HISTORICAL WEATHER EVENTS - 16 January

From the files of the Aviation Weather Center, Kansas City, MO and Intellicast

• ...1831...The "great snowstorm" that raged from Georgia to Maine ended. This storm produced the heaviest snowfall over the largest area of any storm studied by weather historian David Ludlum. Accumulations exceeded 10 inches from the Ohio Valley across much of the Atlantic coast north of Georgia. Washington, DC reported 13 inches with 18 inches at Baltimore, MD, 18 to 36 inches near Philadelphia, PA, 15 to 20 inches at New York City, and 20 to 30 inches over southern New England. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
• ...1916...San Francisco, CA had the greatest storm. Extensive wind damage occurred throughout central California. (Intellicast)
• ...1964...Fort Worth, TX received 7.5 inches of snow, and Dallas reported a foot of snow. (David Ludlum)
• ...1982...The second severe arctic outbreak of the year hit as a vast arctic anticyclone sprawled from British Columbia to Louisiana. The zero degree line dropped into Texas with the temperature at Amarillo falling from 55 degrees to one degree below zero and Oklahoma City dropping from 62 degrees to 10 degrees. (Intellicast)
• ...1987...A winter storm produced a total of 61 inches of snow at Rye, CO, and wind gusts to 100 mph in Utah. The storm then spread heavy snow from the Texas Panhandle to Indiana. Tulia, TX received 16 inches of snow, and up to 14 inches was reported in western Oklahoma. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• ...1988...A powerful Pacific storm battered the coast of southern California. Winds gusting to 65 mph uprooted trees in the San Diego area, while Los Angeles recorded a barometric pressure reading of 29.25 inches of mercury (990.6 millibars) -- the lowest in 100 years of official record keeping. A foot of snow fell and wind gusted to 70 mph in the Lake Tahoe Basin of Nevada. Showers and thunderstorms produced 2.28 inches of rain at Brownsville, TX, their third highest total for any day in January. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (Intellicast)
• ...1989...Strong chinook winds plagued much of the state of Wyoming. Winds gusted to 80 mph at Cody, and wind gusts to 100 mph were reported in eastern and northwestern Wyoming. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• ...1990...Heavy snow fell across the Prince William Sound area and the Susitna Valley of southern Alaska. Valdez was buried under 64.9 inches of snow in less than two days, including a record 47.5 inches in 24 hours. Up to 44 inches of snow was reported in the Susitna Valley. The heavy snow blocked roads, closed schools, and sank half a dozen vessels in the harbor. (Storm Data)
• ...1994...Bitterly cold air prevailed across the Great Lakes and the northeast. Alpena, MI dipped to 28 degrees below zero to tie its record low for January. Rochester, NY plunged to 17 degrees below zero for a new record low temperature for January. Boston, MA mean temperature for the day was only 2 degrees -- the city's coldest day in 26 years. Watertown, NY was the cold spot in the nation, with a morning low of 43 degrees below zero. (Intellicast)
• ...2000...Since 1950, fewer tornadoes have occurred on the 16th of January than any other calendar date. The most significant was an F1 that struck the south side of Dayton, WA in 2000. A mobile home was flipped and many trees were felled, one of which fell on a house. (National Weather Service files)