The temperature fell to -9°F at Ocean City, Maryland and -5°F at Salisbury this morning (January 30th). For this part of Maryland these were the coldest temperatures observed since at least 1987. Two powerful cold waves have swept across the eastern half of the country, the strongest since 1996 or 1994. The coldest January on record were those of 1977 and 1979. How does this January rank so far?
weatherhistorian, • 8:27 PM GMT on January 30, 2014
UPDATE 1/28: The all-time warmest January temperature ever observed in Alaska was tied on January 27 when the temperature peaked at 62°F (16.7°C) at Port Alsworth. This ties a similar reading measured at Petersburg on January 16, 1981.As the eastern half of the U.S. goes into the deep freeze (as outlined in Jeff Master’s blog today, the flip side is the record warmth that California and Alaska have been experiencing (for two straight weeks now). All-time monthly records for warmth have been set at numerous locations in both states, something that cannot yet be said to have occurred during the cold waves this month in the eastern U.S.
weatherhistorian, • 8:36 PM GMT on January 27, 2014
The winter storm dubbed Janus by The Weather Channel pummeled the east Tuesday and Wednesday this week and prompted blizzard warnings for Cape Cod and the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, Massachusetts. However, the National Weather Service office in Boston confirmed that, in the end, conditions actually fell just short of blizzard criteria at any location in Massachusetts. Nantucket, however, came very close Wednesday morning.
weatherhistorian, • 8:25 PM GMT on January 23, 2014
Another arctic outbreak is heading into the eastern third of the nation today. Temperatures will be frigid (as witnessed by Embarass, Minnesota which bottomed out at -37° this morning (January 21st). But the current cold wave pales in comparison to what was happening at this time back in 1985. Here is a summary of that historic event.
weatherhistorian, • 7:57 PM GMT on January 21, 2014
December 2013 saw a variety of temperature extremes both cold and warm and in some cases at the same locations. The most notable was the heat wave in Argentina. However, in general, extreme variability was the theme thanks to extreme amplitudes of the jet stream. Severe flooding affected portions of Brazil, Kenya, and the Middle East where a cold snap and rare heavy snow also occurred in some locations.
weatherhistorian, • 8:00 PM GMT on January 18, 2014
There are few sites in the U.S. (or, for that matter, the world) that have as long an unbroken period of record for precipitation measurements as the city of San Francisco. This official record extends back to November 1849. Today, January 15th, the city has now entered unchartered territory by surpassing 1916-1917 as the driest ‘wet season’ to date on record.
weatherhistorian, • 10:53 PM GMT on January 15, 2014
A week ago, half of the eastern U.S. was in the grip of the most intense cold wave since 1996. The cold snap, however, was short lived and since then unusually mild weather has spread across virtually the entire contiguous U.S. It was 85°F (29.4°C) in Frederick, Oklahoma on Sunday January 12th. A daily record of 75°F (23.9°C) was observed in Oklahoma City. Temperatures in the Northeast shot up phenomenally fast following the 48-hour cold spell.
weatherhistorian, • 8:27 PM GMT on January 13, 2014
As the most intense cold wave to envelop a large portion of the U.S. since 1996 unfolds, record warmth has been the story for much of the rest of the world, including California, but especially in Australia where 2013 has been determined to be the continent’s warmest calendar year on record. This year has begun with yet more records. Here are some details.
weatherhistorian, • 8:46 PM GMT on January 06, 2014
As expected for the past month or so, most of California and much of Oregon have closed out 2013 as the driest calendar year on record. Conversely, a few locations in the Southeast have experienced their wettest year. Here is a brief summary with the details (probably more than you want to know).
weatherhistorian, • 10:05 PM GMT on January 03, 2014