Great nationwide cold wave of 1899
This past week saw a major winter storm impact a large portion of the country.
Although our area missed most of the snow, temperatures have been on the cold side and after the unusually mild winter we have experienced, the cold had people remembering what winter can be like.
Temperatures as far south as Florida were impacted with Jacksonville and Tallahassee reporting below freezing readings.
The greatest cold wave to ever hit the United States occurred in February of 1899. For the only time in weather history the temperatures during this historic event dropped below zero in every state including Florida, where Tallahassee plunged to an almost unbelievable -2 degrees below zero.
The Weather Bureau reported a low of -4 in other western Florida locations. Mobile Alabama reported -1, which was a full 12 degrees colder than the previous record low.
It was reported that ice flows choked the Mississippi River in New Orleans and 3 inches of snow fell across the city.
Snow showers were reported by ships in the Gulf of Mexico.
The cold air came rushing out of Canada on February 7 dropping temperatures to -61 in Montana -59 in Minnesota and -51 in Wyoming. The next day the high temperature in Roseau, Minnesota, only reached -39 degrees below zero.
This was the second coldest maximum ever recorded in the lower 48 states.
It was so cold in the middle part of the country that the Mississippi River at St. Louis, had ice 16 inches thick and as the cold spread east, Washington, D.C., reported a low temperature on February 11 of -15 below zero, which still stands today as their coldest reading.
Record coldest temperatures for over 40 major cities and four states still stand today as a result of this severe cold weather event. Tennessee recorded a low of -30, Georgia -12 and South Carolina 11 below zero.
Back here in our area it looks like this will be one of the few winter seasons without any below zero readings.
This coming week should see temperatures more in line with the beginning of spring, highs in the low fifties and lows around freezing.
Happy spring