Historical Weather Events

HISTORICAL WEATHER EVENTS -- 15 January

FOR YOUR INFORMATION:

Today marks the observance of Martin Luther King Day, a Federal Holiday.

From the files of the Aviation Weather Center, Kansas City, MO and Intellicast

...1780...New York Harbor froze over completely during this famous hard winter. The harbor was sealed for 5 weeks. The heaviest of cannons were able to cross the ice. (Intellicast)
...1852...Between 15 January and 24 February, a total of 1378 railroad cars were drawn by horses across the frozen Susquehanna River on ice bridge to engines waiting at Havre De Grace, MD. (The Weather Channel)
...1932...Up to two inches of snow whitened the Los Angeles basin of California. The Los Angeles Civic Center reported an inch of snow, and even the beaches of Santa Monica were whitened with snow, in what proved to be a record snowstorm for Los Angeles. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
...1952...A six-day snowstorm was in progress in the western U.S. The storm produced 44 inches of snow at Marlette Lake, NV, 52 inches at Sun Valley, ID, and 149 inches at Tahoe, CA, establishing single storm records for each of those three states. In addition, 24-hour snowfall totals of 22 inches at the University of Nevada, and 26 inches at Arco, ID, established records for those two states. The streamliner, 'City of San Francisco' was snowbound in the Sierra Nevada Range, near Donner Summit. (David Ludlum)
...1987...A powerful storm over the Southern Plateau and the Southern Rockies produced 24 inches of snow at Colorado Springs, CO, including 22 inches in 24 hours, a January record. High winds in the southwestern U.S. gusted to 65 mph in the Yosemite Valley of California. This vicious storm belted most of New Mexico with as much 4 feet of snow. The storm lasted until the 18th and several counties were declared disaster areas. Travel in Albuquerque was brought to a standstill from blizzard conditions. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1988...A small storm over the Atlantic Ocean produced heavy snow along the coast of North Carolina. The five-inch total at Wilmington, NC was their third highest for any storm in January in 117 years of records. (National Weather Summary)
...1989...A storm in the northwestern U.S. produced up to 14 inches of snow in the Cascade Mountain Range. Light snow in the north central U.S. was just enough to push the snowfall total for January at Fargo, ND past their previous all-time monthly record of 30.7 inches, bringing the season total to 57.2 inches. The previous record for most snow within a month occurred back in 1896, when 30.4 inches fell. (Intellicast)
...1990...While one Pacific storm crossed the Central Rockies, another approached the west coast. The northern mountains of Utah were buried under 17 to 35 inches of snow while the mountains of southern Utah received another 12 to 16 inches. Eighteen cities in the central U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date as readings warmed into the 50s and 60s. Wichita, KS reported a record high of 68 degrees. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1995...Williston, ND recorded 12.6 inches of snow in 24 hours for its greatest 24-hour snowfall on record. (Intellicast)