SACRUS

38 / 11

35 / 11 here

32 here bright sunshine melting has begun.

Bone dry hope we can ger dustings Wed morning and sat morning

Up to 27 here freezing breach starting to be in site here.

Records: Highs: EWR: 62 (1973) NYC: 59 (1988) LGA: 59 (1988) JFK: 56 (1973) Lows: EWR: -2 (1961) NYC: -3 (1881) LGA: -1 (1961) JFK: -1 (1961) Historical: 1789: Extreme cold occurred on Ground Hog Day. It dropped to -28° at Hartford, CT and -18° near Philadelphia, PA. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History) 1870: Congressman Halbert Paine, who represented Wisconsin's Second District, introduced a joint resolution in the House of Representatives “to authorize the Secretary of War to provide for taking meteorological observations at the military stations and other points in the interior of the continent, and for giving notice on the Northern Lakes and seaboard of the approach and force of storms.” The House adopted the resolution by unanimous consent and, two days later, it passed the Senate. Five days later, on Feb. 9, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the joint resolution into law, officially creating the nation's first weather service. 1898: The naming of hurricanes after women was always the center of controversy. In the Southern Hemisphere near Australia, tropical cyclones were once called Willy-Willies. An Australian Meteorologist, Clement Wragge, is credited for giving girls names to tropical cyclones by the end of the 19th Century. On this date, Wragge's weather journal showed a Willy Willy named "Eline." 1904: Minimum temperature for Washington, DC for the date is +2 °F. (Ref. Washington Weather Records - KDCA) 1916: Seattle, Washington on February 1st & 2nd: Seattle is buried under 21.5 inches of snow, its greatest 24-hour snowfall on the first. A total of 32.5 inches of wet snow accumulates over three days. Seattle cathedral dome collapses under weight. (Ref. WxDoctor) 1944: Maximum temperature for Washington, DC for the date is 72 °F. (Ref. Washington Weather Records - KDCA) 1947 The lowest temperature recorded on the North American Continent occurred at Snag, Yukon Territory with a reading -81°. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History) (Ref. Very Complete Write up on This Event) 1951: A strong arctic cold front moved through the upper Plains and Midwest. Temperatures at Alma, WI fell from a high temperature of 41 to -12° by the end of the day. This 53 degree difference between the high and low temperature tied 3/22/1951 for Alma's greatest diurnal temperature change. The brutal morning low of -35° at Greensburg, IN was Indiana’s coldest reading until 1994. South Bend, IN reported a daily record low of -17°. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History) 1952 - The only tropical storm of record to hit the U.S. in February moved out of the Gulf of Mexico and across southern Florida. It produced 60 mph winds, and two to four inches of rain. (2nd-3rd) (The Weather Channel) 1952: An area of low pressure moved out of the Gulf of Mexico and across southern Florida during the evening and late-night hours on February 2, 1952. It produced 60 mph winds and two to four inches of rain on February 2 and 3. The low pressure remains the only tropical storm to impact the United States in February. 1956 - A record snowstorm in New Mexico and west Texas began on Ground Hog's Day. The storm produced 15 inches of snow at Roswell NM, and up to 33 inches in the Texas Panhandle. (David Ludlum) 1960: Heavy icing from freezing rain accumulations through the 3rd occurred mainly across the eastern half of New York. Severe damage to power lines and telephone service occurred in the Watertown and Wessington Springs area. Ice coatings of up to 3 inches thick and having an estimated weight of 9 pounds per foot of wire formed around telephone and some power lines over a wide area of the eastern counties. A 300 foot tower high collapsed at Wessington Springs and in some areas utility wires were completely down for stretches of 2 to 3 miles. Some 170 long distance telephone circuits were knocked out in larger cities and 19 towns from Bonesteel south to Watertown on north were completely without telephone service for two to three days after the storm. Many highways were treacherous and numerous vehicles collided or slid off the road into the ditch. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History) 1961: Extreme cold hits Frederick, MD -11°, Unionville, MD -16°, Emmitsburg, PA -12° (Bob Ryan's 2002 Almanac) 1976: A quick moving but extremely intense coastal storm struck New England. Wind gusts exceeded 115 mph at Bear Island and Southwest Harbor, ME. Chatham, MA recorded a wind gust to 98 mph. Caribou, ME set a new all-time record low pressure of 957 millibars or 28.26 inches of mercury and Boston, MA recorded their second lowest pressure ever at 965 millibars or 28.48 inches mercury up to this time. Tides 3 to 5 feet above normal caused extensive coastal flooding. Parts of Bangor, ME were under 12 feet of water as a storm surge funneled up the Penobscot River to the mouth of the Kenduskeag Stream which in turn inundated Bangor in a matter of 15 minutes. A 40 to 50 degree temperature drop followed a sharp cold front with blizzard conditions occurring over interior sections of New England for a few hours. 13 inches of snow fell at Danforth, ME. Saint John, New Brunswick Canada and the area around the Bay of Fundy reported wind gusts to 118 mph and wave heights up to 39 feet with swells to 32.5 feet. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History) 1985: Up to 9 inches of sleet, freezing rain and snow paralyzed North Alabama. It was the worst winter storm since 1963 across Northwest Alabama. Travel was impossible north of Birmingham. Four people died.(Ref. Wilson Wx. History) 1987 - A fast moving arctic front brought snow and high winds to the north central U.S. Winds gusted to 69 mph at Brookings SD. Big Falls MN reported nine inches of snow. Record warmth was reported just ahead of the front. Burlington IA reported a record high of 59 degrees. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 1988 - A dying low pressure system over southern California deluged the San Diego coastal mountains with more than four inches of rain causing half a million dollars damage. Arctic air invading the north central U.S. sent the mercury plunging to 38 degrees below zero at Park Rapids MN. Raleigh NC reported a record high of 75 degrees. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 1989 - Bitter cold air covered much of the central U.S. Butte MT reported a wind chill reading of 91 degrees below zero, Salt Lake City UT was blanketed with 11.9 inches of snow in 24 hours, and winds around Reno NV gusted to 80 mph. Unseasonably warm weather continued in the southeastern U.S. Twenty-eight cities reported record high temperatures for the date, including Wilmington NC with a reading of 80 degrees. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 1990 - Thunderstorms developing ahead of a cold front produced severe weather in the Lower Mississippi Valley during the late afternoon and evening hours. One person was injured in a tornado near Reidheimer LA. Thunderstorms northeast of Brandon MS produced hail three inches in diameter along with high winds which downed or snapped off one hundred trees. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 1996 - An Arctic outbreak that lasted from late January through early February produced nearly 400 hundred record lows, 15 all-time low readings, and over 50 new record lows. Four states recorded their all-time record low temperatures, including Tower, Minnesota, on this date with a reading of 60 degrees below zero, canceling Tower's annual Icebox Days festival because it is too cold. Locations that reported their all-time record low or tied included: Cresco, IA: -36°, Osage, IA: -34°, Charles City, IA tied their record low with -32° and Lancaster, WI tied their all-time record low with -31°. International Falls, MN, and Glasgow, MT set records for February with -45° and -38°, respectively. The temperature at Embarrass, MN, plummeted to -53°. Rochester, MN, dipped to -34° for its coldest temperature in 45 years. Green Bay, WI only reached -16° for the high temperature for the day, their coldest 2006 - New Orleans is struck by two tornadoes, collapsing at least one previously damaged house and battering Louis Armstrong International Airport. The Weather Doctor 2008 - Hilo, HI, is deluged by 10.82 inches of rain in a period of 24 hours, breaking the previous record set in 1969 by 3.5 inches. The Weather Doctor 2011 - A high temperature of 44°F registered at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, AZ, sets an all-time February record for the coldest high temperature for the city. The Weather Doctor

21 / 1. Lets see how many of the next 4 days can get to / above freezing. Light snow / showers / flurries tomorrow night into Wed morning. Sam on Fri into sat with arctic front (liht snow - showers/flurries) and perhaps just as or coldest airmass of the season 2/7 - 2/9. Moderation towards normal in the 2/10 - 2/13 period but overall continued colder. Storm in the 2/11 - 2/13 period ridin west on the latest loner range forecats.

3 clipper monte Wed (2/4) : Perhaps a dusting Sat (2/7): Perhaps a coating Mon - Tue (2/9-10) GGEM snow

JFK Jan: -3 (29.9) / 2.47 LE / 13 snow

LGA Jan: -3.7 (30.8) / 2.21 LE / 13.1 snow

Clearing out now.

Will be close Mon - Thu - each could get to or exceed freezing just as easily as staying below, especially Tue/Wed. EWR and New Brunswik will likely go above one, two or each of these days.

Month dep EWR: -2.8 (30.1) / 2.28 LE / 16.1 snow

Day light: 10H07M gained about 52 minutes since the winter solstice and gaining more then 2minutes a day Rise: 7:06 Set: 5:14 I see the DST debate again increasing but as has been the case, it'll likely remain unchanged and DST will commence in 35 days.

Records: Highs: EWR: 68 (1989) NYC: 67 (1989) LGA: 66 (1989) JFK: 64 (2012) Lows: EWR: 1 (1935) NYC: -2 (1920) LGA: 3 (1961) JFK: 4 (1961) Historical: 1893 - Thunder and lightning accompanied sleet and snow at Saint Louis MO during the evening hours, even though the temperature was just 13 degrees above zero. (The Weather Channel) 1916: Seattle, Washington, was buried under 21.5 inches of snow, their most significant 24-hour snowfall. A total of 32.5 inches of wet snow accumulated over three days. The Seattle cathedral dome collapsed under the snow's weight. 1920: Atmospheric pressure builds over New England to extreme levels. Barometer in Portland, Maine reads 31.09 inches of mercury (1053 mb), the highest February sea-level pressure ever recorded in the Eastern US. Hartford, Connecticut hits 31.06 inches of mercury (1051 mb). The Eastern US record was set the previous day (January 31, 1920) in Northfield VT at 31.14 in, though it was the same air mass. The mercury dropped to -45° at Pittsburg, NH. The City data comes from Christopher Burt's list of extreme pressures for US Cities (Ref. WxDoctor) (Ref. Wilson Wx. History) (Ref. US Barometer Records by State) The highest air pressure ever recorded in the US was 31.85 inches in mercury (1078.56 millibars) in January 31, 1989 in the city of Northway, Alaska. (Ref. Bob Swanson, USA TODAY's assistant weather editor, November 24, 2005) 1935: Minimum temperature for Washington, DC for the date 6°F (Ref. Washington Weather Records - KDCA) 1947: January 30th through February 8th, a great blizzard occurred in Saskatchewan, Canada. All highways into Regina were blocked. Railway officials declared the worst conditions in Canadian rail history. One train was buried in a snowdrift over a half-mile long and 36.7 feet deep. 1951 - The greatest ice storm of record in the U.S. produced glaze up to four inches thick from Texas to Pennsylvania causing twenty-five deaths, 500 serious injuries, and 100 million dollars damage. Tennessee was hardest hit by the storm. Communications and utilities were interrupted for a week to ten days. (David Ludlum) 1951: An ice and sleet storm began in late January and ended on February 1st rendered many roads impassable. Electricity and telephone service was disrupted. 1951 - The temperature at Taylor Park Dam plunged to 60 degrees below zero, a record for the state of Colorado. (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders - 1987) 1955: Seen first as a "well-defined cone-shaped funnel" over the Mississippi River, this F3 tornado cut a path from Commerce Landing to Clark in northeastern Mississippi. This tornado killed 20 and injured at least 141 individuals. Most of the deaths were in a plantation school. The following is from Thomas Grazulis, "Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991" book: "Despite the fact that a funnel was seen, that heavy objects were thrown long distances, and that the tornado was in a forecast box, the event was not officially called a tornado. A survey team state that since all debris was thrown in one direction, the event should not be listed as a tornado." 1969: Across central and eastern South Dakota contained a variety of winter weather causing many problems. Glazing due to heavy fog and drizzle periodically formed on utility lines causing numerous broken power lines. Periodically, strong winds caused widespread blowing and drifting snow resulting in many closed roads. Snowplows would open the roads and often drifting snow would close the roads again. Frequent uses of pusher type snowplows piled banks of snow 20 to 30 feet along the roads and it became impractical to open roads with this type of snowplow. Several rotary snowplows were flown in from military air bases outside of the state to open some of the roads in the eastern part of the state. Numerous school closings occurred during the month due to snow blocked roads. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History) 1982: A winter storm struck the Niagara Frontier and western southern tier of western New Your beginning on January 31st and continued through this date. Precipitation fell as a mixture of rain, freezing rain and snow. Winds gusted as high as 61 mph. Most of western New York's schools closed on the first as glazed highways and the high winds made driving extremely hazardous. Buffalo International Airport shut down most of the day due to ice accumulations up to an inch on the runways. The high winds caused local whiteouts and extreme cold wind chills. Thousands of area homes were without power as ice coated power lines throughout the area. There were numerous reports of traffic accidents including a tractor trailer that was blown off Route 219 in Orchard Park and six tractor trailers jack knifed and slid off the Southern Tier Expressway. The Father Baker Bridge, Fuhrman Boulevard, and the Skyway were closed because of icy pavement and zero visibility. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History) 1985 - Snow, sleet and ice glazed southern Tennessee and northern sections of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The winter storm produced up to eleven inches of sleet and ice in Lauderdale County AL, one of the worst storms of record for the state. All streets in Florence AL were closed for the first time of record. (1st-2nd) (The Weather Channel) 1987 - A storm in the Pacific Northwest produced wind gusts to 100 mph at Cape Blanco OR, and up to six inches of rain in the northern coastal mountain ranges. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 1988 - Thirty cities in the eastern U.S. reported new record high temperatures for the date, including Richmond VA with a reading of 73 degrees. Thunderstorms in southern Louisiana deluged Basile with 12.34 inches of rain. Arctic cold gripped the north central U.S. Wolf Point MT reported a low of 32 degrees below zero. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 1989 - While arctic cold continued to invade the central U.S., fifty-four cities in the south central and eastern U.S. reported new record high temperatures for the date. Russell KS, the hot spot in the nation with a high of 84 degrees the previous day, reported a morning low of 12 above. Tioga ND reported a wind chill reading of 90 degrees below zero. (The National Weather Summary) 1990 - Thunderstorms associated with an upper level weather disturbance produced severe weather across the eastern half of Texas during the late afternoon and evening. Four persons were injured at Waco TX where thunderstorms produced wind gusts to 80 mph. Thunderstorms produced wind gusts to 97 mph at Cotulla TX injuring two other persons. Golf ball size hail was reported at Whitney and northeast of Whitsett. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 1996: Arctic outbreak pushes sub-zero cold from Washington State to East Coast. Duluth, MN -39°, International Falls -45°, Des Moines, IA -26°, La Crosse, WI -36°, Spokane, WA -24° were all February records. All time lows at Glasgow, MT -38°, Tower, MT ties the all time state record low at -60°. (Bob Ryan's 2002 Almanac) (Ref. Wilson More Information) 2002: A very large storm moved across the Great Lakes and lifted northeast to the St. Lawrence Valley. Dealing with the aftermath of this same system residents across the Ohio Valley had an ice storm for several days across parts of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Totals were a half to one inch thick downing trees and power lines. Around one million people were left without power across the three states. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History) 2003: NEXRAD radars across Texas and Louisiana captured the tragic images of the debris field from the Space Shuttle Columbia which disintegrated as it re-entered the atmosphere over Texas. Debris fell over a huge area, possibly from California to the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the densest debris fall was reported in the town of Nacogdoches, in eastern Texas. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History) 2011: Chicago IL - Feb. 1st and 2nd : Blizzard only started on the 1st Chicago receives a 20.2 inch snowfall in the blizzard of 2011 making it the third worst storm since snow records began in 1886 in Chicago (125 years). (See Feb. 2, 2011 for much additional information.) 2011 - One of the most significant events of the 2010-2011 winter season affected a widespread region from Texas to the Midwest and Northeast from February 1st to 3rd 2011. The system produced widespread heavy snow with blizzard conditions and significant freezing rain and sleet to other locations. Snowfall amounts of 10 to 20 inches were common from northeast Oklahoma to lower Michigan. The storm produced 20.2 inches at Chicago, the third heaviest snowfall in the city since their records began in 1886, along with a peak wind of 61 mph. Kansas City received just under 9 inches of snow. The high temp was 17 degrees.