the most consecutive days with dense fog. The old record was 8 days set from 2/16 - 23/1957. A storm that started on this day and ended on the 7th brought one to two inches of rainfall to the lower elevations of southern California. Six to 20 inches of snow fell in the mountains and 2 to 8 inches fell in the foothills and high desert locales. Flooding and mudslides resulted. 1993 In Hawaii, winds reaching 100 mph downed power lines on Maui's Mount Haleakala laden with up to 18 inches of snow and ice that accumulated on the summit. 1994 A low pressure system traveled from the Dakotas, across southern Minnesota and to the Great Lakes Region, from the late morning through the early evening of the 7th. By the early evening hours on the 7th, up to 42 inches of snow had fell along the higher terrain of Lake Superior. The storm also produced heavy snow across parts of central Minnesota. Six inches or more occurred across much of central Minnesota. In west central Minnesota, Wheaton and Artichoke Lake received 5 inches, with 6 inches at Browns Valley. Across Wisconsin, 4 to 8 inches of snow was common with 8 to 10 inches across the central part of the state. Medford, WI checked in with 10 inches. Further south, New Orleans, LA set a record low with 27°. 1998 One of the greatest ice storms in the history of northern New England and Southern Quebec Canada brought coatings 1 to 3 inches thick across the area through the 10th. Through the 10th observations of freezing rain and drizzle in Quebec exceeded 80 hours, nearly double total average annual number of hours of freezing precipitation. The total accumulation of water equivalent of freezing precipitation, mixed at times with light snow and ice pellets, exceeded 4.3 inches at Cornwall, 3.9 inches at Montreal, 3.3 inches at Ottawa and 2.9 inches at Kingston, amounts of ice accumulation nearly twice the accumulation in notable ice storms that hit the Ottawa area in 1986 and Montreal in 1961. The thickness of ice accumulated reached 4.7 inches in places. Across northern New York and Vermont freezing rain accumulation reached 2 to 4 inches thick, and most of central Maine saw about 1 to 2 inches of freezing rain. The area of the storm receiving more 1.6 inches or more of ice held 18% of Canada's population: 56% of Quebec residents and 11% of residents from Ontario. It also accounted for 19% of all Canadian urban lands, 57% in Quebec and 19% in Ontario. At the height of the ice storm, 57 Ontario communities and 200 in Quebec declared a disaster situation. In the United States, President Clinton called the National Guard to duty in the affected areas and declared 16 counties in Maine, 9 in New Hampshire, 6 in New York and 6 in Vermont federal disaster areas. The greatest visible impact to those affected struck the power delivery systems throughout the region. The large electrical transmission towers that brought power to local communities fell as easily as the power poles that delivered the services to the residents. In Quebec alone, an estimated 1,000 transmission towers and 35,000 wooden utility poles fell or were twisted beyond recognition by the heavy ice and following winds. An additional 300 transmission towers were downed in Ontario. Over a million households in Canada lost power, some for over a month. In the U.S., the estimates from New York State, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine were of the same order, in excess of a million household affected. The storm also downed millions of trees across the region; some of them took transmission lines with them, others blocked road and damaged vehicles, homes and other buildings. In the U.S., officials compared the level of tree damage sustained to the great 1938 hurricane that struck New England. The ice storm affected 17 million acres of forest across northern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, including parts of the Green Mountain and White Mountain National Forests. Another major aspect of this storm was the extremely heavy precipitation across the region, including over 5 inches of rain that caused major flooding in portions of western New York, especially the Black River Valley. Estimated damage was $3 billion dollars in Canada and $2 billion dollars in the U.S. The storm resulted in 56 deaths. Widespread heavy rainfall occurred over much of extreme southern Missouri from the late morning hours the previous day into the morning hours on this date. Widespread rain totals of 1 to 3 inches occurred with higher amounts near Branson. The heavy rain fell on saturated ground causing flood waters to cover many highways and wash out low water crossings. 1999 A deep amplified upper level trough dug from the Pacific Northwest to the Gulf of Mexico with the main core of cold air extending from the Ohio Valley to the Gulf Coast and Florida. The new all-time record low temperature for the state of Illinois was established at Congerville, northwest of Bloomington when the temperature dropped to -36°. Champaign and Lincoln, IL dropped to -25°. Locations reporting daily record lows included: South Bend, IN: -16°, Fort Wayne, IN: -14°-Tied, Detroit, MI: -10°, Meridian, MS: 11°, Macon, GA: 16°, Columbus, GA: 17°-Tied, Mobile, AL: 18°, Pensacola, FL: 20°, Tallahassee, FL: 20°, Baton Rouge, LA: 20°, Gainesville, FL: 21°, Jacksonville, FL: 23° and Orlando, FL: 33°. 2002 A freak winter storm brought extreme cold and snow to parts of Southeastern Europe. Six inches of snow fell in Athens, Greece, and heavy snow brought the city of Istanbul, Turkey to a standstill. 2003 A low pressure dropped 2 to 6 inches of snow across the region. Hundreds of traffic accidents were reported, including a 35 car pileup on Interstate 695 near Baltimore, MD. An upper level ridge combined with a surface ridge across the West produced winds and record highs. Mono Winds developed bringing gusts as high as 106 mph to ski towers in the Sierra Nevada in California. Locations that reported record high temperatures for the date included: Borrego Springs, CA: 85°, Palm Springs, CA: 83°, Idyllwild, CA: 72°, Las Vegas, NV: 71 and Big Bear Lake, CA: 64°. 2004 An upper level trough combined with arctic high pressure to bring record cold from the Pacific Northwest to parts of the Plains while upper level high pressure off the southeast coast brought a few record highs from parts of the Southeast to the Delmarva Coast. Meacham, OR set their all-time record low when the temperature bottomed out at -31°. Locations reporting record low temperatures for the date included: North Platte, NE: -22°, Yakima, WA: -14°, Pendleton, OR: -11° and Lewiston, ID: -5°-Tied. Locations across the southeast to thr Delmarva that reported record high temperatures included: Macon, GA: 81°, Savannah, GA: 81°, Jacksonville, FL: 81°, Charleston, SC: 79°, Norfolk, VA: 74°, Oak Ridge, TN: 70° and Wallops Island, VA: 66°-Tied. 2005 Two tornadoes, about one hour apart, struck the Santa Catarina state in southern Brazil. The twisters killed at least one person, destroyed three homes, and severely damaged at least 27 others. 2007 Offshore winds started on this day and continued peaking each morning through the 8th across southern California. Winds gusted to 84 mph at Fremont Canyon, 64 mph at Rancho Cucamonga, 63 mph at El Cariso, 62 mph at Rialto and 55 mph at Ontario. Downed power poles, tree limbs resulted. Trees fell on homes and cars in Lake Arrowhead. 2009 A winter storm brought snow and ice across France, forcing the closure of an icy Eiffel Tower in Paris and causing flight cancellations. Up to 4 inches of snow covered parts of the country while most areas, including Paris, receive around half that amount. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- January 6th: 1821 A major snowstorm finally came to a close across the Mid-Atlantic States into southern New England. 18 inches of snow fell at Philadelphia, PA, 14 inches at New York City, NY and 12 inches at Washington, D.C. 1856 Thoreau’s “long and snowy winter” continued with the season’s deepest snowfall. 18 inches fell at Providence, RI and 12 inches of snow fell at Boston, MA. 1880 Seattle, WA experienced its greatest snowstorm in history. Up to 4 feet of snow fell, destroying buildings and bringing transportation to a halt. 1884 The temperature dipped to -1° at Atlanta, GA. It marked the final day of a severe arctic outbreak in the South and Midwest. Other record low temperatures for the date included: Fargo, ND: -33°, Bismarck, ND: -32°, Peoria, IL: -21°, Moline, IL: -20°, Columbus, OH: -20°, Indianapolis, IN: -20°, Knoxville, TN: -16°, Chicago, IL: -14°, Louisville, KY: -14°, Toledo, OH: -14°, Springfield, IL: -12°, St. Louis, MO: -11°, Nashville, TN: -10°, Lansing, MI: -10°-Tied, Cleveland, OH: -9°, Cincinnati, OH: -6°, Detroit, MI: -3°, Memphis, TN: -2°, Boston, MA: 0°, Washington, D.C.: 2°, Charlotte, NC: 5°, Little Rock, AR: 6°, Wilmington, NC: 9°, Norfolk, VA: 10°, Pensacola, FL: 16°, Savannah, GA: 18°, Jacksonville, FL: 21° and Brownsville, TX: 25°. 1886 The “Great Blizzard of 1886” struck the Midwest without warning. High winds, subzero temperatures and heavy snowfall caused as many as 100 deaths and 80% of the cattle in the state of Kansas. 1892 A tornado destroyed five homes at Winter Garden, FL. A woman was killed when her home turned completely upside down and fell on her. Five people were injured. 1913 The coldest weather on record gripped San Diego County on this day and on the 7th. In San Diego, the morning low temperature on this day was a record low 28° and the high temperature was an all-time record low maximum of 45°. A killing freeze occurred all over San Diego County and many crops and fruit were lost. Water pipes were frozen, trolley lines were disrupted and fishing nets were made unusable. There was ice skating in a San Diego fountain on ice three quarters of an inch thick. Fresno, CA dropped to an all-time low of 17°. Locations reporting daily record lows for the date included: Cheyenne, WY: -26°, Colorado Springs, CO: -26° (broke previous record by 16 degrees), Lander, WY: -24°, Pueblo, CO: -18°, El Paso, TX: 11°, Bakersfield, CA: 16°, Phoenix, AZ: 17°, Austin, TX: 18°, Winslow, AZ: 24° and Downtown, Los Angeles, CA: 30°. 1918 A major snowstorm hit parts of the Midwest. Officially Chicago, IL recorded 14.4 inches of snow with 1.44 inches of liquid equivalent. This established a new daily precipitation record. This contributed to January 1918 as having the greatest monthly snowfall with a total of 42.5 inches, nearly four times their monthly average. This storm gave Rockford, IL on of their largest snow amounts ever recorded. A record 16.3 inches blanketed the town, their greatest single storm total. This contributed to their snowiest January on record with 36.1 inches just 0.2 inches shy of an entire normal winter season. 1928 A severe northwesterly gale pushed a strong storm surge down the coast of the North Sea. Combining with a high tide in the Thames estuary, the surge caused severe flooding in the London area, leaving thousands homeless. 1950 Cold high pressure brought record lows to parts of the West including: Victorville, CA: 5°, Bishop, CA: 6°, Idyllwild, CA: 9°, Stockton, CA: 21°, Santa Ana, CA: 22°, Riverside, CA: 24°, Sacramento, CA: 24°, Palm Springs, CA: 26°, San Francisco Airport, CA: 29°, Long Beach, CA: 30° and Los Angeles (LAX), CA; 34°. 1962 Snow, strong winds, and sub-zero temperatures along with near blizzard conditions caused hazardous driving conditions across parts of the northern Plains through the 9th. Snowfall totals of 2 to 6 inches with winds of 30 to 40 mph caused widespread low visibilities along with drifts up to 4 foot high across central and northeast South Dakota. 1966 A Chinook wind at Pincher Creek, Alberta Canada sent the temperature soaring 38° in just 4 minutes. 1970 A tornado outbreak hit parts of west-central Florida during the morning hours. Five trailers overturned and power & telephone lines were downed at Apollo Beach, FL in Hillsborough County. Other tornadoes touched down in Ruskin, Lakeland, Bartow, Mulberry, and Avon Park. A total of six tornadoes caused five injuries and fortunately no fatalities. AN upper level trough combined with surface high pressure brought record cold from the Rockies to the West Coast. Locations that reported record low temperatures included: Alamosa, CO: -27°, Waterloo, IA: -26°, Dubuque, IA: -23°, Springfield, IL: -14°, Fort Wayne, IN: -12°-Tied, Denver, CO: -10°, Winslow, AZ: -7°, Clayton, NM: -3°, Paducah, KY: -2°-Tied, Midland-Odessa, TX: 13°, San Antonio, TX: 22°, Austin (Bergstrom), TX: 25°, Lake Charles, LA: 26° and Corpus Christi, TX: 31°. 1971 A deep upper level trough combined with surface high pressure produced record low temperatures from the Rockies to West Coast including: Alamosa, CO: -40° (broke previous record by 13 degrees), Ely, NV: -24°, Denver, CO: -16°, Winslow, AZ: -15°, Grand Junction, CO: -14°, Albuquerque, NM: -12°, Clayton, NM: -8°, Salt Lake City, UT: -6°, Lubbock, TX: 0°, El Paso, TX: 11°-Tied, Las Vegas, NV: 12°-Tied, Palomar Mountain, CA: 15° and Santa Maria, CA: 26°. 1973 Ice, snow, and cold temperatures covered much of Oklahoma. A layer of ice was covered by as much as 9 inches of snow at Oklahoma City. Even walking became dangerous, as several hundred injuries throughout the area were attributed to traffic accidents and slips on the ice. Over central Oklahoma, temperatures stayed below freezing for as much as 10 consecutive days. Due to the extreme length of below freezing temperatures, some locations kept at least 1 inch of snow on the ground for 14 days. A few locations across the West reported record low temperatures for the date including: Casper, WY: -21°, Salt Lake City, UT: -7°, Bishop, CA: 5°, Seattle, WA: 15°, Quillayute, WA: 17° and Santa Maria, CA: 23°. 1983 All 50 states had at least one location that was below freezing on this date, an unusual occurrence. 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. 1988 One of the largest snowfall episodes this century for the southern U.S. was in full swing. The storm, occurring from the 5th to the 8th, produced heavy snow from the Oklahoma Panhandle to Virginia. This was the largest snowstorm this century for the state of Arkansas. Heber Springs, AR checked in with 16 inches of snowclaiming 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. Up to 20 inches was reported in Macon County in western North Carolina. Sleet and freezing rain paralyzed areas along the southern perimeter of the snowfall zone with one inch ice accumulations reported in northern Alabama. Locations from the Plains to the East Coast reported record low temperatures for the date including: Kennebec, SD: -37°, Huron, SD: -37°, Sioux Falls, SD: -29°, Valentine, NE: -27°, Pierre, SD: -26°, Rockford, IL: -19°, Marquette, MI: -16°, Chicago, IL: -14°-Tied, Grand Rapids, MI: -12°, Elkins, WV: -12°, Binghamton, NY: -2°, Youngstown, OH: -2°, Jackson, KY: 1°, Bridgeport, CT: 8°, Newark, NJ: 8°, Islip, NY: 8°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 9°, New York (LaGuardia), NY: 10° and Wallops Island, VA: 13°. 1989 A 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 5 feet high, and produced wind chill readings as cold as -35°. The blizzard prompted an Idaho Falls air controller to remark that "the snow is blowing so hard you can't see the fog". Further east across the upper Midwest, heavy snowfall of 8 to 12 inches with local amounts of 24 to 26 inches fell in northern Minnesota the 6th through the 8th. The heavy snow was followed by an Arctic intrusion which brought in 35 to 50 mph winds. This caused a shutdown the Red River Valley. Snowdrifts were from 5 to 10 feet in some areas. Roads had to be closed. The strong winds caused near-blizzard conditions along with extremely low wind chills. 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 courtesy of upper level high pressure offshore. A few cities reported record high temperatures for the date, including Miami with a reading of 86°. Vero Beach and Orlando reached 85° and 84° respectively. The hot spot in the nation was West Palm Beach with a high of 87°. 1992 The Milwaukee, WI area endured their 11th consecutive day without sunshine. This broke the old record of 10 consecutive days from 11//22 to 12/1/1985. 1993 A nearly continuous 5-day snowstorm brought a record 23.3 inches of snow to Salt Lake City, UT, and left a record 26 inches of snow on the ground. A state of emergency was declared. A very wet series of storms that began on this day and ended on the 18th across southern California produced 20 to 50 inches of precipitation in the mountains and up to 12 inches at lower elevations over a two week period. It was one of the longest periods of consecutive days of rain on record (13) and measurable rain fell nearly every day from 1/2 to 1/19. Flooding and flash flooding, mud slides, etc., resulted. This day marked the start of 14 consecutive days of measurable precipitation in Santa Ana, Escondido and Big Bear Lake which ended on 1/19, the most on record. 1994 Big snows blitzed the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. Alta was buried under 55.5 inches of snow in 24 hours, setting a new 24 hour snowfall record for the location. Over 70 inches fell from the 4th through the 6th. 1995 A warm front helped to cause a heavy snow event across southwest and central Iowa. Snowfall amounts were generally from 6 to 8 inches across a 60-mile wide band extending from south of the Council Bluffs area through Des Moines to between Marshalltown and Waterloo. The Des Moines airport received 8.1 inches of snow, with 7.8 inches reported at Ankeny. Following the snowfall, an arctic cold front dropped southeast across the state. The winds were gusty in the wake of the front, gusting at times to 30 to 40 mph in northwest Iowa. Across East-Central Missouri, a period of freezing rain, freezing drizzle, and sleet caused glazing with accumulations from one-quarter to three-quarters inch. The layer of ice left roads hazardous; resulting in hundreds of accidents including parts of Interstate 70 being shut-down for a short time. 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 20 inches of snow fell in Central Park, making it the 3rd biggest snowfall ever there. Other notable record accumulations included 30.7 inches in Philadelphia, PA; 27.8 inches Newark, NJ, 24.9 inches in Roanoke, VA and 14.4 inches as far away as Cincinnati, OH. The snowfall at Dulles Airport accumulated to 24.6 inches while National Airport measured 17.1 inches. Other snowfall totals included 25.7 inches in Rockville, MD, 22.5 inches in Baltimore, MD and 21 inches in Fredericksburg, VA. Generally snowfall amounts between Washington D.C. and Boston, MA were between 17 to 30 inches. The snow bands were accompanied by lightning, thunder and whiteout conditions at times. 100 people died in the storm and damage totaled $2 billion. The blizzard of 1996 was just the first of three snowstorms to hit the Mid-Atlantic during the snowy week of 1/7 to 1/12. On the 9th an Alberta clipper storm center passed directly over the Mid-Atlantic region, dropping another quick shot of snowfall totaling 1 to 6 inches. The third and final snow took place on the 12th as a quick moving coastal storm dropping 5 to 12 inches of snow across the Mid-Atlantic. In the Baltimore–Washington area, on January 18th there was an extremely rapid thaw brought on by temperatures in the lower 60s along with high dew point temperatures and heavy rain. A foot of snow melted in about 8 hours during the night. Many grassy areas appeared in the morning and snow piles that were left appeared to be “steaming” in high dew point temperatures. This sudden melt of snow sent the Potomac River surging out of its banks. The Potomac River approached levels not seen since flooding caused by Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972. Also many small streams and creeks caused flooding from the rain and the extremely quick snow melt. Many locations also reported record low temperatures for the date including: Syracuse, NY: -24° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Burlington, VT: -23°, Albany, NY: -19°, Alpena, MI: -16°, Buffalo, NY: -10°, Binghamton, NY: -7°, Erie, PA: -3°, Providence, RI: 1°-Tied, Bridgeport, CT: 2°, Newark, NJ: 6°, Islip, NY: 6°, New York (LaGuardia), NY: 8° and New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 9°-Tied. 1999 Heavy snow piled up on top of the snow dropped during the blizzard a few days earlier across parts of Michigan. Another 9 inches of snow at Muskegon, MI brings the snow total on the ground to 30 inches, with snow drifts several feet high. This would be the snowiest January on record at Grand Rapids, MI with 46.8 inches and Lansing with 34.6 inches. A few locations up and down the East Coast reported record low temperatures for the date including: Caribou, ME: -20°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 4°-Tied, Wallops Island, VA: 13°-Tied, Savannah, GA: 17°, Charleston, SC: 17°, Gainesville, FL: 19°, Daytona Beach, FL: 30°, Tampa, FL: 30°, Orlando, FL: 31° and Vero Beach, FL: 32°. 2001 On this date through the 7th, the largest snowstorm in 6 years struck Charlottetown, Prince Edward island, Canada dropping 17 inches of snow blown into huge drifts with winds gusting to 44 mph. Temperatures plummet to a record -70°in the Kemerovo region of western Siberia, while temperatures in much of the rest of Russia east of the Ural Mountains shiver around -40°. 2002 National Airport in Washington, DC recorded its first trace of snow for this winter season, their latest first snow on record for the location. Welcome rains fell on parts of New South Wales in Australia where 20,000 fire fighters had been battling bushfires 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 were made. A father and son fishing on a sand bar along the English coast 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. Snow fell in Athens, Greece for the first time since 1992 beginning on the 4th ending on this date. The snow accumulated 1 to 2 inches in the city and 4 inches at the Acropolis. Some Aegean islands were also affected by snow and gale force winds. On this date the low temperature at Athens fell to 28° and the high was just 35° compared to the normal of 55°, while in Souda on Crete the low and high was just 33° and 38° respectively. The average January high there is 61°. It wasn't just cold in Greece though; in Italy, Rome and Naples dropped to lows of 23° and 27° respectively the previous morning. 2003 A Continental Airlines Express Jet with 51 people onboard 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 quick storm. Widespread Santa Ana winds blew on this day and ended on the 7th across southern California. A gust of 100 mph was measured at Fremont Canyon, 90 mph at Ontario, 80 mph at Upland, 72 mph at Trabuco Canyon, 70 mph at Riverside and 58 mph at Miramar. Two people died and 11 others were injured. Widespread property damage resulted, as well as road closures, power outages, downed trees, wildfires and crop damage. Locations reporting record high temperatures for the date included: Borrego Springs, CA: 83°, Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 77°, Redding, CA: 73°, Eureka, CA: 69°, San Francisco Airport, CA: 66°, Astoria, OR: 63° and Quillayute, WA: 57°. 2004 On this date through the 8th, the worst snow and ice storm in a decade blasted Portland, OR. The airport remained closed for three days as thick ice coated runways, stranding thousands of passengers. Many roads and highways were closed because of ice, accidents, downed trees and power lines. A few locations across the central states reported record lows for the date including: Helena, MT: -32°, Scottsbluff, NE: -29°, Missoula, MT: -23° and Wichita Falls, TX: 7°. 2005 Two weather systems moved out of the southwestern United States affecting areas from the mid Mississippi Valley to the Ohio Valley with heavy snowfall from the afternoon of the 4th through the early morning on this date. The first system brought snow to mainly northeast Iowa and southwest Wisconsin on the 4th spreading northward by the 5th. The second system, right on the heels of the first, continued the snowfall on the 5th and spread further north by the afternoon. By late on the 5th, many areas over northeast Iowa and southwest Wisconsin had already accumulated 5 to 7 inches of snow. By morning on this date, a storm total snow band of 15 to 17 inches was located from west of Dubuque, IA to west of Waterloo, IA. Amounts decreased northward with the I-90 corridor receiving about 4 to 5 inches and 6 to 9 inches across central Wisconsin. Some of the more significant snow totals from the storm: Oelwein, IA: 17 inches, Edgewood, IA: 13.5 inches, Fayette, IA: 13.1 inches, Volga, IA: 12.6 inches, Cassville, WI: 11.5 inches, Elkader, IA: 11.3 inches, New Hampton, IA: 10.5 inches, Decorah, IA: 10.3 inches, Cuba City, WI: 10.5 inches and Victory, WI: 10 inches. This system brought significant icing to much of central Illinois, with ice accumulations of a quarter to a half inch common. There were numerous reports of downed trees and power lines, as well as numerous traffic accidents. A half to 3 inches of ice accumulated across Grant County, Indiana causing major power outages and trees snapping under the weight of the ice. 100 power poles snapped making the total without power around 120,000 residents. There were 4 deaths due to this storm 2006 In the Central Atlantic, Tropical Storm Zeta weakened to below tropical storm strength, thus ending the infamous and record setting 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Zeta, which developed in the last days of December 2005, was the unprecedented 27th named storm of that season. A 28th storm would be later named that developed October 4th about 740 miles southwest of the Azores. 2009 The “Pineapple Express” brought mild temperatures and torrential rain to the Pacific Northwest, melting snowpack from the previous month's record snowstorms and causing massive flooding, mudslides, and avalanches across the state of Washington. A number of precipitation records are set. Seattle, WA received a record 2.29 inches of rain at the Sea-Tac Airport, and at Olympia a record 4.82 inches of rain fell. More than 30,000 people are encouraged to evacuate their homes due to flooding. Roads and railway connections are cut as highway officials close a 20-mile stretch of I-5 and Amtrak passenger service out of Seattle is suspended. Several cities declared a civil emergency. The Snoqualmie River at Carnation reached its highest recorded levels: 61.5 feet or 7.5 feet above flood stage on January 7. The National Weather Service estimated damages at $125 million. Germanyshivered through their coldest night of the winter with a low temperature of -18° recorded in the eastern state of Saxony. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- January 7th: 1821 A major snowstorm affected the area from the Mid-Atlantic to New England. 14 inches fell at Baltimore, MD and New York City, NY, 18 inches at Philadelphia, PA and one foot at Washington, D.C. 1873 A blizzard raged across the Great Plains. Many pioneers, unprepared for the cold and snow, perished in southwest Minnesota and northwestern Iowa. 1887 Many locations endured record cold across the upper Midwest and Plains. Rochester, MN plunged to -42°, their all-time coldest temperature on record. Locations that reported daily record lows included: Bismarck, ND: -40°, Fargo, ND: -39°, Minneapolis, MN: -34°, Huron, SD: -30°, La Crosse, WI: -29°, Madison, WI: -29°, Moline, IL: -26°, Des Moines, IA: -24°, Lansing, MI: -24°, Peoria, IL: -21°, Omaha, NE: -20°, Lincoln, NE: -16°, Milwaukee, WI: -16° and Chicago, IL: -15°. 1912 Many locations from the Plains to the East Coast dealt with dangerous cold temperatures. Blair, WI plunged to -49°, their all-time coldest temperature on record. Medford, WI and Columbia, MO set January record lows with -40° and -20° respectively. Locations that reported daily record low temperatures included: Aberdeen, SD: -39°, Kennebec, SD: -37°, Duluth, MN: -36°, St. Cloud, MN: -35°, Huron, SD: -34°, La Crosse, WI: -34°, Mobridge, SD: -33°, Grand Forks, ND: -33°, Timber Lake, SD: -30°, Sioux Falls, SD: -30°, Norfolk, NE: -29°, Waterloo, IA: -27°, Green Bay, WI: -27°, Sioux City, IA: -26°, Des Moines, IA: -25°, Rockford, IL: -20°, Springfield, IL: -19°, Burlington, VT: -19°, Dodge City, KS: -18°, Milwaukee, WI: -18°, Goodland, KS: -17°, Chicago, IL: -16°, Indianapolis, IN: -16°, South Bend, IN: -16°, Springfield, MO: -15°, St. Louis, MO: -14°, Topeka, KS: -13°, Evansville, IN: -12°, Kansas City, MO: -11°, Wichita, KS: -10°, Dayton, OH: -10°, Cincinnati, OH: -9°, Louisville, KY: -8°, Lexington, KY: -7°, Nashville, TN: -6°, Amarillo, TX: -6°, Elkins, WV: -6°, Muskegon, MI: -5°, Toledo, OH: -5°, Tulsa, OK: -5°, Beckley, WV: -4°, Lewiston, ID: -3°, Oklahoma City, OK: -3°, Little Rock, AR: -2°, Memphis, TN: -2°, Fort Smith, AR: -1°, Providence, RI: -1°, Buffalo, NY: 0°, Hartford, CT: 1°, Abilene, TX: 3°, Huntsville, AL: 5°, Dallas (DFW), TX: 6°, Harrisburg, PA: 7°, Waco, TX: 8°, Philadelphia, PA: 9°, Lynchburg, VA: 10°, Roanoke, VA: 10°, Austin, TX: 13°, Richmond, VA: 13°, Greensboro, NC: 14°, Jackson, MS: 16°, Meridian, MS: 18°-Tied, Victoria, TX: 21°, Houston, TX: 22° and Corpus Christi, TX: 25°. 1913 Record cold covered areas from the Plains to the West Coast. A killing freeze occurred all over San Diego County in California and many crops and fruit were lost. Water pipes were frozen, trolley lines were disrupted and fishing nets were made unusable. There was ice skating in a San Diego fountain on ice three-quarters of an inch thick. All-time record low temperatures were set at Tucson, AZ & San Diego, CA with 0° and 25° respectively. Downtown Los Angeles, CA tied their January record low with 28°. Locations that reported daily record lows included: Scottsbluff, NE: -29°, Valentine, NE: -26°, Lander, WY: -26°, Pueblo, CO: -25°, Colorado Springs, CO: -21°, Grand Junction, CO: -19°, Flagstaff, AZ: -17°, Albuquerque, NM: -7°, Roswell, NM: -7°, Salt Lake City, UT: -2°, El Paso, TX: 4°, Campo, CA: 4°, Cuyamaca, CA: 9°, Alpine, CA: 13°, Bakersfield, CA: 14°, Julian, CA: 15°, Lakeside, CA: 15°, Phoenix, AZ: 16°, Fresno, CA: 20°, El Cajon, CA: 20°, Lemon Grove, CA: 22°, La Mesa, CA: 24°, San Diego, CA: 25°, Chula Vista, CA: 26°, Yuma, AZ: 26°, Galveston, TX: 28° and Brownsville, TX: 30°. 1966 Tropical Cyclone Denise dropped 45 inches of rain on La Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean in 12 hours, and 71.80 inches of rain in 48 hours through the 8th. 1969 A violent windstorm struck the Colorado Rockies and adjacent Foothills. The National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, CO reported a gust of 130 mph. Downtown Boulder reported a gust to 96 mph and the anemometer at the Boulder airport was blown away after measuring a wind gust of 80 mph. The windstorm caused over a million dollars in damage and one fatality in Boulder. 25 structures in Boulder had their roofs blown off or seriously damaged. 1971 A deep upper level trough and strong jet stream brought record cold from parts of the Rockies to the West Coast. The temperature at Hawley Lake, located southeast of McNary, AZ, plunged to -41° to establish a state record. Locations that reported daily record low temperatures included: Alamosa, CO: -38°, Albuquerque, NM: -17° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Ely, NV: -15°, Winslow, AZ: -13°, Las Vegas, NV: 15°, Santa Maria, CA: 25°, Long Beach, CA: 31° and Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 36°-Tied. 1973 A major ice storm crippled Atlanta, GA with 4 inches of freezing rain. 2.27 inches of liquid equivalent precipitation fell in just two hours during the evening hours as the temperature hovered at 32°. Schools and businesses were closed for several days. Up to 300,000 people had no electricity for a week. 1976 Temperatures remained at freezing or slightly below over some sections of the southern portion of eastern Pennsylvania as rain and drizzle fell. This caused a coating of ice on roadways which resulted in hundreds of injuries and three deaths in auto accidents. The suburban sections around Philadelphia were especially hard hit and along with the many traffic accidents, hundreds of pedestrians were injured in falls on the ice. Philadelphia received over three quarters of an rain of rain but remained above freezing. 1985 La Coruna in the extreme northwest of Spain records its coldest night on record as lows drop to 23.4°. 1986 Offshore Santa Ana winds across southern California peaked at 100 mph at Rialto and 90 mph at Laguna Peak. Winds topped 60 mph near Mt. Laguna and up to 27 mph at San Diego. Three tractor trailer rigs overturned on I-8 killing two people. Another overturned rig in Ontario resulted in another death. Other accidents around Pomona occurred due to wind. 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. 1988 A powerful winter storm brought misery to the Southeast. Heavy snow fell from Arkansas to South Carolina, with 27 inches reported in the Bad Creek area of South Carolina and 10 inches reported at Huntsville, AL. Behind the storm, a blast of arctic air brought record low temperatures from the Great Lakes to the Mid-Atlantic States including: Grand Rapids, MI: -15°, Elkins, WV: -12°, Muskegon, MI: -11°, Youngstown, OH: -6°, Amarillo, TX: -6°-Tied, Avoca, PA: 3°, Bridgeport, CT: 7°, Atlantic City, NJ: 7°, Philadelphia, PA: 7°, Baltimore, MD: 8°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 8°, Wichita Falls, TX: 8°-Tied, Jackson, KY: 9°, Wilmington, DE: 10°-Tied, Richmond, VA: 12°, Wallops Island, VA: 12°, Islip, NY: 13°, Greensboro, NC: 14°-Tied and Raleigh, NC: 15°-Tied. 1989 A southwesterly flow out ahead of a strong cold front brought record high temperatures from the southern Plains to the Great Lakes. Including: Corpus Christi, TX: 90°, Fort Myers, FL: 85°-Tied, Mobile, AL: 79°, Montgomery, AL: 79°, Meridian, MS: 79°, Houston, TX: 79°-Tied, Jackson, MS: 78°-Tied, Pensacola, FL: 77°-Tied, Savannah, GA: 77°-Tied, Macon, GA: 76°, Little Rock, AR: 75°, Birmingham, AL: 74°, Columbus, GA: 74°, Memphis, TN: 74°, Atlanta, GA: 72°-Tied, Huntsville, AL: 71°, Evansville, IN: 67°, Jackson, KY: 67°, Bristol, TN: 67°, Oak Ridge, TN: 66°, Mansfield, OH: 60°, Detroit, MI: 57°, Flint, MI: 55°, Lansing, MI: 53° and Grand Rapids, MI: 52°. Along and just ahead of the front came volatile weather as six tornadoes, unusually strong for mid-winter, raked southern Illinois and Indiana. An F4 tornado at Allendale, IL destroyed much of the town, injured 50 people and caused more than $5 million dollars damage. Thunderstorm winds gusting more than 100 mph caused $10 million dollars damage at Franklin, KY. Behind front, a strong storm brought wintry precipitation across the upper Plains and Midwest. 5 to 19 inches of snow fell across northern and east central South Dakota beginning the previous day ending on this date. Snow and blowing snow reduced visibilities to near zero in many locations as winds gusted to near 50 mph. Part of Interstate 29 north of Sisseton was closed during the night. Icy roads contributed to many accidents. Extreme wind chills of -30° to -60° occurred. 1 to 3 inches of snow were blown around by northwest winds of 30 to 40 mph, occasionally gusting to 55 mph across northwest Iowa. Driving was nearly impossible. Scattered power outages were reported. Wind chill indices plummeted to dangerously cold levels at -50° and colder. 1990 A rapidly intensifying low pressure system and a vigorous cold front brought heavy rain and high winds to the Pacific Northwest. 2 to 5 inches of rain soaked western Washington and Oregon, and winds gusting above 70 mph caused extensive damage. Wind gusts on Rattlesnake Ridge in Washington State reached 130 mph. 1992 An intense winter storm buried parts of the Rockies into the central Plains with severe storms across eastern Nebraska. 14.8 inches of snow was recorded at Stapleton International Airport in Denver, CO. Snowfall totals ranged from a few inches in the Foothills west of Denver to two feet on the east side of metro Denver. 22 inches of snow fell in southeast Aurora, CO. At times the snow fell at rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour. North winds blowing at 25 to 45 mph piled the snow into 4 to 8 foot drifts closing I-70 and I-25. To the north and east Cheyenne, WY reported 12.7 inches and Scottsbluff in the Nebraska panhandle reported 6.7 inches. Further to the north, a rare January thunderstorm rumbled over Sioux Falls, SD dropping 0.37 inches of rain. This was the first January thunderstorm recorded in the city since 1939. Meanwhile, thunderstorms produced 6 tornadoes, one F2 and five F1s, near Grand Island, NE, the first tornadoes ever recorded in Nebraska during the month of January. 1994 A great ice storm began on this date extending into the next day. Low pressure formed east of Wyoming on the 5th, moved to the central Mississippi Valley on the 6th, reached eastern Kentucky during the morning on this date and redeveloped along the eastern Virginia coast on the morning of the 8th. A strong high pressure system remained nearly stationary over Ontario Province, Canada and continued to pump in cold air near the ground. This kept temperatures below freezing throughout this event resulting in one of the worst ice storms on record for southeastern Pennsylvania, northern Maryland and northern Delaware. The freezing rain started lightly during the morning glazing roadways. As the rain increased in intensity during the night, the accumulation of ice started to down tree limbs and power lines. Ice accumulations were a quarter to a half inch across most of southeastern Pennsylvania, but amounts reached up to an inch in the northwestern Philadelphia suburbs. While there were 5,000 customers without power in the Lehigh valley, the hardest hit area was around Philadelphia. Approximately 590,000 Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO) customers lost power. This represents about 40% of their customers and was the worst power outage in PECO's history, surpassing the 400,000 customers who lost power during the heavy wet snowstorm on 3/20/1958. Approximately 150,000 (of 232,000) customers lost power in Delaware County, 134,000 in Bucks County, 112,000 in Chester County, 105,000 in Montgomery County and 89,000 in Philadelphia County. As of the 9th, 123,000 customers still did not have power. Full power was not restored until the morning the 11th. There were literally thousands of ice-related vehicular accidents and described as "countless" number of personal injuries resulting from slipping on the ice. Miraculously no one was directly killed as a result of this ice storm. In addition to damage to electrical lines, the ice accumulation on fruit trees brought a significant amount of damage. 1995 An F2 tornado destroyed or heavily damaged 66 mobile homes with less extensive damage to another 85 dwellings, mostly mobile homes at Summerfield, FL. A man was killed while sitting in his car outside a mobile home when the car was rolled four times. Another 20 people, mostly those in mobile homes, were injured. A brief blast of high winds hit the eastern Foothills and adjacent Front Range of Colorado. A wind gust of 112 mph was recorded atop Squaw Mountain west of Denver and 81 mph in Boulder. 1996 The "Blizzard of '96" clobbered the Mid Atlantic and Northeast with record snows. The storm began over the Mid Atlantic on the 6th, and ended over New England on the 8th. Low pressure developed over the southeast on the 6th, and eventually became a 983 millibar storm center off of the Delmarva (29.03 inHg). 42.5 inches of snow was recorded at Bayard, WV, while 39 inches fell at Snowshoe, WV. A new snowfall record for New Jersey was set when 35 inches piled up at White House. All the big cities along the I-95 corridor got buried with totals including: Philadelphia, PA: 30.7 inches (their biggest snowfall ever), New York City (Staten Island): 27.5 inches, Dulles Airport in Sterling, VA: 24.6 inches, Baltimore, MD: 22.5 inches and Boston, MA: 18.2 inches. Other snowfall totals included 38 inches at Upper Strasburg, PA, 37 inches at Shenandoah, VA, 36 inches at Standfordville, NY, 32 inches at Great Barrington, MA, 28 inches in the Pine Mountains in Kentucky, 27 inches at Coventry, RI and 26 inches at Milford, CT. Cincinnati, Ohio had 14.4 inches for its greatest single storm snowfall on record (exceeded in 1998). This event was the second in a series of snowstorms along the east coast during a ten day period. Behind the storm a few locations reported record low temperatures for the date including: Houghton Lake, MI: -20°, Syracuse, NY: -11°, Binghamton, NY: -1°-Tied, Newark, NJ: 10°-Tied and Daytona Beach, FL: 35°-Tied’ A ridge brought record highs to parts of southern California. Downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach reported record highs of 87° and 83° respectively. 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 Albuquerque, NM. As much as 2 feet fell on the highest peaks around Tucson, AZ as the city recorded its first flakes since 3/16/1991. 1998 A second low pressure system was bringing more freezing rain to New England as one of the greatest ice storms in United States history raged. By the end of the storm, electrical service would be out across 70% of the state of Maine. 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, Tennessee, where 7 people lost their lives. Heavy rains produced flash flooding across portions of eastern Mississippi. Meridian reported 4.26 inches of rain. Property damages totaled nearly $2 million dollars. 2002 A trace of snow fell in Washington D.C. on the 6th and this date, their latest first snowfall of the winter recorded here since Christmas Day 1894. An unusual snow fell across parts of the Middle East. Amman Jordan’s hilly streets were ice coated, stranding many people. Traffic came to a standstill in Jerusalem, Israel as heavy snow fell. 2003 A very strong unseasonable ridge brought record high temperatures from parts of the Upper Midwest, southern Canada to the West Coast including: Santa Ana, CA: 88°, San Diego, CA: 82°, Redding, CA: 72°, Sheridan, WY: 67°, Norfolk, NE: 66° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), San Francisco Airport, CA: 65°, Lincoln, NE: 65°, Omaha, NE: 65°, Sioux City, IA: 64° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Scottsbluff, NE: 64°, Kennebec, SD: 63°, Grand Island, NE: 63°, Cheyenne, WY: 63°, Pierre, SD: 61°, Great Falls, MN: 61°, Huron, SD: 60°, Des Moines, IA: 59°, Waterloo, IA: 59°, Mobridge, SD: 58°, Sioux Falls, SD: 56°, La Crosse, WI: 56°, Sisseton, SD: 54°, Minneapolis, MN: 52°, Rochester, MN: 51°, St. Cloud, MN: 51°, Wheaton, SD: 48°, Madison, WI: 47°, Duluth, MN: 46° and International Falls, MN: 46°. The temperature at Calgary Alberta Canada soared to a January record high of 63.7°. London, England experienced its largest snowfall since February 1991 when 5 inches fell. 2005 Strong southeast pre-frontal winds, with gusts between 40 and 50 mph in the valley across south-central California, knocked down trees and power lines causing damage to property, with most of the damages in Merced, Fresno, Clovis and Visalia. Near Arvin wind gusts were estimated at 75 mph and power poles were knocked down. In Bakersfield, a gust of 49 mph was recorded while Fresno reported a 46 mph gust. 9.2 inches of snowfell at Greater Victoria, British Columbia Canada causing traffic tie-ups across the city. During the week, Victoria received over 18 inches which is nearly the city's annual snow accumulation of 18.9 inches. 2008 Fast-moving thunderstorms sweep across portions of northeastern Illinois into southeast Wisconsin from north of the Rockford, IL area to near Kenosha, WI. The storms produced tornados that left a trail of damage from Machesney Park, north of Rockford, east-northeastward through Poplar Grove, IL. An EF-3 twister passed north of Harvard, IL before moving into southeast Wisconsin causing damage near New Munster, WI. Near Harvard, a tornado derailed a freight train. Two twisters are also sighted near the Kenosha County Airport. The twisters damaged numerous homes and downed trees, transformers and power lines. Hardest hit was a subdivision in Wheatland, WI, about 50 miles southwest of Milwaukee, where at least 55 homes were damaged. The tornadoes were the furthest north winter tornadoes in the U.S. since 1967. Further south, an unusually early severe weather outbreak hit the Missouri Ozarks into the early morning hours the next day. Numerous supercell thunderstorms spawned at least 33 tornadoes that resulted in significant damage to homes , trees and power lines. The supercell thunderstorms were followed by a violent squall line that produced damaging straight line winds in excess of 70 mph. In addition, the storms produced torrential rainfall and flash flooding. The storms developed as an intense storm system tracked out of the Rockies and interacted with an unseasonably warm, moist and unstable air mass across the Ozarks. The National Weather Service in Springfield, MO issued 33 severe thunderstorm warnings and 62 tornado warnings in approximately a 12 hour period. A total of 161 severe weather reports were received from mid afternoon on this date through the early morning hours on the 8th. 2009 Damaging downslope winds were responsible for triggering two wildfires that threatened the city of Boulder. Peak wind gusts ranged from 75 to 107 mph in and around the foothills of Boulder and nearby counties. The fires quickly torched 3,000 acres and forced the evacuation of 1,400 families. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- January 8th: 1780 One of the coldest times in Washington D.C. history that froze all the waterways of the Mid-Atlantic region including the Potomac River and most of the Chesapeake Bay. The cold started in December 1779 and lasted through the first week in February. On the northern part of the Bay, sleighs crossed from Annapolis to the Eastern Shore. To the south Norfolk, Hampton, Newport News and Portsmouth were connected by thick ice that supported foot traffic between ports. 1836 "The Big Snow" dumped 4 to 5 feet of snow on parts of New York State. 1859 This is the only day that New York City’s temperature remained continuously below zero. 1910 Heavy flood damage to the Meadow Valley Wash area was inflicted by torrential rains and melting snow during the first week of 1910. The Narrow Valley Wash was unable to carry the flood water in the usual channels, and ranches, houses, barns, and in some cases, whole ranches were overwhelmed. The track of the Salt Lake railroad was practically a wreck for a distance of nearly 100 miles. Railroad ties, great bridge timbers, portions of houses, and wreckage of every conceivable kind were carried for many miles by the flood. 15 miles west of Caliente, an entire train carrying merchandise, engine and all, was overwhelmed and washed away with the exception of the caboose. The crew escaped by taking to the hills. 1913 Record cold gripped the areas from the Rockies to the West Coast. Death Valley National Park in California recorded a low of 15°, the coldest reading ever recorded in Death Valley. Other daily record lows included: Roswell, NM: -19°, Grand Junction, CO: -18°, Albuquerque, NM: -15°, Pueblo, CO: -10°, Colorado Springs, CO: -8°, Tucson, AZ: 13°, Bakersfield, CA: 19°, Phoenix, AZ: 19°, Yuma, AZ: 26° and Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 36°. 1923 Locations from the southern Rockies to the West Coast reported record high temperatures for the date including: Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 90°, Amarillo, TX: 88°, Austin, TX: 88°, San Antonio, TX: 84°, Del Rio, TX: 83°-Tied, Lubbock, TX: 82°, Waco, TX: 81°, Santa Maria, CA: 81°, Dallas, TX: 80°, Dallas (DFW), TX: 79°, San Diego, CA: 78°, Abilene, TX: 78°, Houston, TX: 78°-Tied, Oklahoma City, OK: 71°, Tulsa, OK: 71°, Albuquerque, NM: 62°-Tied, Flagstaff, AZ: 61° and Salt Lake City, UT: 56°. 1937 Locations from the Rockies to the West Coast endured record cold. Nevada recorded its coldest temperature ever as San Jacinto dropped to -50°. Locations that reported daily record lows for the date included: Winnemucca, NV: -32° (broke previous record by 13 degrees), Lander, WY: -26°, Missoula, MT: -22°, Pendleton, OR: -14°, Colorado Springs, CO: -13°, Denver, CO: -11°, Clayton, NM: -8°, Lewiston, ID: -7°, Flagstaff, AZ: -5°-Tied, Salt Lake City, UT: -2°-Tied, Medford, OR: 1° (broke previous record by 13 degrees), Eugene, OR: 6°, Astoria, OR: 17°, Las Vegas, NV: 19°, Eureka, CA: 25° and Santa Maria, CA: 26°. 1940 Heavy snowfalls occurred over interior sections of the Mid-Atlantic to New England. 24 inches fell at Grafton, NH. The 20 inches at Jay Peak, VT brought their snow cover total to 91 inches. 16.6 inches fell at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA, bringing their total for the month to 36.9 inches, their snowiest January on record. 1945 Sioux Falls, SDreported a little measurable snow. While not all that extraordinary in itself the fact that it was the first measurable snowfall of the season is. That is their latest first snowfall on record. 1953 A severe ice storm gripped parts of the Northeast. Four inches of ice coated parts of Pennsylvania and two to three inches in southeastern New York State. 90% of Norwalk, CT was without phone or power. 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. 1962 An upper level ridge brought record high temperatures to parts of the West including: Palm Springs, CA: 91°, Riverside, CA: 85°, Yuma, AZ: 84°, Santa Maria, CA: 83°, Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 76°, Las Vegas, NV: 74°, Palomar Mountain, CA: 70°, San Francisco Airport, CA: 70°, Bishop, CA: 68°, Big Bear Lake, CA: 68°, Lewiston, ID: 57° and Burns, OR: 55°. 1965 A southwesterly flow out ahead of a strong cold front brought record high temperatures from the Gulf Coast to the Greta Lakes including: Baton Rouge, LA: 79°-Tied, Shreveport, LA: 78°, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 78°, Memphis. TN: 73°, Columbus, GA: 71°, Evansville, IN: 68°, Chattanooga, TN: 68°-Tied, Louisville, KY: 67°, Paducah, KY: 67°, Chicago, IL: 63°, Indianapolis, IN: 63°, Detroit, MI: 62°, Toledo, OH: 62°, Springfield, IL: 62°-Tied, Fort Wayne, IN: 61°, South Bend, IN: 61°, Moline, IL: 60°, Peoria, IL: 60°, Flint, MI: 60°, Grand Rapids, MI: 59°, Lansing, MI: 59°, Buffalo, NY: 59°, Youngstown, OH: 58°, Milwaukee, WI: 57°, Rockford, IL: 55°, Muskegon, MI: 55°, Alpena, MI: 50°, Houghton Lake, MI: 49° and Marquette, MI: 42°. Locations across the Great Lakes that set record highs in the 40’s and 50’s did not get out of the 20’s the next day after the frontal passage. 1966 The world's wettest 24 hour period on record saw 71.91 inches of rain fall in 24 hours on beginning the previous day through this date at Foc Foc on the Indian Ocean island of La Reunion Island 1973 A severe ice storm struck Atlanta, GA. The storm paralyzed the city closing schools and businesses, and damage from the storm was estimated at $25 million dollars. 1 to 4 inches of ice coated northern Georgia leaving 300,000 persons without electricity for up to a week. Over two hours during the evening hours, 2.27 inches (liquid content) of freezing rain, sleet and snow coated Atlanta, as the temperature hovered at 32°. 1975 A destructive windstorm hit the Kern deserts in southern California, with a 108 mph gust reported in Ridgecrest. Two mobile homes were destroyed, five others were knocked off their foundations, wrecked 3 tied-down aircraft, uprooted trees and blew down power lines. 1977 A severe two-day ice and snow storm began in northern Texas. A layer of ice was quickly covered by several inches of snow. Areas around Wichita Falls reported snow drifts of up to 2 feet. 1978 Several tornadoes struck Orange and Seminole Counties in Florida. A large tornado moved through mobile home park near Lockhart destroying 17 trailers, damaging 60 others and injuring 23 people, 8 seriously. A tornado passed southeast of Sanford and causing damage to homes and boats along St. Johns River. A strong arctic cold front pushed southeast through the upper Midwest. Prior to the cold front, Owen, WI had a high temperature of 32°. However, by the end of the day, the temperature had plunged to -25°. This 57 degree diurnal temperature change is the greatest ever recorded there. 1979 Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada recorded their warmest January day as the temperature soared to 56.3°. Moscow, Russia recorded its coldest day in nearly a century as the temperature plunged to -49°. 1982 A foot and a half of snow fell in LaPorte and Saint Joseph Counties in Indiana with blizzard conditions and wind chills as low as -65°. Fort Wayne received 5.5 inches. Denmark's coldest night on record occurred as the low dropped to -24.2° at Hørsted/Thy. 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 7 inches of snow. 1988 A winter storm spread heavy snow across the northeastern U.S., with up to 10 inches reported in parts of southern New Jersey. 1989 Strong northwesterly winds and bitterly cold temperatures prevailed in the north central U.S. Winds in the Great Lakes Region gusted to 63 mph at Niagara Falls, NY and 58 mph at Chicago, IL. 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. 1990 High winds plagued the northwestern U.S., with the state of Oregon hardest hit. Two people were killed in Oregon, and 9 others were injured, and the high winds downed 55 million board feet of timber, valued at more than $20 million dollars. Winds gusted to 96 mph at Stevenson, WA and 90 mph near Pinehurst, ID. Winds gusted to 108 near Fort Collins, CO, 104 mph at Winter Park, CO, 92 mph in southwest Boulder, CO. Flying gravel shattered 50 car windows near Boulder. There was widespread damage, downed trees and power lines. Several area airports were closed due to the strong winds resulting in blowing dust. Cheyenne, WY reported a gust to 77 mph. 1993 An area of heavy snow moved into the southwest Kansas area from the Oklahoma Panhandle. Heavy snow began across southwest Kansas during the late afternoon and continued into the next morning. Snowfall of 10 to 12 inches was reported in Stafford, Pratt, and Barber Counties. Other snowfall amounts included 10 inches at Larned, 8 inches in Dodge City, Garden City, and Syracuse, and 8 to 9 inches in Edwards, Kiowa, and Comanche Counties. 1996 The Blizzard of 1996 set all-time snow records in New Jersey with 35 inches recorded in Huntingdon County, Philadelphia, PA: 30.7 inches, Newark, NJ: 27.8 inches, Scranton, PA: 21 inches and Cincinnati, OH: 14.4 inches. Dulles Airport northwest of D.C. reported 24.6 inches while National Airport checked in with 17.1 inches. 1998 Record warmth continued from the Tennessee Valley to the East Coast. The morning low of 65° at Dulles Airport at Sterling, VA northwest of Washington, D.C. was actually warmer than the previous record high temperature for the date. Washington's famed cherry blossoms bloomed in the warmth. Locations reporting record high temperatures for the date included: Vero Beach, FL: 86°, Oak Ridge, TN: 71°, Jackson, KY: 70°, Newark, NJ: 70° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Philadelphia, PA: 69°, Bristol, TN: 69°, Washington, D.C.: 69°-Tied, Harrisburg, PA: 68°, Allentown, PA: 67°, Avoca, PA: 66°, New York (Central Park0, NY: 65°, Williamsport, PA: 64°, Binghamton, NY: 63° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), New York (LaGuardia), NY: 61°, Atlantic City, NJ: 60°-Tied and Islip, NY: 59°. Over 3 million Canadians were without power as the worst ice storm in the nation's history affected 5 eastern provinces with several inches of freezing rain. Hundreds of thousands of people were without power for over two weeks. At least 15 deaths were attributed to the storm, including people who died as huge chunks of ice fell from buildings in Montreal when the melting process began. 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. 2000 Kirensk, Siberia north of Lake Baikal dropped to -72°. 2002 A strong warm front moved east across southeast Minnesota, northeast Iowa, and southwest and central Wisconsin during the day. Temperatures across the region ranged from 37° at Medford, WI to 57° at Oelwein, IA. The temperature at Oelwein was their warmest January temperature. However, this new record would only last about 2 weeks before a new all-time January temperature record would be established there on January 23rd. Many record high temperatures were set from the Upper Midwest to the desert southwest Temperatures were as much as 40 degrees above normal from eastern Colorado to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Bismarck, ND set their January record high with 63° (broke previous daily record by 12 degrees). Locations that reported daily record highs for the date included: Borrego Springs, CA: 82°, Tucson, AZ: 82°, Phoenix, AZ: 81°, Wichita, KS: 75°, Dodge City, KS: 74°, Goodland, KS: 74°, Idyllwild, CA: 73°, Pueblo, CO: 73°, Rapid City, SD: 72°, North Platte, NE: 69°, Sheridan, WY: 69°, Grand Island, NE: 68°, Norfolk, NE: 68°, Scottsbluff, NE: 66°, Des Moines, IA: 64°, Sioux City, IA: 64°, Flagstaff, AZ: 62°, Lincoln, NE: 62°, Glasgow, MT: 61° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Billings, MT: 60°, Havre, MT: 59°, Waterloo, IA: 57°, Lewiston, ID: 57°, Sioux Falls, SD: 57°, Yakima, WA: 56°, Casper, WY: 54°, Lander, WY: 54°-Tied, Williston, ND: 50°, St. Cloud, MN: 49°, Rochester, MN: 47°, Grand Forks, ND: 47°, Kalispell, MT: 47°-Tied and International Falls, MN: 43°. 2003 On this date through the 9th, a rare down-slope wind event similar to “Chinook” winds experienced east of the Rockies occurred just east of the Appalachian mountain ridges during the nighttime hours into the next morning. Winds between 40 and 70 mph downed numerous trees and power lines west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The highest wind gust was 72 mph at Harrisonburg, VA. Des Moines, IA recorded their warmest January temperature ever with a reading of 67°. A Turkish Airlines RJ-100 airliner crashed as it attempted to land in heavy fog at Diyarbakir in southeastern Turkey. Out of the 80 people on-board, 75 people died. The first hailstorm ever recorded on the island of Vanuatu in the South Pacific affected nearly 3,000 people on southern Tanna Island. Golf-ball-sized hailstones destroyed over half of the island’s food gardens. 2007 Strong winds associated with an intense upper level jet stream and a very strong surface pressure gradient developed in and near Colorado’s Front Range Foothills. Winds gusted from 77 mph to 115 mph. The high winds combined with recent fallen snow created whiteout conditions and several highway closures due to the blowing and drifting. More than 100 people were stranded between Golden and Boulder. Drifts as high as 6 feet was reported. 2009 Marseille, France was buried under 11.4 inches of snow, most of which fell within six hours, their first significant snow in over 20 years. The snow snarled traffic and closed the airport. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- January 9th: 1875 The temperature at Cheyenne, WY dipped to an all-time record low of -38°. Other locations that reported daily record lows included: Duluth, MN: -38°, La Crosse, WI: -31°, Minneapolis, MN: -30°, North Platte, NE: -25°, Madison, WI: -25°, Milwaukee, WI: -25°, Moline, IL: -22°, Chicago, IL: -20°, Omaha, NE: -19°, Indianapolis, IN: -18°, St. Louis, MO: -16°, Dodge City, KS: -14°, Lansing, MI: -13°, Cleveland, OH: -13°, Toledo, OH: -12°, Detroit, MI: -12°, Louisville, KY: -10°, Erie, PA:-10°, Pittsburgh, PA: -10°, Lexington, KY: -8°, Rochester, NY: -6°, Cincinnati, OH: -6°, Buffalo, NY: -5°, Memphis, TN: 2°, Philadelphia, PA: 3°, New York (Central Park), NY: 4° and Washington, D.C.: 5°. 1880 The second intense low pressure system in three days struck the Pacific Northwest with little warning, producing widespread wind damage. Barometer readings fell to 28.48 inHg at Olympia, WA and 28.51 InHg at Portland, OR. The roof of the Oregon capital was partially blown off. Railroads were blocked by heavy snows and fallen trees for days. 1888 Severe cold gripped much of the western U.S. The Columbia River at Portland, OR was frozen for two weeks, and in southern California temperatures dipped below freezing in some of the citrus growing areas, killing the crop across the inland valleys. Locations that reported record low temperatures included: Helena, MT: -31°, Rochester, MN: -26°, Winnemucca, NV: -23°, Boise, ID: -19°, Spokane, WA: -6°, Salt Lake City, UT: -4°, Eureka, CA: 27° and San Diego, CA: 36°-Tied. 1899 The temperature at Norway House, Manitoba Canada plummeted to -63° for their coldest day ever recorded in Manitoba. 1923 Many locations across the West reported record high temperatures for the date including: Palm Springs, CA: 92°, Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 88°, Escondido, CA: 91°, San Diego, CA: 85°, Phoenix, AZ: 84°, Santa Maria, CA: 81°, Tucson, AZ: 80°, Yuma, AZ: 79°, Boise, ID: 59° and Elko, NV: 53°. 1932 Pink snow fell in Durango, CO as dust from the Painted Desert mixed with a snowstorm. 1948 A few locations from Texas to the Southwest reported record warmth. Idyllwild, CA soared to 82°, their highest temperature on record for January. Other locations that reported daily record highs included: Yuma, AZ: 83°, Tucson, AZ: 81°, Houston, TX: 80°, Midland-Odessa, TX: 79°, Flagstaff, AZ: 61° and Ely, NV: 58°. 1949 The most significant snowstorm to hit lower elevations of southern California started on this day and ended on the 11th. 14 inches fell in Woodland Hills, 8 inches in La Cañada and Catalina Island, at 2,100 feet, 6 inches at Altadena, 5 inches at Burbank, 4 inches at Pasadena, one inch at Laguna Beach and Long Beach. A trace fell at San Diego, the only time since 1882. Three feet piled up at Mt. Laguna, 18 inches fell at Cuyamaca, and one foot at Julian, CA. 4 to 8 inches fell as low as 1,000 feet. A light covering was reported at La Jolla, Point Loma, Miramar, Escondido, Spring Valley, and other outlying San Diego areas. The snow snarled all transportation and caused power outages and emergencies. A plane crash killed five people and injured one near Julian. A camping group was stranded at Cuyamaca. Many locations from the Rockies to the West Coast reported record low temperatures for the date including: Billings, MT: -15°, Reno, NV: -7°, Yakima, WA: -3°, Medford, OR: 10°, Olympia, WA: 10°, Seattle, WA: 13°, Eugene, OR: 14°, Portland, OR: 16°, Fresno, CA: 23°, Santa Maria, CA: 26° and Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 35°. Out ahead of the winter storm, an unusually strong ridge of high pressure extending from the Gulf of Mexico to off the southeast coast brought record high temperatures for the date from the south to the Great Lakes including: Austin (Bergstrom), TX: 82°, Waco, TX: 81°, Shreveport, LA: 80°, Macon, GA: 79°, Meridian, MS: 79°, Dallas, TX: 79°, Columbia, SC: 78°, Augusta, GA: 78°-Tied, Dallas (DFW), TX: 78°-Tied, Birmingham, AL: 77°, Mobile, AL: 77°-Tied, Savannah, GA: 77°-Tied, Little Rock, AR: 75°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 74°, Memphis, TN: 74°, Atlanta, GA: 72°, Nashville, TN: 71°, Charlotte, NC: 71°-Tied, Louisville, KY: 67°-Tied, Bristol, TN: 64°, Cincinnati, OH: 64°-Tied, Columbus, OH: 62°, Fort Wayne, IN: 55° and Detroit, MI: 55°-Tied. 1950 A series of three major winter storms pounded much of Oregon with little break. The snows were the heaviest in Oregon history. Huge snow drifts closed the Columbia Gorge and most highways west of the Cascades. 1953 A tornado destroyed five homes and damaged 53 others from Lithia to Hopewell, FL injuring 12 people. Other tornadoes were reported in Clermont, Minneola, and Brooksville, FL. Severe thunderstorm winds downed trees and power lines and caused roof damage in Ft. Myers and Sarasota. High waves washed over the beach road on south Captiva Island. 1954 The coldest temperature ever recorded in Greenland of -87° was reported at Northice. 1972 Several tornadoes touched down in central Mississippi. F1 tornadoes injured 1 person in Clarke County and F2 tornadoes swept through Jefferson Davis and Simpson Counties. F3 tornadoes struck Jones, Jasper, and Wayne Counties, injuring a total of 13 people. 1976 Snow squalls dumped 68 inches of snow on the town of Adams, NY. The 54 inches that fell in 24-hours is still the state record. 1977 Surface arctic high pressure combined with a deep upper level trough brought extreme cold from the West Coast to the Great Lakes. St. Cloud, MN recorded their coldest temperature ever with a reading of -43°. Between the 3rd and the 19th, the low temperatures there dropped to -15° or lower on 14 of the 17 days. Locations that reported daily record low temperatures included: Bismarck, ND: -41°, International Falls, MN: -40°, Sisseton, SD: -33°, Wheaton, SD: -33°, Minneapolis, MN: -32°, Aberdeen, SD: -31°, Ste. St. Marie, MI: -30°, Watertown, SD: -29°, Rochester, MN: -30°, Waterloo, IA: -27°, Green Bay, WI: -27° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Pierre, SD: -22°, Alpena, MI: -19°, Houghton Lake, MI: -19°, Lansing, MI: -17°, Dubuque, IA: -16°, Rapid City, SD: -16°, Grand Rapids, MI: -14°, Ely, NV: -14°, Burns, OR: -11°, Kansas City, MO: -10°, Muskegon, MI: -8°, Springfield, MO: -5°, Oklahoma City, OH: -2°, Amarillo, TX: -1°, Tulsa, OK: 0°-Tied, Wichita Falls, TX: 4°, Dallas (DFW), TX: 12°, Dallas, TX: 13°, Shreveport, LA: 14°-Tied, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 20° and Sacramento, CA: 28°. 1987 A winter storm spread heavy snow from the Central Plains into the Great Lakes Region. Heavier totals included 11 inches at Terre Haute, IN, up to 10 inches in the southern suburbs of Chicago, IL and west-central Indiana, 9 inches at Sun City, KS and 7 inches at Columbia, MO. 1988 A storm in the northeastern U.S. produced 14 inches at Worcester, MA and 10 inches of snow at Boston, MA. A winter storm in the northwestern U.S. produced a foot of snow in just 3 hours at McCall, ID. A few locations across the northern Plains reported record low temperatures for the date including: Valentine, NE: -30°, Kennebec, SD: -28°, Scottsbluff, NE: -22° and Rapid City, SD: -20°. In Florida, Miami tied a record high with 83°. 1989 Strong Chinook winds prevailed along the eastern slopes of the Rockies in Colorado. Major structural damage resulted including the top 80 feet of a 180 foot transmission tower blown off causing a radio station to be knocked off the air for 2.5 hours. Winds gusted to 115 mph at Boulder, 113 mph at the Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, 103 mph at Table Mesa in south Boulder and up to 80 mph at Broomfield.. Big Bear Lake, CA reported a record low of 2° and Gainesville, FL reported a record high of 83°. 1990 A third storm in four days hit the Pacific Northwest. Winds in Oregon gusted above 100 mph at Netarts and 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. 16 cities in the western U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. The high of 70° at Cedar City, UT was a record for January. Other daily record highs for the date including: Riverside, CA: 86°, Victorville, CA: 74°, Reno, NV: 68°, Bishop, CA: 67°, Pendleton, OR: 67°, Winnemucca, NV: 66°, Big Bear Lake, CA: 64°, Elko, NV: 64°, Ely, NV: 63°, Eugene, OR: 63°, Portland, OR: 61°, Salem, OR: 61°, Burns, OR: 57°, Pocatello, ID: 55° and Spokane, WA: 52°-Tied. 1992 An unbelievable 14 consecutive days of cloudy skies finally came to an end at Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN. Every single weather observation during this time period showed overcast conditions or 350 consecutive hours of overcast skies. There was not even a mostly cloudy, all observations were completely overcast. Even though the clouds were abundant, the temperatures were relatively mild, with readings running 19° above normal. 1993 Significant amounts of light, fluffy snow piled up across southwest South Dakota beginning the previous day ending on this date. Amounts were generally from 4 to 13 inches. Very icy roads, blowing snow, and severe cold contributed to more than 75 accidents in Rapid City alone where one foot of snow fell. Snowfall amounts included: 14 inches at Keystone, 13.3 inches at Custer, and 12 inches at Rapid City. Further to the south, Topeka, KS reported 17.2 inches of snow in just 24 hours. 1996 Sub-freezing temperatures severely damaged vegetable crops with losses estimated over $2 million dollars in Hillsborough and Lee counties; with minor damage to the citrus crop in Pasco County, Florida. Several tropical fish farms lost over 50% of their harvest with the estimated loss at $5.5 million dollars. Locations across Florida and the East that reported record low temperatures for the date included: Elkins, WV: -8°, Islip, NY: 14°-Tied, Inverness, FL: 18°, Weekiwachee, FL: 24°, Avon Park, FL: 25°, Lakeland, FL: 26°, Mountain Lake, FL: 26°-Tied, Parrish, FL: 28°, Sarasota-Bradenton, FL: 28°, Tarpon Springs, FL: 28°-Tied, Venice, FL: 30°-Tied and Punta Gorda, FL: 31°. 1997 A powerful Alberta Clipper and a deep Arctic High brought widespread and prolonged blizzard conditions, heavy drifting snow, and dangerous wind chills of -40°to -80°from the Missouri Valley to the upper Midwest. Across South Dakota, north winds were from 30 to 50 mph gusting to 60 mph. The clipper dropped from 2 to 7 inches of snowfall on top of an already solid 2 to 5 foot snowpack. As with previous storms, most roads again became blocked by huge snowdrifts stranding hundreds of motorists. Some people were trapped in their homes up to several days as snowdrifts buried their homes and blocked the roads with some people having to crawl out their windows. In Wilmot, SD a 12 foot drift covered the community home, where residents had to turn the lights on during the day. As a result of snow removal budget depletions and other storm damages, President Clinton declared all of South Dakota a disaster area. Snowplows from Iowa, Nebraska, and plows and manpower from the South Dakota National Guard helped to break through hundreds of roads. The snowdrifts in some places were packed so hard and were measured at 300 pounds per square inch. The total damage estimate for this January blizzard and for the previous January winter storm was $50 million dollars. A winter storm affected much of central, east and northeast Missouri on the 8th and 9th. Snowfall amounts ranged from 3 to 8 inches across Missouri, with 5 to 7 inches falling from Columbia east across the St. Louis area. Besides the snow, strong winds and very cold temperatures moved in during the evening hours. Across Illinois, the winter storm dumped several inches of snow along with areas of blowing snow. Snowfall totals on this date included 5.4 inches at Springfield, 5.2 inches at Peoria, 4.6 inches at Champaign and 3.5 inches at Rockford. The heaviest snowfall of 11 inches was reported at Charleston, in Coles County. Comair Flight 3272 crashed into a field near Ida, OH during the same major snowstorm. All 29 people aboard died. The cause of the crash was ice build-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 1to3-inch coating of ice left as many as 500,000 people without power and made road travel nearly impossible. In Maine, 80% of the residents were without power. Further south, many locations from Virginia to New York reported record high temperatures for the date including: Newark, NJ: 67°, Wallops Island, VA: 65°, Allentown, PA: 65°-Tied, Harrisburg, PA: 64°, Avoca, PA: 62°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 62°, Williamsport, PA: 61°, New York (LaGuardia), NY: 59°-Tied, Binghamton, NY: 56° and Islip, NY: 55°. National Airport outside of Washington, D.C. reached 63°, the 8th straight day of above 60°. Their normal high temperature is 43°. 2000 It did not snow on this date in Houghton, MI snapping a record streak of 53 consecutive days with snow in the city. 2002 A huge snowstorm paralyzed Vladivostok, Russia dumping 16 to 20 inches of snow on the Pacific port city. 2003 In eastern Russia, the temperature in Moscow dipped to -31°. 2004 On this date through the 12th, the temperature at Ankara, Turkey fell to 9° ushering in a period of cold, snowy weather across the country claiming 10 lives. Heavy snowfall cut off nearly 2,000 villages. 2006 With cold air sweeping in from the Himalayas, New Delhi, India reported frost for the first time in 70 years with a low temperature of 32.3°. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- January 10th: 1800 18 inches of snow fell at Savannah, GA and 10 inches at Charleston, SC; the heaviest snow for the immediate Coastal Plain of the southeastern U.S. 5 inches fell at St. Mary's River, FL. 1836 “The Big Snow” dumped as much as 40 inches of snow over northern and western Pennsylvania and interior New York State. As much as 2 feet fell across southern New Jersey. 18 inches was recorded at New York City, NY and 15 inches fell at Philadelphia, PA. 1859 The coldest daytime ever experienced in New York City and throughout New England occurred. Accurate thermometers were commonplace and well distributed by this time although most of them were not self-registering, meaning that observations had to be made visually, usually 3 times daily at 7am, 2pm, and 9pm.Montreal, Quebec Canada reported a 7am reading of -43.6°, a reading some 15 degrees lower than its modern record minimum of -29° set in 1933. Harvard at Cambridge, MA registered only -4.5° at 2pm. In New York, the official thermometer located at Erasmus Hall in Brooklyn registered the following temperature range: 7am: -3.7°, 11am: -7.5°, 2pm: -3.8°, 9pm: -8°. White Plains, just north of the city, reported readings of -13° at 7am, -10° at 2pm and -15° at 9pm. This was likely the only day in New York City history when the temperature failed to rise above 0°. 1873 A severe blizzard struck Minnesota, killing 70 settlers, injuring countless others and destroying thousands of livestock. 1911 The temperature fell 47° in just 15 minutes at Rapid City, S.D. 1939 Victoria in Australia recorded their hottest day on record when the high reached 117° at Mildura. 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. The biggest snowstorm to hit Las Vegas, NV began on this date and continued through the 12th. A total of 9.7 inches of snow was recorded. Many locations across from the Rockies to the West Coast reported record cold. Grant Grove, CA plunged to -6°; their all-time coldest reading on record. Locations that reported daily record lows included: Billings, MT: -22°, Sheridan, WY: -21°, Ely, NV: -20°, Yakima, WA: -5°, Lewiston, ID: -5°-Tied, Reno, NV: -4°, Medford, OR: 6°, Bishop, CA: 8°, Olympia, WA: 8°, Seattle, WA: 12°, Palomar Mountain, FL: 14°, Portland, OR: 16°, Fresno, CA: 18°, Astoria, OR: 18°, Stockton, CA: 20°, Santa Maria, CA: 22°, Riverside, CA: 25°, Sacramento, CA: 25°, Eureka, CA: 28°, San Francisco Airport, CA: 29°, Long Beach, CA: 31°, Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 31° and Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 32°. Meanwhile, high pressure across the southeast produced record high temperatures out ahead of a strong cold front from the southern states to the Tennessee Valley. Jackson, MS set their all-time record for January with 85° and Meridian, MS tied their January record high with 83°. Locations that reported daily record highs included: Mobile, AL: 82°, Montgomery, AL: 82°, Columbia, SC: 82°, Birmingham, AL: 81°, Macon, GA: 81°, Savannah, GA: 81°, Augusta, GA: 80°, Columbus, GA: 80°, Tallahassee, FL: 80°-Tied, Charleston, SC: 79°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 79°, Chattanooga, TN: 78°, Huntsville, AL: 77°, New Orleans, LA: 77°, Tupelo, MS: 77°, Atlanta, GA: 76°, Knoxville, TN: 76°, Charlotte, NC: 76°, Nashville, TN: 75°, Greensboro, NC: 73°, Paducah, KY: 70° and Oak Ridge, TN: 67°. 1962 A massive landslide of ice, rock and mud crashed down the side of Peru's highest Mountain, Nevado de Huascaram. The mass of debris, nearly 50 feet deep, moved 11 miles in 15 minutes and was as wide as one mile. 3,500 people were killed. 1968 An ice storm that began on the 8th ending on this date covered much of southeast Oklahoma with a thick layer of ice. As much as a half inch accumulated on many roadways in parts of McCurtain, Atoka, Pittsburg and Coal Counties. Traffic problems were numerous, including a 40 car pile up on highway 69 between Atoka and Kiowa. Further east, some locations across the northeast reported record low temperatures for the date including: Burlington, VT: -22°, Albany, NY: -13°, Worcester, MA: -5°, Binghamton, NY: -3°, Bridgeport, CT: -1°, Milton, MA: -1°-Tied, Newark, NJ: 3, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 3 and New York (LaGuardia), NY: 4. 1970 Arctic high pressure over the Tennessee Valley combined with an upper level trough brought record cold from the Mid-Atlantic States to the Tennessee Valley into all of Florida. Locations that reported record low temperatures included: Elkins, WV: -11°, Bristol, TN: -9°, Lynchburg, VA: -4°, Knoxville, TN: -4°, Oak Ridge, TN: 0°, Asheville, NC: 1°, Raleigh, NC: 3°, Wilmington, DE: 4°, Chattanooga, TN: 4°, Charlotte, NC: 4°-Tied, Columbia, SC: 5°, Roanoke, VA: 6°, Augusta, GA: 7°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 9°, Wallops Island, VA: 10°, Macon, GA: 11°, Charleston, SC: 12°, Columbus, GA: 12°, Savannah, GA: 12°, Tallahassee, FL: 12°, Wilmington, NC: 13°, Cape Hatteras, NC: 15°, Jacksonville, FL: 21°-Tied, Brooksville, FL: 22°, Mountain Lake, FL: 22°, Plant City, FL: 23°, Tampa, FL: 24°, Bartow, FL: 24°, St. Leo, FL: 24°, Weekiwachee, FL: 24°, Arcadia, FL: 25°, Lakeland, FL: 25°, Orlando, FL: 26°, Vero Beach, FL: 26°, Parrish FL: 26°, Tarpon Springs, FL: 26°, Winter Haven, FL: 26°, Daytona Beach, CA: 27°, Sarasota-Bradenton, FL: 28°, Venice, FL: 28°, West Palm Beach, FL: 29°, St. Petersburg, FL: 31°, Fort Myers, FL: 32°, Miami, FL: 35° and Key West, FL: 48°-Tied. 1971 The United Kingdom recorded their mildest January day on record when the high reached -0.9° at Aber, North Wales. 1973 54 people were killed and another 350 were injured as a tornado hit San Justo, some 300 miles northwest of Buenos Aries, Argentina in South America. 1975 An intense area of low pressure moved from eastern Iowa through eastern Minnesota. The storm center set many low pressure records as it moved across eastern Minnesota. Duluth, MN reported a barometric pressure reading of 28.55 inHg. New snow of 3 to 6 inches across much of Minnesota began to blow and drift on the morning of the 10th and then developed into a full blown blizzard with heavy snowfall developing. The blizzard continued over all of the state through the 11th with winds of 30 to 50 mph with gusts up to 80 mph. Drifts up to 20 foot high developed in west central Minnesota paralyzing activity. Snowfall amounts from 1 to 2 feet occurred. Numerous roads were closed due to drifting and low visibility. Numerous sustained power outages occurred, particularly in rural sections. Thousands of people were stranded with 168 people trapped in a train at Willmar. Wind chills ranged from -50° to -80° behind the storm. Extensive losses to life and property occurred. There were 35 deaths during the storm and many injuries. Tens of thousands of livestock and poultry losses also occurred with 140 farm buildings damaged or destroyed. Losses to livestock and property were over $20 million dollars. It took 11 days to clear some areas. Shelter was provided for nearly 17,000 people. Across South Dakota, snow began to fall during the afternoon and then the winds increased and reached blizzard conditions by evening. These severe blizzard conditions continued on through the 11th and through the morning of the 12th. Wind chills fell to -50° to -70°. Many cars stalled on roads due to poor visibility, icy roads, and blowing and drifting snow. 8 people lost their lives. Thousands of livestock and poultry were lost. During the blizzard, a 2,000 foot radio and TV antenna just east of Sioux Falls, SD collapsed. In the warm sector, an F4 tornado struck McComb, MS just after 8am, hitting two schools as 325 students took shelter. Fortunately, only 5 people were injured. The twister destroyed 88 homes and 30 businesses across the city. Nine people were killed along the tornadoes 47 mile path. A strong southwesterly flow ahead of the powerful storm and cold front brought record high temperatures from parts of the Great Lakes to Florida including: Fort Myers, FL: 86°, Tampa, FL: 83°, Oak Ridge, TN: 69°, Louisville, KY: 66°, Lexington, KY: 64°, Evansville, IN: 62°, Indianapolis, IN: 62°, Springfield, IL: 61°, South Bend, IN: 61°, Cincinnati, OH: 61°-Tied, Chicago, IL: 60°, Fort Wayne, IN: 60°, Peoria, IL: 59°, Columbus, OH: 59°-Tied, Muskegon, MI: 58° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Akron, OH: 58°, Dayton, OH: 58°, Moline, IL: 57°, Grand Rapids, MI: 57°, Mansfield, OH: 57°-Tied, Lansing, MI: 55°, Rockford, IL: 55°-Tied, Madison, WI: 53°, Milwaukee, WI: 52°-Tied, Green Bay, WI: 48°-Tied and Marquette, MI: 40°. 1981 An arctic blast covered the eastern two-thirds of the country. Wind chills went down to -50° with the coldest wind chill reading of -98° reported at Fargo, ND. Despite the blast only a few locatiuons reported record lows for the date including: Ste. St. Marie, MI: -27°, Providence, RI: 3° and Jackson, KY: 11°. 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 and an intense Arctic high pressure system over Saskatchewan with a central barometric pressure of 31.15 inHg brought brutal record cold across the upper Mississippi Valley and the Plains. Ste. St, Marie, MI set their record low for January with -36. The temperature at O'Hare Airport in Chicago, IL plunged to a record low of -26° and high winds drove the wind chill reading to -77°. The temperature in Downtown Chicago fell to -23° while the University of Chicago dropped to -21°. Fort Wayne had a high temperature of just -7°. The lowest temperature in the nation was -37° at Bemidji, MN. Further to the north, Sudbury, Ontario Canadadropped to -38.7° establishing, their coldest night on record. Miserable conditions prevailed at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, OH where the San Diego Chargers played the Bengals in an NFL playoff game with a kickoff temperature of -9°. Over 800 hockey fans were stranded after a game in the Memorial Auditorium at Buffalo, NY as 25 inches of snow dumped on the city. Muskegon, MI reported their snowiest calendar day on record with 22 inches from lake effect. Much of the Northern Plains was in the midst of a ground blizzard. While only 1 to 3 inches of snow fell from the 9th through the 12th, winds at 20 to 40 mph led to widespread areas of blowing snow. The blowing snow reduced visibilities and drifted snow to five feet deep closing many roads. For three days extremely cold temperatures as low as -30° combined with the 20 to 40 mph winds to produce extremely dangerous wind chills of -50° to -100°. Locations that reported record lows for the date included: Williston, ND: -35°-Tied, St. Cloud, MN: -30°, Watertown, SD: -30°, Wheaton, SD: -30°, Timber Lake, SD: -29°, Rochester, MN: -28°, Mobridge, SD: -28°, Sisseton, SD: -28°, Waterloo, IA: -27°, Rockford, IL: -27° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Chicago, IL: -26° (broke previous record by 14 degrees), Valentine, NE: -26°, Sioux Falls, SD: -26°, Kennebec, SD: -26°, Dubuque, IA: -25°, Green Bay, WI: -25°, Milwaukee, WI: -25°, Rapid City, SD: -24°, Moline, IL: -23°, Norfolk, NE: -23°, Pierre, SD: -23°, Sioux City, IA: -22°, Des Moines, IA: -22°, Omaha, NE: -22°, Madison, WI: -22°-Tied, Alpena, MI: -21°, Grand Island, NE: -20°, Columbia, MO: -19°, Peoria, IL: -18°, Springfield, IL: -18°, Lincoln, NE: -18°, Kansas City, MO: -17° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), North Platte, NE: -17, Marquette, MI: -16, Indianapolis, IN: -16, Concordia, KS: -16, Fort Wayne, IN: -15°, South Bend, IN: -15°, Topeka, KS: -15°, St. Louis, MO: -15°, Dayton, OH: -15°, Cincinnati, OH: -14°, Mansfield, OH: -13°, Beckley, WV: -13°, Lexington, KY: -11°, Louisville, KY: -11°, Springfield, MO: -11°, Columbus, OH: -11°, Elkins, WV: -11°-Tied, Wichita, KS: -10°, Jackson, KY: -10° (broke previous record by 21 degrees), Akron, OH: -10°, Huntington, WV: -9°, Paducah, KY: -8°, Burns, OR: -8°, Buffalo, NY: -7°, Charleston, WV:: -7°, Asheville, NC: -6°, Binghamton, NY: -6°, Muskegon, MI: -4°, Oak Ridge, TN: -3°, Atlanta, GA: -2°, Avoca, PA: -2°, Roanoke, VA: -2°, Milton, MA: -1°-Tied, Huntsville, AL: 0°, Newark, NJ: 0°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 0°, Wilmington, DE: 1°, Chattanooga, TN: 1°, Birmingham, AL: 2°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 2°, Harrisburg, PA: 2°-Tied, Atlantic City, NJ: 3°, Providence, RI: 3°-Tied, Dallas (DFW), TX: 7°, Norfolk, VA: 7°, Wallops Island, VA: 8°, Wilmington, NC: 9°, Columbus, GA: 11°, Cape Hatteras, NC: 11°, Macon, GA: 11°-Tied and Waco, TX: 11°-Tied. A "snow devil" developed at Edinboro, PA. A funnel shaped vortex about 100 feet tall 20 to 25 feet wide formed, ripping small trees out of the ground. Across the Atlantic, Newport, Shropshire, England recorded Britain's coldest day on record when the temperature dropped to -15°. Braemar, Scotland recorded Scotland’s coldest day on record as the temperature plummeted to -17°. 1987 Bitterly cold air invaded the Rocky Mountain Region, with subzero readings reported as far south as Gallop, NM. Pocatello, ID and Redding, CA reported record lows with -14° and 27 respectively. 1988 A storm in the northwestern U.S. produced wind gusts to 97 mph at Netarts, OR, and up to 2 feet of snow in the mountains of Oregon. 1989 Clear skies, light winds, and up to 24 inches of snow cover, allowed the temperature to plunge to -45° at Roseau, MN, and to -43° at Warroad, MN. The afternoon high at Grand Forks, ND was -16°. The first documented January tornado on record in Utah struck the south part of Sandy. Asphalt shingles were driven a half inch into a fence. 1990 Strong southerly winds ahead of a Pacific cold front helped temperatures from the West to the central U.S. soared to record levels. Many cities across 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 80° at Clayton, NM, 76° at Grand Island, NE, 73° at Lincoln & North Platte, NE and 53° at Devils Lake, ND, all established records for the month of January. Locations that reported daily record highs included: Phoenix, AZ: 84°, Borrego Springs, FL: 81°, Wichita Falls, TX: 78°, Tulsa, OK: 76°, Fort Smith, AR: 75°, Oklahoma City, OK: 75°, Amarillo, TX: 74°-Tied, Pueblo, CO: 74°, Goodland, KS: 74°, Denver, CO: 71°, Topeka, KS: 71°, Colorado Springs, CO: 70°, Norfolk, NE: 70°, Las Vegas, NV: 69°-Tied, Valentine, NE: 68°, Rapid City, SD: 66°, Scottsbluff, NE: 66°-Tied, Flagstaff, AZ: 65°, Sioux City, IA: 64°, Albuquerque, NM: 63°, Reno, NV: 63°, Big Bear Lake, CA: 62°, Ely, NV: 61°, Casper, WY: 59°, Huron, SD: 57°-Tied, Sioux Falls, SD: 56°, Helena, MT: 56°-Tied, Aberdeen, SD: 55°, Bismarck, ND: 54°, Grand Forks, ND: 52°, Glasgow, MT: 49°, Minneapolis, MN: 49°, St. Cloud, MN: 49°, Fargo, ND: 47°, Williston, ND: 47° and International Falls, MN: 39°. A third consecutive day of 50 to 85 mph wind gusts occurred across the eastern Foothills of Colorado. A 5-mile portion of the Denver-Boulder turnpike was closed after clouds of blowing dust and gravel caused several multi-car accidents near Broomfield. The Jefferson County Airport reported a wind gust of 81 mph. One person was killed and two others injured. A five-day snowstorm ending on the 15th covered Valdez, AK with 60.7 inches of snow. 1993 Salt Lake City, UT recorded their greatest snowstorm in history with 23.3 inches of snow over 4 days breaking the previous record of 21.6 inches set from 3/12 -15/1944. A deep, Atlantic gale off the northwest coast of Scotland bottomed out between 912 and 916 millibars (26.93 & 27.05 inHg) setting a new record low sea-level pressure for North Atlantic temperate latitudes. 1995 Record rains ended a 4-year drought in California and caused extensive flooding. All-time 24-hour rainfall records included Santa Barbara with 7.10 inches and Sacramento with 3.74 inches. Totals exceeded 8 inches in most areas for the first half of the month. Nearly 30 inches of precipitation fell in the mountains. 1996 The third in a series of four storms in 10 days dumped heavy snows over the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. The Washington/Baltimore area was just digging out from the blizzard two days earlier when another 3 to 6 inches fell. The 2.6 inches at Philadelphia, PA brought its monthly snow total to 33.7 inches, their snowiest month on record. The clipper intensified over the waters just east of New England on this date and produced up to 9 inches of snow over northeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod. Boston, MA received 5.4 inches increasing their snow cover to 32 inches, which set an all-time record. The final storm struck on the 12 dumping another 2 to 6 inches. A maximum of 10 inches of snow fell over Highland and western Loudoun Counties in Virginia. 1997 On this date through the 14th, a 5-day lake effect snowfall event dumped a record 95 inches at Montague, NY, 40 inches of which fell in 12 hours. Over the 24-hour period, the Lewis County site recorded 77 inches, a new U.S. record. On the 9th through this date, an Alberta clipper brought 2 to 7 inches of snow on top of an already 2 to 5 feet deep snowpack covering Central North and South Dakota. Schools in Faulkton closed for a state record of 13 days. The only entrance/exit to some homes partially buried by snowdrifts was by crawling in and out of windows. 2001 A strong winter storm that started on this day and ended on the 11th brought 2 to 4 inches of rain to the coast and the valleys across southern California. Flash flooding occurred at Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Garden Grove and Costa Mesa. 13 to 18 inches of snow fell in the Idyllwild area and 3 inches of snow blanketed Phelan along with a wind gust of 71 mph. A funnel cloud was observed at the Orange County Airport. 2002 An international snowmobile race at Eagle River, WI was nearly cancelled for lack of snow. A snowless winter was forcing winter festival organizers all over the upper Midwest to truck in their snow. The world’s largest ice fishing contest at Brainerd, MN had to be cancelled because the ice was not thick enough for vehicles to drive on the frozen lakes. 2005 A deadly mudslide near La Conchita, CA claimed 10 lives. The slide resulted from more than two weeks of heavy rain that deluged Southern California. Los Angeles recorded their wettest 15-day period on record, from 12/27/2004 through this date, 16.97 inches of rain fell. The amount exceeded the city's normal annual rainfall of 15.13 inches. Further north, four days of rain, from the 7th through this date, resulted in widespread flooding through the Kern County section of the Mojave Desert. Up to 100 homes near Rosamond had water damage. In a 24-hour period ending during the morning on this date, 2.57” of rain fell in Rosamond with 0.75 inches in just two hours. 2008 Three tornadoes touched down in the southwest corner of Washington State in Clark County. In Vancouver, one tornado hit a residential area, downing power lines, uprooting trees and tossing shopping carts into cars, but there were no reports of injuries. The tornado also demolished a rowing club in Vancouver. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------