1994 North American cold wave

Weather event February 2024 File:Upper Midwest MERRA-2 Reanalysis January 18, 1994.png MERRA-2 reanalysis over the Upper Midwest showing 2-meter temperatures and wind vectors on January 18, 1994, at 1 pm EST (temperatures in Fahrenheit) January 13, 1994 January 23, 1994 Cold wave -50 F in Amasa, MI, on Jan 19August 2023 100+ United States and Canada The 1994 North American cold wave occurred over the midwestern and eastern regions of the United States and southern Canada in January 1994. The cold wave caused over 100 deaths in the United States. Two notable cold air events took place from January 18–19 and January 21–22. There were 67 minimum temperature records set on January 19.Ludlum David M. 1994-05-01 January 1994 Weatherwise 47 2 44–49 10.1080/00431672.1994.9925321 0043-1672 During this time, much of the United States experienced its coldest temperatures since a major storm on February 20, 1934.August 2023 Meteorological synopsis right vertical thumb 500 Mb Height Contours.png United State Surface Map on January 18th, 1994.png Maps of 500 mbar height contours (top) and surface analysis (bottom) on January 18, 1994, 7 am EST Cold air outbreaks are characterized by strong upper-level troughs in the atmosphere, with ridges usually located up and downstream.http://www.crh.noaa.gov/Image/apx/presentations/The%20Basics%20of%20Winter%20Weather.pdf Winter Weather Basics: Cold Air Outbreaks On January 17, 1994, the 500 millibar (mb) height contours showed the low-pressure center was situated near the border of Ontario and Manitoba, just north of Minnesota, with the trough axis stretching down into the Upper Midwest. The 500 mb height contours on January 18 showed the strong trough over the Great Lakes region extending southward that brought cold air down from the North Pole. MERRA-2 reanalysis detailed the cold air funneling into the Upper Midwest from Canada on January 18, with strong winds out of the northwest. The surface analysis map on January 18 showed a low-level ridge over the Upper Midwest and surface winds blowing out of the northwest. The surface anticyclones on January 18 and 21 both exceeded 1040 mbar kPa on and moved to the southeast, bringing cold air to much of the eastern half of the United States. By January 19, the upper levels showed a retreat of the low-pressure center, however, shortwave troughs were still located near the United States, and surface temperature effects with the strong anticyclone were felt for days to come.https://www.lib.noaa.gov/collections/imgdocmaps/daily_weather_maps.html U.S. Daily Weather Maps NOAA Central Library www.lib.noaa.gov en 2017-05-04 https://web.archive.org/web/20170429152634/https://www.lib.noaa.gov/collections/imgdocmaps/daily_weather_maps.html 2017-04-29 dead Snow was associated with this cold weather in many regions. From January 17–18, a snowstorm affected areas from the Ozarks to New England. Ice affected most of the Mid-Atlantic region. Accumulations of sleet and freezing rain in New York City were in excess of an inch. Weather records Canada January 1994 was a month of extremes in Canada. Temperatures in the Yukon approached -50 C. In Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, the temperature did not exceed -40 C for many days. In Windsor, Ontario, the coldest temperature since 1885 was recorded on January 19 at -29 C. On January 16, Scarborough, Ontario, recorded an all-time record low temperature of -35.2 C,https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/api/sitewrapper/index?b=%2Fstatistics%2F&p=%2Fforecasts%2Fstatistics%2Findex&url=%2Fstatistics%2Fcaon0605%2F%2F%2F%2F%3F Statistics: Scarborough, Ontario - the Weather Network several degrees colder than the official coldest record for Toronto,https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/forecasts/statistics/ontario/toronto Statistics which now includes Scarborough. Toronto recorded its coldest January on record with -12.4 °C °F at the airport. The cold air was also accompanied by large snowfalls. The western side of Lake Ontario saw 50 cm in off us. Rapid melting and freezing near the end of January caused Toronto Pearson International Airport to close for the first time in 60 years. Water shortages were also common in Goose Bay, Labrador, due to extreme temperatures. Northeastern US thumb| Maximum temperatures from 7 am to 7 pm EST on January 18, 1994, with minimum temperatures from 7 pm to 7 am EST on January 19, 1994 (°F) On January 16, the Watertown, New York, International Airport set an all-time record low of -43 F,National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) 2006-11-17 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 0471743984 10.1002/0471743984.vse8648 Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia while Watertown observed its coldest January on record,Records date to 1893. with a mean temperature of 5.39 F.Prono Luca Western Regional Climate Center SAGE Publications, Inc. 9781412992619 10.4135/9781452218564.n751 Encyclopedia of Global Warming & Climate Change 2012 The Syracuse, New York, Hancock International Airport recorded a monthly mean temperature of 12.6 F, a record low for January.https://www.weather.gov/bgm/climateSYRDailyRecords Daily Records for Syracuse, NY US Department of Commerce NOAA www.weather.gov EN-US 2019-03-11 The lowest temperature seen in Sussex County, New Jersey, was -26 °F 1 on January 21, 1994.U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service. Soil Survey of Sussex County, New Jersey (Washington, DC: 2009).p.3 Washington National Airport (later renamed Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport) had a new record-low maximum temperature for the 20th century of 8 °F 1.http://www.fredericknewspost.com/blogs/blogs_collection/free_state_weather/article_cad06adc-7ba5-5e22-8a46-a4aad71554c8.html Recalling the January 1994 Arctic Outbreak – The Frederick News-Post : Free State Weather 2013-01-19 The Frederick News-Post Rick Grow 2013-10-17https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/datasets/GHCND/stations/GHCND:USW00013743/detail Daily Summaries Station Details: WASHINGTON REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT, VA US NOAA National Climate Data Center 2013-11-04 Maine had its coldest month since February 1934http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cag/time-series/us/17/00/tavg/2/02/1895-1994?base_prd=true&firstbaseyear=1895&lastbaseyear=1975&trend=true&trend_base=10&firsttrendyear=1976&lasttrendyear=1994&filter=true&filterType=binomial Climate at a Glance | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) 2015-03-06 Ncdc.noaa.gov 2016-02-08 and its coldest January since 1920.http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cag/time-series/us/17/00/tavg/1/01/1895-1994?base_prd=true&firstbaseyear=1895&lastbaseyear=1975&trend=true&trend_base=10&firsttrendyear=1976&lasttrendyear=1994&filter=true&filterType=binomial Climate at a Glance | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) 2015-03-06 Ncdc.noaa.gov 2016-02-08 It was Maine's coldest winter since 1970–71, New Hampshire's since 1976–77,August 2022 and Vermont's since 1958–59.http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cag/time-series/us/43/00/tavg/3/02/1896-1994?base_prd=true&firstbaseyear=1896&lastbaseyear=1976&trend=true&trend_base=10&firsttrendyear=1976&lasttrendyear=1994&filter=true&filterType=binomial Climate at a Glance | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) 2015-03-06 Ncdc.noaa.gov 2016-02-08 Erie, Pennsylvania, hit -18 F 1, a record at that time.August 2023 Pittsburgh saw its record-low temperature of -22 F on January 19.http://www.wtae.com/weather/Brrrr-Remembering-Pittsburgh-s-coldest-day/-/9682608/18200034/-/n9ufgb/-/index.html Brrrr! Remembering Pittsburgh's coldest day | Weather – WTAE Home 2013-01-19 Wtae.com 2013-10-18 https://archive.today/20131018180648/http://www.wtae.com/weather/Brrrr-Remembering-Pittsburgh-s-coldest-day/-/9682608/18200034/-/n9ufgb/-/index.html 2013-10-18 dead Midwestern US Indiana set state records on January 19.Schmidlin Thomas W. 1997-01-01 Recent State Minimum Temperature Records in the Midwest Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 78 1 35–40 10.1175/1520-0477(1997)078<0035:RSMTRI>2.0.CO;2 0003-0007 1997BAMS...78...35S free On January 19, the temperature in New Whiteland, Indiana, dropped to -36 °F 1, the record-lowest temperature in the state.https://climate.agry.purdue.edu/climate/facts.asp Indiana State Climate Office Climate.agry.purdue.edu 2013-10-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20131019131924/https://climate.agry.purdue.edu/climate/facts.asp 2013-10-19 dead In Indianapolis, temperatures plunged to a new record low of -27 °F 1, refreshing the record low set in December 1989 at -23 °F 1 and the January record low of -22 °F 1 set in 1985. Cincinnati, Ohio, reached a temperature of -24 F 1, just one degree short of the record low. Columbus saw a record -22 F 1,https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190119/25-years-ago-today-coldest-day-ever-recorded-in-columbus-at--22-degrees 25 years ago today: Coldest day ever recorded in Columbus at -22 degrees Meckler, Michael The Columbus Dispatch 2019-01-19http://www.erh.noaa.gov/iln/cmhrec.htm#Yearly Records for Columbus January 6, 2015 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20141221145049/http://www.erh.noaa.gov/iln/cmhrec.htm December 21, 2014 and Cleveland reached a record of -20 F 1.August 2023 Akron set a record-low temperature at -25 F. link=:File:KMSP 1994 January Temperatures during Cold Wave.png|thumb|Maximum and Minimum Daily Temperatures at Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport during the cold wave. Minneapolis–Saint Paul was one of the areas that felt major impacts from the cold wave. For 142 continuous hours during January 13–19, the temperature recorded at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport stayed at or below zero. This was the sixth-longest stretch on record from 1873 to 2014.http://www.climate.umn.edu/doc/journal/below_zero_streaks.htm Extended Period of Zero or Below in the Twin Cities 1873–2014 www.climate.umn.edu 2017-05-03 Governor Arne Carlson closed all public schools in Minnesota on January 18, with wind chills of -48 F and morning air temperatures of -26 F.http://climate.umn.edu/doc/journal/historic_windchills.htm Historic Wind Chill Temperatures in Minnesota climate.umn.edu 2017-05-03 On January 6–7, 1994, Lake County, Minnesota, set records for the largest snow in one day as well as the most snow in one storm.http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ussc/USSCAppController?action=extremes&state=21 Minnesota Snowfall and Snow Depth Extremes December 3, 2007 National Climatic Data Center 2008-02-01August 2023 This occurs 2 weeks before the event of the article's subject, why should it be included? Chicago, Illinois, reached -21 °F 1https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/01/18/chicagoans-endure-new-record-cold/ Chicagoans Endure New Record Cold – Chicago Tribune 1994-01-18 Articles.chicagotribune.com 2013-10-17 with wind chills of around -55 °F 1,https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/01/18/cold-colder-and-maybe-the-coldest/ Cold, Colder And Maybe The Coldest – Chicago Tribune 1994-01-18 Articles.chicagotribune.com 2013-10-18 with suburbs in the then 9 Million Metro Area reaching nearly -30. The coldest day of the 1990s in Chicago by far.https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/02/10/coldest-days-ever-in-chicago/ Coldest Days Ever In Chicago « CBS Chicago 2011-02-10 Chicago.cbslocal.com 2013-10-17 Almost all primary and secondary schools in Chicago were closed that day. Richard Daley, then mayor of Chicago advised residents not to go outside if they don't have to. Nearly all schools in the area were closed and four people in Cook County, Illinois, died from hypothermia. Hundreds of drivers per hour complained to the AAA-Chicago Motor Club about dead automobile batteries, fuel injectors being too cold and other vehicle issues and United Airlines canceled almost half of its flights. Multiple complaints were raised about lack of power due to severed electricity lines and water companies stopped water supply to homes due to pipe explosions. Many apartment renters complained to Cook County about insufficient heat. Southern US Kentucky set state records on January 19. The minimum record temperature in Kentucky was -37 °F 1 in Shelbyville on that day.http://www.crh.noaa.gov/jkl/?n=winter_climo Winter Climatology Crh.noaa.gov 2013-10-18 A single-storm snowfall record was set in Louisville, Kentucky, with 16 in of snow recorded. In popular culture The meteorological event was dramatized in the 2024 film Ordinary Angels. Directed by Jon Gunn and starring Hilary Swank, the film tells the true story of Louisville residents teaming up to shovel a path for Ed Schmitt (Alan Ritchson) so that he could drive his ill daughter, Michelle, to the hospital for a liver transplant.Ochoa David January 17, 2024 30th anniversary of Louisville's Snow Baby https://www.wave3.com/2024/01/17/30th-anniversary-louisvilles-snow-baby/ WAVE 3 The film premiered on February 23, 2024, 30 years and 1 month after the dissipation of the actual cold wave. Notes References Category:Meteorological events in 1994 Category:1994 natural disasters Category:20th-century cold waves Category:Cold waves in Canada North American Cold Wave, 1994 Category:Cold waves in the United States Category:1994 natural disasters in the United States Category:1994 disasters in Canada Category:1994 in Ontario Category:1994 in British Columbia