Winter Cold Events-The Nostalgia Thread (climate, snow storm, warm, recorded)

[Cosmicstargoat]

Well, if we can't get any real cold air into the lower 48 states, I guess that we have several choices. We can ignore the obvious, embrace the obvious, fantasize about projected cold weather events or wax nostalgic about years gone by.

What memorable winter events, months or time periods stick out in your mind about winter?

Here's one brutally cold December, the December of 1983. I remember it vividly and I think that The Weather Channel was just hitting the Cable that year.


http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/...cag3/cag3.html

Christmas day was especially frigid, the temperature did not get out of the low single digits all day in Memphis, after going below zero Christmas Eve night.

[Cosmicstargoat]

We had 3 really bad winters in a row during the period of 1977-1979, but 1979 was unprecedented in the wall-to-wall cold all winter.




http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/...cag3/cag3.html

[nei]

where do you get these maps?

[Cosmicstargoat]

I remember that our Sales Reps in Buffalo were snowed in for an entire month. Lake Eire froze early and was totally covered with snow when the blizzard hit. 1977 was a very brutal winter for the NE and most of the country.


Blizzard of 77 Slideshow - YouTube

[Cosmicstargoat]

Originally Posted by nei

where do you get these maps?

Sorry, I forgot to include source. I will edit where possible.

NCDC: US Climate at a Glance

[nei]

Originally Posted by Cosmicstargoat

Sorry, I forgot to include source. I will edit where possible.

NCDC: US Climate at a Glance

Hmm can't figure out how to get maps with state numbers on it.

[Cosmicstargoat]

Originally Posted by nei

where do you get these maps?

I remember all of these events because I associate them with some point of time in my life. I then go to The Weather Underground and pull up the data map for the year to confirm the dates of what I remember. When I'm sure that I'm on the right year and month, I post the maps.

[Cosmicstargoat]

Originally Posted by nei

Hmm can't figure out how to get maps with state numbers on it.

I just select the year and month/season from the data box below the main map and hit "submit". It posts the maps that I am posting.

[nei]

Jan 2009 was very cold. Maine recorded -50°F somewhere:



Ditto with Jan 2004. One of the few months to make to top 10 coldest recently for NYC (and probably many other stations).

[Cosmicstargoat]

I remember this weather event vividly. I was a sophomore in High School. The preceding autumn was very warm and dry, but December came in cold and got progressively colder towards Christmas. Early Sunday, Dec. 21 it began to snow, and it progressively got heavier all day as the temperature dropped to +13° F. during the middle of the day. By the time it stopped we had 15" of snow. A couple of days later the temperature dropped to -13° F., an all-time record low for Memphis.


December 1963 Winter Snow Storms Public Domain Footage Newsreel www.PublicDomainFootage.com - YouTube