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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) 

 
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January 21st:

1854
This was the coldest day of the famous California cold winter when Sacramento, CA dropped to 19°.

1863
A severe coastal storm dropped heavy rains on the Fredericksburg area. It rained for 30 hours, dropping more than two inches, making mud so deep that mules and horses died attempting to move equipment. The rivers became too high and swift to cross, disrupting the Union Army offensive operation in the ill-famed "Mud March". The total rainfall in Washington from the 20th through the 22nd was 3.20 inches.

1893
Record snows fell across west Texas. Lubbock broke their single storm snowfall record with 16.8 inches. Plainview, TX recorded 18 inches. Dalhart, TX picked up 15 inches of the white stuff.

1918
Temperature rose 83 degrees at Granville, ND over several hours, from a morning reading of -33° to 50° by the afternoon.

1937
Snow flurries fell at San Diego, CA. Trace amounts stuck to northern and eastern parts of the city. The high temperature in Las Vegas was 28°. This tied the record for the coldest high temperature ever recorded and was one of only three times that the high temperature remained in the 20s.

Elko, NV set their all-time record low of -43°. Locations that reported daily record lows included: Winnemucca, ND: -36, Flagstaff, AZ: -24, Salt Lake City, UT: -11, Las Vegas, NV: 13, Bakersfield, CA: 19, Fresno, CA: 19, Eureka, CA: 25 and Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 32.

1940
Across the Atlantic, the country of Wales reported their coldest night on record as Rhayader Powys dropped to -9.9°.

1957
A storm affected important winter vegetable areas of Broward and Palm Beach Counties in Florida. Although area of destruction limited, many observers reported 6 to 9 inches of rainfall in several hours. Several points reported rainfalls of near 21 inches in less than 24 hours, with one report of 15 inches in five hours. Rainfall caused flooding of several truck crop fields; water completely covered some mature and growing crops. Most water removed was from fields by pumping, but not until considerable damage done. Sunny and abnormally warm weather following the storm was conducive to the development of disease and further general lowering of crop quality. Hail accompanying this localized storm activity caused crop damage of $1 million dollars.

1959
A winter storm produced 8 to 12 inches of snow across the northern third of Illinois. Further south, a 70 mile wide area, from Jerseyville to Danville, received a half to one inch of ice accumulation. Thousands of homes were without power for several days. This was described as the worst ice storm in Springfield, IL since 1942, and the worst in Champaign, IL in at least 50 years.

1966
Much of southwest and south central Oklahoma was hit with heavy snow for the second time in two days. Snowfall totals on this day were from 4 to 6 inches along the Red River, from near Hollis, to Altus, and east to Waurika, OK. Similar totals fell in these areas two days earlier. Snowfall totals for both storms included 11 inches at Waurika, and 10.4 inches at Altus, OK.

1979
Up to an inch of solid ice was reported over sections of southwest Virginia. Numerous trees and power lines came down causing extended power outages. Some localities were still without power a week after the storm. Pittsylvania County reported $1 million dollars in damage to trees. Utility damages were in the millions of dollars. Damage also occurred to homes and vehicles from trees falling on them.

1982
A winter storm hammered parts of South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota for the third weekend in a row through the 24th. Rain and freezing rain began over southwest Iowa during the evening and spread northeast. Heavy snow fell over the north, with 18 inches recorded at Sioux City and 14 inches at Mason City. Strong winds blew the snow into drifts of 15 to 20 feet and reduced visibilities to zero. Southern Iowa was covered with a thick layer of ice. Most roads and schools were closed. Roofs of poultry houses and cattle sheds collapsed under the weight of heavy snow killing numerous chickens and cattle.

Conditions were no better in Minnesota. Minneapolis set a single storm snowfall record with 18.5 inches. Incredibly, the record that this storm broke had just been set two days earlier when 17.4 inches buried the Twin Cities. This totaled nearly 36 inches of new snow in just over three days.

1985
The southeastern U.S. was in the deep freeze due to an Arctic blast. North Carolina’s coldest temperature was measured as Mt. Mitchell dropped to -34°. South Carolina also recorded their coldest temperatures ever as Caesar’s Head dropped to -19°. Locations that reported all-time record lows included: Knoxville, TN: -24°, Bristol, TN: -21°, Richmond, VA: -17°, Nashville, TN: -17°, Asheville, NC: -16°, Chattanooga, TN: -10°, Raleigh, NC: -9°, Rome, GA: -9°, Greensboro, NC: -8°, Charlotte, NC: -5°, Norfolk, VA: -3°, Pensacola, FL: 5°, Cape Hatteras, NC: 6°, Apalachicola, FL: 9°, Daytona Beach, FL: 15° and Orlando, FL: 19°. Plumbers were busy answering calls from worried residents who had no water, a sure sign of frozen pipes.

Across Florida, temperatures ranged from 4° to 20° in north Florida, 17° to 25° in central Florida, and 20° to 30° in south Florida. Six people died of hypothermia and nine others died of fires associated with space heaters. One fifth of the citrus crop, two-thirds of vegetable crop, and one third of grazing pastures were lost.

Three days of snow squalls at Buffalo, NY finally came to an end. The squalls, induced by relatively warm water on Lake Erie, produced 34 inches at the airport, with up to 47 inches reported in the suburbs of Buffalo. Many counties were declared disaster areas.

It was the coldest Inauguration day in history as President Reagan was sworn in for a second term. After a morning low of -4°, the high of just 17° combined with gusty winds resulted in wind chill readings of -30°.

1987
Low pressure over Minnesota produced high winds in the Northern Plains. Winds gusted to 70 mph at Belle Fourche, SD and reached 66 mph at Rapid City, SD.

1988
Pressure gradience from high pressure over northern Nevada and low pressure off the coast of southern California combined to produce high winds to the southwestern U.S.  Wind gusts in the San Francisco area reached 70 mph at Fremont. Further south, gusts reached 80 mph at Grapevine and 60 mph at Ontario. Power poles, road signs and big rigs were knocked down in the Inland Empire. In San Diego County, six people were injured, roofs were blown off houses, trees were toppled and crops destroyed. A barn was demolished and a garage was crushed by a giant tree in Pine Valley. 20 buildings were destroyed or damaged at Viejas. Avocado and flower crops were destroyed at Fallbrook and Encinitas, respectively. Seven beach swimmers were missing and four were presumed drowned in large surf.

Severe thunderstorm winds flipped over an airplane at Leesburg, FL. At Umatilla high winds overturned four trailers causing five injuries. A tornado struck Ormond Beach, FL destroying a home and downing trees and power lines. Three people were injured.

1989
A gale center that exhibited subtropical storm characteristics formed in the coastal waters east of Cape Canaveral, FL then moved slowly northeast. Sustained winds of 40 to 50 mph with gusts near 75 mph downed many trees, signs and power lines, and caused window and roof damage to several homes across Brevard, Volusia, Flagler, St. Johns and Indian River Counties. High waves caused moderate beach erosion. Tens of thousands of homes were without electric power for up to 12 hours. Rainfall amounts of 4 to 6 inches caused ponding of water in low-lying areas, which damaged several homes and motels and caused many traffic accidents.

Cold and snow prevailed in the northeastern U.S. Up to 13 inches of snow was reported between Woodford and Searsburg in Vermont.  Montpelier, VT reported a wind chill reading of -42°.

Miami, FL reported a record high of 85°.

1990
Unseasonably warm weather prevailed across Florida. Many cities reported record heat.  Naples, FL tied their January record high with 88°. Locations that reported daily record highs included: Devils Garden, FL: 88°,  La Belle, FL: 87°, West Palm Beach, FL: 86°, Vero Beach, FL: 86°, Canal Point, FL: 86°, Moore Haven, FL: 86°, Sarasota-Bradenton, FL: 86°, Miami, FL: 85°-Tied, Miami Beach, FL: 84°, Lakeland, FL: 84°, Orlando, FL: 84°-Tied and Daytona Beach, FL: 83°-Tied.

Rain in southern New England changed to freezing rain, to sleet, and then to heavy snow during the late morning. Most of Massachusetts was blanketed with 6 to 10 inches of snow.

1993
Another strong low pressure system moved inland on the west coast of the U.S. Along the Sierra crest near Lake Tahoe, CA winds were measured sustained at 122 mph with a peak gust to 176 mph. Wind gusts reached 80 mph in the Reno, NV area.  Further east, Cheyenne, WY reported a gust to 73 mph. Thunderstorms with frequent lightning were reported at Blue Canyon, CA and the Sierra Ski Ranch was buried under 21 inches of new snow in 24 hours to raise its snow cover to 163 inches.

1994
Frigid conditions persisted over the Northeast. All-time record lows were established at Harrisburg, PA: -22°, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA: -21°, Williamsport, PA: -20°, Erie, PA: -18° and Allentown, PA: -15°.

Livermore Falls, ME and Grafton, NH recorded morning lows of -40°. The morning low in Worcester, MA was below 0° for the 7th day in a row to establish a new record.

On this date through the 22nd,Colliers Creek, New Zealandrecorded 26.9 inches of rain over 24-hours.

1996
Heavy rains and melting snow due to record warmth resulted in some of the worst flooding ever in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia.

1999
87 tornadoes were reported across the South, establishing a one day January record for the country. Eight people were killed and 150 others injured in Arkansas and Tennessee as twisters ripped through parts of both states. 30 tornadoes tracked across 15 counties in Arkansas. Homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed in areas like Little Rock, Beebe, McRae, and in areas farther north and east. Hardest hit were Beebe, AR, Little Rock, AR and Clarksville, TN. 163 tornadoes were reported in January shattering the old mark of 52 set in 1975. Further north, large hail, up to golf ball size, fell just south of Mattoon, IL. The hail covered the road, causing several vehicles to skid off the highway.  No injuries were reported.

Strong winds across the California desert gusted to 80 mph in the Salton Sea area, up to 70 mph in the Coachella Valley, 47 mph at Palm Springs and 36 mph at Thermal.

2000
A powerful ocean storm off the coast of New England developed an "eye" as the central pressure fell to 954 millibars or 28.16 inHg. This was the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane.

2001
A winter storm left Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada with a record 18.7 inches of snowfall.

2006
Tokyo Japan’s first snowfall of the season totaled 3.5 inches, their heaviest accumulation in 8 years.

2008
Temperatures dropped well below zero in extreme northern Maine. Van Buren plunged to -34°; Presque Isle bottomed out at -27° and Allagash fell to -26°.

2009
On this date through the 22nd, a large storm moving eastward over northwest Africa dropped cold, soaking rain that pelted the northernmost Sahara. El Oued, Algeria recorded 3.3 inches of rain, more than the normal yearly rainfall of about 3 inches. The storm whipped up widespread dust storms over Algeria and snow along its Tell Atlas Mountains.

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January 22nd:

1888
A harsh blizzard brought extreme hardship and many deaths across the Great Plains from Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa southward to Texas. Death estimates ranged from several hundred to nearly a thousand. Although there have been colder cold waves, snow storms with more snow and higher winds, the combination of these in this blizzard makes it one of the worse in history. What made this storm especially severe was that extremely mild air dominated the region before it hit. School children walked to school in the morning with no coats on, only to be caught in a raging blizzard on the way home in the afternoon. Weather forecasts of 100 years ago were either non-existent or very inaccurate.

1904
An unusual F4 tornado leveled the northern part of Moundville, AL just after midnight, killing 37 people. The tornado reportedly had a phosphorescent glow. An engineer on a northbound Great Southern train saw the destruction right after it occurred, and backed his train 12 miles in reverse to the town of Akron, where he sent a telegram for help.

1937
The high temperature in Las Vegas was 31°. This was one of only 10 times that the temperature did not climb above the freezing mark. This also tied for the coldest day ever in Las Vegas with a daily average temperature of 20°.

All-time record lows were set at: Flagstaff, AZ: -30°, Winslow, AZ: -18°-Tied, Palm Springs, CA: 19° and Escondido, CA: 22°.  Riverside, CA set a January record of 21°.  This was also their second lowest temperature of all time.

Locations that reported daily record lows for the date included: Winnemucca, NV: -19°, Denver, CO: -9°, Salt Lake City, UT: -9°, Las Vegas, NV: 9°, Tucson, AZ: 15°, Bakersfield, CA: 19°, Phoenix, AZ: 21°, Santa Ana, CA: 23°, Fresno, CA: 26°, Santa Maria, CA: 27°, San Diego, CA: 30°, Yuma, AZ: 31° and Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 34°.

Daytona, Beach, FL tied a daily record high with 83°.

1940
Four days of lake effect snow squalls came to an end at Watertown, NY where 69 inches fell.

1943
Chinook winds caused wild temperatures fluctuations at Spearfish, SD. The temperature rose 49° between 7:30 and 7:32am from -4° to 45°. Around 9am, the temperature plunged 58 degrees in 27 minutes from 54° to -4°. Plate glass windows cracked as a result of the quick thermal expansion and contraction. Motorists found it difficult to drive as their windshields would instantly frost over as they drove from a warm pocket into a cold one.

The wild temperature fluctuations were likely due to cold air and warm air sloshing back and forth along the plains at the base of the Black Hills. A similar effect would be to pour warm water into a shallow bowl of cold water. The water would slosh back and forth a few times before settling down. This is likely what happened with the warm and cold air along the Black Hills.

1948
On this date through the 26th, the longest period of snowfall on record occurred in downtown Denver, CO at 92 hours and 3 minutes as 13.6 inches fell. At the former Stapleton Airport, 19 inches of snow fell making it the heaviest snow in January.

1962
The heaviest snow since 1930 occurred at Fresno, CA as 2.2 inches fell. The snow closed schools and caused a rush of people to stores seeking to buy film to photograph this unusual event. Many roads were slippery and some were closed altogether. Five people died on Valley roads due to the slick conditions. Other amounts in the Valley included 4 inches at Madera, 3 inches at Wasco, 2 inches at Hanford, Avenal, Buttonwillow and 1.5 inches at Los Banos. The higher elevations were buried under as much as 33 inches of snow at Badger Pass in Yosemite National Park.

1965
TIROS-9 becomes the first meteorological satellite launched into a polar orbit.

1982
A winter storm of long duration lasting 3 days through the 24th virtually paralyzed South Dakota with snowfall of 6 to 20 inches. Minneapolis, MN broke their 2-day old 24-hour snowfall record with 18 inches. Rochester, MN reported 15.4 inches, their greatest one-day snowfall. Austin, MN reported 13 inches, their greatest one-day snowfall and Preston, MN recorded 14 inches, tied with 11/18/1957 for the greatest one-day snowfall.  Subzero temperatures statewide coupled with strong winds of 30 to 50 mph brought wind chills of -50°to -70°. Snow drifted as high as 15 feet. Blowing snow reduced visibilities to near zero for most of the duration of the storm. Hundreds of motorists were stranded. Numerous traffic accidents occurred due to near zero visibilities. Some power outages occurred. Major highways, interstates, and airports were closed. Numerous businesses and schools were closed for several days.

Significant freezing rain glazed northern Illinois. Compounding the problem, thunderstorms and high winds accompanied the freezing rain. Ice covered affected 70% of the state.

Wondervu, COrecorded a wind gust of 101 mph. Wind gusts of 60 to 80 mph were common along the Front Range Foothills from Boulder northward.

1983
A series of storms produced surf up to 16 feet through the 29th. Several piers collapsed. Damage was done to numerous businesses and homes. Several injuries occurred as people were swept off rocks.

1984
Arctic high pressure over the Mid-Atlantic brought extreme cold. All-Time record lows were tied or set at: Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: -18°, Baltimore, MD: -7°-Tied (2/9/1924 & 2/10/1899), Islip, NY: -7°-Tied and Bridgeport, CT: -7°-Tied.

Locations that reported January record lows included: Concord, NH: -33°, Wilmington, DE: -14°-Tied and Philadelphia, PA: -7°-Tied.

Locations that reported daily record lows included: Caribou, ME: -27°, Elkins, WV: -23°, Albany, NY: -20°, Portland, ME: -19°, Syracuse, NY: -19°, Williamsport, PA: -13°-Tied, Avoca, PA: -11°, Charleston, WV: -10°, Harrisburg, PA: -9°, Huntington, WV: -9°, Newark, NJ: -1°, Paducah, KY: 0°, Roanoke, VA: 2°, Jackson, KY: 4°, New York (LaGuardia), NY: 6°-Tied, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 7°-Tied, Meridian, MS: 9°, Huntsville, AL: 9°, Wallops Island, VA: 9°, Tupelo, MS: 10°, Birmingham,. AL: 11°, Jackson, MS: 12° and Mobile, AL: 18°.

1985
A strong upper level trough across the East brought extreme cold across the Southeast.  Virginia recorded its coldest temperature ever as Mountain Lake near Blacksburg dropped to -30°. Vero Beach, FL set their all-time record low with 21°.

Locations that set daily record lows included: Greensboro, NC: 4°, Chattanooga, TN: 5°, Huntsville, AL: 5°, Columbia, SC: 7°, Birmingham,. AL: 10°, Tallahassee, FL: 10°, Montgomery, AL: 12°, Macon, GA: 13°, Charleston, SC: 14°, Mobile, AL: 16°, Jacksonville, FL: 16°, Gainesville, FL: 17°, Savannah, GA: 17°-Tied, Daytona Beach, FL: 18°, Orlando, FL: 20°, New Orleans, LA: 22°-Tied, Tampa, FL: 25°, West Palm Beach, FL: 28°, Fort Myers, FL: 30°, Miami, FL: 30° and Key West, FL: 49°.

1987
In late January 1987 two back-to-back snowstorms dropped 20 to 28 inches of snow across the D.C. area. On the morning on this date, a low-pressure system was located along the South Carolina coast. It quickly moved to the north-northeast while developing into a major winter storm. During the afternoon, the storms central pressure dropped to 982 millibars or 29.00 inHg as past to the Virginia coast. The storm later peaked at 968 millibars or 28.58 inHg. Snow became heavy in the Baltimore/Washington area during the morning and continued at a relentless rate of 1 to 3 inches per hour until mid-afternoon. Between 10 to 15 inches of snow fell through the entire metro area. National Airport received 10.8 inches and BWI received 12.3 inches and Dulles received 11.1 inches. The snow had an unusually high water content of 1.49 inches of water equivalent at National Airport, which made the snow removal difficult.

North Carolina experienced their worst snowstorm in 50 years as up to 20 inches of snow fell across the state. Dushmore, PA received 21 inches. Traffic tie-ups nearly paralyzed the Washington D.C. and Boston, MA areas. Williamsport, PA recorded 5 inches of snow in just one hour and winds gusted to 76 mph at Chatham, MA.

Across Florida, Canal Point set a record high with 87° and Miami tied a record high with 84°.

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

1989
Low pressure brought heavy rain and gale force winds to parts of Florida. Daytona Beach was drenched with 5.48 inches of rain in 24 hours to establish a January record for that location, and winds at Titusville, FL gusted to 63 mph.

A frigid Siberian Air Mass engulfed most of Alaska. A few locations reported record low temperatures for the date including: Bettles, AK: -65°, McGrath, AK: -61°, Kotzebue, AK: -48°, Nome, AK: -44° and Anchorage, AK: -25°.

Chandalar Lake recorded an afternoon high of -66°.  Other record low maximums for date included: Bettles, AK: -55°, McGrath, AK: -43°-Tied, Kotzebue, AK: -42°, Nome, AK: -36°, Bethel, AK: -32° and Gulkana, AK: -29°.

1990
It was a very tame and peaceful mid winter day. Mild weather prevailed across the nation, with rain and snow primarily confined to the northeastern U.S. and the Pacific Northwest.

Many locations across Florida reported record high temperatures for the date including: Clewiston, FL: 88°, Devils Garden, FL: 88°, La Belle, FL: 88°, Moore Haven, FL: 88°, Miami, FL: 86° and Hollywood, FL: 83°.

1994
The 24-hour period ending on this date became the wettest such period on record in New Zealand when Colliers Creek recorded 26.87 inches of rain.  Of that total, 18.74 inches fell in just 12 hours making it also the wettest 12 hour period on record in New Zealand.

1997
A major snowstorm hit northern California, dumping snow at the rate of two inches per hour on the Sierra Nevada Mountains. A 6 foot snowdrift trapped Amtrak’s California Zephyr on Donner Pass, much like a similar storm had done in January 1952, when the City of San Francisco was trapped in the pass for three days. Fortunately for the Amtrak passengers, the train was freed within a few hours and the train was just 14 hours late into Salt Lake City, UT.

North winds of 25 to 40 mph along with the existing snow cover resulted in blizzard conditions and extreme wind chills across far northeast South Dakota and west central Minnesota. The low visibilities and drifting snow made travel almost impossible resulting in some road and school closures.

2002
As a line of thunderstorms moved across northeast Illinois, a bolt of lightning struck a tree at Mount Prospect. The tree exploded into thousands of pieces, some of which were 3 to 5 feet long. One of these large pieces struck a woman walking her dog. Although she was critically injured, she recovered from her injuries. The flying pieces of the tree broke 3 windows and damaged garage doors and siding.

2004
Residents of Rochester, NY watched measurable snow fall on 19 consecutive days beginning January 4th. The string tied the previous mark set in 1985.

2005
Snow accumulated at a rate of at least two inches an hour leaving more than 20 inches at Logan International Airport at Boston, MA by noon. The snowstorm became the 6th worst to hit Boston in the past 100 years. Just north of Boston, the town of Peabody reported 29 inches.

A potent winter storm moved out of southern Canada and across the upper Midwest. It brought heavy snow and blizzard-like conditions to the region, beginning late the previous day and continuing during the early morning. Snowfall totals of 6 to10 inches were common across the area, with wind gusts that exceeded 50 mph over parts of southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa. The highest wind gust was 52 mph at Oelwein, IA. Blizzard conditions developed early Saturday morning when a passing cold front quickly increased northwest winds. Combined with the fresh snow, visibilities dropped quickly, especially in the open and flat terrain areas of southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa. Whiteout conditions were reported and many roads were impassable.

2006
The run of consecutive rainy days finally ended at 35 at Olympia, WA.

A Santa Ana wind event brought peak winds from this day through the 24th. During these days, wind gusts exceeded 60 mph on 19 observations there. Seven big rigs overturned in Fontana. Downed power lines and trees caused power outages and property damage. A roof of a carport was torn off in Hemet. A dust storm closed Ramona Expressway.

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January 23rd:

1780
The coldest day of the month was recorded in the northeastern United States. A British Army thermometer in New York City, NY posted a reading of -16°. During that infamous hard winter, the harbor was frozen solid for 5 weeks, and the port was cut off from shipping.

1812
A second major series of tremors was felt as part of the New Madrid Shocks of the winter of 1811-1812. Many observers reported the January 23rd shocks to be as strong as the main earthquake on December 16th of the preceding year.

1862
Epic floods resulted when it rained 30 days in a row, beginning 12/24/1861 to this day. 35 inches of rain fell at Los Angeles, CA. In San Diego, CA over 7 inches fell in January alone. The Santa Ana River in Anaheim ran four feet deep and spread in an unbroken sheet of water to the Coyote Hills, three miles beyond the banks (in present-day Fullerton). 20 people died in Orange County alone. The worst flooding to date in San Diego County occurred after six weeks of rain. All of Mission Valley was underwater and Old Town was evacuated. The tide backed its waters into the San Diego River and cut a new channel into the bay.

1916
Browning, MT, saw the thermometer plummet 100 degrees in 24 hours from a relatively mild 44° to a bone-chilling -56°. This is generally credited as being the greatest temperature drop ever reported in the world for a 24 hour period.

1935
The Blizzard of 1935 dumped a wide swath of snow from Florida to New England through the 24th. Actually it was two storms that struck back to back. The second storm followed directly on the heels of the first. New York City, NY was blanketed with 17.5 inches of snow. Thousands of jobless men were hired by the Home Relief Program and the Federal Relief Administration to shovel snow at 25 cents an hour.

The temperature at Iroquois Falls fell to -72.9°, Ontario, Canada's coldest day on record.

1940
Snow began during the evening of January 23rd ending by mid morning of January 24th across the Mid-Atlantic. Most of the snow fell during the overnight hours when snow came down a rate of two inches per hour in places. The storm tracked up the East Coast to near Cape Hatteras, NC and then swerved out sea. Washington, D.C. was on the northern fringe of one of the greatest of storms to ever to hit the southern states. Snowfall totals included 22 inches at Danville, VA, 21.3 inches at Richmond, VA, and 8.3 inches in Atlanta, GA; all setting 24 hour records for those cities. Cape May, NJ reported 13 inches and 9 inches fell at Atlantic City, NJ. Officially, 9.5 inches of snow fell at Washington, D.C.’s weather recording station (at the time located near 24th and M Street); however, over a foot of snow fell across southeastern Washington, D.C. In Frederick and Upper Montgomery County, Maryland only a few inches of snow fell. However, just east of Andrews Air Force Base, 24 inches of snow was measured. Generally 20 to 25 inches of snow fell across Southern Maryland and Central and Eastern Virginia.  At least 17 people died. Six mornings of below 0 temperatures followed the storm.

1943
A major storm hit Southern California, especially the deserts on this day through the 24th. 26.12 inches fell in 24 hours at Hoegees Camp in the San Gabriel Mountains, setting the state’s 24 hour precipitation record. 4.57 inches of rain fell at Palm Springs, CA, their greatest daily amount on record. 2.31 inches of rain fell at Borrego Springs, CA and two inches at Victorville, CA, each the greatest daily amount on record for January.

1947
Fresno, CArecorded their 21st day in a row with a low temperature of 32° or lower, an all-time record for any month. Citrus crops endured some damage.

1955
Mobile, AL recorded their largest snowfall in 55 years as 3.5 inches fell.

1959
The January thaw during the 21st through the 23rd brought one the worst flash floods in many years in western New York. The floods and accompanying southwest gale caused damage estimated in excess of $8 million dollars across the Niagara Frontier. One drowning occurred.

1966
A major nor'easter clobbered the East Coast into the Northeast dumping heavy snow from several inches to two feet. 21.1 inches was recorded at Rochester, NY.

1969
Severe thunderstorms produced strong tornadoes and large hail across central Mississippi. Six F4 tornadoes struck the counties of Jefferson, Copiah, Simpson, Rankin, Smith, and Scott. Paths ranged from 6 to 35 miles. One tornado tracked a total of 95 miles. Golf ball top baseball size hail was reported across parts of Franklin and Jefferson Counties. These storms were responsible for 32 deaths, 241 injuries and $1.5 million dollars in property damage. 

1970
ITOS-1, the first second-generation polar-orbiting meteorological satellite, was launched.

1971
Prospect Creek Camp in the Endicott Mountains of northern Alaska recorded the coldest temperature ever recorded in the U.S. with a reading of -79.8°. An unofficial reading of -82° was reported at Coldfoot, AK. 

1982
A blizzard in the upper Midwest dumped tremendous snows across Minnesota and Iowa. 18.5 inches fell at Minneapolis, MN and 18 inches fell at Sioux City, IA. Winds of up to 60 mph piled up drifts to 20 feet.

Freezing rain hit much of the state and eastern seaboard and in western New York caused glazed streets, sidewalks, tree limbs and power lines with ice and caused the cancellation of numerous events. Ice buildup on power lines caused power outages mostly south of Buffalo. A section of Route 5 in Dunkirk was closed for a time after a 13,000 volt power line was downed by the ice. Most of the flights at the Buffalo International Airport were canceled because of the high winds and ice. Temperatures remained nearly steady throughout the day hovering around 10° to 11° for most of the day. The cold temperatures in combination with the high winds (averaging around 35 mph and gusting to 51 mph resulted in wind chills in the extreme cold range between -30° and -40°.

1987
Strong winds ushered bitterly cold air into the north central U.S., and produced snow squalls across the Great Lakes. Snowfall totals in northwest Lower Michigan ranged up to 17 inches in Leelanau County. Wind chill temperatures reached -70° at Sault Ste Marie, MI and Hibbing, MN.

1988
A strong Arctic front brought a blast of high winds and plummeting temperatures across the Northern Plains. As the winds and snow swept across the Plains some described it as a "wall of white" as visibilities plunged to near zero in whiteout conditions. 6 to 8 inches of snow fell in southwest Minnesota with lesser amounts elsewhere. Wind chills plunged to around -50°. Winds of 25 to 40 mph with gusts over 50 mph blew the snow into high drifts closing many roads. The strong winds tore the roof off of a hospital in Fort Meade where winds topped 70 mph.

Northeastern Colorado experienced its most severe windstorm in years. A wind gust to 120 mph was reported at Mines Peak, 105 mph at Table Mesa in Boulder and 92 mph was recorded at the Jefferson County Airport in Broomfield before the anemometer blew away. Widespread property damage ranging from broken windows to downed power and traffic lights were reported. The high winds blew down a partially constructed viaduct east of Boulder, as nine unanchored concrete girders, each weighing 45 tons, were blown off their supports.

1989
Low pressure brought heavy snow to Wyoming, with 18 inches reported at the Shoshone National Forest, and 17 inches in the Yellowstone Park area. Gunnison, CO reported a low of -19°, the cold spot in the nation for the 12th consecutive day.

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

1994
Duluth, MN reported temperatures below 0° for a record 186 consecutive hours.

1999
A potent winter storm dumped heavy snow on the east slopes of the southern Sierra and in the Owens Valley in California. Snow began during the evening hours at Aspendell, at the 8,500 foot level in the mountains west of Bishop, and continued until late afternoon on the 25th. A total of two feet fell in the mountain community. Snow began to fall in Bishop early the next afternoon and lasted for a little more than 24 hours. A total of 10 to 15 inches fell in the Owens Valley over an area extending from Bishop to Olancha. As a result, multiple vehicle accidents occurred, schools were closed on the 25th and travel was restricted on several roads in the region.

2003
Snow fell across much of the Carolinas with 7 inches reported at Charlotte, NC. The snowfall closed schools and snarled traffic. Frisco recorded a foot of snow, with 10 inches at Buxton and Ocracoke. Snow drifts reached 3 to 4 feet. A dusting fell at Myrtle Beach, SC, where a record low of 16° caused pipes to freeze.

2005
A huge snowstorm buried parts of the northeast into Nova Scotia Canada. 13.4 inches of snow fell at Boston, MA the most snow the city had received in a single day since the National Weather Service began keeping records in 1892. Greenwood, Nova Scotia Canada with 25.2 inches of new snow nearly doubled their previous single-day January record.  Yarmouth's 23.2 inches set their single-day January record. The blizzard closed the ski slopes. The total snowfall for the week totaled 54.7 inches at Greenwood and 43.7 inches at Yarmouth.

2006
A streak of 37 consecutive rainy days finally ended at Aberdeen and Hoquiam, WA.

2008
Wrightwood, CA received 24 to 38 inches of new snow from this day through the 25th. Interstate 15 and Highway 138 were closed. Three people were killed in avalanches at the Mountain High Ski Resort.

Heavy snow caused near zero visibility across Northern Ontario with numerous multi-vehicle collisions reported. Hazardous driving conditions closed the Trans-Canada Highway between Batchawana Bay and Wawa in northern Ontario. About 6 inches of snow per hour was falling on the highway north of Sault Ste. Marie, MI.
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January 24
1857
The coldest weather in pre-U.S. Weather Bureau history occurred with temperatures of -50° reported in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The temperature was -30° at Boston, MA and -11° on Nantucket Island.

1881
Freezing rain over three days at Pictou, Nova Scotia Canada coated trees, fences, telegraph wires and buildings.  

1916
The temperature at Browning, MT plunged 100 degrees in 24 hours from 44° to -56°.  This is the U.S. record for a 24 hour temperature drop.

1922
Wisconsin recorded their coldest temperature ever when Danbury dropped to -54°. This is also the coldest temperature ever recorded east of the Mississippi River. This record was broken on 2/1/1996 at Couderay.

1935
Snowstorms hit the northeastern U.S. and the Pacific Northwest producing record 24 hour snowfall totals of 23 inches at Portland, ME and 52 inches at Winthrop, MA.

1942
Romania recorded their coldest night on record as the town of Bod dropped to -37.3°.

1943
High pressure centered in the Gulf of Mexico brought record high temperatures from the southern Plains to the Ohio Valley. Locations that either tied or broke January records included: Wichita Falls, TX: 89°-Tied, Lexington, KY: 80°, Cincinnati, OH: 77°, Louisville, KY: 77°-Tied and Evansville, IN: 76°.

Locations that reported daily record highs included: Del Rio, TX: 89°, Dallas, TX: 84°, Waco, TX: 83°, Dallas (DFW), TX: 82°, Shreveport, LA: 82°, Jackson, MS: 80°-Tied, Meridian, MS: 79°, Tupelo, MS: 78°, Fort Smith, AR: 78°, Tulsa, OK: 78°, Memphis, TN: 78°, Charleston, WV: 77°, Huntington, WV: 77°, Nashville, TN: 77°, Oklahoma City, OK: 76°, Springfield, MO: 75°, Knoxville, TN: 73°, St. Louis, MO: 71°, Dayton, OH: 70°, Beckley, WV: 70°-Tied, Indianapolis, IN: 68°, Elkins, WV: 66° and Youngstown, OH: 59°.

As the cold front blasted through Springfield, MO, the temperature dropped from 75° to 13°.

A major storm hit Southern California, especially the deserts beginning the previous day. 26.12 inches fell in 24 hours at Hoegees Camp in the San Gabriel Mountains, setting the state’s 24 hour precipitation record.

1956
38 inches of rain was recorded in a 24-hour period through the 25th at the Kilauea Plantation, Hawaii. 12 inches occurred in just one hour.

1963
A great arctic outbreak reached the southern U.S. The cold wave broke many records for duration of cold weather along the Gulf Coast. Lexington, KY set their all-time record low with -21° and New Orleans, LA tied their January record low with 14°.

Locations that reported daily record low temperatures included: Akron, OH: -21°, Grand Island, NE: -20°, Mansfield, OH: -20°, Louisville, KY: -20°, Cincinnati, OH: -19°, Cleveland, OH: -19°, Dayton, OH: -19°, Youngstown, OH: -18°, Beckley, WV: -18°, Pittsburgh, PA: -18°, Toledo, OH: -17°, Indianapolis, IN: -16°, Elkins, WV: -16°, Evansville, IN: -15°, Fort Wayne, IN: -15°, Columbus, OH: -15°, Huntington, WV: -15°, Nashville, TN: -15°, Erie, PA: -15°, Detroit, MI: -13°, Flint, MI: -13°, Charleston, WV: -12°, Paducah, KY: -11°, Buffalo, NY: -11°, Binghamton, NY: -10°, Rochester, NY: -10°, Bristol, TN: -8°, Oak Ridge, TN: -8°, Chattanooga, TN: -7°, Asheville, NC: -7°, Knoxville, TN: -6°, Avoca, PA: -5°, Huntsville, AL: -4°, Roanoke, VA: -4°, Atlanta, GA: -3°, Tupelo, MS: -2°, Birmingham, AL: -2°, Lynchburg, VA: -1°, Memphis, TN: 0°, Baltimore, MD: 1°, Little Rock, AR: 2°, Wilmington, DE: 2°, Columbus, GA: 3°, Washington, D.C.: 3°, New York (LaGuardia), NY: 3°, Bridgeport, CT: 3°, Meridian, MS: 4°, Athens, GA: 4°, Greensboro, NC: 4°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 4°, Wichita Falls, TX: 5°, Montgomery, AL: 5°, San Angelo, TX: 6°, Macon, GA: 6°, Charlotte, NC: 7°, Raleigh, NC: 7°, Dallas, TX: 8°, Mobile, AL: 8° (broke previous record by 14 degrees), Dallas (DFW), TX: 9°, Midland-Odessa, TX: 9°, Shreveport, LA: 9°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 9°, Waco, TX: 11°, Pensacola, FL: 11°, Baton Rouge, LA: 12°, Austin (Camp Mabry), TX: 12°, Austin (Bergstrom), TX, 14°, Augusta, GA: 14°, San Antonio, TX: 15°, Del Rio, TX: 16°, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 16°-Tied, Tallahassee, FL: 17°, Wilmington, NC: 17°, Victoria, TX: 17°-Tied, Corpus Christi, TX: 18°, Charleston, SC: 18°, Houston, TX: 18°-Tied, Galveston, TX: 19°, Savannah, GA: 19°, Jacksonville, FL: 24° and Brownsville, TX: 26°.

1966
The temperature at Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada fell below 0° on this date and remained below for 26 consecutive days.

1967
A tornado outbreak across the Central U.S. was the furthest north ever recorded in the winter up to that time. Severe weather occurred across a good portion of southeast and east central Iowa. Two inch hail fell at Armstrong and over two dozen tornadoes were reported. Five miles north of Fort Madison, one fatality occurred from a tornado along with six injuries. Another six injuries were also reported elsewhere. A tornado causing F4 damage killed 3 people and injured 216 in St. Louis County, Missouri. Tornadoes also affected parts of northern and central Illinois. One strong tornado in Mason County killed one person and injured three others. Another tornado moved across the Champaign-Urbana metropolitan area, injuring five people. Other strong tornadoes were reported across Carroll County in Mt. Carroll, where 12 people were injured, and near Gladstone in Henderson County. Funnel clouds were reported across the southwest section of Chicago, IL. High winds gusting to 48 mph caused a wall of a building under construction to collapse killing one and injuring four others. Iowa had never recorded a tornado in January before this outbreak. 32 total tornadoes occurred, 14 of them in Iowa.  Nine twisters occurred in Missouri, 8 in Illinois and 1 in Wisconsin. 

South to southwesterly winds out ahead of the storm brought record highs to parts of the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes.  Lansing, MI soared to 66° breaking their record high for January.

1970
On this date through the 26th, high winds blasted across the Colorado Rockies. The National Center for Atmospheric Research at Boulder, CO reported a gust of 122 mph.  This locations also reported a gust of 109 mph on the 26th.  Generally wind gusts at Boulder ranged from 60 to 70 mph. The wind was responsible for broken windows, downed tree limbs and power lines. A roof was blown off in Eldorado Springs south of Boulder. 

1979
Blizzard conditions affected much of the northwest half of Illinois, accompanied by as much as 10 inches of snow near Chicago and Pontiac. The southeast half of the state saw some freezing rain, as well as 2 to 6 inches of snow.

Parts of central Florida saw a small outbreak of severe weather. Six tornadoes struck from near Palatka to Venice as a strong, fast-moving cold front swept across central Florida. Widespread minor property damage, but only one injury reported in a mobile home in Desoto Co.

1981
An upper level ridge ahead of a cold front brought record high temperatures from parts of the eastern Rockies to the Midwest. Locations that reported record highs for January included: Sioux Falls, SD: 66°, St. Cloud, MN: 56°, Austin, MN: 55° and Preston, MN: 55°.

Locations that reported daily record highs included: Dodge City, KS: 74°, Wichita, KS: 74°, Pueblo, CO: 73°, Grand Island, NE: 72°, Lincoln, NE: 72°, Topeka, KS: 72°, Norfolk, NE: 71°, Concordia, KS: 71°, North Platte, NE: 70°, Sioux City, IA: 70°, Kennebec, SD: 69°, Valentine, NE: 68°, Pierre, SD: 67°, Omaha, NE: 66°, Colorado Springs, CO: 65°, Sisseton, SD: 65°, Watertown, SD: 65°, Scottsbluff, NE: 63°, Huron, SD: 62°, Des Moines, IA: 62°, Wheaton, SD: 61°, Aberdeen, SD: 60°, Sheridan, WY: 58°, Waterloo, IA: 58°, Minneapolis, MN: 57°, Mobridge, SD: 57°, Rochester, MN: 55°, Madison, WI: 55°-Tied, Alamosa, CO: 54°, Grand Junction, CO: 54°, La Crosse, WI: 54° and Fargo, ND: 52°.

1982
Chinook winds plagued the foothills of southeastern Wyoming and northern and central Colorado. Winds gusted to 140 mph at Wondervu, CO, located northeast of Denver, 92 mph at Boulder and 61 mph at the former Stapleton Airport in Denver. Structural damage occurred including nine planes at the Boulder Airport along with four mobile homes and many cars. 

1985
Blizzard conditions associated with an Arctic front moved into western Minnesota and northeast South Dakota during the afternoon and continued into the evening. The blizzard brought travel to a standstill. Winds increased to 40 to 60 mph. Many roads were closed due to drifts of snow. Temperatures fell rapidly behind the front with wind chills of -30° to -50° during the overnight. There were a number of accidents and stranded motorists. The National Guard was called upon to search for stranded motorists. Portions of northeast South Dakota experienced near blizzard conditions as wind speeds gusted to near 60 mph with dangerous travel conditions.

1987
Arctic high pressure brought record lows to a few locations from the Great Lakes to Florida including: Marquette, MI: -17°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: -2°, Orlando, FL: 32°, Vero Beach, FL: 33°, Immokalee, FL: 35° and Canal Point, FL: 36°.  Warroad, MN was the cold spot in the nation with a low of -45°.

A storm developing in northeastern Texas produced severe thunderstorms with large hail in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. Camden, AR reported golf ball size hail.

1988
A blizzard rapidly developed across the north central U.S. In just one hour weather conditions in eastern North Dakota switched from sunny skies, light winds and temperatures in the 20s, to rapidly falling temperatures and near zero visibility in snow and blowing snow. High winds in Wyoming, gusted to 72 mph at Gillette, producing snow drifts 16 feet high. Northwestern Iowa experienced their second blizzard in just 24 hours. High winds in Iowa produced wind chill readings as cold as -65°.

1989
Heavy snow blanketed the Rockies and the Northern Plains. Hettinger, ND received 12 inches of snow. Wolf Creek Pass, CO was blanketed with 16 inches of snow in just 24 hours.  

Severe cold prevailed across Alaska. Locations that reported record lows included: McGrath, AK: -60°, Barrow, AK: -50° and Nome, AK: -45°.

1990
A deep low pressure system brought high winds and heavy snow to the western Aleutian Islands of Alaska. Winds gusting to 82 mph at Shemya reduced the visibility to near zero in blowing snow.  

Rain and gale force winds lashed the northern Pacific coast. Thunderstorms produced locally heavy rains over the central Gulf coast states.

1992
High winds raked the Eastern Foothills of Colorado for the third day in a row. Winds gusted to 105 mph at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, 100 mph on Fritz Peak near Rollinsville, 93 mph at north Boulder and 86 mph at Rocky Flats.  Several tractor-trailers were overturned between Boulder and Golden. Traffic lights, signs and power lines were downed.

1996
Prolonged freezing rain, glaze and ice pellets affected much of central England and Wales and parts of southern England during the evening and overnight. It was the most widespread prolonged spell of frozen precipitation since late January 1940.

1997
A strong storm brought snow to the upper Midwest and severe weather to parts of the South.  A slow moving band of snow brought 6 to 9 inches across parts of Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Severe storms produced hail across a large portion of Mississippi. There were 24 reports of golf ball to baseball size hail.

Rare mid-winter tornadoes struck parts of Alabama and Tennessee. One twister struck the eastern part of Tuscaloosa, AL, killing one person and injuring 8 others. The tornado struck a strip shopping center, crushing the roof of a crowded grocery store and tossing cars in the parking lot like toys.

2002
On this date through the 25th, 16.5 inches of snow fell at Valkeakoski, Finland, located 93 miles from sea. The storm caused hundreds of car accidents, ferries remained in harbors, airports closed, and delayed trains.

2003
Florida's $53 billion dollar agriculture industry dodged a bullet as a blast of cold air brought record cold to the Sunshine State. Growers turned the sprinklers on their strawberry fields to encase them in an insulating blanket of ice. The record low of 45° at Key West was just 4 degrees away from their all-time record low. Ocean effect snow showers were reported as far north as Flagler Beach to as far south as Fort Pierce.

Locations from New York to Florida that reported record lows for the date included: Jackson, KY: 4°, Islip, NY: 8°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 8°, Wallops Island, VA: 13°, Columbia, SC: 13°-Tied, Augusta, GA: 14°-Tied, Wilmington, NC: 16°, Savannah, GA: 17°, Charleston, SC: 17°, Cape Hatteras, NC: 18°, Jacksonville, FL: 19°, Daytona Beach, FL: 25°, Orlando, FL: 27°, Tampa, FL: 27°, Lakeland, FL: 27°, St. Petersburg, FL: 29°, Sarasota-Bradenton, FL: 29°, Vero Beach, FL: 30°, West Palm Beach, FL: 33°, Naples, FL: 33° and Miami Beach, FL: 38°.

Snow and intense cold killed at least 24,000 head of livestock in parts of Mongolia. The heavy snowfall was accompanied by temperatures that dropped to -58°.

2005
It was a warm late winter day from the northern Plains to the northern Rockies as a few locations reported record high temperatures including: Sheridan, WY: 69° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Rapid City, SD: 69°-Tied, Valentine, NE: 68°-Tied, Havre, MT: 64°, Scottsbluff, NE: 63°-Tied, Billings, MT: 62°, Timber Lake, SD: 60° and Casper, WY: 56°.

Heavy rains caused the worst flooding in 20 years at Medina, Saudi Arabia. A dam collapse isolated many villages and killed 8 people.

2006
An ivu (a surge of ice from the ocean onto the shore, the first since 1978) came ashore at Barrow, AK on the 22nd. By today, the collision had caused onshore ice piles 25 feet high thus blocking roads. Front end loaders were used to clear blocked roads.

A bitter cold wave hit parts of Europe. The temperature at Gross Gerungs, Austria dropped to an all-time low of -24°.

In New Zealand, Aukland's Skytower recorded a gust of 94 mph and an average wind speed of 81 mph.

2007
End of the most costly freeze event in modern California history (1980-prsent) with $1.3 billion dollars in damages statewide. Fresno had 19 days, beginning on the 6th with low temperatures of 32° or lower, their second longest such streak on record. Cooperative observers reported low temperatures were as low as 13° at Merced and 16° at Hanford. Between 50 and 70% of citrus on trees was damaged and thousands of farm workers were left unemployed.

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January 25th:

1821
The Hudson River in New York City was completely frozen over. People were able to cross the river between Hoboken, NJ and New York City. Temperature plunged to -14° in New York City. Entrepreneurs set up beverage stations in the middle of the river to warm pedestrians.

1837
During the evening, a display of the Northern Lights danced above Burlington, VT. The light was equal to that of a full moon. Snow and other objects reflecting the light were deeply tinged with a blood red hue. Blue, yellow and white streamers were also noted.

1902
Japan's coldest recorded temperature occurred as Asahikawa dropped to -40.6°.

1916
Heavy rain that began on this day and ended on the 30th exacerbated the flooding earlier in the month across southern California. Five inches fell in less than 12 hours at San Diego. Extensive flooding occurred all over Southern California, the worst to date, and it resulted in 28 total deaths in the region, 22 people in San Diego County. This is the most destructive and deadly weather event in San Diego County History. The Lower Otay Dam broke sending a 40-foot wall of water downstream, killing 15 people. A few others drowned in Mission Valley and in the San Luis Rey River. The Sweetwater Dam also broke. Every large bridge in San Diego County but one was seriously damaged or destroyed. Four people drowned in Orange County, two in a cottage floating down the Santa Ana River. Two people drowned in San Bernardino County. Total damage was nearly $8 million (1916) dollars.

1940
The temperature at Richmond, VA dropped to -6°, the first of six consecutive days with below 0° readings. The cold followed on the heels of the city’s biggest snowstorm ever, as 21.6 inches of snow fell over a 3-day period.

1949
Las Vegas, NVrecorded 4.7 inches of snow. This brought the monthly snowfall total to 16.7 inches which still ranks as their snowiest month on record.

1950
Parts of the Ohio Valley, lower Great Lakes and southern Canada enjoyed a preview to spring with sunshine and record high temperatures. Fort Wayne, IN soared to a January record high of 69°following a record January morning high minimum temperature of 52°. Other January record included: South Bend, IN: 68°, Grand Rapids, MI: 66°, Muskegon, MI: 63°and Toronto, Ontario Canada: 62.1°.

In contrast, Billings, MT managed an afternoon high of just -10°during their coldest January on record where the average temperature was just 5.1°.

1956
38 inches of rain was recorded in a 24-hour period through this date at the Kilauea Plantation, Hawaii. 12 inches occurred in just one hour.

1965
A severe dust storm swept from the northern Plains into Oklahoma. Visibility dropped to near zero in parts of west Texas and western Oklahoma. Winds gusted to 75 mph in Lubbock, TX and 55 mph at Oklahoma City, OK. The blowing dust eventually spread as far east as Pennsylvania

Alta, UT was buried under 105 inches of snow, establishing a snowfall record for the state.

1971
The highest wind gust was recorded in the state of Colorado of 147 mph at the National Center for Atmospheric Research on the Mesa in southwest Boulder. Other wind gusts included: At the National Bureau of Standards in Boulder: 91 mph, downtown Boulder: 87 mph and 75 mph at the Jefferson County Airport in Broomfield. The winds caused widespread minor damage in Boulder.

1972
A windstorm brought gusts to 66 mph at Buffalo, NY and a temperature drop from 51 at 1am to 10 at Midnight. Lake front flooding occurred on Lake Erie with a peak storm surge of 9.2 feet during the morning. Minor flooding occurred on Cayuga Island in the Niagara River.

1977
This was the 29th consecutive day where the high temperature at Chicago, IL was below freezing. The 43-day long cold snap lasted from 12/28/1976 through 2/8/1977 setting the all-time record for the longest period below freezing. This was also the same time period of below freezing temperatures at Rockford, IL also setting their all-time record.

This was the last day of a 28 day period where Springfield, IL had high temperatures of 32 degrees or below.

1978
Meteorologist Bert Reeves was concerned as he studied the weather charts for the day from the National Weather Service in Indianapolis, IN. He issued a blizzard warning for the entire state of Indiana. It turned out to be a good move, as the Great Blizzard of '78 began. The worst of the storm occurred from eastern Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Michigan where snowfall totals of one to two feet were common with South Bend, IN picking up three feet thanks to lake effect. At times, winds gusted to 80 mph creating whiteout conditions, drifts to rooftops of one story buildings and wind chill readings down to -60°. 

Beginning on this date through February 23rd, there was a record 30 days with temperatures below freezing at St. Louis, MO.

1983
The barometric pressure in a massive storm in Gulf of Alaska dropped to 940 millibars or 27.76 inHg, the equivalent of a strong category 4 hurricane.

1987
The second major storm in three days hit the Eastern Seaboard producing up to 15 inches of snow in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Up to 30 inches of snow covered the ground in Virginia following the two storms.

Oklahoma reeled from one of its worst winter storms ever as up to two inches of ice accumulated from Duncan to Norman to Tulsa. Many areas were without power for up to two weeks.

1988
A Nor'easter moved up the Atlantic Coast spreading heavy snow from the Carolinas to New England, with as much as 16 inches reported in the Pocono Mountains in eastern Pennsylvania.

High winds created blizzard conditions across the eastern Foothills of Colorado. Winds gusted to 109 mph at Echo Lake, 96 mph near Rollinsville and 48 mph at the former Stapleton International Airport in Denver..  

1989
Bitter cold air, coming down from Alaska, settled over the Northern Rockies. Wilson, WY reported a morning low of -48°.  

Thunderstorms produced severe weather in the south central U.S. One thunderstorm in north central Texas spawned a tornado which injured three people in the town of Troy.

1990
Low pressure developed explosively over east central Missouri and moved into Lower Michigan producing high winds and heavy snow across parts of Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin. Wind gusts to 60 mph and up to a foot of snow created near blizzard conditions in southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Wind gusts in Indiana reached 76 mph at Wabash and 58 mph at Fort Wayne. Thunderstorms associated with the storm produced wind gusts to 54 mph at Fort Madison, IA.

A vicious wind storm hit Europe with winds of up to 120 mph. 47 people died in Great Britain with damage estimates as high as $1.3 billion dollars.

1991
It was a cold morning at Saranack Lake, NY, as the temperature plummeted to -25°.

1999
Residents of the San Joaquin Valley in California were treated to a rare occurrence of snow; their biggest in 67 years. Snow had only fallen in the area 15 times since 1937, when 3 inches fell at Bakersfield during the early morning hours on this date. Meadows Field recorded 3 inches but amounts between 4 and 6 inches were reported in the Panorama Heights area of northeast Bakersfield. In Tulare County snow plows were called out to remove 2 to 4 inches of snow. The weight of the snow also caused trees and power lines to fall plunging 75,000 customers into darkness in Kern and Tulare Counties. Snow fell as far north as Fresno where a dusting was observed and as far west as Hanford where a half inch accumulated. Other amounts included: Lindsay: 4 inches, Delano: 3.5 inches, Wasco and Corcoran: 3 inches, Porterville: 2.5 inches and 2 inches at Visalia, Taft, Lost Hills, Sanger and Parlier.

2000
Forecasters were caught by surprise by a major winter storm that affected North Carolina to Maryland with 8 to 18 inches of wind driven snow. Afternoon forecasts called for light snow, thinking the storm would pass further out to sea. The storm hugged the coast and dropped a foot of snow on the nation’s capital. The heaviest totals were towards the east and south of Washington, D.C. The storm was a record breaker in North Carolina, where Raleigh recorded 20.2 inches of snow. It appeared that the developing storm system in the southeast would track out to sea, south of Washington, sparing the area of significant accumulation. Late in the evening of the 24th it became quickly apparent that the storm was going to take a track up the East Coast and not out to sea. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for Washington area at 9:07 pm and minute later the television networks interrupted programs with the emergency weather bulletin. The late news programs focused on the impending storm; however, many people had missed the warnings. Several inches of snow was on the ground at daybreak, with winds gusting at 25 to 45 mph creating blizzard conditions in some areas. The region was at a stand still. Airports and transit systems were shut down. Schools were closed. Federal, state and county government offices were closed or quickly closed once the full impact of the storm was realized. Some federal employees in Northern Virginia who begin their commutes well before the government shutdown at 7am were left battling the storm to attempt to return home. The heaviest band of snow fell from south central Virginia through Petersburg and the Northern Neck with 12 to 18 inches of snow. Drifts of 4 to 5 feet were common. Snow mixed with sleet and freezing rain in some of the eastern counties. Numerous traffic accidents occurred. Virginia Beach, VA alone recorded 84 during the storm. Strong winds pushed the tide in causing flooding of some roads. Some beach erosion occurred along the shore and the U.S. Coast Guard rescued four crewmembers of a vessel caught in the rough seas off Cape Charles, VA. Cold weather followed with the fresh snow pack. Snowfall amounts included: Annapolis, MD: 18 inches, Baltimore, MD: 14.9 inches, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 10 inches and 9.3 inches at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. There was at least one fatality due to hypothermia.

2003
Melbourne, Australiarecorded their fourth hottest day on record as the afternoon high soared to 111°.

2004
Funnel clouds were spotted over parts of central Oahu in Hawaii, though no confirmation of a tornado touchdown was reported. Hawaii reports about one tornado per year.

2006
Low pressure moved across southern Ontario bringing snowfall accumulations of 8 to 20 inches across western New York. Snowfall amounts were enhanced over the higher elevations of the western southern tier and parts of the Tug Hill region. In addition, strong westerly winds produced considerable blowing and drifting snow, making travel hazardous.

Heavy snow forced the closure of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece.

2008
A small ice storm occurred across the lower Mississippi Valley with freezing rain observed across the northern half of the region. Ice accumulations of around a quarter of an inch created hazardous driving conditions causing numerous accidents and one fatality.

A tornado moved across the Point Mugu Naval Air Station in southern California. The tornado appeared to have originated as a waterspout that had moved onshore. It tore the roof off of a building at the Naval Base.

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January 26th:

1698
The Charlestown to Boston, MA ferry was frozen for six weeks in the most severe winter of the 17th century. Heavy February snows followed.

1772
The greatest snowfall ever recorded in Washington, D.C. began. When the storm began, Thomas Jefferson was returning home from his honeymoon with his new bride, Martha Wayles Skelton. The newlyweds made it to within eight miles of Monticello before having to abandon their carriage in the deep snow. Both finished the ride on horseback in the blinding snow. The newlyweds arrived home late at night.

1839
A storm brought rains, thaw, and floods to the area from eastern Pennsylvania to Maine and heavy snows from western Pennsylvania to northern Kentucky.

1843
A destructive tornado hit a factory in Pottsville, PA, killing many people.

1884
Kilmahumaig recorded Prince Edward Island Canada’s coldest day ever as the temperature dropped to -35°.

1937
The Ohio River was 80 feet above flood stage at Cincinnati, OH as flooding continued along the river from Pittsburgh, PA to Cairo, IL.

1938
Perhaps the worst ice jam of record in the Niagara River gorge occurred at Niagara Falls, NY. Ice flows pouring over the falls, piled up to a height of more than 30 feet, 60 to 70 feet in spots. The tremendous pressure of the ice against the steel supports of the Falls View Bridge caused them to bend or break off. The abutments of the bridge were so weakened after more than 24 hours of battering that the great structure fell into the gorge at 4:13pm of the 27th. The plant of the Ontario Hydro-Electric Power Commission on the Canadian side of the gorge near the Horseshoe Falls was nearly buried in ice and water and so seriously damaged that several months will be required to restore service. Water and ice filled the plant to a depth of 18 feet. Many of the giant generators were damaged, perhaps ruined. The docks used by the "Maid of the Mist", and the two steamers themselves, were also damaged. The river at Queenston rose 30 feet, and to within 20 feet of the huge hydro-electric plant at that point; no damage had resulted to this up to the end of January. Along the lower Niagara River, some cottages, boat landings, etc, were damaged or destroyed.

1940
Alabama and the Deep South were in the grips of a deep freeze. The official reading at the Birmingham City weather office in Alabama was 1°. The airport reading, the official location now, was -10°. Skaters were able to skate on the frozen surface of the Black Warrior River west of Birmingham, where ice was 6 inches thick near the banks. The cold followed on the heels of a 10-inch snowfall on the 23rd.

The low temperature at Cheyenne, WY was -6°. This was the last of 10 consecutive days with a daily low temperature below zero which still stands as their longest streak ever recorded.

1950
High pressure off the Carolina coast brought a second day of record high temperatures from Texas to New England. An unusually warm fall and January left waters in the Schuylkill and Tulpehocken Rivers warm enough for unheard of mid-winter swimming at Reading, PA as temperatures rose into the 70’s. 

Many locations set record high temperatures for January including: Meridian, MS: 83°-Tied, Washington, D.C.: 79°, Baltimore, MD: 79°-Tied, Wilmington, DE: 75°, Philadelphia, PA: 74°, Newark, NJ: 74°, Harrisburg, PA: 73°-Tied, Allentown, PA: 72°, New York (Central Park), NY: 72°-Tied, New York (LaGuardia), NY: 72°-Tied, Boston, MA: 72° (the only time on record Boston has been above 70° in January), Milton, MA: 68° and Worcester, MA: 67°-Tied.

Locations that reported daily record highs included: Gainesville, FL: 85°-Tied, Tampa, FL: 84°, Corpus Christi, TX: 84°-Tied, Jacksonville, FL: 82°, Macon, GA: 81°, Columbia, SC: 81°, Jackson, MS: 80°, Augusta, GA: 80°, Columbus, GA: 80°, Richmond, VA: 80°, Tallahassee, FL: 80°-Tied, New Orleans, LA: 79°, Raleigh, NC: 78°, Richmond, VA: 78°, Lake Charles, LA: 78°-Tied, Savannah, GA: 78°-Tied, Pensacola, FL: 77°, Athens, GA: 77°, Atlanta, GA: 77°, Norfolk, VA: 77°, Mobile, AL: 77°-Tied, Birmingham, AL: 76°, Galveston, TX: 75°, Little Rock, AR: 75°, Huntsville, AL: 75°, Bristol, TN: 75°, Charlotte, NC: 75°, Lynchburg, VA: 75°, Knoxville, TN: 74°, Charleston, WV: 74°, Greensboro, NC: 74°, Memphis, TN: 73°, Beckley, WV: 73°, Asheville, NC: 73°, Atlantic City, NJ: 73°, Chattanooga, TN: 72°, Louisville, KY: 72°, Paducah, KY: 72°, Elkins, WV: 71°, Huntington, WV: 71°, Cape Hatteras, NC: 71°, Columbus, OH: 70°, Erie, PA: 70°, Buffalo, NY: 70° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Cleveland, OH: 69°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 69°, Cincinnati, OH: 69°-Tied, Toledo, OH: 68°, Pittsburgh, PA: 68°, Syracuse, NY: 68°, Oak Ridge, TN: 67°, Dayton, OH: 67°, Mansfield, OH: 67°, Youngstown, OH: 67°, Avoca, PA: 67°, Rochester, NY: 67°, Akron, OH: 66°, Hartford, CT: 65°, Portland, ME: 64°, Concord, NH: 63°, Williamsport, PA: 61°, Bridgeport, CT: 60°, Albany, NY: 59°, Burlington, VT: 55° and Caribou, ME: 51°.

1966
The second in a series of storms occurred today and produced heavy snows south and east of Washington, D.C. Richmond, VA received 15 inches of snow and much of the southern and eastern Maryland received 10 to 17 inches. National Airport reported 7.5 inches and Dulles reported 6 inches of snow.

1967
Chicago, IL experienced their worst snowstorm on record as an astounding 24 inches of snow fell in 29 hours. Winds gusted to 50 mph, creating whiteout conditions and drifts up to 12 feet high. Thousands of cars and buses were abandoned by drivers all over the city, making the job of plowing the streets nearly impossible. The cities three major airports were closed; an estimated 20,000 cars and 500 buses were stranded on city streets. Some of the plowed snow was sent to Florida in railroad cars.

Further south, severe weather was reported across parts of the Mississippi Valley. An F2 tornado reported in Leflore County, Mississippi injured 7 people.

1969
Bishop, CA recorded 1.08 inches of rain on this date. This was the 9th consecutive day with measurable rainfall, which is an all-time record.

1972
Billings, MT set their all-time record cold high temperature with -21° (after a morning low of -27°). Their temperature did not rise above -5° from the 24th through the 27th.

1977
Four days of very strong winds occurred from the 26th through the 29th across the northern Plains with a strong low pressure area over western Ontario Canada. Strong northwest winds of 30 to 45 mph with gusts over 60 mph caused widespread blowing and drifting snow with most roads closed with many traffic accidents in parts of South Dakota. The winds combined with subzero temperatures to create wind chills of -60° to -80°. Many schools were closed for several days.

1978
An extremely powerful storm, known as the “Cleveland Superbomb”, set record low barometric pressure readings from Atlanta, GA to Ontario, Canada. The central pressure of the storm dropped to 957 millibars (28.26 inHg), very rare for a storm over land. One to three feet of snow fell in parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. Winds gusted to 70 mph in parts of Michigan, and gusted above 100 mph in parts of Ohio. Snow drifts 20 to 25 feet high were reported in parts of Michigan and Indiana stranding thousands of motorists. Temperatures in Ohio dropped from the 40’s to near 0° during the storm.

Buffalo, NY reported a wind gust of 66 mph and a new all-time record low pressure of 28.41 inHg. 

1982
Residents across the Northern Plains were still cleaning up from the third consecutive weekend of severe winter weather. On January 22nd through the 24th, a record breaking snowstorm struck much of South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa. Amounts across South Dakota ranged from 6 to 20 inches. The heaviest snow, at Elk Point, was accompanied by a rare January thunderstorm. Sub-zero temperatures across the area combined with 30 to 50 mph winds to produce wind chill values of -50° to -80°. Travel became impossible in the height of the storm as over 90% of roads in central and eastern South Dakota were blocked. Snow plows couldn't make any headway until the storm had passed.

Drifts up to 15 to 20 feet buried the area. Sioux City, IA piled up 18 inches of snow as all roads in northwest Iowa were closed on the 22nd. Conditions were no better in Minnesota. Minneapolis set, what up to that point was, a single storm snowfall record with 18.5 inches. Incredibly, the record that this storm broke had just been set two days earlier when 17.4 inches buried the Twin Cities. That's nearly 36 inches of new snow in just over three days.

1983
The California coast was battered by a storm which produced record high tides, 32 foot waves, and mudslides, causing millions of dollars damage. The storm then moved east and dumped four feet of snow on Lake Tahoe.

1987
A winter storm spread heavy snow across the Mid-Atlantic States, with 18 inches reported at Vineland, NJ, and wind gusts to 65 mph at Chatham, MA. Snow cover in Virginia ranged up to 30 inches following this 2nd major storm in just one week.

1988
A snowstorm in the northeastern U.S. produced 19 inches at Austerlitz and Stillwater, NY.  

Officially 5.0 inches was recorded at the airport at Buffalo, NY while just south of the airport and in metropolitan Buffalo, 7 to 12 inches of snow fell. The snow disrupted road and air traffic, and closed schools. Several chain reaction accidents occurred involving a total of 30 cars. Later in the day, the squalls moved south into the traditional snowbelt areas. 

A storm in the Great Lakes Region left 16.5 inches at Marquette, MI, for a total of 43 inches in 6 days.

1989
Snow and high winds created blizzard conditions across northwestern Vermont. Winds at St. Albins gusted to 88 mph.  

In Alaska, the town of Coldfoot, located north of Fairbanks, reported a morning low of -75°.

Bettles, AK: -69°, McGrath, AK: -67°, Barrow, AK: -49°, Nome, AK: -43°, Bethel, AK: -41°, St. Paul Island, AK: -4° and Cold Bay, AK: 0°.

1990
A winter storm spread high winds from the northwestern U.S. to Wyoming and Colorado, with heavy snow in some of the higher elevations. Stevens Pass, WA received 17 inches of snow, half of which fell in 4 hours. In extreme northwest Wyoming, Togwotee Mountain Lodge received 24 inches of snow. Rollinsville, CO reported a wind gust of 90 mph.

1994
More snow at Wilkes-Barre-Scranton, PA brought their total for the month to 42 inches, making it the city’s snowiest month ever.

Near blizzard conditions occurred across northwest Iowa through the 27th. Snowfall totals of 5 to 10 inches fell in extreme northwest Iowa with 10 inches reported at Rock Valley. In addition, Sioux Falls, SD also reported 10 inches. Winds of 20 to 35 mph caused widespread blowing and drifting snow.

1996
A strong winter storm moved northeast from Iowa and blanketed much of the southwest and central Wisconsin with 10 to 18 inches of snow. The heaviest snow occurred along a 100 mile axis centered from La Crosse northeast toward Fort McCoy and further into northeast Wisconsin. An isolated report of 18 inches was reported 6 miles east of La Crosse and the La Crosse Regional Airport received 12 inches. Blizzard conditions existed during the height of the storm that left drifts 4 to 8 feet high. Travel was nearly impossible. The snow lingered into the early morning hours of the 27th. Green Bay, WI reported 15.3 inches. The 13.7 inches at Des Moines, IA was the city's biggest snowstorm in nearly 23 years. 13 inches of snow fell in 24 hours at La Crosse, WI, the city's greatest 24 hour snowfall total ever in January. Madison, WI record 8 inches of snow in just two hours. 

Thunderstorms spawned by the same storm system deluged Birmingham, AL with 4.71 inches of rain, their greatest daily January rainfall on record.

2000
Low pressure moved up the east coast with western New York on the fringe of the snow. The north-northeast flow across Lake Ontario resulted in enhanced snowfalls downwind of the lake. Snowfall totals generally ranged from 6 to 12 inches with isolated amounts of 16 inches reported across the eastern suburbs of Rochester, NY.

2003
The temperature finally went above freezing at New York City, NY for the first time in 12 days as the temperature rose to a high of 34° in Central Park. The streak of sub-freezing temperatures tied for 3rd longest in New York City history. Despite the very cold temperatures during the streak, no daily records were broken.

Aboyne, Aberdeenshire in Scotland reached 65° to equal the United Kingdom's high January temperature record.

2009
A major winter storm affected southern Illinois through the 28th. On the northern edge, 8 to 12 inches of snow fell from Shelbyville to Paris, with 6 to 10 inches common southward across most of the remainder of Illinois. Near the Ohio River, ice accumulated to around an inch, with local amounts close to two inches.
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January 27th:
1772
The "Washington and Jefferson Snowstorm" occurred on this date. George Washington reported 3 feet of snow at Mount Vernon, and Thomas Jefferson recorded about 3 feet at Monticello. Washington wrote that it was the deepest snow he could remember.

1805
Southeastern New York and New England were in the middle of a 3-day snowstorm.  Snow fell continuously for 48 hours in New York City where two feet accumulated.

1916
San Francisco, CA recorded their lowest pressure ever, 28.85 inHg, in the second big storm of the season. Fresno, CA also reported their all-time record low barometric pressure reading of 29.10 inHg along with wind gusts to 50 mph.

1922
On this date through the 29th, a great snowstorm struck the East Coast from South Carolina to southeastern, Massachusetts. Washington, D.C. reported 28 inches of snow; 25 of which fell in 24 hours setting a record and causing the collapse of the Knickerbocker Theatre killing 98 people and injuring 130 others.

1940
Florida endured a 3 day long freeze with the lowest temperatures ever in January at  Mason, FL as they dropped to 8°. 11 million boxes of citrus were damaged, resulting in a $10 million dollar loss.

Georgia’s lowest temperature ever occurred on this date near Calhoun with a reading of -17°.

1942
The Netherlands' coldest night on record occurred as the town of Winterswijk located in the eastern part of the country dropped to -17°.

1958
The United Kingdom recorded its mildest January day on record when the high temperature reached 65° at Aber, North Wales.

1966
A major 5-day lake effect blizzard began in Southern Oswego County, New York. A total snowfall of 102 inches was recorded, with 50 inches falling on the 31st.

1967
Residents of Chicago, IL began to dig out from a storm which produced 24 inches of snow in 29 hours. 
The snow paralyzed the city and suburbs for days, and business losses were enormous. 
Across central Illinois snowfall totals in excess of 10 inches north of a line from Quincy to Bloomington with major ice accumulations reported across other parts of central Illinois.
 In Michigan, Battle Creek reported 28.6 inches, Lansing with 23 inches and 18 inches at Grand Rapids. 
Over 50 deaths were indirectly related to the storm.

An unseasonal F2 tornado destroyed or damaged homes and service stations at Felton, DE.

1974
A windstorm struck the Niagara Frontier across western New York. A peak gust of 66 mph was recorded at Buffalo. Widespread property damage was reported. A 70 foot radio tower in Hamburg was blown down and a 50 foot beacon demolished at the Perry/Warsaw Airport. In Albion, a roof was blown off an apartment building and a mobile home overturned.

1978
Beginning the previous day through this date, across northern and eastern Iowa, winds gusting to 50 mph whipped powder dry snow already on the ground into huge drifts to 13 feet high. Extreme cold pushed wind chill factors to -70°. The drifts closed most roads including I-35. Thousands of cars and trucks were stranded along roadsides or in ditches.

1984
This was the last day of 63 consecutive days with snow cover of one inch or more at Denver, CO. This longest period of snow cover on record began with the Thanksgiving weekend blizzard when 21.5 inches fell. Additional snowfall during December and January prolonged the event.

1987
A powerful storm moving into the western U.S. produced 13 inches of snow at Daggett Pass, NV, and 16 inches in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon. Winds gusted to 63 mph at Reno, NV, and wind gusts in parts of Oregon exceeded 80 mph. Fresno, CA reported a gust of 55 mph, their highest gust on record.

1988
The nation got a breather from winter storms, however, cold arctic air settled into the southeastern U.S. Hollywood, FL reported a record low of 39°.

1989
Low pressure in north central Alaska continued to direct air across northern Siberia and the edges of the Arctic Circle into the state. The temperature at Fairbanks remained colder than -40° for the 8th day in a row.  

Daily highs of -66° were reported at Ambler and Chandalar Lake on the 22nd. 

All-time record lows were set at Tanana: -76°, McGrath: -75° (broke previous daily record by 18 degrees), Galena: -68° and Nome: -54°-Tied (broke previous daily record by 12 degrees).

Locations that reported daily record lows included: Bettles, AK: -63-Tied, Kotzebue, AK: -49, Delta Junction, AK: -48, Bethel, AK: -47 (broke previous record by 10 degrees), King Salmon, AK: -43-Tied, St. Paul Island: -5, Cold Bay, AK: -5-Tied and Kodiak, AK: -4-Tied. Wind chill readings were between than -100° and -120°. The entire state was well below 0° for two weeks and many all time records broken. During this cold wave the barometric pressure rose to 31.85 inches at Northway. This was the highest air pressure ever measured in the U.S., and because most aircraft altimeters are unable to calibrate for such pressure, many flights had to be canceled.

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

1994
A frigid arctic air was in place over New England and New York as a massive 1052 millibar high pressure (31.07 inHg) provided ideal radiational cooling. Temperatures plunged to -48° at Crown Point, NY and -46° at Shoreham, VT.  The -29° reading at Burlington, VT broke the old record by 9 degrees.

Caribou, ME dropped to -23°; their 3rd consecutive morning record low temperature.

Meanwhile, low pressure approaching from the Mississippi Valley produced significant icing across Western New York. No unnecessary travel was recommended as roads iced up and numerous accidents resulted. The heavy coating of ice combined with high winds to snap power lines. Power outages were reported throughout Western New York.

1996
Deep low pressure moved from the upper Midwest to the upper Great Lakes bringing strong winds and snow. Snowfall totals over a foot occurred from parts of Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

At the Buffalo Coast Guard in New York, a wind gust of 60 mph was recorded downing trees and power lines. Damage was reported in Little Valley, Rushford, Mendon, Dansville, Bristol, Fair Haven and Watertown.

1998
Flat Top, WV, at an elevation of 3,300 feet set a new January 24-hour snowfall record for the state of West Virginia as 35 inches fell through the 28th. Surrounding areas at lower elevations had nearly all rain. Bluefield and Beckley, WV established new 24-hour snowfall records.

2000
A major winter storm struck Arkansas with heavy snow. Up to 20 inches fell across southern portions of the state with the largest official total 16 inches at Hope, AR. Little Rock picked up 7 inches. It was the worst winter storm in Arkansas since 1988.

Parts of Jordan and Israel received a rare taste of winter; 18 inches of snow fell on the metropolitan areas and snow fell in parts of the Negev Desert while the town of Beer Sheba recorded their first snow in 50 years.

2003
A tornado hit the port of Limassol in Cyprus injuring 28 people and damaging shops and property. A second tornado damaged homes and property in the coastal area of Larnaca.

England recorded their warmest January day on record when East Malling, Kent reached 63°. London and Paris were also mild as both cities reported afternoon highs of 62°.

2005
A paralyzing winter storm dumped the heaviest snowfall since 1950 on Algiers, Algeria covering more than a third of the country. The storm closed over 100 roads and was blamed for 13 deaths.

2008
Rapid temperature drops occur across Montana and the Dakotas as a cold front raced through. The greatest drop is experienced at Cut Bank, MT, approximately 50 miles east of Glacier National Park, where the temperature fell from 40° at 2 PM MST on Sunday to -14° in just 12 hours. By sunrise, the temperature had fallen to -20° representing a drop of 60 degrees in 17 hours. Great Falls, MT had a similar temperature fall of 59 degrees from 42° to -17°. Williston, ND fell 54 degrees from 44° to -10° and Rapid City, SD fell 51 degrees from 55° to 5°, in just two hours.

2009
High winds buffeted the foothills of Boulder and Jefferson Counties in Colorado. Peak wind gusts included: Eldora Ski Resort: 101 mph, six miles northwest of Boulder: 100 mph, the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder: 84 mph and Nederland: 75 mph. 

A pool of dry air over the eastern Hawaiian Islands allowed the early morning temperature at Hilo on the Big Island to drop to a record-tying low reading of 58°.

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January 28th:

1868
The Columbia River froze in Oregon. Pedestrian traffic and sleighs were able to cross from Vancouver, WA to Portland, OR on the frozen river.

1887
Snowflakes "as large as milk pans" fell across several square miles of Montana. The flakes, which were measured at 15 inches across and 18 inches thick, hold the unofficial size record.

1922
Exactly 150 years after the "Washington and Jefferson Storm" which dropped 3 feet of snow on the region came, the deepest snow of this century to the greater Washington and Baltimore region. The snow came on the heels of a cold spell. High temperatures did not climb above freezing from the 24 through the 28th and the low temperature dipped to 11° on the 26th. Snow began at 4:30 p.m. on the 27th and continued until just past midnight on the morning of the 29th. A record 21 inches fell in a 24-hour period on the 28th. The heavy band of snow stretched from Richmond, VA north to Baltimore, MD.  Washington, D.C. reported 28 inches, Baltimore, MD: 25 inches and Richmond, VA: 19 inches.  Strong north to northeast winds accompanied the storm drifting snow into deep banks. Roads were blocked. Main highways were the first to open in two to four days. On the evening of the 28th, the weight of the snow became too much for the Knickerbocker Theater on 18th Street and Columbia in northwest Washington, D.C. The horrible scene was described in the Washington Post on January 29th and 30th and was reprinted in the Post on January 19, 1996 following another big snow. They described it as "the greatest disaster in Washington's History". The theater was cramped with an estimated 900 moviegoers. The roof of the theater collapsed taking the balcony down with it and crushing 98 people below to death and injuring another 158. People were pulled from the rubble for hours and bodies were pulled out for days. A small boy squeezed into small holes and between crumbled cement slabs to give those injured and trapped pain pills. From this disaster, the storm is known historically as the "Knickerbocker Storm"

1925
New Hampshire's coldest temperature ever was recorded as Pittsburg dropped to -46°.  This record was broken on 1/31/1934.

1927
The Paisley Storm generated wind gusts of 102 mph at Paisley, England. 11 people were killed and over 100 injured, with widespread damage throughout the Clyde Valley area.

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

1948
An ice Storm from Arkansas to South Carolina caused $20 million dollars damage and resulted in 30 fatalities.

1951
The worst ice storm in U.S. History struck from Texas to West Virginia through February 1st, causing $100 million in damage and 25 fatalities. Tennessee was one of the hardest-hit states, with roads remaining impassable up to 10 days after the event.

1963
The low of -34° at Cynthiana, KY equaled the state record established just four days earlier at Bonnieville. This record was broken 1/19/1994.

1973
Tornadoes touched down in Polk, Orange, Osceola, and Brevard Counties in Central Florida. In Orlando, hundreds were left homeless and 16 people were injured by a tornado crossing the southwest side of the city. Another tornado ripped off the Beacon Tower at the Titusville Airport and damaged many signs. A tornado near Dade City injured a man in a mobile home. Another Tornado struck the Ixora Park area of Northwest Osceola County damaging 300 homes injuring seven people.

1977
The Great Buffalo Blizzard started like many other snow squalls from Lake Erie, but during this storm, strong northwest winds lifted up the snow piled on frozen Lake Erie and blasted the city with it. As winds strengthened from the south ahead of a sharp cold front, about 2 inches of new powder had accumulated on top of the 37 inch snowpack and drifts from previous storms dating back to Christmas. City streets were already clogged so badly that the National Guard was called in even before anyone knew about the coming blizzard. During the morning the temperature rose rapidly from 5° at midnight to 26° at 11am. At 11:35am, the front passed Buffalo Airport. In a short time the visibility dropped from three-quarters of a mile to zero and the wind shifted and increased from south at 16 mph to southwest at 29 mph with gusts to 49 mph. The temperature fell 26° to 0° in just over four hours. The blizzard reached its worst severity during the late afternoon as winds at the airport averaged 46 mph gusting to 69 mph. Gusts of 75 mph were recorded at Niagara Falls airport. An average speed of 46 mph and temperature of -1° resulted in a wind chill factor of -55° to -60° which contributed to the deaths of 29 people, many found frozen in their half-buried cars during the four day ordeal. Blizzard or near blizzard conditions prevailed on and off for the next three days ending about midday February 1st. Daily peak gusts of 51, 52, 58, and 46 mph were recorded on the 29th through the 1st. When the sun finally came out for good on the first of February, its cold light revealed a scene of incredible desolation in the Buffalo area and to a slightly lesser degree in much of the seven western county area. The city as well as most other communities banned traffic for several days. The army was called in from Fort Bragg, NC to augment the number of National Guard troops which had been called before the storm. Some of the eastern suburbs of Buffalo, particularly Lancaster, were buried, to the roof in some cases. President Carter declared seven western counties and two eastern Lake Ontario counties a federal disaster area, the first time ever for a snowstorm in the U.S. The snow at Buffalo airport totaled about 12 inches from January 28th to February 1st but much of this is believed to be from existing snow lying on the frozen surface of Lake Erie being blown into the Buffalo area.

The same strong cold front moved across the Mid-Atlantic region during late afternoon and early evening accompanied by strong winds, snow squalls and plunging temperatures. Wind gusts reached over 60 mph and, combined with snow squalls, brought near blizzard conditions. Allentown, PA reported a wind gust of 67 mph, Philadelphia and Pottstown, PA to 60 mph, and Reading, PA hit 58 mph, where 3 airplanes were flipped over. Temperatures near 40 degrees ahead of the front dropped as much as 15 to 20 degrees in 1 hour, 25 to 30 degrees in 2 hours, and up to 40 degrees in 5 hours.

Beginning the previous day through this date, strong northwest winds gusting to 55 mph combined with sub-zero temperatures and one to two inches of snow to bring blizzard conditions to northern and eastern Iowa. Travel was halted as most roads and highways were blocked with drifts to six feet or more. Wind chill factors of -60°to -90°were common with many cases of frost bite reported. There were also numerous reports of broken water lines due to freezing.

The wind-chill temperature dropped to -78° at Minneapolis, MN during the morning, perhaps the lowest on record in that city. The blizzard of January 1977, in and around Buffalo, NY, was so severe that winds up to 73 mph broke windows in homes, which were then quickly filled with blowing and drifting snow.

1979
An upper level trough brought chilly, unsettled weather to the West. Las Vegas received 2.4 inches of snow. Big Bear Lake, CA dropped to -18°, a record for the day and their second lowest temperature on record.

1986
The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded at 11:39am EST; 73 seconds after liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, FL on an extremely cold morning. Starting in the 20’s, the ground temperature at liftoff was 36°. Morton Thiokol recommended not launching if the liftoff temperature was below 53°. The cold was blamed for causing the O-rings on the Shuttle's external booster to fail, leading to the explosion.

1987
A storm moving out of the Central Rockies into the Northern Plains produced up to a foot of snow in the Colorado Rockies, and wind gusts to 99 mph at both the National Center for Atmospheric Center in Boulder, CO and the Rocky Flats Plant south of Boulder. The top wind gust at the former Stapleton Airport in Denver was 54 mph. Planes were damaged at both the Boulder and Jefferson County Airports. Hangars were also damaged at the Jefferson County Airport. Many windows were broken, signs toppled, trees downed and structural damage occurred. Total insured damage along the Front Range was $10 million dollars making the windstorm the second most costly on record in Colorado up to that time.

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

1989
A Siberian air mass continued to grip Alaska and western Canada with extremely dangerous cold and wind chills. Nome, AK tied their all-time record low reading of -54° set the previous day and the temperature at Fairwell, AK dipped to -69°.  Deadhorse, AK reported a morning low of -49°, and with a wind chill reading of -114° (old scale) and Pelly Bay, Northwest Territories Canada fell to -60° with a wind chill temperature of -132° (old scale).   

Alaskan Locations reporting all-time record low temperatures included: Bethel, AK: -48°, King Salmon, AK: -48° and Kodiak, AK: -16° (broke previous daily record by 18 degrees).

Locations in Alaska reporting daily record lows included: McGrath: -58°-Tied, Barrow: -45°, Homer: -24°, Cold Bay: -7° and St. Paul Island: -7°.

Across the lower 48, a winter storm over Colorado produced up to 15 inches of snow around Denver.

1990
Strong and gusty winds prevailed across the northwestern U.S., and heavy snow continued over the mountains of Washington and Oregon. Mullen, ID received 7 inches of snow, and winds gusted to 65 mph southeast of Burley, ID. Heavy rain soaked coastal sections of western Oregon. Rainfall totals of 1.57 inches at Eugene, OR and 1.20 inches at Portland, OR and were records for the date. Winds in Oregon gusting to 60 mph downed power lines in Umatilla County knocking out power to more than 13,000 homes, just prior to the kick-off of the "Super Bowl" game.

1993
A foot of snow fell at Yosemite Valley, CA pushing the monthly total to 175 inches, a record for any month.

1996
Extreme wind chills developed across central, north central, and northeast South Dakota as well as west central Minnesota as cold arctic air moved in behind an area of low pressure. With temperatures falling well below zero and northwest winds increasing to 20 to 35 mph, wind chills were lowered to -40°to -70°throughout the night into the evening of the 29th. Two to five inches of snow had fallen across the area. The strong northwest winds caused areas of blowing snow significantly reducing visibilities.

1998
A major coastal storm over the Mid-Atlantic was in its second day. Ghent, WV was buried under 42 inches of snow. Flat Top, WV had 35 inches in 24 hours; a new state record. 24 hour snowfall records were set at Beckley, WV with 31 inches and Bluefield, WV with 21.9 inches. Severe beach erosion occurred along the coast. The highest storm tides since the Ash Wednesday storm in March 1962 were experienced along the coasts of Virginia and Delaware. Wind gusts reach 83 mph at Cape Henry, VA, and 78 mph at Wallops Island, VA.

1999
Finland's coldest night occurred as the town of Kittilia dropped to -60.7°.

2000
A major winter storm brought snow and ice to Arkansas which began on the 27th of the month. The storm came after a prolonged period of warmer than normal weather and no measurable snow for almost three years in some areas. It was the heaviest snow in 12 years, with 4 to 8 inches or more common. Parts of southern Arkansas received over a foot of snow.

2002
A winter storm brought 19 inches of snow to Poison Ridge and Big Meadows in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California and up to 6 inches to Tehachapi creating hazardous trouble through Tehachapi Pass along Highway 58. Snow even fell in the Kern County deserts, though only a trace was reported at Edwards Air Force Base and the higher terrain near California City.

A storm over Western Europe killed 17 people: 6 in the United Kingdom, 3 in Germany and 8 in Denmark, Poland and the Baltic States. The storm generated winds up to 120 mph on the top of Ben Nevis, Scotland and blew over Lorries in Scotland. This was the worst storm in more than a decade in the United Kingdom.

2004
On thisdate through the 31st, a 3-day snowstorm dumped 86 inches of snow at Parish, NY located about 25 miles north of Syracuse.

The temperature plummeted to -49° at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada, their coldest reading in 33 years.

2009
The temperature at Adelaide, Australia soared to 114°, making it the location's hottest day in 70 years.

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January 29th:

1780
On the coldest morning of this winter season, the mercury dipped to -20° at Hartford, CT and -16° at New York City, NY. The New York Harbor was frozen for five weeks, allowing heavy cannons to be transported across the ice to fortify the British on Staten Island. Further south, on the northern part of the Chesapeake Bay, sleighs crossed from Annapolis, MD to the Eastern Shore. To the south Norfolk, Hampton, Newport News and Portsmouth were connected by thick ice that supported foot traffic between ports.

1921
A small but intense windstorm resulted in the "Great Olympic Blowdown" in the Pacific Northwest. Hurricane force winds, funneled along the mountains, downed vast expanses of Douglas fir trees, and the storm destroyed $8 billion dollars board feet of timber.  Winds at North Head, WA gusted to 113 mph.

1922
The high temperature of 43° at Downtown Los Angeles, CA was their lowest high temperature on record.

1934
The temperature at Mount Washington, NH dropped to -47°, the state's coldest night on record.

1947
On this date through the 30th, a fierce winter storm buried southern Wisconsin under two feet of snow. Strong northeasterly winds piled drifts up to 10 feet high in the Milwaukee area, shutting down the city for two days.

1957
A waterspout was sited off Ocean Beach, CA. Two funnel clouds were observed over North Island (possibly the waterspout) and Mt. Soledad – La Jolla. Across the higher elevations, heavy snow fell. Some accumulations included: 24 inches at Mt. Laguna, 21 inches at Palomar Mountain, 20 inches at Lake Cuyamaca, 12 inches at Julian, 10 inches at Mesa Grande, and 6 inches at Lake Henshaw. The snowstorm stranded 200 people north of Los Angeles.

1966
A strong coastal storm brought gale force winds and blizzard conditions to the East Coast on this date through the 30th. During the early afternoon, the storm center was over eastern Georgia and light snow had started to fall and Washington, D.C. area by evening.  The storm then moved to the South Carolina coast and snowfall in D.C. became heavy falling at times at two inches per hour. During the night the storm curved to the north and intensified dramatically deepening the pressure from 29.40 inHg to 28.80 inHg in just 12 hours. Winds were gusted up to 54 mph and blew out plate glass windows and whipped snowdrifts up to 10 feet high. By morning, blizzard conditions were occurring across the Baltimore/Washington area, with temperatures in the low teens and wind gusts over 50 mph. The blizzard of 1966 produced a swath of 12 to 16 inches of snow. National Airport reported 13.8 inches of new snow and a snow cover range from 16 inches at National Airport to 22 inches at Warrenton, VA. South and east of D.C. snowfall depths range from 16 to 19 inches of along the central Eastern Shore of Maryland. Some other snowfall amounts: Roanoke, VA: 17 inches, Newport, PA: 16 inches and Baltimore, MD: 12 inches. After the blizzard, up to 30 inches of snow was measured on the ground and the Delmarva area.

1975
A strong cold front blasted through the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic during the afternoon and evening hours. The front produced high winds across parts of the Mid-Atlantic causing damage across parts of southeastern Pennsylvania. Winds gusted to 59 mph at Allentown, PA and 53 mph at Philadelphia, PA. 

Out ahead of the front, warm southwesterly winds brought record highs from Texas, across the Deep South, Midwest and East Coast. Dulles Airport at Sterling, VA set their January record high with 75°. Locations that reported daily record highs included: Fort Myers, FL: 87°-Tied, Houston, TX: 82°, Shreveport, LA: 82°, Columbia, SC: 82°, Tampa, FL: 82°-Tied, Baton Rouge, LA: 81°, Montgomery, AL: 81°-Tied, Little Rock, AR: 78°, Athens, GA: 78°, Lake Charles, LA: 78°-Tied, Greensboro, NC: 78°-Tied, Atlanta, GA: 77°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 77°, Richmond, VA: 77°, Birmingham, AL: 77°-Tied, Memphis, TN: 76°, Charlotte, NC: 76°, Washington, D.C.: 76°, Lynchburg, VA: 75°, Roanoke, VA: 75°, Baltimore, MD: 75°, Louisville, KY: 73°, Asheville, NC: 72°-Tied, Evansville, IN: 70°, Wallops Island, VA: 70° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Lexington, KY: 69°, Wilmington, DE: 68°, Atlantic City, NJ: 68°, Oak Ridge, TN: 68°-Tied, Indianapolis, IN: 65°, Columbus, OH: 65°, Akron, OH: 64°, Philadelphia, PA: 64°-Tied, Mansfield, OH: 60°, Harrisburg, PA: 60°, Newark, NJ: 57°, New York (LaGuardia), NY: 57°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 56°, New York (Central Park), NY: 55°, Bridgeport, CT: 54°, Allentown, PA: 52° and Binghamton, NY: 47°.

1979
A major outbreak of cold air continues across the West due to an upper level trough. It was a bitter -25° at Big Bear Lake, their all-time record low and probably the lowest temperature ever recorded in Southern California. Remarkably, their high was 28°, a rise of 53 degrees.

Locations that reported record low temperatures for the date included: Idyllwild, CA: 6°, Palomar Mountain, CA: 14°, Las Vegas, NV: 17°-Tied, Santa Maria, CA: 24°, Stockton, CA: 24°-Tied, Sacramento, CA: 25°, Borrego Springs, CA: 29°, Long Beach, CA: 31°, San Francisco Airport, CA: 31°, Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 32° and Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 34°.

1980
A powerful storm struck Southern California with flooding rains and damaging winds. In San Diego County 5.60 inches fell at Lake Henshaw, 5.48 inches at Palomar Mountain, 5 inches at Ramona, 4.91 inches at Julian, 4.24 inches at Fallbrook, 3.35 inches at Mt. Laguna with no snow, 3.24 inches at Escondido, 2.35 inches at Oceanside, 1.91 inches at Pt. Loma, 1.80 inches at San Diego and 1.37 inches at Borrego Springs. Widespread catastrophic flooding occurred all over the county. Numerous homes, businesses and streets were flooded. Two people died in the floods. Wind gusts reached 74 mph unofficially at Lake Murray and 52 mph at San Diego. Coastal areas reported wind gusts over 60 mph. At least 15 boats were sunken or severely damaged in Mission Bay and San Diego Bay. A dock was smashed at Mission Bay.

1983
The series of land-falling Pacific coast storms finally came to an end. The storms attributed in part to El Niño, produced waves 15 to 20 feet high which ravaged the beaches of southern California. Much of the damage was to homes of movies stars in exclusive Malibu.

1984
Much of Iowa experienced near blizzard conditions through the 30th, as snow, combined with high winds lowered visibilities to near zero. Winds gusted to 61 mph at Sioux City, where two television stations had to shut down for a short time due to a broken telephone pole near the transmission site. The snow accumulated to a depth of 4 to 7 inches in much of west central through northeast Iowa.

Along the northern slope of Alaska, the town of Barrow set a record low with -48°.

Cyclone Domoina struck the eastern South African coast in northern Natal producing heavy downpours and extensive flooding. 200 people died along with serious loss of animal life and crops.

1987
A strong storm moving out of the Central Rockies spread snow across the north central states, with up to 8 inches in parts of Wisconsin, and produced wind gusts to 64 mph at Goodland, KS.  

A thunderstorm produced 3 inches of snow in just 45 minutes at Owing Mills, MD just north of Baltimore.

1989
Bitter cold air continued to pour into Alaska. At McGrath, the temperature dipped to a record low of -64°. Strong winds blowing through the Alaska Range between Fairbanks and Anchorage produced a wind chill reading of -120° (old scale) at Cantwell.

Locations that reported daily record lows included: Barrow: -48°-Tied, Bethel: -42°, Homer: -24°, Kodiak: -9° and Cold Bay: -7°.

1990
Severe thunderstorms in the southeastern U.S. spawned a tornado which destroyed three mobile homes near Blythe, GA injuring 6 people.  

A fast moving cold front produced high winds in the western U.S. Winds along the coast of Oregon gusted to 65 mph at Portland, and high winds generated 22 to 26 foot surf which battered the coast. Winds near Reno, NV gusted to 78 mph.  High winds also buffeted the Central Plains, with gusts to 94 mph reported at La Mesa, CO and 73 mph at Cheyenne, WY.

2001
The low temperature at Oimyakon, Siberia dropped to -78° as bitter cold descended on northern Russia. The afternoon high only reached -65°.

2002
A major 3-day winter storm blasted parts of Kansas and Missouri. A catastrophic ice storm occurred south of the snow area, with two inches of ice and snow accumulating in the Kansas City, MO area. Thousands of trees were downed by the storm, blocking roads, downing utility lines and causing fires. 325,000 people were without power in Kansas City alone.

Light snow was reported across inland areas of central California and the southern Inland Empire during a storm that started on the previous day and ended on this day. Snow flurries were observed in the Valley at Los Banos, Madera, Hanford, McFarland and Shafter.

Record rainfall was reported at several Hawaii recording stations. Hilo Airport shattered their January 24-hour rainfall record measuring 12.47 inches. During the month, Hilo reported 26.97 inches of rain. Elsewhere on the island, it was even wetter; Pahala was drenched with 17.47 inches while Glenwood recorded 14.70 inches. The storms caused millions of dollars in flood damage.

2004
A strong trough crossed the lower Great Lakes region. The well-aligned northwest flow kicked off an intense band of lake effect snow over Oswego County in New York. The band remained nearly stationary for 36 to 42 hours. Four to five feet of snow fell in a narrow section of central Oswego County by the afternoon of the 30th. The band drifted north into southern Lewis and extreme southern Jefferson Counties for awhile on the 30th, before drifting back south across Monroe, Wayne and northern Cayuga Counties on the 31st. Specific snowfall totals included: 86 inches at Parish, 58 inches at Constantia, 56 inches at West Monroe, 51 inches at North Osceola, 48 inches at Oswego and 40 inches at Fulton. The weight of this snow, as well as previous lake effect storms during the month, caused several buildings to collapse. Because of the heavy lake effect snows throughout the month of January, Oswego, Jefferson and Cayuga Counties were declared State and Federal Disaster areas. Off Lake Erie, snowfalls were limited by the ice cover on the lake. Lake effect snow prevailed over the higher elevations south of Buffalo from late on the 28th through this date. Reported snowfall totals included: 18 inches at Orangeville, 14 inches at Warsaw and Arkwright, 12 inches at South Wales and 8 inches at Perrysburg.

All Minnesota weather stations recorded low temperatures below 0°. The coldest was Park Rapids where the low was -45°. Grand Forks, ND reported a record low of -40°.

2005
The country of Hungary recorded its coldest morning since 1947 with a reading of -8° at Zabar.

2008
An area of low pressure was moving across the northern Plains on the 28th, helping to bring mild temperatures across much of the Midwest and Missouri Valley. Highs were in the 40s to the mid 50s across central and northeast South Dakota to the mid 60s from central Illinois into Missouri. By the morning on this date, this strengthening system had moved into eastern Wisconsin. In its wake, temperatures plummeted, falling around 2 to 5 degrees per hour. Differences from the morning highs to the night time lows were over 50 degrees in most locations. Temperatures fell 20 to 40 degrees in just a couple hours, with areas from Springfield to St. Louis seeing temperatures fall as much as 50 degrees between noon and 6 pm. Temperatures in the mid 60s in central Illinois at midday on the 29th had fallen to near zero by the next morning.

Meanwhile, the winds added even more bite to the air, with wind gusts in the afternoon and evening of 40 mph or greater. The combination of the strong winds and tumbling temperatures resulted in dangerous wind chills from -30° to -50° that night.

Uranium City in northern Saskatchewan was the coldest place in North America and possibly the entire planet at -74.2°.

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January 30th:

1772
The "Washington and Jefferson Snowstorm" ended. George Washington reported three feet of snow at Mount Vernon, and Thomas Jefferson recorded three feet.  Jefferson wrote, “The deepest snow we have ever seen". The storm started on the 26th and continued to fall on the 27th with a stiff, northerly wind. The snow fell without abating until the 29th when there was a break, only to begin again that evening and then finally ended on the 30th.

1927
A great snowstorm hit central New York, setting modern records. Syracuse received 27 inches of snow.

1936
Birmingham, AL established a single storm and 24-hour record with 11 inches of snow.

1951
A large arctic high pressure center moved south from Canada all the way to the Gulf of Mexico and brought snow to parts of north Florida. Locations that reported all-time record lows included: Medford, WI: -48°, Sparta, WI: -48°, Richland Center, WI: -46°, Mondovi, WI: -45°, Trempealeau, WI: -44°, Genoa, WI: -43°, Lynxville, WI: -43°, Mather, WI: -43°, Wisconsin Dells, WI: -43°, Decorah, IA: -43°, Guttenberg, IA: -43°, Owen, WI: -42°, Fayette, IA: -38°, Prairie du Chien, WI: -37° and Oelwein, IA: -30°.

Platteville, IA fell to a January record low of -30°.  Grand Rapids, MIset their all-time record January low of -22°(later tied on 1/19/1994). Baldwin, MI plunged to -37°.

1954
Heavy rain, hail, lightning and a rare tornado struck the White Point Beach area of Liverpool, Nova Scotia Canada. Debris was strewn over a half mile away.

1966
The Blizzard of 1966 temporarily isolated Buffalo, NY and paralyzed the region. Train service was disrupted. Numerous highways, the New York State Thruway from Albany to the Pennsylvania state line, and the Buffalo Airport as well as other airports throughout western and central New York were closed. Hardest hit was the Syracuse-Oswego area. 100 inches of snow was reported at Oswego, NY. Some schools in Orleans County were closed for the entire week following the blizzard. Economic loss from the storm was estimated at $35 million dollars. Winds gusting to 60 mph and temperatures in the teens along with heavy and blowing snow created severe blizzard conditions.

Behind the blizzard, three states set all-time record low temperature records: In Alabama; New Market with -27°, in Mississippi: Corinth with -19° and in North Carolina: Mt. Mitchell with -29° (later broken on 1/21/1985).

1969
34 inches of snow was on the ground at Eugene, OR as the state dug out from five days of record snows. Drifts up to 12 feet high blocked some roads.

Fresno, CArecorded 0.04 inches of rain, bringing the total to 8.56 inches for the month. This made January 1969 the wettest month ever at Fresno. In all, there were 22 days of recorded precipitation.

1971
A wind gust of 102 mph was recorded at the National Center for Atmospheric Research at Boulder, CO.  Elsewhere in Boulder, winds gusted as high as 76 mph. Cheyenne, WY reported a gust of 70 mph and the former Stapleton Airport in Denver, CO reported a top wind gust of 46 mph.

1977
The great "Buffalo Blizzard" finally abated after three days. The storm added a foot of new snow to 33 inches already on the ground. Winds gusting to 75 mph reduced visibilities to near zero, produced snow drifts up to 25 feet high, and kept wind chill readings frequently down to -50°. The blizzard paralyzed the city and caused $250 million dollars in damage as one of the coldest January's on record in the eastern U.S. came to a close.

1979
On this date through the 31st, coatings of ice up to three inches thick snapped power lines and toppled utility poles throughout the snow belt region across western New York. An estimated 5,000 homes and businesses were without power in Chautauqua and Erie Counties. Hardest hit were the communities of Franklinville, Ellicottville, Otto, East Otto, Collins, North Collins, Eden, Concord, Boston, Perrysburg, New Albion, Fredonia, and Forestville. A State of Emergency was declared in Chautauqua County to help in the recovery. 

A winter storm that started on this day and ended on the 31st spread 2 to 4 inches of rainfall in 24 hours over much of coastal Southern California, and two inches of snow at Palm Springs. Golf ball size hail and widespread snow was also reported during the storm. Flooding occurred along Silver Strand highway, in Fashion Valley, also in Spring Valley, Lemon Grove, Lakeside and Carlsbad. Lake Hodges overflowed.

A few locations reported record low temperatures for the date including: Ely, NV: -20°, Flagstaff, AZ: -19°, Big Bear Lake, CA: -9°, Salt Lake City, UT: -6°, Winslow, AZ: 0°, Idyllwild, CA: 10°, Palomar Mountain, CA: 15° and Tucson, AZ: 25°-Tied.

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

1988
Strong southerly winds, gusting to 53 mph at Kansas City, MO, spread warm air into the central U.S.  

Snow and strong northwest winds ushered cold arctic air into the north central states.  The temperature at Cutbank, MT plunged from 54° to a morning low of -7°.

1989
The temperature at McGrath, AK dipped to -62°, and Fairbanks reported a low of

-51° with unofficial readings in the area as cold as -75°. Locations that reported record lows for the date included: Bettles: -64°, Bethel: -35°, Homer: -13°-Tied and Cold Bay: 1°. The massive dome of bitterly cold Siberian air began to slide down western Canada toward the north central U.S. Strong southwest winds ahead of the arctic front pushed the temperature at Great Falls, MT to 62° and winds gusted to 124 mph at Choteau, MT, overturning trucks, mobile homes, and a dozen empty railroad cars.

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

1996
Sault Ste. Marie, MI broke their seasonal snowfall record on this date as 6.4 inches fell, bringing the total for the year to 180 inches. This easily broke the old record of 178.6 inches set in 1976-77.

2000
A Pacific storm moved into central California and deposited a substantial amount of snow over the southern Sierra in a short period. A weather spotter in Aspendell, elevation 8,500 feet reported 9 inches of new snow in a little more than five hours. Other snow-burst totals included: 13 inches at Tuolumne Meadows and 10 inches at Lodgepole in less than 12 hours.

2001
Widespread freezing rain, accumulating from 1/8 to 1/2 inch, changed over to snow late in during the evening on the 29th continuing through this date. The snow accumulated from 6 to 13 inches over much of central and northeast South Dakota as well as west central Minnesota. The combination of ice and snow caused significant travel problems, school and flight cancellations and delays, business closings, and numerous vehicle accidents. Several highways were closed along with large portions of Interstates 29 and 90.

2002
The 6/10 of an inch of snow that fell at the Tucson International Airport in Arizona was their first measurable snow in 11 years. Some heavily traveled roads in the Tucson Metro area were closed the following morning as black ice formed on bridges and overpasses.

Further north, a very cold, but unofficial reading of -62° was recorded at Middle, UT.  The official all-time record low temperature for the state of Utah is -69° set at Peter’s Sink on 2/1/1985.

A widespread area of freezing rain and snow affected the southern Plains and Midwest. Kansas City, MO and Oklahoma City, OK were especially hard hit. In Oklahoma, the hardest hit areas extended from near Ponca City, Perry, and Stillwater, south and west through Enid, Kingfisher, Guthrie, Binger, and Weatherford. Some of the smaller towns and rural residents were without power for weeks. Damage totaled over $300 million dollars. It was reported to be the worst ice storm in 120 years at Kansas City. A foot of snow fell at Chicago, IL. Ice accumulations of 1/4 to 1/2 inch were common across Fulton, southern Peoria, Mason, Tazewell, Woodford, and McLean Counties across central Illinois. Around a 1/2 inch of ice accumulated across Woodford County, with local one inch amounts of ice near Eureka.  Just to the north, 6 to 9 inches of snow accumulated across Knox, Stark, Marshall, and northern Peoria Counties along with 1/4 to 1/2 inch of ice. Several trees and power lines were downed from ice accumulations across Peoria and surrounding counties, with power outages lasting from several hours to a couple of days.

The high temperature at Washington D.C. was 77°; a new record for the date and only two degrees shy of the all time record high for the month of January set on 1/26/1950. The 77 degree reading was 34 degrees above the normal high of 43°.

2003
Locations across parts of southern California and the southwest reported record high temperatures thanks to an offshore flow courtesy of surface high pressure across the Great Basin including: Riverside, CA: 88°, Long Beach, CA: 85°, Borrego Springs, CA: 85°, Santa Maria, CA: 80°, Idyllwild, CA: 73°, Victorville, CA: 72°, Big Bear Lake, CA: 67° and Redding, CA: 66°.

The temperature fell to -22° at Peterborough, Ontario Canada setting a new record low for the date. 

2004
The temperature at Grand Forks, ND plunged to -43°, tying their record low for the month of January.

A rare 2-inch snowfall closed schools in the north-central Mexican town of Zacatecas.

2008
Rain changed to snow as an arctic cold front brought a flash freeze to lower Michigan during the previous, leaving a sheet of ice on the roads. Temperatures fall from the upper 40s to the single digits, with occasional blinding white-out conditions in falling and blowing snow. There were numerous traffic accidents and some roads were closed. School and event cancellations were widespread along with sporadic power outages.

Strong winds following the passage of a cold front caused the Lake Erie water level to substantially rise from Ripley to Buffalo, NY. The high water levels and waves to 12 to 16 feet resulted in erosion of the lake shore and significant flooding at the extreme eastern end of the lake. Roads along the lake shore were water covered or closed because of spray. Flood waters inundated the West Side of Buffalo with entire neighborhoods under water. The Lake Erie water level rose 11 feet, above its 8 foot flood stage for over three hours, and peaked at 11.06 feet above. This was the second highest lake level on record.

A powerful cold front crossed western New York and was followed by very strong west to southwest winds. Sustained winds increased to 30 to 45 mph with gusts measured to 80 mph at the peak of the storm. Trees and power lines were downed by the strong winds. Utility companies reported close to 100,000 customers without power. Several homes and automobiles were damaged by falling trees and limbs. On Grand Island, the roof a manufacturing company sustained significant damage. The Buffalo Airport was closed between 8:30 am and noon with over half of its scheduled flights canceled for the day. In downtown Buffalo, a building from the 1850s that had been damaged in an earlier January windstorm, sustained further damage and was deemed unsafe and had to be demolished. The New York State Thruway was closed from Henrietta to Depew because of blowing snow and whiteout conditions. Two tractor trailers were blown over on the Thruway. In Irondequoit, the steeple of a church was blown down.

A winter storm affecting the Middle East covered Jerusalem with a blanket of up to 8 inches of snow. At the same time, Amman, Jordan, received about a foot of snow.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 31st:
1888
A snowy January left 54 inches of snow on the ground in the lower elevations of Northfield, VT.

1902
The highest atmospheric pressure in the British Isles was recorded when Aberdeen, Scotland rose to 1054.7 millibars or 31.15 inHg.

1911
The warmest temperature ever felt in the month of January in Oklahoma occurred as temperatures soared into the 80s at many locations. Oklahoma City set their all time January high with a reading of 83°. Temperatures were even warmer in western Oklahoma, where Weatherford and Cloud Chief topped out at 89°.

Other locations that reported record highs for January included: Dallas (DFW), TX: 93°, Del Rio, TX: 92°, Abilene, TX: 90° and Albuquerque, NM: 72°-Tied.

Locations that reported daily record highs included: Waco, TX: 89°, Victoria, TX: 86°, San Antonio, TX: 85°, Lubbock, TX: 84°, Tucson, AZ: 83°, Austin, TX: 83°, Amarillo, TX: 82°, Houston, TX: 82°, Jackson, MS: 82°, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 81°, Dodge City, KS: 76°, Tulsa, OK: 76°, Little Rock, AR: 75°, Pueblo, CO: 73°, Concordia, KS: 72°, Huntsville, AL: 70°, North Platte, NE: 69°, Wichita, KS: 68°, Springfield, MO: 67°, Kansas City, MO: 64°, Columbia, MO: 64°-Tied, Grand Junction, CO: 62°, Salt Lake City, UT: 60°, Sioux Falls, SD: 57° and Huron, SD: 54°.

Tamarack, CA was without snow the first 8 days of the month, but by the end of the month had been buried under 390 inches of snow, a record monthly total for the U.S.

1920
Northfield, VT recorded the highest barometric pressure ever observed in the lower 48 with a reading of 31.14 inHg. The cold high pressure would be followed by a major winter storm just three days later that paralyzed the region.

1936
The village of Amenia, ND registered a maximum temperature of only 10° for the entire month of January, perhaps the lowest monthly maximum temperature ever measured in the lower 48 states.

1937
A major Oregon snowstorm dumped 25 inches of snow at Salem, OR and 16 inches at Portland, OR.

The Ohio River at Evansville, IN, crested 19 feet above flood stage. Two-thirds of Evansville was completely inundated and Jeffersonville, IN was 90% flooded.  90,000 people evacuated their homes. Leavenworth, IN was abandoned and moved to a new town site on higher ground.

1947
The temperature fell to a frigid -74° at Smith Falls, British Columbia, Canada, an all-time low for the Province.

1949
A cold arctic air mass brought record cold from parts of the southern Plains to the Southwest.  Locations that reported all-time record lows included: Waco, TX: -5°, Austin (Bergstrom), TX: -5°, Austin (Camp Mabry), TX: -2°, Dallas (DFW), TX: -2° and San Antonio, TX: 0°.

Locations that reported daily record lows included: Reno, NV: -7°, Roswell, NM: 2°, Dallas, TX: 2°, Winslow, AZ: 3°, San Angelo, TX: 7°, Shreveport, LA: 8°, Fort Smith, AR: 8°-Tied, Bishop, CA: 10°, Midland-Odessa, TX: 10°, Victoria, TX: 12°, Houston, TX: 14°, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 15°, El Paso, TX: 15°, Del Rio, TX: 17°, Lake Charles, LA: 19°, Las Vegas, NV: 19°-Tied, Corpus Christi, TX: 20°, Tucson, AZ: 22°, Brownsville, TX: 23°, Galveston, TX: 24°, Stockton, CA: 26°, Fresno, CA: 26°-Tied, New Orleans, LA: 29° and Yuma, AZ: 30°.

1953
A major North Sea storm sent a record storm surge over the dikes of the Netherlands, causing the country's worst flood disaster. Over one million acres of land went underwater as the sea surged up to 37 miles inland. 40,000 homes were destroyed in 133 villages.  2,100 people perished in the flooding. Damage totaled over $500 million dollars. Vowing to never let such a disaster happen again, the Dutch government created a massive system of dams, dikes and floodgates

1958
The first United States satellite was launched.

1963
Nevada registered its record maximum 24-hour precipitation total as 7.14 inches of rain fell at the Mount Rose Highway Station.

Strong Chinook winds struck parts of the Colorado Rockies and Foothills. Littleton reported a wind gust of 101 mph, Rocky Flats with 90 mph and Denver at 80 mph.  Boulder was particularly hard hit with major structure damage and downed poer lines were reported. In other areas, utility poles were damaged; signs, road markers and antennas were blown down. 

A few locations reported record high temperatures for the date including: San Angelo, TX: 85°, Midland-Odessa, TX: 80°, Clayton, NM: 73°, Winslow, AZ: 68° and Colorado Spring, CO: 66°.

1966
A blizzard struck the northeastern U.S. When the storm came to an end, 20 inches of snow covered the ground at Washington D.C.

Behind the storm and cold front, arctic high pressure brought extreme record cold from the Tennessee Valley, Mid-Atlantic to Florida. Chattanooga, TN tied their all-time record low with -10°.

Locations that reported daily record lows included: Bristol, TN: -15°, Knoxville, TN: -7°, Oak Ridge, TN: -7°, Nashville, TN: -2°, Asheville, NC: 1°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 3°, Greensboro, NC: 3°, Raleigh, NC: 3°, Charlotte, NC: 4°, Roanoke, VA: 4°, Baltimore, MD: 4°-Tied, Birmingham, AL: 5°, Lynchburg, VA: 5°-Tied, Columbia, SC: 10°, Norfolk, VA: 10°, Augusta, GA: 11°, Columbus, GA: 11°, Macon, GA: 11°, Meridian, MS: 13°, Montgomery, AL: 13°, Tallahassee, FL: 14°, Charleston, SC: 15°, Savannah, GA: 16°, Gainesville, FL: 17°, Wilmington, NC: 17°-Tied, Mobile, AL: 20°, Jacksonville, FL: 20°, Cape Hatteras, NC: 20°, Pensacola, FL: 22°-Tied, New Orleans, LA: 24°, Daytona Beach, FL: 24°, Tampa, FL: 24°, Orlando, FL: 24° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Vero Beach, FL: 26°, Fort Myers, FL: 28° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), West Palm Beach, FL: 32°, Miami, FL: 35° and Key West, FL: 47°.

1969
High winds struck parts of the Colorado Rockies and Foothills. The National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder reported a 115 mph wind gust and downtown Boulder topped out at 83 mph. Schools were closed and some minor injuries reported.

1977
The Bicentennial Winter was the coldest seen on the East Coast since before the founding of the Republic. In Northern Virginia, the snow began on January 4, just as the Carter Administration was moving into town. New storms dropped a few more inches every few days to put a fresh coating on the streets that were just clearing from the previous storm and give a clean look to the piles of dirty snow that were accumulating along roadways and in parking lots. The Tidal Potomac froze solid enough that people could skate across it near the Memorial Bridge. The average temperature for the month of January in Washington was 25.4°, which was the coldest since 1856 when the temperature averaged 21.4°. The normal January average temperature for Washington is 34.6°. Roanoke averaged only 23.6°, Richmond 25.3°, and Norfolk 29.2° (all 12° below normal). The prolonged cold wave caused oil and natural gas shortages. President Carter asked people to turn thermostats down to conserve energy. Washington, D.C. did not see heavy snow like the Great Lake region did that winter. The cold winds blowing across the warm lakes brought 68 inches of snow to Buffalo, NY. Washington, D.C. recorded 10 inches of snow in January, Richmond 11 inches, and Roanoke only 9 inches. Little to no additional snow fell the rest of the winter ending it well below normal. The cold wave penetrated into the South and on January 19, snowflakes were seen in Homestead, FL; 22 miles south of Miami

1978
South Bend, IN was buried under 86.1 inches of snow for the month, by far the city's snowiest month ever.

1979
A winter storm that started on the previous day and ended on this day spread 2 to 4 inches of rainfall in 24 hours over much of coastal Southern California, and two inches of snow in Palm Springs. Snow fell heavily in Palm Springs and 8 inches fell at Lancaster. All major interstates into Los Angeles were closed. Snow drifts shut down Interstate 10 on both sides of Palm Springs, isolating the city. Schools were closed and hundreds of cars were abandoned. A snow and rain mix was reported in Borrego Springs. Mt. Laguna received two feet of snow and Julian one foot. Winds up to 60 mph blew in the San Diego Mountains. A tornado touched down in Santa Ana, and possibly occurred elsewhere. Golf ball size hail and widespread snow were also reported during the storm. 4.82 inches of rain fell in National City, 4.25 inches in La Mesa, 3.30 inches at San Diego State University, and 3.78 inches in El Cajon. Flooding occurred along Silver Strand highway, in Fashion Valley, also in Spring Valley, Lemon Grove, Lakeside and Carlsbad. Lake Hodges overflowed. Numerous power outages resulted. 2.57 inches of rain fell in San Diego, the seventh wettest calendar day on record and the wettest January day. 56 inches of snow fell in Big Bear Lake from this day through 2/2, the greatest storm snowfall on record. 26 inches fell on this day, the greatest daily snowfall on record for January and the second greatest daily amount on record. This snowfall also occurred on 2/17/1990.

Significant snow fell in the Kern County desert. Total accumulations included 9 inches at China Lake Naval Air Station and Mojave with 8 inches at Randsburg and 4.5 inches at Inyokern.

Many locations from the Rockies in to the Plains reported record low temperatures for the date including: Alamosa, CO: -39°, Lander, WY: -31°, Valentine, NE: -24°-Tied, Pocatello, ID: -23°, Scottsbluff, NE: -22°, Lincoln, NE: -20°, North Platte, NE: -20°, Grand Island, NE: -18°, Topeka, KS: -14°, Dodge City, KS: -11°, Grand Junction, CO: -10°, Wichita, KS: -9°, Salt Lake City, UT: -8°, Tulsa, OK: -5°, Oklahoma City, OK: -1°, Fort Smith, AR: 3°, Winslow, AZ: 3°-Tied, Wichita Falls, TX: 6° and Quillayute, WA: 17°.

1982
A snowstorm struck from Missouri to Indiana. 25 inches of snow fell at Greenville, IL, and St. Louis reported 18 inches. The storm left 4,000 motorists stranded for two days.

11 inches of snow fell on Fort Wayne, IN and Indianapolis, IN reported 8.1 inches.

1986
January 1986 marked the driest January in the recorded weather history of Oklahoma City, OK. Not even a trace of precipitation fell during the entire month. The dry spell lasted longer than just the one month, as no measurable precipitation fell in Oklahoma City from 12/13/1985 through 2/2/1986. There was only one other month on record at Oklahoma City where not even a trace of precipitation fell, August 2000.

1987
A storm in the Pacific Northwest produced wind gusts to 85 mph in parts of Oregon, and nearly two inches of rain in 12 hours in the Puget Sound area of Washington State. 10 inches of snow fell at Stampede Pass, WA bringing their total snow cover to 84 inches.

1988
A southwesterly flow ahead of a cold front brought record high temperatures across the central and northeastern U.S., with many occurring during the early morning hours.  Temperatures in western New York State reached the 60s early in the day. Locations that reported record highs for the date included: Wallops Island, VA: 65°, Atlantic City, NJ: 63°, Rochester, NY: 63°, Syracuse, NY: 63°, Buffalo, NY: 62°, Providence, RI: 62°-Tied, Akron, OH: 58°, Youngstown, OH: 58°, Worcester, MA: 57°-Tied, Mansfield, OH: 56°, Burlington, VT: 56°, Moline, IL: 55°, Springfield, IL: 55°-Tied, South Bend, IN: 54°, Portland, ME: 54°, Milwaukee, WI: 54°, Toledo, OH: 54°-Tied, Peoria, IL: 53°, Fort Wayne, IN: 53°, Rockford, IL: 52°, Grand Rapids, MI: 52°, Lansing, MI: 52°, Flint, MI: 51°, Islip, NY: 51°, Dubuque, IA: 48°, Muskegon, MI: 48°, Alpena, MI: 47°, Houghton Lake, MI: 47°, Madison, WI: 46° and Ste. St. Marie, MI: 40°-Tied.

Behind the cold front, strong northerly winds in the north central U.S. produced wind chill readings as cold as -60° in parts of North Dakota.

1989
The barometric pressure at Northway, AK reached 1078.4 millibars or 31.85 inHg establishing an all-time record for the North American Continent. The temperature at the time of the record was about -46°. When pressures this high occur, commercial aircraft often have to be grounded because their altimeters cannot be set that high.

Severe arctic cold began to invade the north central U.S. The temperature at Great Falls, MT plunged 85 degrees in 36 hours. Valentine, NE plummeted from a record high of 70° to 0° in just 9 hours. Northwest winds gusted to 86 mph at Lander, WY, and wind chill readings of -80° were reported in parts of Montana. Many cities across the central U.S. reported record highs for the date as readings reached the 60s in parts of Michigan and the 80s in parts of Kansas.

Locations that reported January record high temperatures included: Dodge City, KS: 80°, Moline, IL: 69° (broke previous daily record by 14 degrees) and Rockford, IL: 63°-Tied (broke previous daily record by 11 degrees).

Locations that set daily record highs for the date included: Clayton, NM: 79°, Wichita Falls, TX: 78°, Fort Smith, AR: 77°, Tulsa, OK: 76°-Tied, Pueblo, CO: 75°, Goodland, KS: 75°, Concordia, KS: 74°, Columbia, MO: 74° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), St. Louis, MO: 74°, Springfield, MO: 73°, Grand Island, NE: 72°, Lincoln, NE: 72°, Topeka, KS: 71°, Colorado Spring, CO: 70°, Peoria, IL: 70° (broke previous daily record by 17 degrees), Springfield, IL: 69° (broke previous record by 14 degrees), Kansas City, MO: 69°, Evansville, IN: 68°, Louisville, KY: 67°, Paducah, KY: 67°, Scottsbluff, NE: 66°, Rapid City, SD: 66°, Des Moines, IA: 65°, Chicago, IL: 65°, Norfolk, NE: 65°, Omaha, NE: 65°, South Bend, IN: 64°, Jackson, KY: 64°, Redding, CA: 63°, Cleveland, OH: 62°, Toledo, OH: 62°, Fort Wayne, IN: 61°, Lansing, MI: 61°, Dubuque, IA: 60° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Detroit, MI: 60°, Flint, MI: 59°, Mansfield, OH: 58°, Milwaukee, WI: 58°, Waterloo, IA: 57° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Grand Rapids, MI: 57°, Sioux City, IA: 57°-Tied, Madison, WI: 56° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), La Crosse, WI: 52°, Alpena, MI: 50°, Rochester, MN: 48°, Green Bay, WI: 48°, Muskegon, MI: 48°-Tied, Minneapolis, MN: 45°, St. Cloud, MN: 43° and Ste. St. Marie, MI: 40°-Tied.

1990
High winds in Montana on the 28th, gusting to 77 mph at Judith Gap, were followed by three days of snow. Heavy snow fell over northwest Montana, with up to 24 inches reported in the mountains. An avalanche covered the road near Essex with 6 feet of snow.  Snow and high winds also plagued parts of the southwestern U.S. Winds gusted to 54 mph at Show Low, AZ and Flagstaff, AZ was blanketed with 8 inches of snow.

1991
The month wrapped up as the wettest ever at Apalachicola, FL and Lake Charles LA with 20.80 (582% or normal) and 14.29 inches of rain respectively.

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

An upper level ridge brought record high temperatures from parts of the Rockies to the Pacific Northwest. Miles City, MT soared to 72°, a record high for January and their 8th straight day warmer than 50°. This is their longest such streak in January.

Other January record highs were set at: Havre, MT: 68 and Great Falls, MT: 67-Tied.

Locations that reported daily record highs included: Rapid City, SD: 68°, Billings, MT: 67°, Sheridan, WY: 66°, Helena, MT: 62°, Boise, ID: 61°, Salem, OR: 61°-Tied, Portland, OR: 58°-Tied, Ely, NV: 57°, Pocatello, ID: 56° and Glasgow, MT: 53°.

1994
It was the coldest month ever in Caribou, ME with an average temperature of -0.7°, breaking the old record of 1.3° set in 1857.

1995
Several California locations reported their wettest January ever. All-time monthly rain records included Gibraltar Reservoir with 34.80 inches, Santa Barbara at 21.9 inches, Red Bluff with 20.9 inches and Santa Maria with 11.8 inches.

Fresno, CA recorded 0.01 of an inch of precipitation. This marked their 21st day of the month of measurable precipitation, a record for any month of the year.

1997
Marquette, MI measured 91.7 inches of snow for the month, the city's greatest monthly snowfall on record.

2002
High pressure across Quebec provided the cold air while an approaching warm front brought 3 to 5 inches of snow during the overnight the previous day then turned to freezing rain during the morning hours on this date across parts of western New York. Ice accumulations of one-half to three-quarters inch occurred. Hundreds of thousands were left without power as the heavy ice build-up downed trees and power lines. Some areas were without power for up to 72 hours. Winds picked up and gusted to 55 mph. Trees and tree limbs fell blocking roads and damaging homes and automobiles. Tree damage included large and small limb breakage and bark damage as well as the uprooting of trees. States of Emergency were declared across the Niagara Frontier counties. East of Lake Ontario snowfall amounts of 6 to 8 inches were followed by one-quarter to one-half inch of ice.

South of the warm front and ahead of the cold front many locations from the Ohio Valley to the Deep South reported record warmth.  Locations that tied or broke January record high temperatures included: Tampa, FL: 86°-Tied, Jackson, MS: 83°-Tied, Memphis, TN: 79°-Tied and Jackson, KY: 78° (broke previous daily record by 14 degrees).

Locations that reported daily record highs for the date included: Corpus Christi, TX: 85°, Baton Rouge, LA: 84°, Augusta, GA: 82°, Lake Charles, LA: 80°-Tied, Atlanta, GA: 78°, Columbus, GA: 78°, Charleston, WV: 78°, Huntington, WV: 78°, Tupelo, MS: 77°, Huntsville, AL: 76°, Bristol, TN: 76°, Elkins, WV: 76°, Knoxville, TN: 75°, Chattanooga, TN: 73°, Nashville, TN: 73°, Oak Ridge, TN: 73°, Beckley, WY: 73°, Pittsburgh, PA: 72°, Lexington, KY: 71°, Paducah, KY: 67°-Tied, Columbus, OH: 66°, Akron, OH: 62°, Mansfield, OH: 61° and Youngstown, OH: 61°.

A trough across the west brought unsettled conditions with a few record low temperatures across parts of California including: Shelter Valley, CA: 13°, Campo, CA: 17°, Ramona, CA: 22°, Santa Maria, CA: 26°, Redding, CA: 26°-Tied, Escondido, CA: 28° and Long Beach, CA: 34°. Crops were damaged in northern San Diego County.

Astronomers were treated to a show as two major storms on Jupiter were interacting.  One of the storms was a gigantic "white oval" the size of the Earth and over 70 years old.  The other storm was the Great Red Spot, a centuries old storm twice as large as Earth.

2003
Upper level high pressure off the California coast and surface high pressure across the Great Basin combined to bring a very warm offshore flow and record heat from parts of the Rockies to the West Coast. Riverside, CA soared to a January record high of 97°, one degree shy of the all-time U.S. January record. Other record highs for January included:

Santa Ana, CA: 96°, Thermal, CA: 94°, Long Beach, CA: 93°, Escondido, CA: 92°, Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 91, Needles, CA: 85, on top of Mount Wilson, CA: 77°, Reno, NV: 71° and Elko, NV: 65°.

Locations that reported daily record highs included: Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 91°, Yuma, AZ: 87°, Phoenix, AZ: 86°, Santa Maria, CA: 85°, Tucson, AZ: 84°, San Diego, CA: 83°, Las Vegas, NV: 75°, Winnemucca, NV: 67°, Ely, NV: 63°, Salt Lake City, UT: 63° and Pocatello, ID: 60°.

The month ended with a trace or more of snow falling on 17 days at Philadelphia, PA, setting a new monthly record. The old record was 16 days in 1948.

2004
A four day snow-squall siege came to an end off of Lake Ontario, burying sections of Oswego County, New York with as much as 7 feet of snow. Some specific totals included 86 inches at Parish, 67 inches at Minetto, and 57 inches at Redfield. 

Recent heavy snows set records at Glasgow, MT. The 32.2 inches for the past month set a new snowfall record for January, and the seasonal snowfall total of 61.1 inches, broke the previous seasonal snowfall record of 60.9 inches set in 1951-52.

11 months of severe drought forced Koala Bears in parts of Australia to abandon their young and enter residential areas in search of water. One of the worst droughts in the last century set off massive brushfires and caused problems for agriculture. Over 87% of New South Wales was affected by the severe drought and over 70% of the nation suffered a severe rainfall shortage.

2006
Temperatures at Bismarck, ND, remain above 0° for the entire month, a mild period not seen since 1875.

Vancouver, British Columbia Canadasuffered through their 29th day of rain during the month, all but continuous since December 19th, 2005 breaking the record for the wettest month by two days.  

2007
A strong westerly flow regenerated the lake effect snow machine off both Lakes Erie and Ontario. The activity was very intense off Lake Ontario, focusing near the Oswego-Jefferson County line and extending right across the Tug Hill. Snow fell at 2 to 4 inches per hour and piled up to 1 to 3 feet on the southwestern portion of the plateau. The activity broke up a bit and lifted north during the evening. Off Lake Erie, a broader area of disorganized lake snow prevailed through most of the morning before it consolidated into an intense west to east band over Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties by midday. This band lifted north across Buffalo's south towns by late afternoon, but dissipated right as it reached Buffalo due to increasing southerly shear. The movement of the band precluded heavy accumulations with most areas only seeing heavy snow for an hour or two, with totals generally 4 to 6 inches with a few outliers of up to 8 inches on the Chautauqua ridge and over to Ellicottville. Off Lake Ontario, specific snowfall reports included: 35 inches at Redfield, 16 inches at Mannsville, 15 inches as North Osceola, 13 inches as Hooker and 12 inches at Highmarket.
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