Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This week marks the 120th anniversary of America's greatest cold snap, that of 1899. The amount of cold records set is too great to list individually here, but Wikipedia has a great listing of a lot of them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Blizzard_of_1899. Places as far west as Fresno and as far east as Harrisburg set February record lows that still stand today. Much of the middle portion of the country set all-time record lows. Ice was seen flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, something that only happened one other time, back in the 1700s.
In my home region, Raleigh, NC set its February record low of -2°F (-19°C), which is the only time Raleigh's been below zero in February. It also did not get above 20°F (-7°C) for three days, something that has never been seen before or since in any month of the year. The high one day was only 10°F (-12°C), another all-time record. In addition, 17.7" (45.0 cm) of snow fell, one of the largest snows in history there.
While Oklahoma City got less snow (only 1.5"/3.8 cm), they were even colder. The temperature dropped to -17°F (-27°C), setting an all-time record low. The high was only 9°F (-12.5°C), which while extremely cold, only tied for 15th coldest on record. Even so, the first half of the month was extremely cold, with it never going above freezing from the 2nd to the 12th, and most of those nights got into the single digits.
But probably the most impressive thing about the system in my mind is it got below zero (Fahrenheit) in Florida, with Tallahassee reaching -2°F. AFAIK that is the only time Florida has ever gone below zero.
If anyone has more interesting statistics, or any photos or stories from that cold snap and blizzard, please post them here.
During that cold wave, the port of New Orleans froze over. Yes, the edges of the Mississippi River were frozen and icebergs were in the Mississippi River. Those icebergs flowed into the Gulf of Mexico where they quickly melted.
During that time Houston got 8 foot snow drifts. There was "Gulf effect snow" on Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay didn't get out of the 30's for high temps. Calcasieu Lake froze over.
What were the conditions like then when it got it's high temp under 50F?
Jan, 10, 2010 was sunny with a high of 47F in my part of Miami, 48F at the airport. Christmas eve 1989 was sunny with a high of 44F
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
