DATASTREME DAILY SUMMARY
Friday, 19 January 2001
This DataStreme Daily Summary contains Historical Weather Events
for this date. A sample DataStreme Daily Summary
similar to those that appear when the DataStreme course is being
offered is available via the homepage. Current weather data are
available on the homepage as usual. If you are looking for an
alternative description of daily weather, you could try:
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/ wlead.htm
DataStreme Daily Summaries and Activity files will return with
the Spring 2001 DataStreme course starting next Monday, 22 January
2001 during Preview Week.
For Your Information
- Tomorrow, Saturday 20 January is Presidential Inauguration
Day in Washington, DC, as Governor George W. Bush of Texas will
be inaugurated the 43rd President of the United States. Weather
has played a role in past Presidential Inaugurations. In fact,
selection of the 20th of January as the new Inauguration Day in
the 1930s was based upon a review of the climatological records
for Washington, DC.
HISTORICAL WEATHER EVENTS - 19 January
From the files of the Aviation Weather
Center, Kansas City, MO and Intellicast
- ...1786...The temperature at Hartford, CT fell to 24 degrees
below zero. Up to this time, it was the coldest ever known on
a thermometer.
- ...1810...The famous "cold Friday" in New England.
Gale force winds wrecked homes, and accompanied a sudden overnight
drop in temperature of 50 degrees to below zero readings. Tragedy
struck Sanbornton, NH where three children froze to death. (David
Ludlum)
- ...1892...The temperature rose 43 degrees in 15 minutes at
Fort Assiniboine near Havre, MT. (Intellicast)
- ...1925...The record low temperature for the state of Maine
was set at Van Buren when the temperature fell to 48 degrees below
zero. (Intellicast)
- ...1933...Giant Forest, CA received 60 inches of snow in just
24 hours, a state record, and the second highest 24 hour total
of record for the U.S. (David Ludlum)
- ...1977...Snowflakes were observed at Homestead, Miami and
Miami Beach in extreme southern Florida. (David Ludlum)
- ...1987...A storm tracking toward the northeastern U.S. produced
up to 14 inches of snow in northern Indiana. Peru, IN reported
a foot of snow. Six cities in Florida reported new record high
temperatures for the date. The afternoon high of 88 degrees at
Miami equaled their record for the month of January. (National
Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
- ...1988...A powerful storm hit the central U.S. producing
blizzard conditions in the Central High Plains, and severe thunderstorms
in the Lower Mississippi Valley. Snowfall totals ranged up to
36 inches at Wolf Creek Pass, CO, with 31 inches at Elsmere, NE.
A total of 14 tornadoes struck Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama,
and Tennessee. A violent (F4) tornado hit Kosciusko, MS but fortunately
it tracked through mostly woodlands. Tornadoes claimed five lives
in Tennessee, including an F3 tornado in Fayette County, TN that
killed 3 people and injured 24. A tornado at Cullman, AL injured
35 persons. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (Intellicast)
- ...1989...The high temperature for the day at Fairbanks, AK
was a frigid 41 degrees below zero, and the morning low of 24
degrees below zero at Anchorage, AK was their coldest reading
in fourteen years. (National Weather Summary)
- ...1990...Thunderstorms produced large hail and damaging winds
in eastern Texas and Louisiana. Tornadoes at Garland, TX and Apple
Springs, TX each injured one person. Heavy snow spread from the
Southern and Central Rockies into the Great Plains. Storm totals
in New Mexico reached 36 inches at Gascon. Totals in the Central
Plains ranged up to 15 inches near McCook, NE and Garden City,
KS. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
- ...1994....An extremely cold arctic airmass set 67 new record
temperature lows from Minnesota to Virginia, including 10 cities
that recorded their lowest temperatures ever. The following cities
set all-time record lows: Indianapolis, IN (27 below), Akron,
OH, Clarksburg, WV, and Zanesville, OH (25 below), Pittsburgh,
PA, Louisville, KY, Columbus, OH and Youngstown, OH (22 below),
Cleveland, OH (20 below), and Erie, PA (18 below). The mercury
plunged to 36 below zero at New Whiteland, IN to set a new record
low temperature for the state. A low of 52 degrees below zero
was reported in the community of Amasa, MI -- the state's coldest
temperature on record. In the bitter cold, intense lake effect
snow squalls continued in the lee of Lake Ontario. Parish, NY
reported 42 inches of new snow accompanied by several hours of
lightning and thunder. (Intellicast)
- ...1995...Columbia, MO was buried under 19.7 inches of snow
in 24 hours for its greatest 24 hour snowfall and snowstorm ever.
Wind gusts up to 45 mph produced blizzard conditions and thunderstorms
occurred several times during the heavy snow. Interstates 70,
US 63 , and US 54 were closed down. The same storm produced 15
inches of snow at Moline, IL and 14 inches at Blue Jacket, OK.
(Intellicast)
20 January
- ...1854...A large tornado struck the Brandon and Mount Vernon
areas in central Ohio. (Intellicast)
- ...1937...The wettest Inaugural Day of record with 1.77 inches
of rain in 24 hours. Temperatures were only in the 30s as President
Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in for his second term. (David
Ludlum)
The record low temperature for the state of California was set
at Boca when the thermometer dropped to 45 degrees below zero.
(Intellicast)
- ...1943...Strange vertical antics took place in the Black
Hills of South Dakota. While the temperature at Deadwood was a
frigid 16 degrees below zero, the town of Lead, just a mile and
a half away, but 600 feet higher in elevation, reported a balmy
52 degree reading. (David Ludlum)
- ...1954...The temperature at Rogers Pass, MT plunged to 69.7
degrees below zero to establish a new record for the continental
U.S. (David Ludlum)
- ...1961...The "Kennedy Inaugural snowstorm" belted
the mid Atlantic area and New England. Up to 29 inches of snow
fell in northern New Jersey and southeastern New York. Areas north
and west of Boston, MA received over two feet. This was the second
of three major snowstorms during the 1960-61 winter season in
the northeastern U.S. (Intellicast)
- ...1978...Snowblitz! -- A paralyzing "Nor'easter"
blasted New England and the mid Atlantic states. Boston, MA recorded
21 inches in 24 hours to set a new record 24 hour snowfall amount
-- only to have it broken 2 weeks later. Snowfall was under-forecast
since a predicted change-over from snow to rain did not occur.
Elsewhere, there were 15 to 20 inches in Rhode Island, and one
to two feet of snow in Pennsylvania. Winds along the coast of
Connecticut gusted to 70 mph. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
- ...1987...Gale force winds lingered along the northern Atlantic
coast in the wake of a holiday weekend storm. High winds along
the eastern slopes of the Northern Rockies gusted to 67 mph at
Livingston, MT, and high winds in southern California gusted to
70 mph near San Bernardino. (National Weather Summary) (Storm
Data)
- ...1988...A storm in the Upper Midwest produced heavy snow
and gale force winds. Up to 27.5 inches of snow was reported along
the Lake Superior shoreline of Michigan, with 22 inches at Marquette.
(National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
- ...1989...The temperature in the Washington, DC area warmed
into the lower 50s for the Presidential Inauguration during the
late morning hours, before gusty northwest winds ushered in colder
air that afternoon. (National Weather Summary)
- ...1990...While heavy thunderstorm rains drenched the Central
Gulf Coast States, with 4.23 inches reported at Centreville, AL
in 24 hours, unseasonably warm weather continued across Florida.
Five cities in Florida reported record high temperatures for the
date. Tampa, FL equaled their record high for January of 85 degrees.
(National Weather Summary)
- ...1993...A fast moving 980 millibar low produced high winds
in the Pacific Northwest. A wind gust to 64 mph occurred at the
Seatac airport in Seattle, WA -- the second highest wind gust
ever recorded at this location. Wind gusts neared 100 mph at the
mouth of the Columbia river. Over 750,000 people in the vicinity
of Puget Sound lost power. Damage was severe, with 79 homes destroyed
and 581 suffering major damage. In Oregon, wind gusts hit 89 mph
at Netarts and 86 mph at Cape Blanco.
In the southern U.S., train echo thunderstorms drenched Lafayette
and Baton Rouge, LA with 10.83 and 9.02 inches of rain in 24 hours,
respectively (Intellicast)
- ...1994...Frigid conditions persisted over the northeastern
U.S. Rangeley, ME reported 45 degrees below zero for a morning
low for the cold spot in the nation. First Connecticut Lake, NH
dropped to a frigid 44 degrees below zero. Both Pittsburgh, PA
and Cleveland, OH completed their longest stretch of subzero readings
on record, with 52 and 56 consecutive hours, respectively. (Intellicast)
21 January
- ...1854...The coldest day of the famous California cold winter
was recorded, when the temperature fell to 19 degrees at Sacramento.
(Intellicast)
- ...1863...A severe coastal storm dropped heavy rain on the
Fredericksburg area of Virginia. It disrupted a Union Army offensive
in an ill famed "mud march". (David Ludlum)
- ...1982...The second of two major snowstorms to hit southern
Minnesota came to an end. Minneapolis received 20 inches of snow
in 24 hours to break the previous record of 17 inches in 24 hours
established just a few days earlier. A record 38 inches of snow
covered the ground following the two storms, with drifts ten feet
high. (David Ludlum)
- ...1983...Record snow fell in western Texas. 16.8 inches fell
at Lubbock and this broke the old record of 14.8 inches for snowfall
in a single storm. Dalhart measured 15 inches and Plainview was
buried under 18 inches. (Intellicast)
- ...1985...Three days of snow squalls at Buffalo, NY finally
came to an end. The squalls, induced by relatively warm water
in Lake Erie, produced 34 inches of snow at the International
Airport, with up to 47 inches reported in the suburbs of Buffalo.
The New York "blizzard of 85" left many counties disaster
areas. (19th-21st) (Weather Channel) (Storm Data)
President Reagan was sworn in for a second term in the coldest
Inauguration Ceremony of record. Cold and wind resulted in wind
chill readings as much as 30 degrees below zero. (Sandra and TI
Richard Sanders - 1987)
An all-time record low temperature of 7 degrees was set on this
day at Jacksonville, FL. The coldest day ever recorded at Macon,
GA was recorded on this day when the mercury dropped to 6 degrees
below zero. Records began at Macon in 1899. (Intellicast)
- ...1987...Low pressure over Minnesota produced high winds
in the Northern Plains Region. Winds gusted to 66 mph at Rapid
City, SD, and reached 70 mph at Belle Fourche, SD. (National Weather
Summary) (Storm Data)
- ...1988...High pressure over northern Nevada and low pressure
off the coast of southern California combined to produce high
winds in the southwestern U.S. Wind gusts in the San Francisco
area reached 70 mph at Fremont. (National Weather Summary) (Storm
Data)
- ...1989...Cold and snow prevailed in the northeastern U.S.
Up to 13 inches of snow was reported between Woodford and Searsburg
in Vermont. Montpelier, VT reported a wind chill reading of 42
degrees below zero. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
- ...1990...Unseasonably warm weather prevailed across the state
of Florida. Eight cities reported record high temperatures for
the date, including West Palm Beach with a reading of 86 degrees.
Rain in southern New England changed to freezing rain, then to
sleet, and then to heavy snow during the late morning. Most of
Massachusetts was blanketed with 6 to 10 inches of snow. (National
Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
- ...1993...Another strong low pressure system moved inland
on the west coast of the U.S. along the Sierra crest near Lake
Tahoe, CA winds were measured sustained at 122 mph with a peak
gust to 176 mph. Wind gusts reached 80 mph in the Reno, NV area.
Thunderstorms with frequent lightning were reported at Blue Canyon,
CA and the Sierra Ski Ranch was buried under 21 inches of new
snow in 24 hours to raise its snow cover to 163 inches. (Intellicast)
- ...1994...Record cold continued across the northeastern U.S.
All-time record lows were established at the following locations
in Pennsylvania: Allentown (15 below), Harrisburg (22 below),
Wilkes-Barre Scranton (21 below), and Williamsport (20 below).
Grafton, NH and Livermore Falls, ME both reported morning lows
of 40 degrees below zero. Worcester, MA had its seventh day in
a row with a morning low below zero to set a new record for consecutive
days below zero. (Intellicast)
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URL: datastreme/learn/f_sum.html
Prepared by Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email
hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 2001, The American Meteorological Society.