Hi everybody and welcome! I don’t know about you, but I really enjoyed the beautiful spring-like weather we had last week. The temperatures were in the low 80’s with a relatively low humidity. Perfect!
This week we had an abrupt change back to winter. In fact on January 11th, I recorded a low wind chill value of 30.7 degrees at 2:24 am. The actual temperature was 43.7 which I recorded at my weather station. This is 10 degrees below the seasonal normal of 53 degrees. Keep in mind that the wind chill value is actually a measurement of how the temperature feels on your skin and not an actual temperature reading. This is calculated by the combination of a given wind speed with a fixed temperature.
The temperatures and wind chill values here were no match for the bitter cold that has engulfed the northeast where temperatures at or near zero were all too common. The low temperature at Springfield Massachusetts was –4 degrees which is 21 degrees below the normal temperature of 17. The low temperature in the Central Park area of New York City was 1 degree above zero. This is 24 degrees below the normal seasonal temperature. Buffalo, New York, also recorded below normal temperatures with a mean low of –7 degrees. This is 24 degrees below the seasonal value of 25 degrees. In Atlantic City, New Jersey, the minimum temperature reached 4 degrees above zero. This is 21 degrees below the normal temperature of 32. All these temperatures were recorded on January 10, 2004.
The other day I was sitting at my computer just daydreaming about some of the major weather events that occurred when I was a kid. One event that kept popping into my mind was hurricane Hazel. Hurricane Hazel occurred in 1954, which meant I was a mere one year old. I guess my interest in the weather started at an earlier age then I thought! Hurricane Hazel occurred on October 15, 1954 and it was the third major hurricane to affect the East Coast that year. The storm hit land near South Carolina as a major category four hurricane. The storm then moved north through the Washington D.C. area. Winds in that area were recorded near 100 mph. The storm continued to move north in a more weakened state all the way up the coast to Toronto Canada. As hazel passed through Pennsylvania the wind speed was around 70 mph.
Now, on to the Time Capsule…..
January 17, l985 -- Bay Co. -- A waterspout/tornado moved through a l0 block area of Panama City damaging roofs and uprooting small trees. A small boat was blown across a highway.
January 18, l936 -- Washington Co. -- A Tornado destroyed six homes near Vernon and eight homes near Wausau killing seven and injuring 15. Six were killed in a farmhouse south of Vernon. It took many hours to find the bodies. One person was killed in a home north of Wausau.
January 18 thru 21, 1977 -- Statewide -- Severe Cold Outbreak of Arctic air, climaxing one of the coldest winters ever recorded in the eastern United States, swept into Florida. Snow fell at Miami Beach and Palm Beach and was reported as far south as Homestead. The most southerly point to receive snow in Florida history. A severe freeze affected all of the State's citrus and vegetable crops.
In south Florida agricultural areas, the freeze was one of the most severe of this century. On the night of January l9-20, temperatures dropped to 27 degrees at the Florida Agricultural Experiment station in Homestead, but some farmers in this area reported temperatures near 20 degrees. Temperatures were below freezing for l0 to l4 hours, and 28 degrees or colder for 4 to 8 hours. An unusually heavy frost accompanied these freezing temperatures and extended to the immediate coast. Both West Palm Beach and Miami Beach recorded all-time lows of 27 degrees and 32 degrees, respectively. Over North and Central Florida temperatures were even lower, but not all areas had all-time record lows. Temperatures reached modern day record lows of l0 degrees at Pensacola and 20 degrees at Orlando.
A U. S. Department of Agriculture report said the following crop loss: Citrus 35%, Vegetables 95- l00%, Commercial Flowers 50-75%, Permanent Pasture Land 50%, Sugar Cane 40% In addition, there was a severe loss to the tropical fish industry. It is estimated the freeze cost the Florida economy $2 billion (1977) dollars.
January 19, 1978 -- Florida Peninsula -- Severe weather outbreak. Five tornadoes and 17 severe thunderstorms were reported from Jacksonville to Orlando and Tampa to Miami. Widespread minor property damage, but no serious injuries.
January 19, thru 20, l991 -- Severe thunderstorm outbreak -- Strong thunderstorms with a cold front moved through north and central Florida. Many mobile homes were damaged; trees and power lines were downed. At Tampa Bay Downs, a barn was damaged; two horses suffered injuries and had to be destroyed. Widespread Roof and screen damage. Five injuries reported.
January 20, 1941 -- A killing frost spread to south central Florida.
January 20-21, 1971 -- statewide -- Severe Freeze with low temperatures of 11 degrees at Tallahassee, 19 at Gainesville, 24 at Ocala and 28 at Orlando.
January 20, l983 -- Windstorm -- A strong low-pressure system developed in the western Gulf of Mexico and moved rapidly eastward during the night of the l9th and the morning of the 20th. As the Gulf low deepened and moved east, a very strong pressure gradient developed between high pressure to the north.
January 20, 1983 -- Strong winds hit the western Panhandle at the time of high tide early on the 20th, causing widespread coastal flooding that receded rapidly as the winds subsided. Schools in Gulf and Franklin Counties were closed due to the high winds and flooding.
January 20, 1983 -- A yacht race from Fort Lauderdale to Key West was severely disrupted by winds gusting to 70 knots and seas higher than 20 feet offshore. Many of the l69 vessels entered in the race turned back to shore, and the Coast Guard helped up to 30 vessels back to harbor, including aerial rescue of several crewmembers.
January 20, 1983 -- A woman was killed when her car was apparently blown into a guardrail on the Florida Turnpike in Broward County and flipped over. Another fatality occurred when a car skidded on wet pavement and hit a pedestrian. Most of the reported injuries were minor and were the result of automobile accidents on rain slick streets. Minor wind damage was reported across the state and was the result of trees crashing into power lines, trailer homes, windows, etc. High waves and beach erosion also damaged homes, businesses, and piers along beachfront areas.
January 21, l957 -- all day -- Broward/Palm Beach Counties -- Rain and Hail -- Storm effected important winter vegetable areas of these two counties. Although area of destruction limited, many observers reported 6 to 9 inches of rainfall in several hours. Several points reported rainfalls of near 21 inches in less than 24 hours, 1 report of l5 inches in five hours. Rainfall caused flooding of several truck crop fields; water completely covered some mature and growing crops. Much replanting required. Most water removed from fields by pumping, but not until considerable damage done. Quality of produce from fields pumped considerably reduced. Sunny and abnormally warm weather following storm conducive to development of disease and further general lowering of crop quality. Hail accompanying this localized storm activity caused crop damage of $l, 000,000.
January 21 thru 23, 1985 -- Statewide - Severe Cold -- Florida was covered by an outbreak of cold air. Temperatures ranged from four to 20 in north Florida, l7 to 25 in central Florida, and 20 to 30 in south Florida. Six people died of hypothermia, nine others died of fires associated with space heaters. One fifth of citrus crops, two-thirds of vegetable crops, and one third of grazing pastures were lost.
January 21, 1988 -- Lake Co.-- Severe Thunderstorm winds flipped over an airplane in Leesburg. At Umatilla high wind overturned four trailers causing five injuries. 27 trailers were damaged. 1115 - Volusia Co. - Tornado struck Ormond Beach destroying a home and downing trees and power lines. Three people were injured at a lumber company.
January 21-22, l989 -- Brevard, Volusia, Flagler, St. Johns and Indian River Counties -- High Winds -- A gale center that exhibited subtropical storm characteristics formed in the coastal waters east of Canaveral then moved slowly northeast. Sustained winds of 40 to 50 mph with gusts near 75 mph downed many trees, signs and power lines, and caused window and roof damage to several homes. High waves caused moderate beach erosion. Tens of thousands of homes were without electric power for up to l2 hours. Rainfall amounts of 4" to 6" caused ponding of water in low-lying areas, which damaged several homes and motels and caused many traffic accidents.
January 22, 1973 -- Polk Co. -- Tornadoes touched down in Lakeland and Lithia, destroying four trailers and injuring eight people.
January 23, 1956 -- north and central Florida -- Severe Thunderstorm winds knocked down many trees, some landed on cars and buildings. A tree uprooted on a car injured one person. Two other people were injured by lightning.
Here are some National past weather events:
January 17, 1972 -- A single storm unloaded 77.5 inches of snow at Summit, Mont., to establish a state record.
January 17, 1990 -- Twenty cities across the southeastern half of the country reported record high temperatures for the date. Record highs included 61 degrees at Williamstown Pa. and 85 degrees at Brownsville Texas. Evening thunderstorms produced large hail and damaging winds from eastern Texas to Mississippi.
January 18, 1857 -- A great cold storm swept across the Atlantic Seaboard. Snowfall totals of 12 inches were common, whole gales caused shipwrecks and damage property on islands, and temperatures near zero prevailed from Virginia northward. Great drifts of snow blocked transportation. Richmond Va. was cut off from Washington DC for a week.
January 18, 1973 -- A baby was carried 300 to 400 yards by the strong winds of a tornado at Corey Louisiana, yet received only minor injuries.
January 18, 1990 -- A winter storm produced heavy snow and high winds across the southwestern U.S. Snowfall totals ranged up to 18 inches at Lake Arrowhead Calif. and Ashford Ariz. High winds in New Mexico gusted to 100 mph east of Albuquerque. Unseasonably warm weather continued from Texas to the Atlantic coast. Twenty cities reported record high temperatures for the date including Roanoke Va. with a reading of 71 degrees.
January 19, 1810 -- The famous "cold day" in New England. Gale force winds wrecked homes, and accompanied a sudden overnight drop in temperature of 50 degrees. Tragedy struck Sanbornton N.H. where three children froze to death.
January 19, 1990 -- Thunderstorms produced large hail and damaging winds in eastern Texas and Louisiana. Tornadoes at Garland Texas and Apple Springs Texas 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 Nebraska and Garden City Kan.
January 20, 1954 -- The temperature at Rogers Pass, Mont., plunged to 70 degrees below zero to establish a new record for the continental U.S.
January 20, 1990 -- While heavy thunderstorm rains drenched the Central Gulf Coast States, with 4.23 inches reported at Centreville Ala. in 24 hours, unseasonably warm weather continued across Florida. Five cities in Florida reported record high temperatures for the date. Tampa Fla. equalled their record high for January of 85 degrees.
January 22, 1943 -- Chinook winds during the early morning hours caused the temperature at Spearfish S.D. to rise from 4 below zero to 45 above in just two minutes, the most dramatic temperature rise in world weather records. An hour and a half later the mercury plunged from 54 above to 4 below zero in twenty-seven minutes.
January 22, 1987 -- A winter storm spread snow from central Mississippi through northern Georgia to New England. Up to 15 inches of snow fell across the heavily populated areas of Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Traffic tie-ups nearly paralyzed the Washington D.C. area. Winds gusted to 76 mph at Chatham Mass., and in Pennsylvania, snowfall totals ranged up to 21 inches at Dushore. Williamsport Pa. received five inches of snow in just one hour.
