Cold wave

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For the music genre, see Cold wave (music). For the leading edge of a cooler mass of air, see Cold front.
"Cold snap" redirects here. For other uses, see Cold snap (disambiguation).
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A cold wave (known in some regions as a cold snap, cold spell or Arctic Snap) is a weather phenomenon that is distinguished by a cooling of the air. Specifically, as used by the U.S. National Weather Service, a cold wave is a rapid fall in temperature within a 24-hour period requiring substantially increased protection to agriculture, industry, commerce, and social activities. The precise criteria for a cold wave are the rate at which the temperature falls, and the minimum to which it falls. This minimum temperature is dependent on the geographical region and time of year.[1]

In the United States, a cold spell is defined as the national average high temperature dropping below 20 °F (−7 °C).[2] A cold wave of sufficient magnitude and duration may be classified as a cold air outbreak (CAO).[3][4]

Effects

A cold wave can cause death and injury to livestock and wildlife. Exposure to cold mandates greater caloric intake for all animals, including humans, and if a cold wave is accompanied by heavy and persistent snow, grazing animals may be unable to reach needed food and die of hypothermia or starvation. They often necessitate the purchase of foodstuffs to feed livestock at considerable cost to farmers.

Cold spells are associated with increased mortality rates in populations around the world.

pipelines and mains to freeze. Even some poorly protected indoor plumbing ruptures as water expands within them, causing much damage to property and costly insurance claims. Demand for electrical power and fuels rises dramatically during such times, even though the generation of electrical power may fail due to the freezing of water necessary for the generation of hydroelectricity. Some metals may become brittle at low temperatures. Motor vehicles may fail when antifreeze
fails or motor oil gels, producing a failure of the transportation system.

Fires become even more of a hazard during extreme cold. Water mains may break and water supplies may become unreliable, making firefighting more difficult. The air during a cold wave is typically denser and thus contains more oxygen, so when air that a fire draws in becomes unusually cold it is likely to cause a more intense fire.[citation needed] However, snow may stop spreading of fires, especially wildfires.

Winter cold waves that are not considered cold in some areas, but cause temperatures significantly below average for an area, are also destructive. Areas with subtropical climates may recognize a cold wave at higher temperatures than other, colder areas of the globe. The cold wave may be recognized at barely freezing temperatures, as these are still unusually cold for the region, and plant and animal life will be less tolerant of such cold. The same winter temperatures that one associates with the norm for Colorado, Ohio, or Bavaria are catastrophic to crops in places like Florida, California, or parts of South America that grow fruit and vegetables in winter.

Cold waves that bring unexpected freezes and frosts during the growing season in mid-latitude zones can kill plants during the early and most vulnerable stages of growth, resulting in crop failure as plants are killed before they can be

volcanic eruptions
that reduced incoming sunlight.

Recent research suggests a possible link between cold waves in North America and extratropical cyclogenesis over the East Atlantic.[9] These may be connected by large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns. [10] Examples include Rossby wave propagation from the North Pacific or an upper-level anticyclone west of Greenland. [11]

Countermeasures

In some places, such as Siberia, extreme cold requires that fuel-powered machinery intended to be used occasionally must be run continually. Internal plumbing can be wrapped, and persons can often run water continuously through pipes. Energy conservation, difficult as it is in a cold wave, may require such measures as collecting people (especially the poor and elderly) in communal shelters. Even the homeless may be arrested and taken to shelters, only to be released when the hazard abates.[12] Hospitals can prepare for the admission of victims of frostbite and hypothermia; schools and other public buildings can be converted into shelters.

People can stock up on food, water, and other necessities before a cold wave. Some may even choose to migrate to places of milder climates, at least during the winter. Suitable stocks of forage can be secured before cold waves for livestock, and livestock in vulnerable areas might be shipped from affected areas or even slaughtered. Smudge pots can bring smoke that prevents hard freezes on a farm or grove. Vulnerable crops may be sprayed with water that will paradoxically protect the plants by freezing and absorbing the cold from surrounding air.

Most people can dress appropriately and can layer their clothing should they need to go outside or should their heating fail. They can also stock candles, matches, flashlights, and portable fuel for cooking and wood for fireplaces or wood stoves, as necessary. However, caution should be taken as the use of charcoal fires for cooking or heating within an enclosed dwelling is extremely dangerous due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Adults must remain aware of the exposure that children and the elderly have to cold.

Historical cold waves

17th century cold waves (1601–1700)

18th century cold waves (1701–1800)

19th century cold waves (1801–1900)

1835

  • Eastern cold wave of January and February 1835. First of three historic U.S. cold waves to hit during the 19th century (1835, 1857, 1899). In January, mercury thermometers froze throughout the Northeast. Mercury froze at −40 °F (−40 °C) in Bangor and Bath, Maine and Montpelier and White River, Vermont. In Connecticut, Hartford hit −27 °F (−33 °C) and New Haven −23 °F (−31 °C), and in Massachusetts, Williamstown hit −30 °F (−34 °C) and Pittsfield −32 °F (−36 °C), all low temperature marks that have never been matched since. In February, Savannah, Georgia the temperature hit 0 °F (−18 °C), 8 °F (4.4 °C) colder than would be reached during the 1899 cold wave later in the century and Charleston South Carolina hit 2 °F (−17 °C).[13]

1857

  • New England Cold wave of 1857. January 1857 was the coldest month ever recorded in New England. Average month temperatures of 16.7 °F (−8.5 °C) in New Haven, 16.8 °F (−8.4 °C) in Boston, and 19.6 °F (−6.9 °C) in New York City remain coldest months on record in those cities. The worst of the cold descended on New England on January 22 with January 23 being one of the coldest days known in the region. In Bath, Maine a temperature reading of −52 °F (−47 °C) and in Franconia, New Hampshire −51 °F (−46 °C) were recorded. In Norwich, Vermont −44 °F (−42 °C) was recorded. Boston suburbs of Malden and West Newton recorded −30 °F (−34 °C) overnight. Boston temperatures for January 23 never rose above 0 °F (−18 °C) all day and Nantucket Island was connected to the mainland by ice. In New York City, Erasmus Hall in Brooklyn reached a high of 0 °F during the day and the Hudson River froze over solidly enough for people to walk across to Hoboken.[14]

1859

  • January 1859: January 10 – coldest single daytime temperatures ever recorded experienced in New York City and in New England areas. Montreal recorded temperature of −43.6 °F (−42.0 °C) at 7 am, some 15 °F (8.3 °C) degrees lower than modern Montreal record of −29 °F (−34 °C) in 1933. Toronto recorded −27 °F (−33 °C) on the same day. At the University of Vermont in Burlington, −31.5 °F (−35.3 °C) was recorded at 7 am and −26 °F (−32 °C) at 2 pm. In Woodstock, Vermont a temperature of −45 °F (−43 °C) was recorded. Harvard College recorded −4.5 °F (−20.3 °C) at 2 pm and −18 °F (−28 °C) the next morning of January 11, the lowest known temperature reading recorded in Boston. Nantucket Island measured −12 °F (−24 °C), 6 °F (3.3 °C) colder than the modern known record. In New York City, recorded temperatures did not go above 0 °F (−18 °C). In Brooklyn Heights, a recorded reading of −9 °F (−23 °C) at noon and in Eramus Hall in Brooklyn recorded a high of −3.7 °F (−19.8 °C) at 7 am and −8 °F (−22 °C) at 9 pm that night. Union Hall in Jamaica Queens recorded −12 °F (−24 °C) at midnight between January 10 and 11. In White Plains, there were readings of −13 °F (−25 °C) at 7 am, −10 °F (−23 °C) at 2 pm, and −15 °F (−26 °C) at 9 pm.[15]

1874–1875

  • Winter 1874–1875 in Mid-Western United States.

1882–1883

  • Winter 1882–1883 in United States.

1886–1887

  • Winter of 1886–87
    in the United States Great Plains and Upper Midwest.

1888

  • 1888 US cold wave – A severe cold wave that passed through the Pacific Northwest. It led to a blizzard for the northern Plains and upper Mississippi valley where many children were trapped in schoolhouses where they froze to death.

1893

  • 1893 East Asia Cold Wave – Produced snow in Hong Kong and South China, and freezing temperatures into tropical latitudes.
  • 1893 Eastern United States Cold Wave.

1895

1899

20th-century cold waves (1901–2000)

1904

  • The winter of 1904 was the coolest year on record worldwide.[17]

1912

  • January 1912 cold wave – The severe
    1912 United States cold wave
    caused the longest recorded period of weather below 0 °F or −17.8 °C.

1916-1917

  • Winter of 1916–1917 – the "extended winter" (October to March) of 1916–17 was the coldest on record in the West and Midwest.

1917-1918

  • Winter of 1917–1918 – The winter was very frigid across the East and created a heating fuel crisis equaled only in January 1977. Severe cold wave in December 1917 and January 1918 in northeast. December 30 set a number of record lows at the time in New York City (−13 °F, −25 °C) and Boston (−15 °F, −26 °C).[18] Under ideal conditions for radiational cooling, including fresh snow cover and mostly clear skies, the morning of December 30, 1917, was exceptionally cold also in parts of Virginia and West Virginia, with all-time record cold temperatures (that stand until nowadays) recorded in many cities, including −37 °F (−38 °C) at Lewisburg (West Virginia state record), −34 °F (−37 °C) at White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, −25 °F (−32 °C) at Bluefield, West Virginia, and −27 °F (−33 °C) at Blacksburg and Burke's Garden, Virginia. January 1918 also brought persistent well below average temperatures for many parts of the East and Midwest, with another shot of very cold air in early February (New York City Central Park's high of only 4 °F (−16 °C) on February 5 is a monthly record, while Michigan's Houghton Lake reached a low of −48 °F (−44 °C) on February 1). The Ohio River froze solidly along its entire length.
  • This cold wave occurred not only in America but also East Asia. In Seoul, the weather was warm in early December 1917, but the temperature didn't go above (32 °F, 0 °C) during the cold wave from December 15–January 9. In addition, the temperature went lower than (14 °F, −10 °C) from December 15–31. The cold wave was especially fierce from December 26–27 and the low temperature on December 26 was (0.32 °F, −17.60 °C), while the high temperature was (9.86 °F, −12.30 °C). That day Incheon recorded a high temperature of (9.14 °F, −12.70 °C), this was the 3rd lowest high temperature recorded during winter. Also, the low temperature on December 27 was (−4.72 °F, −20.40 °C), this temperature is 2nd coldest temperature recorded in December in Seoul. (The lowest was (−9.58 °F, −23.10 °C) on December 31, 1927). The cold wave continued into January 1918, where it intensified. The low temperature on January 3 was (−7.24 °F, −21.80 °C). The temperature was a slightly warmer on January 14, but the weather was still quite cold, and the low temperatures were at (14 °F, −10 °C) or lower until January 28. Leading into February, this cold wave dissipated. Seoul was had an average temperature of (21.74 °F, −5.70 °C) in December 1917, the lowest average recorded in December, and recorded an average temperature of (18.5 °F, −7.5 °C) in January 1918, the 6th lowest recorded in January.[19]
  • The cold wave also impacted North Korea, and the lowest temperature in Pyeongyang was (−11.74 °F, −24.30 °C)[20] in December 1917. Also, the average temperature was (12.56 °F, −10.80 °C).)[21]

1930

  • A cold wave gripped the western United States in January 1930. Two inches of snow fell in Palm Springs, CA on January 11, one of only two times in the city's history that snow was ever observed.[22]

1932

  • Major cold outbreaks affected California in January, February and December. Up to two inches of snow fell across the Los Angeles Basin on January 15, and two inches of snow was officially recorded at the Downtown Los Angeles Weather Bureau Office.[23] Snow also fell in San Francisco on three days in December 1932.

1933

  • 1933 Western United States cold wave – The winter of 1932–33 was the second- or third-coldest on record[24] in most of the West (the coldest on record in Arizona[25]) and saw record cold temperatures in Seneca, Oregon (-54 °F/-48 °C), Moran, Wyoming (-66 °F/-54 °C) and Seminole, Texas (-23 °F/-31 °F) between February 7 and 10,[26] when sixty deaths were blamed on extreme cold and ice storms.

1934

  • February 1934 Cold Wave in New England and Eastern Canada – Longest period of cold weather ever experienced to this point. Average temperatures in upper New England and Eastern Canada were around zero degrees Fahrenheit for most of the month. Lake Ontario was reportedly completely frozen over. Temperatures reached above freezing only on one day in Burlington, VT in February.[27]

1936

  • 1936 North American cold wave – The cold wave of 1936 was the only cold wave of the 1930s to severely impact the United States east of the hundredth meridian. One of the coldest winters in the Great Plains on record. Low temperatures dropped below −50 °F (−46 °C) in Malta, Montana on four separate days and most of Montana averaged 20 degrees below normal for the entire month of February Parshall, North Dakota hit −60 °F (−51 °C) on February 15, still a record. Langdon, North Dakota remained below 0 °F (−18 °C) for 41 straight days from January 11 to February 20, the longest stretch in recorded history for the U.S. outside of Alaska. The cold wave was followed by one of the hottest summers on record, the 1936 North American heat wave.[28]

1937

  • 1937 Western United States cold wave – January 1937 was the coldest month on record in the West and saw snowfall as far south as the hot desert city of Yuma, Arizona, for one of only two occasions on record. California and Nevada saw their lowest temperatures on record: −45 °F (−42.8 °C) at Boca on January 20 and −50 °F (−45.6 °C) at San Jacinto on January 8.[26]

1940

  • January 1940 Southern United States cold wave – Late January saw record-breaking cold and snow across the Southern United States. It was the coldest month there since February 1899.

1941–1942

1947

1949

  • January 1949 Western United States cold wave – The winter of 1948–49 was the coldest since 1891 over the Western United States and saw record snowfall, ice storms as far south as Texas, and constant disruptions to surface transport, along with large losses in livestock and crops. Coldest winter was recorded in many places in California, Nevada, Idaho and Washington state. The cold was also accompanied by severe blizzards which isolated Wyoming ranches and paralyzed the Great Basin region. The U.S. Army ran "Operation Hay Lift" in the region to bring food and hay by plane to isolated ranches in the region. Las Vegas Nevada got a record 16.7 in (420 mm) of snowfall during the month of January. Snow fell in both San Diego and Los Angeles on three days in January 1949. All-time record low of 0 °F in San Antonio, Texas.[30]

1950

  • Okanagan Valley, the freezing of Okanagan Lake for the only time since 1862, and Calgary's only month where temperatures remained below 32 °F (0 °C) throughout. Vancouver, British Columbia, had an average temperature of −6.3 °C (20.7 °F),[31] compared to the average 4.1 °C (39.4 °F).[32]

1954-1955

1956

  • Marseilles
    being utterly unprecedented in records dating back into the eighteenth century.

1962–1963

1966

  • 1966 Western Canadian cold wave – January 1966 was the coldest January on record in the Yukon and the coldest since 1950 or 1936 in the Prairie Provinces, and the severe cold continued into March, when Winnipeg recorded its most severe winter snowstorm on record.

1968–1969

  • Winter of 1968–69 in Central Asia – Central Asia and western Siberia saw by far their coldest winter on record in 1968–69,[33][34] and in Central Asia also their wettest, producing record low temperature, severe blizzards and avalanches, numerous plant deaths and record spring flooding. The cold occasionally swept into East Asia, resulting in record snowstorms and cold in China and Japan.
  • 1969 Northwest North American cold wave – December 1968 and January 1969 saw record cold and snow in the
    Sea-Tac Airport
    .

1975

  • July 1975 was a historic month in South America. One of the most intense cold waves of the century climbed through the continent, even crossing the Equator in the Amazon Forest. On July 16, snow fell heavily in Argentina, and on the following day in Paraguay and Southern Brazil. In Curitiba it snowed for around 6 hours, accumulating on the ground, even in the city center. The phenomenon was registered in 5 states, a very rare occurrence. In July 18, the temperature dropped even more. In the state of Paraná, the coffee crops were killed by an episode of black frost (it occurs when the plants' tissues freeze and die), and some cities recorded -10 °C (14 °F), among the lowest temperatures ever recorded in the country. The cold wave reached as far as 10°N before dissipating.[35]

1977

  • Cold wave of January 1977. Greatest eastern US cold wave of the 20th century. The core of the cold air extended from New Hampshire to Florida and west to Iowa and Missouri. Ohio was at the very center of the cold air mass where every weather station there recorded its coldest month on record. Cincinnati recorded its lowest known temperature of −25 °F (−32 °C) dating back to 1820. The South Carolina state record temperature of −20 °F (−29 °C) was recorded during this cold wave near Long Creek. The wind chill in Minneapolis was −78 °F (−61 °C) on January 28, possibility the lowest ever recorded there up until that point. Snow fell in Miami and Homestead Florida, the farthest south snow was ever recorded in America. President Jimmy Carter walked in his inauguration parade in temperatures below freezing on January 20. Buffalo, New York was hit with its worst blizzard ever during the last week of January where near hurricane-force winds created whiteout conditions for three days. Temperatures in Buffalo were around 0 °F (−18 °C), wind chills recorded of −60 °F (−51 °C)using the old formula, and the blizzard paralyzed the city with snow drifts of up to 30 feet (9.1 m).[36]

1978

  • Cold wave of early 1978 – Produced one of the coldest winters on record in all states east of the Rockies, except Maine.
  • Europe and Asia, winter of 1978–1979, caused by the Kara Sea 1978 anticyclone. Weather conditions typical for polar regions were detected in Moscow, Leningrad (St. Petersburg), and Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg), affecting logistics and the energy industry, and causing fires at the Beloyarskaya Nuclear powerplant.[37] Freeze, but a lack of snow caused winter cereal crop failure throughout 1979.

1979

  • Cold wave of 1979 – widespread cold across the country. One of the largest Chicago snowstorms in history at the time, with 21 inches of snowfall in the two-day period, the 1979 Chicago Blizzard occurred during the cold wave in January.
  • Late 1970s (1977, 1978, 1979) – In the last three years of the 1970s, almost all of the conterminous United States had at least one winter with a memorable cold wave, and the winter of 1978–79 was the coldest on record in the lower 48[citation needed], with everywhere, except normally frigid upstate Maine, experiencing well below average temperatures.

1981–1982

  • Winter of 1981/82 in the United Kingdom – This was a significantly colder than average winter. December started off very mild with temperatures up to 15 °C (59 °F), but it quickly became very cold and snowy. The night of the 12th–13th is particularly noted for its cold temperatures with many records broken. January 1982 was also a cold and snowy month with records being broken on the 10th in both England and Scotland. England recorded a record low of −26.1 °C (−15.0 °F) and down to −27.2 °C (−17.0 °F) in Braemar.
  • January 1982 cold air outbreak – January 1982 was very cold. The
    1981 AFC Championship Game, held in Cincinnati, was nicknamed the "Freezer Bowl" due to the −9 °F (−22.8 °C) temperature at kickoff and −59 °F (−50.6 °C) wind chill. The Sunday of the following week (January 17, 1982) is also known as Cold Sunday. Chicago's Midway and O'Hare airports record their all-time low temperatures of −26 °F (−32 °C). Milwaukee, Wisconsin recorded temperatures of −26 °F (−32 °C) on January 17, the lowest in 111 years there. Recorded temperature of −5 °F (−21 °C) in Atlanta and Jackson, Mississippi.[16]

1983

1985–1986

1987

1989

  • February 1989 featured a significant, week-long cold wave across the Western United States. Major cities affected by the cold stretched from Seattle, WA to as far south as Los Angeles, CA. Las Vegas set a record low for February with 16 °F (−8.9 °C) degrees on February 7, 1989.
  • December 1989 United States cold wave – In late 1989, the central and eastern United States saw one of the coldest Decembers on record. A white Christmas occurred.

1990–1991

  • January 1987
    .
  • December 1990 western United States – Extreme cold dropped down from Canada in the second half of December, causing record low temperatures up and down the West Coast, including one of California's most damaging freezes since 1949.

1994

  • 1994 Northern US/Southern Canada cold outbreak – January 1994 was the coldest month ever recorded or since January 1977 or February 1934 over many parts of the northeast and north-central United States, plus adjacent southeastern Canada. Many overnight record lows were set. Cold outbreaks continued into February but the severity eased somewhat. Detroit, Michigan saw the city's coldest temperature since 1985.

1995

  • 1995 White Earthquake in southern Chile – In August 1995 southern Chile was struck by a cold wave consisting of two successive cold fronts. Fodder scarcity caused a severe livestock starvation. Cows and sheep were also buried in snow. In parts of Tierra del Fuego up to 80% of the sheep died.
  • December 1995 Great Britain cold wave – On the 30th of December the United Kingdom recorded a record low of −27.2 °C (−17.0 °F) in Altnaharra in Scotland equalling the record set on February 11, 1895, and January 10, 1982.

1996

  • 1996 Great Midwest cold outbreak – Late January and early February was Northern Minnesota's coldest short-term period on record. The record low of −60 °F (−51.1 °C) was recorded in Tower, Minnesota. Cities like Minneapolis experienced temperatures near −35 °F (−37.2 °C).

1997

  • 1997 Northern Plains cold air outbreak – Mid-January across the Northern U.S. was one of the windiest on record. With a low of around −40 °F (−40.0 °C) in some places, wind caused bitterly cold wind chills sometimes nearing −80 °F (−62.2 °C). Northern parts of North Dakota saw up to 90 inches (2.29 m) of snow. This was one of the most severe cold-air outbreaks of the 1990s.

2000

  • July 2000 was one of the coldest months on record in South America. 4 streams of cold air pushed through the continent in a matter of 2 weeks, causing extremely low temperatures in many countries. Asunción registered -1 °C (31 °F), Buenos Aires (Ezeiza Airport) peaked at around -3 °C (27 °F), and in Brazil many cities recorded the lowest temperatures in many years. Curitiba had incredible 12 days of freezing temperatures, peaking at -4 °C (26 °F), and some areas of the southern states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina reached -11 °C (14 °F). It also snowed heavily in these states. The cold front even reached the Amazon, with some cities in the southern part of the forest nearing temperatures of 10 °C (50 °F).

21st-century cold waves (2001–present)

2002

  • 2002 Cold wave in Greece January 4 - the first significant snowfall of 21st century in Athens, Greece occurred on January 4, lasted three days and caused major disruption to the city. The dense snowfall during midnight of January 5 left at least 15 cm of snow on the ground in downtown Athens, the northern suburbs of Athens received more than 50 cm.[42]

2004–2005

2005–2006

  • 2005–06 European cold wave – Eastern Europe and Russia saw a very cold winter. Some of them saw their coldest on record or since the 1970s. Snow was in abundance in unusual places, such as in southern Spain and Northern Africa. All the winter months that season saw temperatures well below average across the continent.

2007

  • 2007 Northern Hemisphere cold wave – All of Canada and most of the United States underwent a freeze after a two-week warming that took place in late March and early April. Crops froze, wind picked up, and snow drizzled much of the United States. Some parts of Europe also experienced unusual cold winter-like temperatures, during that time.
  • snowfalls and blizzards, and recorded temperatures below −32 °C (−26 °F). The cold snap advanced from the south towards the central zone of the country, continuing its displacement towards the north during Saturday, July 7. On Monday, July 9, the simultaneous presence of very cold air, gave place to the occurrence of snowfalls. This phenomenon left at least 23 people dead.[44][45]

2008

2009–2010

2010–2011

2012

  • Early 2012 European cold wave – As of February 11, 2012, at least 590 people died during a cold snap with temperatures falling below −35 °C (−31 °F) in some regions.[59] In Ukraine, over 100 deaths were attributed to the cold.[60]

2013

  • United Kingdom March–April 2013
    – The UK Spring 2013 cold wave was a prolonged spell of cold weather which brought with it very heavy snowfalls, the worst in March for 30 years and since 1947 in some places. There was also some very cold temperatures with England (CET) having its coldest March since 1883 with a mean monthly temperature of 2.7 °C (36.9 °F). This meant that March was colder than all three winter months December 2012, January and February 2013.

  • Spring 2013 North American cold wave – Although the core winter of 2012–13 was fairly mild, both March and April were unusually cold across the Midwest, resulting in sharp temperature contrasts from March 2012 to March 2013 all over the United States and Canada. This late cold wave was unexpected because February and March 2013 were both forecasted to be even milder and more springlike than February and March 2012, but instead turned out with a near-average February and an unusually cold March. This same cold wave extended well into the month of April, as four notable winter storms impacted much of the northern United States, especially across Minnesota and the Dakotas. Minnesota experienced a rare May snowstorm as a result of this cold wave.
  • In July 2013, South America experienced the most intense cold wave in 13 years. Some coastal areas of Argentina and Uruguay had multiple days of nearly freezing temperatures, and snow fell throughout Southern Brazil, even being registered in Curitiba for the first time since 1988.
  • 2013 Middle East cold snap - Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

2013-2014

  • December 2013 North American cold wave – On December 1, the weakening of the polar vortex resulted in the jet stream shifting southward, which allowed abnormally cold temperatures to intrude the Central United States. On December 6, a daily record snowfall of 0.1 inches (2.5 mm) was set in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, breaking the old record of trace amounts of snow, set in 1950.[61][62] The cold wave continued into December 10, before the temperatures returned to a more stable range.
  • Chicago
    . The cold wave extended for a few more months, bringing a continuous pattern of record-low temperatures to most of the Central and upper eastern United States, before the pattern finally ended in early April.
  • 2014-2015
  • November 2014 North American cold wave – Between November 8 and November 23, a polar vortex similar to earlier in 2014 has a temporary comeback, delivering the 2014–15 winter season's first three significant winter storms in the United States. Snowfall records were confirmed all over the Midwest and the Northeast, especially around the Great Lakes. Buffalo, New York, was among the hardest hit in the unseasonably wintry November.
  • February 2015 North American cold wave – During the second half of February 2015, temperature records were broken in both sides of the spectrum. Extreme warm records were broken in the western half of the United States and extreme cold records were broken in the eastern half. In addition to the extreme cold wave at its most brutal in the Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, and New England, snowfall was reported as far south as Tupelo, Mississippi; Huntsville, Alabama; and Shreveport, Louisiana. The cold wave became widespread and all the remaining mild conditions from the west were pushed into northern Mexico. The cold wave even extended well into early March, with a part of every U.S. state except Florida reporting a snow cover by March 1, 2015.

2016

2017

2017–2018

  • Cold wave of November 9–12, 2017. Record lows were broken from Minneapolis to Washington, D.C., as Arctic air swept through the areas.[citation needed]
  • Cold wave starting late December 2017 (December 24 respectively), North America. A persistent wave of temperature extremes, including a cold wave, took place in Canada and the northeastern and central areas of the United States from Northern Canada to Mississippi, with temperatures in much of Canada of around −29 °C (−20 °F) and as low as −39 °C (−38 °F) in New York state, and as high as 21 °C (70 °F) and 31 °C (88 °F) in Sandberg and Los Angeles, respectively, in California.[66]

2018

2019

  • In late January, an
    extreme cold wave hit Canada and the midwest of the United States, bringing temperatures below −30.0 °C (−22.0 °F), with all-time record lows set in several cities.[75] New York City had a low temperature of 2 °F (-16 °C), the coldest reading in Central Park since February 14, 2016, when the mercury dropped to -1 °F (-18 °C), the coldest sub-zero reading in New York City since January 19, 1994.[76]
  • February 2019: Brought temperatures 10~15 degrees lower than the February average lows, and temperatures of −40 °C (−40 °F) degrees to many parts of Siberia again. Novosibirsk, the largest city in Asian Russia, lowered to −40.1 °C (−40.2 °F) on 2 February, just a fraction of a degree shy to its previous record in 1977.[77] Krasnoyarsk also lowered to −41.3 °C (−42.3 °F) on 4 February, missing just 0.3 °C to its record in 2001.[78] Irkutsk Oblast had also recorded very low temperatures, with Irkutsk hitting −37.7 °C (−35.9 °F) on 6 February, beating its previous record of 6 February,[79] Bratsk has seen temperatures below −41.5 °C (−42.7 °F) on February 5, which is sometimes colder than cities like Yakutsk. 7 and 8 February was even more brutal, with Omsk as low as −39.0 °C (−38.2 °F),[80] and a merciless record low −41.9 °C (−43.4 °F) in Novokuznetsk, just 0.3 °C short of the record low in 1969.[81] Lowest temperature in the cold wave of −53.6 °C (−64.5 °F) was recorded in Vanavara[82] The cold wave also lightly affected the Russian Far East and some parts North America. California experienced an unusually wet and cold February, where Los Angeles experienced its coldest February since 1962.[83]
  • November 2019:
    North American cold wave
  • November 2019: Turkish cold wave

2020

2021

  • January 2021: Severe cold wave hit many regions in
    historic snowstorm
    which covered Madrid under 50 to 60 cm of snow, the first time since 1971.

Novosibirsk reached a low of -41 °C. Beijing recorded a low of -19.6 °C which was the coldest since 1966. Seoul also recorded -18.6 °C in January 8 which was the tie record with 2001 and the coldest since 1986. Over 200 cm of snow fell in western Japan along the Japan Sea coast.

2022

  • February-March 2022: Turkish cold wave
  • May 2022: 2022 South American cold wave
  • June 2022: Aysén Region in southern Chile experienced unusually cold temperatures.[85] In numerous locations, temperatures dropped below -10 C.[85] In one case it reached -14 C.[85] Parts of Tortel Fjord and Simpson River froze.[85] In Los Lagos Region, north of Aysén Region, temperatures of -5 C were registered.[85]
  • December 12, 2022:
    Sydney, Australia
    's temperature drops 9°C in just 24 minutes (10:10am - 10:34am)
  • December 2022:
    Late December 2022 North American winter storm


2023

  • February 2023:
    February 2023 North American cold wave
  • October 26-28 2023:
    Sydney, Australia is hit with an unexpected cold snap just days after a hot spell. [86]


2024

  • January 2024:
    NFL game on record between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins, with kickoff temperature being −4 °F (−20 °C).[88] 15 people were hospitalized due to the cold temperatures during the game.[89] Wind chills following the storm reached as low as −60 °F (−51 °C) in Montana, and wind chills were still −9 °F (−23 °C) as far south as Dallas on January 14.[90] On January 13, Dillon, Montana reached an all time record low of −42 °F (−41 °C), while Bozeman, Montana recorded their second coldest temperature at −45 °F (−43 °C).[91] That same day, Dickinson, North Dakota reached a −70 °F (−57 °C) wind chill, their coldest since the wind chill formula was updated in 2001, and a −33 °F (−36 °C) air temperature, a daily record and their coldest temperature since 1990.[92] On January 16, Houston dropped to a daily record low of 19 °F (−7 °C).[93]

See also

References

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  86. ^ https://amp.9news.com.au/article/1099ef0d-7875-41f9-bc79-025a99f2e86b
  87. ^ Iowa campaign events are falling as fast as the snow as the state readies for record-cold caucuses, Associated Press, January 12, 2024
  88. ^ Chiefs and Dolphins play fourth-coldest game in NFL history at minus-4 degrees, ABC News, January 13, 2024
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  90. New York Times
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  91. ^ Historic cold grips SW Montana, KBZK, January 13, 2024
  92. ^ Records set over the weekend; recapping the coldest part of our Arctic blast, KFYRTV, January 14, 2024
  93. ^ "Houston breaks low temperature record for Jan. 16 as freeze sweeps Texas". Chron. January 16, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Travelling in cold weather.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cold_wave&oldid=1217841410"