This Date in Weather History

February 1899 marked the arrival of perhaps the coldest airmass in move into the United States in recorded history. For more than a week the bitter artic cold ravaged North America with Blizzards and ice. Records were established that hold even today more than century later. A foot and a half of snow had not only fallen in Philadelphia and Baltimore, but Richmond and Raleigh. (By February 12 the storm was in full swing, in Boston winds gusted to 65 mph and maintained an average of 50 mph throughout the entire day. 24-36" of snow just north on Boston in Beverly. The Boston Herald declared: "Rarely, if ever, has Boston been so completely snowbound as it has been by this blizzard." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

February 11, 1994 dawned cold across the Tennessee Valley, an air mass that originated in the artic snow fields of the Yukon had in previous days blasted across the northern plains state and by the 11th had settled into much of the nation east of the Rockies. . The result was Severe ice storm across parts of Tennessee, Alabama, and much of Kentucky. 1.45" of rain fell at Memphis --all with a temperature below freezing. Power was knocked out in many areas as ice accumulated on tree limbs and wires. In some cases, power was not restored for as much as 2 weeks. As the storm turned northward and into deeper cold air snow broke out on a wide front along the I-95 corridor and dumped heavy snow reaching depths of close to 1-2’ from Harrisburg and Allentown Pa into New England, including New York City, snarling traffic and closing airports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Calama, Chile is one of the driest cities in the world with average annual precipitation of just 0.20”. Located on the Atacama Desert, a plateau in South America. The desert is one of the driest places in the world, as well as the only true desert to receive less precipitation than polar regions. In many locations in the desert it rains but once every 10 years and then in small amounts. But on February 10,1972 a torrential downpour depositing several inches of rain caused catastrophic floods and landslides, isolating the town and cutting off electricity. Prior to this event, the town had been known as THE driest place on earth, having had virtually no rain for 400 years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On February 9 1969 the fortunes of New York City Mayor John Lindsay were riding high. But his future in politics was about to be undone by the weather. Warned in advance of an impending storm his administration was ill prepared. What became known as the Mayor Lindsay Storm" dumped 15.3" at New York City; Central Long Island 12-18"; Scarsdale, NY 24"; Falls Village, CT 35"; Bridgeport, CT 17.7"; Hartford, CT 15.8"; Bedford, MA 25"; Blue Hill 21"; Boston 11.1"; Portland, ME 21.5"; 800 cars stranded on Tappan-Zee Bridge. Property damage totaled in New England more than $10 million. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On February 8, 1835 a bitter cold arctic blast reached into the southern part of the United States and produced low temperatures unknown in that region. The mercury reached below zero as far south as Savannah Georgia and on the morning of February 8 the temperature read 8 degrees in Jacksonville killing most of the orange trees and setting back the citrus industry more than 10 years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first week of February 2008 was a tough one for the western US as a powerful storm moved onshore. The storm’s height culminated on February 7. There were several areas of very heavy rain with some places having nearly 10“ while winds gusted to more than 100 mph. Snow was also impressive with a whopping 132“ in Kirksville, CA and 62“ in Wolf Creek Pass Colorado. At height of the storm it was estimated that nearly 2 million people were without power through California, Nevada and Utah. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

February 6, 2010 marked the culmination of a coast to coast storm that brought parts of the Central United States snow and ice and snarled traffic and caused flight delays for the days leading up to the 6th. By the time the snow was done flying on the afternoon of February 6, 28.5” of snow had fallen in Philadelphia making it the 2nd greatest snowfall in that city’s history. Baltimore totaled 24.8” an all-time record and in the nation’s capital 32.4” of measured smashing the old the record for the heaviest single season fall by almost 10”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On February 5, 1892 record cold held most of the north Asia in its icy grip. In the Siberian town of Verkhoyansk in Tsarist Russia the mercury plunged to 90.4 degrees F below zero, making it the coldest temperature ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On February 4, 2008 record warmth was surging northward from Mexico at the same time 14 states prepared to hold primary elections for the 2008 Presidential election cycle. As the heat reached its peak the storm from the west started to act on the hot air and also moisture moving out of the Gulf of Mexico as the storm started to do it’s work it sparked an outbreak of severe storms from northeast Texas to the lower Ohio valley. The strongest thunderstorms spawned deadly and destructive tornadoes, which resulted in numerous injuries and at least 55 fatalities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

February 3, 1961 is the date of one of the truly great snowstorms of the mid-20th century in the US. In a winter filled with huge east coast winter storms, including the JFK inauguration storm on January 19-20, 1961, The storm of February 3 was the last in the series of what up to that time turned was one of the snowiest winters in 100 years of record keeping in the east.For more, visit www.accuweather.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.