Early January 2014 cold snaps - featuring the polar vortex of doom

[Avdave]

Little breeze...temp back up 2 degrees....

15* here at the house

[wxmeddler]

13/5... High today was a midnight high of 27.

~Sent from a device that cannot speel.

[aldie 22]

15* here at the house

Jyo is 19

[mattie g]

13.8 - close to the daily low after a midnight high of 29.1.

[smokeybandit]

Already 11.7 here.

[usedtobe]

Already 11.7 here.

My exact reading. 

[yoda]

Went ahead and saved this AFD disco... when is last time you heard LWX mentioning WC's of -20 to -40?

 

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
915 PM EST FRI JAN 3 2014

 

<snip>

 

SUNDAY NIGHT...PRECIP SHOULD TAPER OFF TO LIGHT/DRIZZLE FOR THE
EVENING OVER MOST OF THE AREA...THEN THE COLD FRONT ENTERS THE AREA
FROM THE WEST LATE IN THE NIGHT. PRECIP WILL CHANGE FROM RAIN TO
SNOW SHOWERS. CURRENT 12Z SUITE SUGGESTS THE TRANSITION ZONE TO SNOW
WILL BE EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGE LATE IN THE NIGHT WITH SNOW TAPERING
OFF THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS FOR I-95 AND EAST. THIS IS A POWERFUL
FRONT...AND THE JET IS PROGGED TO STRENGTHEN AS THE UPR TROUGH
SHIFTS EAST ACROSS THE AREA. THEREFORE...WILL HAVE TO WATCH FOR
CONTINUED SNOW SHOWERS/SQUALLS INTO MONDAY MORNING.

LATER MONDAY...POST-STRONG COLD FRONT WITH WIND HEADLINES POSSIBLE.
TEMPERATURES WILL DROP THROUGH THE DAY WITH WIND CHILL HEADLINES
POSSIBLE BY THE LATE MORNING FOR THE ALLEGHENY HIGHLANDS.

&&

.LONG TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY/...
COLDEST OUTBREAK SINCE JANUARY 19-21 1994 EXPECTED MONDAY NIGHT
THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT. SUBZERO MIN TEMPS WEST OF I-95 LIKELY MONDAY
NIGHT WITH WINDS OF 20 TO 25 MPH PRODUCING WIND CHILLS OF -5F OR
LESS ACROSS THE AREA...WITH -20F TO POSSIBLY -40F AT HIGHER
ELEVATIONS BLUE RIDGE AND WEST LATE MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY. WIND
CHILL WATCHES FOR THIS EVENT WILL PROBABLY BE ISSUED BY SUNDAY.

CONTINUED COLD THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT AS HIGH PRESSURE SETTLES JUST
SOUTH OF THE AREA. THE WIND WILL THANKFULLY CALM DOWN...BUT RATHER
LOW MIN TEMPS WOULD OCCUR. WILL HAVE TO WATCH FOR CLOUDS TUESDAY
NIGHT AS WELL.

RETURN FLOW THEN WEDNESDAY INTO FRIDAY IN ADVANCE OF THE NEXT COLD
FRONT.

[HighStakes]

Dropped to 9 then went back to 11.

[yoda]

[Avdave]

Jyo is 19

13.8 at the wxbug station at the school

13.9 here on my PWS

[MN Transplant]

16.8.

NAM joins the party and sends a good deal of the area below zero Tuesday morning.

[usedtobe]

10.8,  I was at 11.7 then jumped above 12 and now am down to 10.8.  I guess any hint of a wind and my temp bounces up. 

[RIC Airport]

No snowcover in the DC and Balto. area during the 12/83 cold wave. A few snow showers and squalls accompanied the front and coated the ground but not enough to be considered snowcover. I'm sure there have been many more major cold waves that had no snowcover. If Ihave time later I will look into it.

I don't know all the intricacies like Ian and others on the DCA station history and its period of record so I will have to let others comment if they wish. There is a period in the early to mid 1940s where observations were threaded between multiple stations for Washington, D.C and I'm not exactly sure exactly when that took place. My guess would be 1945 to 1946, but I don't know for sure.

 

Anyway, below are the seasons and the number of days where the temperature dropped below 10°F at DCA. If you're like me for Richmond, you have most if not all snow event's memorized so this should help you identify where single digits or below might've taken place without snowcover. Also keep in mind that snowdepth data may be nonexistent prior to the 1940s for many stations.

 

In the meantime, I will try to find the station pre-DCA and post accordingly.

Threshold Exceedance Summary

Station: WASHINGTON REAGAN AP 
State: VA 
ID: 448906 
Latitude:  38.85 degrees 
Longitude: -77.03 degrees 
Elevation: 10 feet 
Station period of record: 08/01/1941-01/02/2014

Seasonal Rankings
Creation time: 01/03/2014 21:59 EST
Element: Min Temperature
Units: degF
Analysis: Num. of days<=9.0
Season: 7/1 - 6/30
Period of analysis: 1941 - 2014
Column delimiter: tab 

Rank	Value	Year	Num. Missing
1	  4	1941-1942	31
2	  5	1942-1943	0
3	  0	1943-1944	0
4	  0	1944-1945	0
5	  0	1945-1946	1
6	  1	1946-1947	0
7	  3	1947-1948	0
8	  0	1948-1949	0
9	  0	1949-1950	0
10	  0	1950-1951	0
11	  0	1951-1952	0
12	  0	1952-1953	0
13	  0	1953-1954	0
14	  0	1954-1955	0
15	  0	1955-1956	0
16	  1	1956-1957	0
17	  1	1957-1958	0
18	  0	1958-1959	0
19	  0	1959-1960	0
20	  5	1960-1961	0
21	  1	1961-1962	0
22	  3	1962-1963	0
23	  1	1963-1964	0
24	  1	1964-1965	0
25	  2	1965-1966	0
26	  0	1966-1967	0
27	  4	1967-1968	0
28	  0	1968-1969	0
29	  5	1969-1970	0
30	  0	1970-1971	0
31	  3	1971-1972	0
32	  1	1972-1973	0
33	  0	1973-1974	0
34	  0	1974-1975	0
35	  0	1975-1976	0
36	  4	1976-1977	0
37	  0	1977-1978	0
38	  6	1978-1979	0
39	  0	1979-1980	0
40	  0	1980-1981	0
41	  4	1981-1982	0
42	  0	1982-1983	0
43	  6	1983-1984	0
44	  3	1984-1985	0
45	  0	1985-1986	0
46	  2	1986-1987	0
47	  0	1987-1988	0
48	  0	1988-1989	0
49	  2	1989-1990	0
50	  0	1990-1991	0
51	  0	1991-1992	0
52	  0	1992-1993	0
53	  6	1993-1994	0
54	  1	1994-1995	0
55	  2	1995-1996	0
56	  0	1996-1997	0
57	  0	1997-1998	0
58	  0	1998-1999	0
59	  0	1999-2000	0
60	  0	2000-2001	0
61	  0	2001-2002	0
62	  0	2002-2003	0
63	  1	2003-2004	0
64	  0	2004-2005	0
65	  0	2005-2006	0
66	  0	2006-2007	0
67	  0	2007-2008	0
68	  1	2008-2009	0
69	  0	2009-2010	0
70	  0	2010-2011	0
71	  0	2011-2012	0
72	  0	2012-2013	0

Average 	    1.1

[snow.]

Thanks Anthony. Good stuff

I'm 19/3.

[Stormpc]

9.5 currently. Maybe 2 or 3 is in the cards.

[mitchnick]

 

I don't know all the intricacies like Ian and others on the DCA station history and its period of record so I will have to let others comment if they wish. There is a period in the early to mid 1940s where observations were threaded between multiple stations for Washington, D.C and I'm not exactly sure exactly when that took place. My guess would be 1945 to 1946, but I don't know for sure.

 

Anyway, below are the seasons and the number of days where the temperature dropped below 10°F at DCA. If you're like me for Richmond, you have most if not all snow event's memorized so this should help you identify where single digits or below might've taken place without snowcover. Also keep in mind that snowdepth data may be nonexistent prior to the 1940s for many stations.

 

In the meantime, I will try to find the station pre-DCA and post accordingly.

Threshold Exceedance Summary

Station: WASHINGTON REAGAN AP 
State: VA 
ID: 448906 
Latitude:  38.85 degrees 
Longitude: -77.03 degrees 
Elevation: 10 feet 
Station period of record: 08/01/1941-01/02/2014

Seasonal Rankings
Creation time: 01/03/2014 21:59 EST
Element: Min Temperature
Units: degF
Analysis: Num. of days<=9.0
Season: 7/1 - 6/30
Period of analysis: 1941 - 2014
Column delimiter: tab 

Rank	Value	Year	Num. Missing
1	  4	1941-1942	31
2	  5	1942-1943	0
3	  0	1943-1944	0
4	  0	1944-1945	0
5	  0	1945-1946	1
6	  1	1946-1947	0
7	  3	1947-1948	0
8	  0	1948-1949	0
9	  0	1949-1950	0
10	  0	1950-1951	0
11	  0	1951-1952	0
12	  0	1952-1953	0
13	  0	1953-1954	0
14	  0	1954-1955	0
15	  0	1955-1956	0
16	  1	1956-1957	0
17	  1	1957-1958	0
18	  0	1958-1959	0
19	  0	1959-1960	0
20	  5	1960-1961	0
21	  1	1961-1962	0
22	  3	1962-1963	0
23	  1	1963-1964	0
24	  1	1964-1965	0
25	  2	1965-1966	0
26	  0	1966-1967	0
27	  4	1967-1968	0
28	  0	1968-1969	0
29	  5	1969-1970	0
30	  0	1970-1971	0
31	  3	1971-1972	0
32	  1	1972-1973	0
33	  0	1973-1974	0
34	  0	1974-1975	0
35	  0	1975-1976	0
36	  4	1976-1977	0
37	  0	1977-1978	0
38	  6	1978-1979	0
39	  0	1979-1980	0
40	  0	1980-1981	0
41	  4	1981-1982	0
42	  0	1982-1983	0
43	  6	1983-1984	0
44	  3	1984-1985	0
45	  0	1985-1986	0
46	  2	1986-1987	0
47	  0	1987-1988	0
48	  0	1988-1989	0
49	  2	1989-1990	0
50	  0	1990-1991	0
51	  0	1991-1992	0
52	  0	1992-1993	0
53	  6	1993-1994	0
54	  1	1994-1995	0
55	  2	1995-1996	0
56	  0	1996-1997	0
57	  0	1997-1998	0
58	  0	1998-1999	0
59	  0	1999-2000	0
60	  0	2000-2001	0
61	  0	2001-2002	0
62	  0	2002-2003	0
63	  1	2003-2004	0
64	  0	2004-2005	0
65	  0	2005-2006	0
66	  0	2006-2007	0
67	  0	2007-2008	0
68	  1	2008-2009	0
69	  0	2009-2010	0
70	  0	2010-2011	0
71	  0	2011-2012	0
72	  0	2012-2013	0

Average 	    1.1

I can't believe DCA only dropped below 10 degrees 4 times in the 76/77 winter

that's really hard to believe as cold as it was that year

[Ian]

10p obs

 

 

2z RTMA

 

[nj2va]

17. Great weather to take Christmas lights down.

[mitchnick]

if it's going to radiate, this is the night

http://weather.unisys.com/surface/sfc_con.php?image=pr&inv=0&t=cur

[wxdude64]

Down to 12.5 which is now low for the day,with a DP of 5.1 here.

[Ian]

LWX graphical for tonight low forecast..  below 0 for good chunk of folks

 

 

Tues am low at freezing probs

 

[RIC Airport]

Here is the pre-DCA location. I only took it out to 1945.

Seasonal Rankings

Station: WASHINGTON DC WB CITY 
State: MD 
ID: 189290 
Latitude:  38.90 degrees 
Longitude: -77.05 degrees 
Elevation: 72 feet 
Station period of record: 04/01/1851-12/31/1965

Seasonal Rankings
Creation time: 01/03/2014 22:09 EST
Element: Min Temperature
Units: degF
Analysis: Num. of days<=9.0
Season: 7/1 - 6/30
Period of analysis: 1871 - 1946
Column delimiter: tab 

Rank	Value	Year	Num. Missing
1	  8	1872-1873	0
2	  1	1873-1874	0
3	 10	1874-1875	0
4	  1	1875-1876	0
5	  5	1876-1877	0
6	  3	1877-1878	0
7	  4	1878-1879	0
8	  0	1879-1880	0
9	 11	1880-1881	0
10	  1	1881-1882	0
11	  2	1882-1883	0
12	  4	1883-1884	0
13	  5	1884-1885	0
14	  9	1885-1886	1
15	  3	1886-1887	0
16	  2	1887-1888	0
17	  1	1888-1889	3
18	  0	1889-1890	13
19	  0	1890-1891	13
20	  3	1891-1892	17
21	 10	1892-1893	5
22	  0	1893-1894	0
23	  9	1894-1895	0
24	  5	1895-1896	0
25	  4	1896-1897	0
26	  2	1897-1898	0
27	  9	1898-1899	0
28	  9	1899-1900	0
29	  0	1900-1901	0
30	  3	1901-1902	0
31	  4	1902-1903	0
32	  9	1903-1904	0
33	 13	1904-1905	0
34	  1	1905-1906	0
35	  1	1906-1907	0
36	  2	1907-1908	0
37	  0	1908-1909	0
38	  3	1909-1910	0
39	  1	1910-1911	0
40	 12	1911-1912	0
41	  0	1912-1913	0
42	  3	1913-1914	0
43	  2	1914-1915	0
44	  4	1915-1916	0
45	  4	1916-1917	0
46	  9	1917-1918	0
47	  0	1918-1919	0
48	  3	1919-1920	0
49	  0	1920-1921	0
50	  1	1921-1922	0
51	  0	1922-1923	0
52	  4	1923-1924	0
53	  1	1924-1925	0
54	  1	1925-1926	0
55	  1	1926-1927	0
56	  1	1927-1928	0
57	  1	1928-1929	0
58	  4	1929-1930	0
59	  0	1930-1931	0
60	  0	1931-1932	0
61	  0	1932-1933	0
62	  9	1933-1934	0
63	  5	1934-1935	0
64	  9	1935-1936	0
65	  0	1936-1937	0
66	  0	1937-1938	0
67	  0	1938-1939	0
68	  5	1939-1940	0
69	  0	1940-1941	0
70	  2	1941-1942	0
71	  3	1942-1943	0
72	  0	1943-1944	0
73	  0	1944-1945	0

Average 	    3.3

[RIC Airport]

I can't believe DCA only dropped below 10 degrees 4 times in the 76/77 winter

that's really hard to believe as cold as it was that year

 

9°F January 13, 1977

3°F January 16, 1977

2°F January 17, 1977

8°F January 29, 1977

[yoda]

Yikes

 

 

https://twitter.com/SteveRudinABC7/status/419296942338748416/photo/1

[PhineasC]

About 8 degrees here. Feels great, but 18-20 is better. I can stay out in that no problem, especially with sun.

[Bob Chill]

Bouncing between 10.8 - 11.4. No single digit hits yet. Still cold air. Walked the dog for a couple miles dressed right and was fine. Loved the crunch and crisp. Rock solid wintry night wirh cold, snow, and ice. 8/10

[Yorkpa25]

-4F here in York, actually feels kind of nice. Clear as can be sky and no winds at all,wonder how far the temp will fall ?

[Stormpc]

Bouncing between 10.8 - 11.4. No single digit hits yet. Still cold air. Walked the dog for a couple miles dressed right and was fine. Loved the crunch and crisp. Rock solid wintry night wirh cold, snow, and ice. 8/10

just add some beers to the mix and its winter bliss.

[snow.]

18 here...same as Duluth MN

[HighStakes]

 

I don't know all the intricacies like Ian and others on the DCA station history and its period of record so I will have to let others comment if they wish. There is a period in the early to mid 1940s where observations were threaded between multiple stations for Washington, D.C and I'm not exactly sure exactly when that took place. My guess would be 1945 to 1946, but I don't know for sure.

 

Anyway, below are the seasons and the number of days where the temperature dropped below 10°F at DCA. If you're like me for Richmond, you have most if not all snow event's memorized so this should help you identify where single digits or below might've taken place without snowcover. Also keep in mind that snowdepth data may be nonexistent prior to the 1940s for many stations.

 

In the meantime, I will try to find the station pre-DCA and post accordingly.

Threshold Exceedance Summary

Station: WASHINGTON REAGAN AP 
State: VA 
ID: 448906 
Latitude:  38.85 degrees 
Longitude: -77.03 degrees 
Elevation: 10 feet 
Station period of record: 08/01/1941-01/02/2014

Seasonal Rankings
Creation time: 01/03/2014 21:59 EST
Element: Min Temperature
Units: degF
Analysis: Num. of days<=9.0
Season: 7/1 - 6/30
Period of analysis: 1941 - 2014
Column delimiter: tab 

Rank	Value	Year	Num. Missing
1	  4	1941-1942	31
2	  5	1942-1943	0
3	  0	1943-1944	0
4	  0	1944-1945	0
5	  0	1945-1946	1
6	  1	1946-1947	0
7	  3	1947-1948	0
8	  0	1948-1949	0
9	  0	1949-1950	0
10	  0	1950-1951	0
11	  0	1951-1952	0
12	  0	1952-1953	0
13	  0	1953-1954	0
14	  0	1954-1955	0
15	  0	1955-1956	0
16	  1	1956-1957	0
17	  1	1957-1958	0
18	  0	1958-1959	0
19	  0	1959-1960	0
20	  5	1960-1961	0
21	  1	1961-1962	0
22	  3	1962-1963	0
23	  1	1963-1964	0
24	  1	1964-1965	0
25	  2	1965-1966	0
26	  0	1966-1967	0
27	  4	1967-1968	0
28	  0	1968-1969	0
29	  5	1969-1970	0
30	  0	1970-1971	0
31	  3	1971-1972	0
32	  1	1972-1973	0
33	  0	1973-1974	0
34	  0	1974-1975	0
35	  0	1975-1976	0
36	  4	1976-1977	0
37	  0	1977-1978	0
38	  6	1978-1979	0
39	  0	1979-1980	0
40	  0	1980-1981	0
41	  4	1981-1982	0
42	  0	1982-1983	0
43	  6	1983-1984	0
44	  3	1984-1985	0
45	  0	1985-1986	0
46	  2	1986-1987	0
47	  0	1987-1988	0
48	  0	1988-1989	0
49	  2	1989-1990	0
50	  0	1990-1991	0
51	  0	1991-1992	0
52	  0	1992-1993	0
53	  6	1993-1994	0
54	  1	1994-1995	0
55	  2	1995-1996	0
56	  0	1996-1997	0
57	  0	1997-1998	0
58	  0	1998-1999	0
59	  0	1999-2000	0
60	  0	2000-2001	0
61	  0	2001-2002	0
62	  0	2002-2003	0
63	  1	2003-2004	0
64	  0	2004-2005	0
65	  0	2005-2006	0
66	  0	2006-2007	0
67	  0	2007-2008	0
68	  1	2008-2009	0
69	  0	2009-2010	0
70	  0	2010-2011	0
71	  0	2011-2012	0
72	  0	2012-2013	0

Average 	    1.1

Thanks for showing that chart, very interesting to look at. I'm not the best person to consult on DC records etc., but I'm pretty good with Baltimore. I do have a good recollection of most snow events and their dates even the minor ones so I usually will remember if snow was on the ground when major cold hit. Problem is I'm only 40 so I'm good from about 1979 onward and only know the history from before then by looking back at record and hearing stories.

 

I did think of another major cold blast that didn't have snowcover. It was the first of the 2 frigid weekends in January 1982. That was on the 10th the same day as the famed AFC Championship game between Cinn. and San Diego. The second frigid weekend was the Sunday following the Air Florida disaster. That cold wave produced Baltimore's all time record low temp. of -7, but there was a significant snowpack on the ground for that one.

 

I guess the whole point of this may be to say that having snowcover could be overrated as a must to achieve record cold or extreme cold. Interesting topic nonetheless.

 

The 76/77 winter, despite being frigid, especially in January only produced seasonal snowfall totals of about 11/12 inches at both DCA and BWI. I would guess with that little amount of snowfall that some of the extreme cold days that year would have been without snowcover but I was too young to know for sure.