This Date in Weather History

Late January of 1922 saw the Virginia and North Carolina experience one of the greatest snowstorms ever recorded in the region. Automobile and truck traffic had just become established as the main mode of transport for people and goods in the region and the storm of January 27 1922 brought that traffic to a complete halt for more than a week. With virtually no way to clean off the roads connecting farms and towns over a wide expanse of the countryside, travel just stopped. Almost 20” of snow fell in Richmond, Virginia; two feet in Washington DC and Baltimore and in Roxboro, North Carolina an incredible 36” of snow fell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On January 25, 1978 one of the greatest blizzards in North American history struck a wide area from the great Lakes and Mid-west all the way toward the east coast of the United States and northward into parts of Canada. The bitter cold artic air had been holding across the large region for more than a week and had been reinforced by successive waves of air from the Yukon and Siberia. Then a storm developed on the Gulf coast and came sweeping northward right into the cold air. Significant support gathered in the high levels of the atmosphere for the storm and resulted in a system that some said rivaled a hurricane in strength. Pittsburgh reached its lowest barometric pressure ever at 28.49” – just like that in a hurricane. The Paralyzing blizzard that ensued killed more than 100. Winds gusted to 100 mph producing 25’ drifts. Many roofs collapsed from heavy snow. 28.14” was the pressure reading at Cleveland, the lowest recorded at an inland US station. 120,000 cars and trucks were abandoned in Michigan. In Canada the Ravaging winter storm caused $41 million in damage and contributed to 9 deaths. Hurricane force winds blew out windows in Toronto’s skyscrapers, where the air pressure plunged to 27.80”; also, an all-time low reading. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On January 25, 1990 at least 39 people, some of them children, died in the worst weather to hit England and Wales in decades. Hurricane-force winds gusting in from the south-west brought chaos with many railway stations, roads and ports forced to close and some flights to major airports in England were diverted. The severe weather also affected other parts of Europe, killing at least 21 people in France, the Netherlands and Belgium, and caused disruption and damage in western Germany. Police in Britain described the situation as "chaotic", with cars and overturned lorries blocking motorways, buildings collapsing and power and telecommunications lines being blown down. At least half a million homes are without electricity. The storm was marginally less powerful than its better known predecessor of 1987. But no storm had caused such loss of life in the UK since the East Coast Flood disaster in 1953. The trail of destruction from the British Isales to Denmark left 100 people dead. The centre of the storm crossed the birthplace of Robbie Burns on his birthday and became known as the "Burns Day Storm". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During the total solar eclipse in December 1834, the Gettysburg, PA Republican Banner reported that in some places, the eclipse caused the temperature to drop by as much as 28 degrees Fahrenheit, from 78 degrees F to 50 degrees F. During a total solar eclipse on the Norwegian island of Svalbard in March 2015, temperatures dropped from 8 degrees F to minus 7 degrees F. The change in temperature during a total eclipse will vary based on location and time of year. The temperature change created by the loss of light from the sun's disk will be similar to the difference between the temperature at midday and the temperature just after sunset, except the change will occur more suddenly, which is why this is often one of the very noticeable effects of a total solar eclipse. On January 24, 1925 a total solar eclipse over the far northern part of New Jersey, under clear skies, the temperature fell significantly during the afternoon to near 0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On January 23, 1916 the World record 24-hour variation in temperature was set. Browning, Montana, in the northern part of the state, hard against the Canadian border reached a temperature of 44 degrees F in the late morning hours as warm air surged in from the southeast. The air mass that held sway in the region came all the way from the Gulf of Mexico and the folks in Browning that morning were looking forward to a relatively balmy day. The average high temperature on January 23 is 33 and the record high is near 50 – so it was quite warm for that time of the year. But the weather was about to turn a “Siberian Express” cold front came through, quickly dropping the temperature below freezing. The temperature continued to drop, reaching 56 degrees below zero F. A one-day variation of exactly 100 degrees and also the greatest 24-hour temperature drop in history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Black Hills area of South Dakota can experience spectacular temperature variations. Day-to-day changes occur as cold and warm fronts cross the northern Plains. However, temperature ranges across the area at a given time can be just as great. They happen rapidly as the wind direction changes, most notably the warming Chinook winds. Other temperature differences are caused by inversions, when warm air flows over a shallow pool of cold air. Because the Black Hills rise above the plains like an island in a body of water, they are in the warm air layer. The most notable temperature fluctuations occurred on January 22, 1943 when temperatures rose and fell almost 50 degrees in a few minutes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On January 21, 1863, Union General Ambrose Burnside’s Army of the Potomac begins an offensive against General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia that quickly bogs down as several days of heavy rain turn the roads of Virginia into a muddy quagmire. The campaign was abandoned a few days later. The Union army was still reeling from the disastrous Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, on December 13, 1862. Burnside’s force suffered more than 13,000 casualties as it assaulted Lee’s troops along hills above Fredericksburg. Lee suffered around 5,000 casualties, making Fredericksburg one of the most one-sided engagements in the Eastern theater of operations. Morale was low among the Yankees that winter. In mid-January, Burnside sought to raise morale and seize the initiative from Lee. His plan was to swing around Lee’s left flank and draw the Confederates away from their defenses and into the open. Speed was essential to the operation. January had been a dry month to that point, but as soon as the Federals began to move, a drizzle turned into a downpour that lasted for four days. Logistical problems delayed the laying of a pontoon bridge across the Rappahannock River, and a huge traffic jam snarled the army’s progress. In one day, the 5th New York moved only a mile and a half. The roads became unnavigable, and conflicting orders caused two corps to march across each other’s paths. Horses, wagons, and cannons were stuck in mud, and the element of surprise was lost. Jeering Confederates taunted the Yankees with shouts and signs that read “Burnside’s Army Stuck in the Mud.” Burnside turned his Army around and abandoned the fight due primarily because of the weather. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Constitution of the United States had established March 4 as Inauguration Day in order to allow enough time after Election Day for officials to gather election returns and for newly-elected candidates to travel to the capital. On April 30, 1789, George Washington was inaugurated in New York City as our first president. Washington was scheduled to be inaugurated on March 4, however, weather prevented Congress from being able to make quorum, and thus the beginning of our nation under the original Constitution was delayed almost two months. On March 4, 1801, Thomas Jefferson was the first president inaugurated in Washington, D.C., our new federal capital. After New York, Philadelphia had become our nation’s capital. Though, in order to appease Southern slave holders fearing a northern capital would be inordinately influenced by Northern Abolitionists, the nation’s capital was moved south to its current location. Inauguration was initially held inside the House and Senate chambers of the Federal Congress. James Monroe, the newly elected president in 1817, began the tradition of holding the inauguration outside, in front of Congress. The outdoor inauguration would prove fatal in 1841. With great hubris, the newly elected President William Harrison decided to ride on horseback, without a coat, to his inauguration – despite the winter weather. Harrison then delivered the longest inauguration speech in American history — a two-hour-long oration, which led to the shortest Presidency in American history as Harrison subsequently caught pneumonia and died 31 days later. The twentieth amendment of the Constitution, took effect before Franklin D. Roosevelt’s second term began. The twentieth amendment specified that the elected president would become president through inauguration at noon on Jan. 20, two months, instead of four, after the presidential election. The twentieth amendment also clarified the presidential secession plan. The first inauguration held on the new date of January 20, 1937 turned out to be the wettest inauguration ever with 1.77" rain in 24 hours. It was quite windy with temperatures just above freezing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A strong snowstorm struck the Northeastern part of the United States on January 19, 1961. It was the day before the inauguration of President John K Kennedy, temperatures held steady during the 19th at 20 and snowfall fell at 1–2 inches per hour and a total of 8 inches fell during the night, causing transportation and logistical problems in Washington and serious concern for the inauguration. On inauguration day, January 20, 1961, the skies began to clear but the snow had created chaos in Washington, almost canceling the inaugural parade. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was put in charge of clearing the streets during the evening and morning before the inauguration, and were assisted by more than 1,000 District of Columbia employees and 1,700. This task force employed hundreds of dump trucks, front-end loaders, sanders, plows, rotaries, and even flamethrowers to clear the route. Over 1,400 cars which had been stranded due to the conditions and lack of fuel had to be removed from the parade route. The snowstorm dropped visibility at Washington area airports to less than half a mile, preventing former President Herbert Hoover from flying into Washington and attending the inauguration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s much of the Great plains of the United States was bone dry. Because there was little rainfall the ground was dry. Daytime heat is derived from the ground heating up from the sun and then heating the lowest level of the atmosphere from the warming ground. The amount of moisture in the ground has a great impact on this heating. A large percentage of the sun’s energy goose into evaporating the moisture on the ground surface. When the ground is dry to begin with the sun just gets to work warming things up. It’s not the sole reason that temperatures climb to record high levels – but it helps. During the 30’s in places like Oklahoma a significant number of high temperature records were set in part because of this dry weather phenomenon. Lack of moisture also has an impact of lowering temperatures. Moisture in the ground leads to higher humidity near the ground and that prevents temperatures from getting below the saturation point of moisture in the air. When there is little moisture temperatures can drop more. So, in additions to the extreme heat that we all hear about from the Dust Bowl – there was also extreme cold. On January 18, 1930 in Watts Oklahoma the mercury dipped to -27 degrees the coldest ever in state. It was the 1st day of string of 33 days when temperature averaged -2.8 degrees. 7.7 degrees colder than any other period since records commenced. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Edmonton, Alberta a massive snowstorm struck on January 17, 1994. Snow was whipped into huge drifts and visibility was severely limited. When storm like this strike they have widespread and even historic impacts. But all such events are personal and there are individual stories that amaze or are harrowing and don’t rise to the level of historic reporting – yet are extremely important to those involved. During this storm, blinded by blowing snow, a motorist drove her small car into the back of a tractor-trailer. The unsuspecting truck driver drove off with her vehicle stuck beneath the tanker. For 30 minutes, the coupled vehicles stayed together despite the woman’s frantic efforts to break free. Blowing snow kept other drivers from noticing. The truck driver stopped after he heard the car’s tires exploding. Luckily the driver of the car suffered only minor injuries in this storm fueled drive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

January 16, 1916 brought a massive storm to California. Sweeping in off the Pacific Ocean the storm was pulling plenty of moisture northward all the way from Hawaii in what is often called the Pineapple Express. The storm struck with a vengeance with powerful gusts of wins that toppled trees and ripped off roofs from the San Francisco Bay area all the way to the Central Valley of California. Perhaps the most spectacular impact of the storm was the several inches of snow that feel in San Francisco and surrounding communities. With no way to clean off the snow on the hilly streets in the region those roads became slippery nightmares and travel halted for several days until the snow melted and transport was once again able to move. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The winter of 1779-1780 had been fairly cold in the New York City area, with ice flows recorded on the North River – now known as the Hudson and the East River through the start of January 1780. But on January 15 the ice flows started to harden and merge together all the way out to the south of the city in the main harbor of New York freezing solid. The rivers and New York Harbor would see the ice thicken and hold firm all the way through the end of February. In fact, the ice became so thick that not only could sleigh and wagons move from Long Island to Manhattan and from Manhattan to Staten island and to New Jersey. With the Revolutionary War still in full swing the ice was even strong enough to support the movement of heavy cannons from place to place. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Southern California's greatest snow occurred on this date. Fifteen inches blanketed San Bernardino, and even San Diego reported a trace of snow. According to the “History of Riverside, California” by Edgar Wallace Holmes, Jan. 11,1882 was a beautiful day. But the temperature dropped that night, it became overcast and snow began falling around daybreak. The snow fell all day on Jan. 12 and into the next day. By the 14th, Riverside and San Bernardino counties were totally snow-covered. The bitter winter weather extended up and down California and brought snow to all kinds of places that saw it very rarely, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco. In Riverside, snow fell to a depth of 8 to 12 inches. So much snow blew into area canals that they became blocked in places and severe breaks occurred. Only a minor amount of damage occurred to the citrus fruit still on the trees, as the snow acted as an insulator. However, many trees were damaged when the weight of the snow, combined with the weight of the fruit, caused branches to break and trees to split. The city of San Bernardino, being at a higher elevation than Riverside, got more snow. The city had an estimated 12 to 15 inches. All transport came to a halt in the region for a week in what went into the history books as the greatest snowfall ever seen, before or since in Southern California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ice along the Texas Gulf coast is not unknown, but it is a rarity to accumulate more than a thin ice coating, mainly on bridges and overpasses. Usually when that icing does occur it happening in the early morning hours and the common practice is simply to let it melt as the sun rises and heats up the roadways enough to raise the temperature above freezing to melt that ice and end the slippery conditions. On January 13, 1997 an ice storm glazed the Houston, TX area as well as parts of Louisiana. This time, temperatures were not just a degree of two below freezing but rather in the mid 20’s, so 1/2” thick ice formed from Beaumont, TX to Lake Charles, LA. The normal method of simply letting the ice melt would not work unless those in the region waited for several days. With little salt on hand, like the stockpiles in the northern states, the local highway departments needed to improvise using road graders and front loaders to dump gravel used in road construction and cinders from local incinerators to cover the highways to allow motorists to gain traction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Afghanistan is no stranger to winter cold and snow. Much of the country is mountainous and the higher terrain is conducive to bitter cold winter temperatures and snow. Major snow storms are not common – but not terribly unusual either. On January 11, 2008 a massive winter storm blasted the country with a wind wiped heavy snowfall. Dozens killed by the heavy snow and freezing weather as Snow blocked roads connecting remote areas to many of the cities and towns in the country. Around 35 employees of a construction company were trapped in an avalanche in Herat. The clean-up and resources from that avalanche and several others was problematic at best. The war-ravaged nation was still in the midst of bitter conflict and the ability to clean up the snowfall and protect against the cold was virtually impossible as those normal resources were consumed by the ongoing conflict – just another terrible by-product of war. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first week of January 1918 brought a persistent bitter cold the upper Midwest and the great lakes region. In many places high temperatures barely reached the freezing mark. Already storages brought on by World War I were being felt in the region with scarcity of fuel to heat homes. Then an even colder air mass that had been building across the arctic regions of Canada plunged southward into the northern tier of the United States. Meanwhile a storm was brewing in the southern states, as that system swept northward bringing plenty of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico along with it. The result was a Vast storm of blizzard proportions moved through Great Lakes and Ohio Valley. Toledo had 63 mph winds and a temperature drop from +28 degrees to -15 degrees as the storm pulled the arctic air southward behind it. The result was a Complete immobilization and no mail for 2 weeks in many parts of the Midwest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Snow, continuous and heavy with sustained winds estimated at 30-35 mph, gusting to 50-60 mph struck Edinboro, PA on January 10, 1982 as bitter cold air moved out of Canada and across the Great Lakes resulting in a massive diplay of Lake-effect snowfall. Mountainous drifts caused roads to be shut down. Between 3 and 4 feet of new snow, well above the waist on the level was reported. One report of a devastating “snow devil”. Miniature vortexes of wind can stir up snow in a formation known as a snow devil. Similar to a dirt devil, snow devils are spinning columns of snow. The reported stated that “It became dark at 4 pm, and a sudden strong gust of wind picked up a wall of snow and blew it about. It cleared somewhat, but then a definite funnel shaped vortex, swirling about at a rapid rate, knocked over an apple tree. The snow devil then proceeded to rip a 6-inch diameter cherry tree right out of the ground with the roots lying on top of the snow. The snow devil was about 20-25 feet in diameter and at least 100 feet tall. This was one of the most severe blizzards in this region in memory.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

January 9, 1975 marked one of the coldest days across the parries of western Canada. Arctic cold had move out of Siberia and across Alaska and the Yukon and then southward. Along the southern fringes of the cold weather a storm laden with moisture from the Pacific Ocean had slammed into the pacific northwest of the United States and was moving eastward across Idaho and Montana. As the bitter cold air surged into the places like Winnipeg, Manitoba snow broke out. Fueled by the cold and that Pacific storm blizzard conditions quickly developed. As the snow piled up the airport in Winnipeg was forced to close and remained out of service for almost 2 days. Travel across the entire region ground to a halt as the blizzard reduced the visibility in Winnipeg to zero. People couldn’t even see a foot or two in front of them. The white-out continued for more than 12 hours. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bitter cold air moved westward out of Siberia in the first week of January 1981 and settled in across much of the European continent. Temperatures remained below freezing night and day in Germany and France and across the British isles and southward to the Mediterranean coast . Northern Italy and Greece were not spared the artic chill. On the southern end of the Siberian airmass a large storm formed in north Aricia and moved eastward. By the time the powerful storm reached the southern part of Greece it resulted in 4 days of wild weather from January 8-11. Snow fell in parts of Greece as well as Tunisia where 2" accumulated. This was the first snow in Tunisia in 26 years. There were floods in Turkey and dust storms in Libya. Travel in those areas that experienced snow on the Mediterranean coast experienced travel disruptions for days. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The “Blizzard of ‘96'” wreaked havoc across the eastern third of the United States. A powerful storm moved up the eastern seaboard and ran into very frigid air helping to produce traffic-stopping, life-disrupting snowfall totals. The major cities of Boston, MA, New York, NY, Philadelphia, PA & Washington DC became completely paralyzed. Philadelphia received a record 31" of snow, smashing the old record snowfall of 21.3" set in Feb. 1983. In parts of southern PA, snowdrifts were as high as 10'. As much as 4' of snow fell in the West Virginia Mountains. Nearly 2' of snow buried New York City. 29" was measured in Boston, MA. Winds gusted over 80 mph on the New Jersey shore. A total ban on travel was in put in effect in the eastern half of PA for 48 hours to aid in the clean-up and recuse stranded motorists. 35" fell in White Horse, NJ to set a state snowfall record. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tropical Storm Zeta, the 26 and last storm of the 2005- 2006 hurricane season, died off in the central Atlantic on January 6, 2006. This was the second storm to span two calendar years, the first being Hurricane Alice in 1954-1955. In current times the start of the Hurricane season triggers the re-start of the alphabet. The season officially kicks off on June 1st in the Atlantic basin. Sometimes tropical systems form in May or even April. In fact, there has been a named storm in every month of the year when compiling all the storms that have formed through history. Usually then when there is a natural break in the season and there has been no storm for a while the alphabet is restarted. Most of these modern protocols here established by the WMO, the World Meteorological Organization in the 1950s and 60’s with some refinements after that. That is why in the 2005-2006 season was still using the end of the alphabet with Zeta, but 1954-1955 before the rules where worked out the alphabet was already re-started with Alice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lake-effect snow is produced during cooler atmospheric conditions when a cold air mass moves across long expanses of warmer lake water. The lower layer of air, heated up by the lake water, picks up water vapor from the lake and rises up through the colder air above; the vapor then freezes and is deposited on the downwind shores. But Lake-effect snow can actually occur when a lake is partially or even total frozen. That is because directional winds shear is one of the most important factors governing the development of squalls; environments with weak directional shear typically produce more intense squalls than those with higher shear levels. Frictional convergence is the major factor in producing the squally. When the wind blows over t expanse of water – or even frozen lake is flowing unimpeded, when it reaches the shore line it slows as it comes into contact with the land and causes friction. There is only once place for the air to go and that is up. The lifting causes clouds and precipitation. When the wind blows in such a way that is turns counter-clockwise, the same direction as large-scale storms – that also aids in lift. When the lake is now frozen the added element of temperature contrast and available moisture is added to the mix. This is most common around the Great Lakes in the United States and Canada. The snowfall totals can be prodigious, in a short period of time. On January 5, 1988 Heavy lake effect snows on the east side of Lake Ontario in upstate New York. So much snow fell that Interstate 81 was closed from Pulaski to Watertown for a week. As much as 45” of snow fell in less than 12 hours. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The absolute worst winter in the 18th century was the “hard winter” of 1779-1780. The winter that year was bad. Over the course of the winter, New Jersey had 26 snowstorms and 6 of those are considered to be blizzards! Every saltwater inlet from North Carolina to Canada froze over completely. In fact, New York Harbor froze over with ice so thick that British soldiers were able to march from Manhattan to Staten Island. George Washington decided to place his army at Morristown, New Jersey for winter quarters. When they arrived at the encampment site in November 1779 there was already a foot of snow on the ground. The worst of the snowfalls dropped more than four feet of snow with snow drifts over six feet on January 4, 1780. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The North American ice storm of January 1961 was a massive ice storm that struck areas of northern Idaho in the United States at the start of January 1961. The storm set a record for thickest recorded ice accumulation from a single storm in the United States, at 8 inches. The storm covered areas from Grangeville, in north central Idaho, to the US-Canadian border. A combination of dense fog, sub-freezing temperatures, and occasional freezing rain led to the heavy ice accretions. Catastrophic damage to trees and utilities resulted, resulting in widespread power outages. Prior to this storm, previous records of between 4 and 6 inches of ice were recorded in New York and Texas. Imagine if you will ice that is 8” thick. That is thicker than several ice cubes stacked end to end. Imagine it covering everything, consider its sheer weight. It caused almost all the tress in the region to break apart. All wires fell, roofs and other structures caved in. Consider how long it would take all that ice to melt – it was weeks and many were without power for even longer. It caused the power industry to devise new ways of not only restoring power, but new ways to distribute power including more sub stations to generate power and the burying of wires and utility lines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During Colonial times, Philadelphia was one of the major ports in North America. Lying and the confluence of the mighty Delaware river and the smaller Schuylkill rivers it carried a significant amount of commerce back and forth from Europe to the New World. The Delaware River was deep enough for most of the huge sailing shops of the day to connect right up the docks and easily load or off-load their cargo. Navigation was usually clear from the Atlantic ocean to the great port. Unlike present day, the presence of some ice on the river could lead to a slowing of the ability of ships to navigate any ice fields on the river. Unlike today if bitter cold struck there was no way to break the ice and the wooden ships hulls were vulnerable to damage and even ships of sinking in from significant ice. When the river froze over solid commerce stopped. January 2 was a day of great activity in the Port of Philadelphia in these times gone by after Christmas and New year’s Day, but it came to pass that on January 2, 1740 the Delaware became completely frozen over and shipping came to a halt for the winter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New Years Day 1864 brought an intense day of suffering from the Mid-west into the Tennessee Valley, especially for Union and Confederate soldiers who were camped in tents and other structures not made for permanent living and therefore prepared against the cold. Times where especially tough on confederate prisoners of war, who were not used to the extreme cold. The New Year’s Day cold in Midwest was the worst in decades as a snowstorm and gale force winds struck; Minneapolis had a high of the -25 degrees; Chicago’s high was -16 degrees, with a morning ow -25 degrees minimum. The south was not spared the bitter cold, temperatures dropped from 47 degrees to -19 degrees in 21 hours at Louisville, KY. Newspaper reports from the day reported Intense suffering for Civil War soldiers and prisoners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Dallas, Texas and across north Texas in the month of December the daily high temperatures decrease by 6°F, from 62°F to 56°F, rarely falling below 40°F or exceeding 74°F. Daily low temperatures decrease by 6°F, from 44°F to 39°F, rarely falling below 26°F or exceeding 58°F. It does get cold on occasion though, with record low temperatures at the end of the month in the single digits and even a little below zero on same days. Snowfall can reach a couple inches. Cold air is easily pushed down the plains from Canada in the winter season. Often times this cold air only manages to penetrate the lowest several thousand feet – so it is close to the ground. When this happens and storms push moisture in from the Gulf of Mexico it falls as rain – yet with temperatures near the ground below freezing the rain freezes on all surfaces and causes ice. On December 31, 1978 a severe ice storm struck leaving 1” to 2" of ice over a 100-mile swath from Gainesville to Paris, Texas. Electricity was off for 10 days in parts of Dallas County. More than 2,000 people were treated for frostbite, automobile or falling accidents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The winter of 1880–1881 is widely considered the most severe winter ever known in parts of the United States. Many children—and their parents—learned of "The Snow Winter" through the children's book The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder, in which the author tells of her family's efforts to survive. The snow arrived in October 1880 and blizzard followed blizzard throughout the winter and into March 1881, leaving many areas snowbound throughout the entire winter. For the most part the snow by passed the big cities on the East coast that winter. The cold was only sporadic but on December 30, 1880 bitter cold hit the east coast the mercury dropped to 3 below in Washington D. C. the earlier below zero reading there ever, records were also set in Charlotte North Carolina at 5 below and in Philadelphia the temperature also dropped to negative 5 and the afternoon high temperature despite bright sunshine only reach 5 above zero. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The heaviest observed and accurately measured snowfall in more than a hundred years, across the plains plans states, hit on December 29, 1830. Many of the cities in the region had just experienced a growth spurt as a jumping off pint for westward travel. Farming was taking hold in the nations’ mid-section. Many immigrants from Europe had moved into the region and brought their farming techniques and strains of wheat that would lead to American becoming the nation’s breadbasket. The push was on to seize the land of Indigenous people and also send settlers on treks to the west coast that was not part of the United States, in places like California and Oregon. All that was stalled for a while as the massive snowstorm struck. Very heavy snow struck 36” was recorded in Kansas City and 30” in Peoria 30". it began the ”Winter of the Deep Snow" with more than 30" on ground in parts of Missouri and Illinois until mid-February. People began to re-think the move west as being too harsh. But the continue influx of refugees from the across the Atlantic continued to push people in search of more land and soon “the Winter of Deep Snow” was forgotten and the movement continued within a few years the great wagon train treks began with the opening of the Oregon Trail. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Snowfall in Israel is a common sight during the months of January and February, especially on Mount Hermon. In fact, Mount Hermon Ski Resort is Israel's only winter ski and snowboard resort located in the Golan Heights in the far north of the country. Apart from the mountain range, the Golan Heights, Upper Galilee region, Safed and Jerusalem receive snowfall every year. At just under 2,700 feet above sea level, snow is not uncommon in the winter in Jerusalem. On average, at least a few flakes fall 7-8 days each year. So, snowfalls are not uncommon and some have buried the city if Jerusalem in almost a foot of snow. Because of its high elevation it certainly is colder than cities like Tel Aviv on the coast of the Mediterranean. From December through January high temperatures in the city average about 53 degrees and low temperatures 44. But on December 28, 1879 the city was hit with one of it’s largest snowstorms ever when 17” accumulated. It shut down the region for travel for more than a week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bitter cold weather moved into the Carolinas on Christmas day of 1992 and held for several days aided by a persistent north wid. During the evening hours of December 26 those winds close to the ground turned to the northeast as a storm formed in southern Georgia. Meanwhile higher in the atmosphere the wind turned to the south and increased bringing warm air into the region several thousand feet above the ground level. Still the winds the at surface remained northeast and kept cold air with temperatures in the 20s in the lowest several thousand feet. Colder air is more dense and heavier than warm air and has to retreat and is not pushed out of the way by light warmer air which is forced to rise up and over the cold air. This situation played out across the Carolinas on December 27, 1992, As the storm rolled northward rain broke out across the region – but because temperatures were below freezing at the ground the rain froze on everything. Soon ice covered all surfaces cause tree limbs and wires to come down and turning highways into skating rinks. Hundreds of thousands lost power and, in some places, it took more than a week to restore electricity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A major winter storm barreled up the East Coast on December 26, 2010. The mid- Atlantic and New England coastlines bore the brunt of the storm’s fury. Snowfall totals eclipsed a foot in some cities and towns from eastern Virginia to Massachusetts, with accumulations tipping 18” in New Jersey. Winds also howled past 60 mph in parts of New England, creating whiteout conditions in spots. More than 45,000 customers had lost power across the region. Flight delays and cancellations plagued holiday travelers at many of the East Coast’s busy air hubs. All New York City airports were forced to close. The impending storm also prompted the NFL to postpone the Sunday night matchup between the Eagles and Vikings in Philadelphia before the storm even arrived. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The story of George Washington's famous crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas, 1775. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A coastal storm developed in Gulf States and moved up East Coast on December 24, 1966. A widespread white Christmas resulted for many. Thunder and vivid lightning were reported along with heavy rain and snow from Baltimore north to Rhode Island. JFK Airport closed for 24 hours because of drifting snow. Nantucket Sound saw seas up to 40' - boat trips were cancelled and people were unable to get to Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket for the Christmas Holiday. Philadelphia had more than a foot of snow. Baltimore more than 8 and Atlantic City more than 6", Washington DC had 6.5" the most ever on Christmas Eve. Highpoint State Park, NYC 19", Central Park, NY 7.1", Pittsfield, MA 17" - all time snow record, 24 hours. In Boston, MA, 67 mph winds blew down Christmas decorations. Storm was of great benefit to holiday skiers; up to 20" of snow in VT and NH mountains. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Regiments of Patriot soldiers in the fall and early winter of 1775, under Col. Richard Richardson, set out to attack a Loyalist unit that had camped in present-day Greenville County for safety. The Patriots marched through several feet of snow in December to accomplish this. The Loyalists, abiding by the terms of a treaty, had disbanded most of their forces. Col. Richardson refused to abide by the treaty and rounded up their leaders and sent them to Charlestown under arrest. On December 22nd, Col. Richardson detached 1,300 troops to attack the Loyalist camp of Capt. Patrick Cunningham that had stopped to rest on Cherokee lands. Capt. Cunningham warned his men to fend for themselves and they all ran into the woods. He was able to escape on horseback. After Capt. Cunningham had been defeated, Col. Richardson considered the upcountry to be pacified and turned his army homeward. He couldn't stay because winter was coming and his army had no tents, their shoes were worn out, and they were badly clothed. Along the way home, it snowed for thirty hours ending on December 23, 1775, dumping nearly two feet on the weary Patriots, thus ending what became known as The Snow Campaign. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In mid-December 1989 a severe arctic outbreak of bitter cold plunged out of the Yukon, across the plains of Canada and right into the nation’s midsection. The morning of December 22, 1989 brought record cold across a wide area. Notable low temperature records reached down to 23 below in Indianapolis, breaking the old record by 6 degrees, Cincinnati’s temperature dropped to minus 20, breaking the record by 7, it was 12 below in Pittsburg and 1 below in Tupelo, Mississippi. Kanas City dropped to 23 below the colder ever there. On the southern fringes of the cold a storm churned through the Gulf of Mexico bringing snow to the Gulf coast with 2” in Houston and Galveston Texas and an inch in New Orleans. At the same time as the cold departed the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains warming Chinook winds took over and in Cut Bank, Montana after a morning low temperature of 34 below zero the afternoon temperature topped out at plus 40. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thousands of travelers were stranded at airports and shelters on December 21, 2006 after a blizzard paralyzed Colorado and parts of other Western states. Snowfall measured over 50 inches in the Rocky Mountain foothills, and drifts reached more than five feet on airport runways. Gov. Bill Owens of Colorado declared a state of emergency, calling in National Guard troops to help stranded motorists reach home, a hotel or Red Cross shelters. Denver International Airport, where nearly 5,000 people were stuck overnight, the airport remained closed for 3 days. 30- to 40-mile-per-hour winds with falling snow, prevented cleanup. The snow was accumulating too fast to keep up with it. Cities along Colorado’s Front Range could not plow roads fast enough as the snow kept falling for over 24 hours, leaving 20 to 30 inches in Denver. Light-rail trains and bus service were canceled for days, and it was a week before side streets in Denver were plowed. Mail delivery was canceled and most businesses, including malls, were closed during the busiest shopping time of the year. With cars, trucks and buses abandoned on the roads, the cleanup was hindered. At Denver International Airport, thousands of passengers were bused to hotels and many others slept on the floor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On December 20, 1836, occurred what Illinois pioneers called “The Sudden Freeze.” About eight inches of snow fell Dec. 19, but it got warm enough for the snow to turn to rain the next day, which melted the snow on the ground into slush and water. At 2 p.m. Dec. 20, the sky darkened, and a heavy, black cloud rolled in from the northwest. Early settlers recorded that then a strong, icy-cold wind, estimated to be blowing at 70 mph, swept over the landscape, instantly freezing everything in its path. Jacksonville, Illinois resident John Lathrop described the sudden freeze. “The cold wave struck me, and as I drew my feet up the ice would form on my boots. When I reached the square, the ice bore me up, and when I returned to Mr. Turner’s, a half hour afterwards, I saw his chickens and ducks frozen into the ice.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At least one person thought the 1948 NFL championship game between the host Philadelphia Eagles and the Chicago Cardinals was going to be snowed out. Eagles running back Steve Van Buren looked out his window that morning at a raging blizzard and went back to bed. His coach had to call to tell him the game was on, so he caught three trolleys and walked several blocks in the storm to make the game, which started with 4 inches of accumulation that only got worse. It remains the second-lowest scoring postseason game in NFL history, with the Eagles winning 7-0 on a Van Buren TD run, as neither team could do much in the storm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Forays’ of cold air had been frequent across the Plains states in the fall of 2013; snow had even accumulated in places across Montana and the Dakotas. But the middle of December brought somewhat milder weather as winds across the region shifted from the north to the southwest and south and air came surging up out of Mexico. The change in the wind brought and marked change in the weather and on December 18, 2013 Record warmth spread across the Plains. Boulder, MT. tied the record of 54 set in 1979. Denver, CO. reached 68, breaking the record of 66 last recorded in 1979. Imperial, NE broke their record of 65 from 1979 by reaching 69. All across the region people welcomed the break in the early season cold that had held sway earlier in the month – it was not to last – just a couple of days later temperatures in parts of the region dipped into the teens and single digits. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The archives of the National Weather Service report that Wilbur and Orville Wright made four brief flights at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina with their first powered aircraft on December 17, 1903. After having success with their 5-foot biplane kite, the brothers realized the weather conditions in Dayton, OH, where their bicycle workshop was located and where they worked on heavier than air, aircraft were not ideal for their flying experiments. They wrote the National Weather Bureau in Washington, D.C. requesting a list of suitable places on the east coast of the United States where winds were constant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wednesday, December 16, 1835 was a bitterly cold day, known as ”cold Wednesday”. Hanover, NH only reached a high temperature of - 17 degrees. It was -12 degrees at Boston by sunset. But it was in New York City that the cold did it’s most damage. It was so cold that the East River was frozen: Fire fighter couldn’t access the water, The Great NYC Fire of 1835 leveled 17 blocks that night, including Wall Street. The fire began on the evening of December 16, 1835, in a five-story warehouse at 25 Merchant Street, now known as Beaver Street at the intersection of Hanover Square and Wall Street. As it spread, gale-forces winds blowing from the northwest toward the East Rivers the spread the fire. The conflagration was visible from Philadelphia, approximately 80 miles away. At the time of the fire, major water sources including the East River and the Hudson Rover were frozen in temperatures as low as −17 °F . Firefighters were forced to drill holes through ice to access water, which later re-froze around the hoses and pipes. Attempts were made to deprive the fire of fuel by demolishing surrounding buildings, but at first there was insufficient gunpowder in Manhattan. Later in the evening, a detachment of U. S. Marines and sailors returned at 3 o'clock in the morning, with gunpowder from the Brooklyn Navy Yard and began to blow up buildings in the fire's path. An investigation found that a burst gas pipe, ignited by a coal stove, was the initial source; no blame was assigned. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mild weather had persisted in western New York and indeed all across the Great Lakes region well into December in 1945. With the end of World War II, it seemed like the nice autumn weather was allowing people to enjoy peace of mind and carefree mild days for the first time in years. Great Lake water temperatures were also on the warm side when compared against long-term seasonal averages. Then on December 15 time ran out. A bitter blast of artic air – the first of the season arrived and blasted that cold air across the warm lakes setting an intense lake effect snow event. The city of Buffalo, New York got pounded with more than 36” of snow and areas south of the city in what are known as the snowbelts had twice as much snow – some places upwards of 70” of the white stuff. The region had some removal equipment – but heavy snow removal equipment was still sparse as many of the trucks and earthmoving type equipment was in use in the war effort and still had not been returned to many cities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The autumn of 1779 had been relatively mild across the 13 colonies as they struggled against the British for independence, but on December 14, 1779 and cold wave hit as arctic air spilled out of Canada and into the Colonies. It was a portend of what was to come. The winter of 1779–1780 has been called among the harshest in the eighteenth century. The so-called Hard Winter. A total of twenty-eight snowstorms hit the soon to be United States, some dropping snow for several days in succession. The temperature rarely rose above freezing as the Delaware and Hudson Rivers froze over. Sledges moved regularly across ten miles of ice between Annapolis and the opposite shore of the Chesapeake. Wild animals were almost exterminated. General Alexander (Lord Stirling) marched over a saltwater channel to make his unsuccessful Staten Island raid—even his artillery passed over the six miles of open water safely. Washington's main army suffered much more, because of this weather, in their Morristown winter quarters than they had at Valley Forge two years earlier, with snow lying six feet deep. The British in New York suffered almost as much as the economy in North America ground to a halt and food became scarce everywhere. As inflation took off, Washington found it ever more difficult to obtain much needed supplies for his shrinking Continental army. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

California's citrus heritage has deep roots in what is now downtown Los Angeles. In the 1840s, it was the site of the state's first commercial citrus farm. "When the Gold Rush of 1849 hit, there was a huge demand for oranges in the gold country because it was well established that fresh citrus was useful in combating scurvy," a vitamin-C deficiency, said Vince Moses, a historian on California citrus and former director of the Riverside Metropolitan Museum. But long before citrus became a viable commercial crop, Spanish missionaries who settled in Southern California during the 1700s were already cultivating a variety of citrus fruit. Cold temperatures are not good for the sensitive fruit trees and devastating freezes had previously ravaged the Florida citrus industry. Causing groves to the planted and re-planted farther and farther south in Florida. Those in southern California thought they were immune to the cold, but on December 13, 1878 a bitter cold wave was able to push over the mountains from the east and the temperature dropped to 30 degrees in LA, in outlying areas it was even colder, in the 20s and did some damage to the trees. Still not quite as devastatingly cold as often had occurred in Florida where temperatures in the northern groves had dropped into the teens and lower running all the trees numerous times in the 1800’s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During the winter huge storms form in the Gulf of Alaska south of the 49th state and pushed southward by the jet-stream often slam into the region from the Pacific Northwest to central California. Often times powerful winds batter the region as they blow in off the Pacific Ocean and produce massive rainfall amounts. On the east side of the mountain ranges that run through are area significant snowfalls often occur. On December 12, 1995 A ”monster storm” slammed Washington, Oregon, northern and central California. The storm brought flooding rains and hurricane force winds. Wind gusts were recorded as high as 119 mph at Sea Lion Caves, OR. The central barometric pressure dropped to 28.45". 12.27" of rain fell at Marin, CA and 80 mph wind gusts were recorded at San Francisco, CA. 1.5 million people were without power. In some ears power was off for weeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On December 11, 1905, the highest temperature in South American history recorded at 120°F in Rivadavia, Argentina. Rivadavia is located in northern Argentina, just south of the Paraguayan border in the Gran Chaco and east of the Andes. This coastal province sees a wide range of temperatures due to its position along the sea. In Rivadavia, the heat is intense from November to February, with average highs generally of 95 °F, In winter, from May to mid-August, the daytime high temperatures drop to around 75 °F. However, the daily temperature range can be remarkable, it can get hot even in winter, but it can sometimes get cold at night, especially when the Pampero blows a cold wind coming from the southern lands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On December 10, 1699 in one of the first major ice storms in New England history, ice shut down the city of Boston for a week – there was no salt or anything else to cause the ice to melt as temperatures remain very cold for days. In addition, the ice caused massive damage to orchards in the region as the heavy frozen rain brought down many tree limbs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

December 9, 1977 brought a massive snowstorm accompanied by powerful winds and blindly low visibility to southern Ontario as an intense storm system to move across the Ohio Valley in the United States. The total snowfall for the storm averaged about a foot in most places, but some areas received much more as enhanced snowfall was created by additional lake effect snowfall combined with the large-scale storm system. The blizzard was made unique by the sustained winds, gusting up to 70 mph which picked up the snowdrifts already accumulated earlier in the season and dumped that snow load in western New York and southern Ontario. 2-day snow brought close to 40 inches of snow. The combination of roads drifted shut and the powerful wind that continued unabated for several days caused the city of London, Ontario to be isolated for days. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.