Image (click to enlarge): U.S. daily high temperatures for May 14, 2013, from UnisysWhile Mid Atlantic residents were complaining about the unseasonable cold temperatures on Tuesday, heat records were being crushed in the Northern Plains and upper Midw…
Author Archives: capitalclimate
Weather Whiplash: U.S. Cold Records Crush Heat Records 6.5 to 1 in April
One year after heat records smashed cold records by a ratio of over 35 to 1, preliminary data from the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) show that new daily low temperature records in the U.S. outnumbered high temperature records by 6.5 to 1 in Apri…
Washington Has Latest Occurrence of First 75° Temperature*
* since 2001
5:30 PM Update: The preliminary high for the day was 79° at 3 pm EDT.
Original Post:
With a noon temperature of 70°, Washington is well on its way to the first 75° or higher temperature of the year by this afternoon, or at least by tomorrow. This will be the latest occurrence of the first 75° temperature . . . since 2001, when this temperature was reached on April 9. The latest occurrence on record at the current observation location was on April 26, 1984. The average date for the first 75° temperature since 1930 is March 16.
Washington Fails to Reach 65° in March, First Time Since 1958
March 2013 has closed out the record books with a monthly high temperature in Washington of 63°. This is the coldest high for March since the 58° in 1958. It’s only the second time Washington has failed to reach 65° in March since the 60&…
Snowbound Sunday in Springfield: All-Time Daily Snowfall Record; St. Louis Also Sets March Record
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The National Weather Service reports that Springfield, Illinois set a daily snowfall record on March 24:
A RECORD DAILY SNOWFALL OF 17 INCHES WAS SET AT SPRINGFIELD IL ON
SUNDAY MARCH 24TH. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 2.4 INCHES SET IN 1947.
According to NWS data, this would also be an all-time daily snowfall record at Springfield:
| Rank | Amount | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15.0 inches | Feb. 28, 1900 |
| 2 | 13.3 inches | Jan. 1-2, 1999 |
| 3 | 12.6 inches | Jan. 30-31, 1914 |
| 4 | 11.3 inches | Jan. 31-Feb. 1, 2008 |
| 5 | 11.2 inches | Feb. 12-13, 2007 |
| 6 | 10.9 inches | Dec. 19, 1973 |
| 7 | 10.7 inches | Feb. 12, 1894 |
| 8 | 10.5 inches | Dec. 24, 1915 |
| 9 | 10.3 inches | Feb. 23-24, 1965 |
| 10 | 9.4 inches | March 19-20, 1906 |
A daily snowfall record was also set at Peoria and Lincoln:
A RECORD SNOWFALL OF 7 INCHES WAS SET AT PEORIA IL ON SUNDAY
MARCH 24TH. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 3.7 INCHES SET IN 1933.
A DAILY RECORD SNOWFALL OF 10.8 INCHES WAS SET AT LINCOLN IL ON
SUNDAY MARCH 24TH. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 4 INCHES SET IN
1947.
According to NWS records, this is also an all-time March daily record for Lincoln, exceeding the 7.5″ on March 16, 1960.
The axis of heaviest snow also extended westward to St. Louis, where it was the heaviest daily snowfall for March and the second heaviest for any calendar day. From the NWS:
THE LATE SEASON WINTER STORM WHICH BROUGHT VERY HEAVY SNOW TO THE
REGION YESTERDAY WILL GO DOWN IN THE RECORD BOOKS AS THE HIGHEST
CALENDAR DAY MARCH SNOWFALL. THIS WAS ALSO THE SECOND HIGHEST
CALENDAR DAY SNOWFALL EVER...AND THE SIXTH GREATEST SNOWFALL EVENT
FOR ST LOUIS.
HERE ARE THE TOP TEN LISTS (PLEASE NOTE THAT OFFICIAL SNOWFALL
RECORDS FOR ST LOUIS GO BACK TO 1891)...
TOP TEN MARCH CALENDAR DAY SNOWFALL
(MIDNIGHT TO MIDNIGHT)
1. *12.4 INCHES 3/24/2013
2. 12.1 INCHES 3/24/1912
3. 10.0 INCHES 3/4/2008...3/6/1989...3/9/1958
6. 9.1 INCHES 3/19/1906
7. 8.6 INCHES 3/20/1924
8. 8.3 INCHES 3/26/1913
9. 7.8 INCHES 3/2/1912
10. 7.3 INCHES 3/23/1974
TOP TEN SNOWFALL CALENDAR DAYS
(MIDNIGHT TO MIDNIGHT)
1. 12.8 INCHES 2/26/1906
2. *12.4 INCHES 3/24/2013
3. 12.1 INCHES 3/24/1912
4. 12.0 INCHES 12/19/1973
5. 11.7 INCHES 2/13/1914
6. 11.3 INCHES 2/16/1910
7. 11.2 INCHES 1/31/1958
8. 11.0 INCHES 1/11/1909
9. 10.9 INCHES 1/16/1978
10 10.5 INCHES 12/30/1973
TOP TEN SNOWFALL EVENTS
(ANY 24 HOUR PERIOD...POSSIBLY SPANNING CALENDAR DAYS)
1. 15.6 INCHES 2/20-21/1912
2. 13.9 INCHES 1/30-31/1982
3. 13.3 INCHES 2/16-17/1910
4. 13.0 INCHES 2/12-13/1914
5. 12.8 INCHES 2/26/1906
6. *12.6 INCHES 3/24-25/2013 (7AM-7AM CDT)
7. 12.5 INCHES 1/16-17/1978
8. 12.1 INCHES 3/24/1912
9. 12.0 INCHES 12/19/1973
10. 12.0 INCHES 1/11-12/1909
Think It Was Cold Today, DC? Not Your Great-Great Grandfather’s March of the Penguins
Denizens of the DMV were complaining about the early-spring cold this March 21, but the chill was nowhere near the historical extremes for this date or any other date through the end of the month. Although the high for the day of 42° was set short…
Washington March Snow: Rare Event Becoming Rarer?
The climatological average for March snowfall in Washington is just 1.3″, so significant snowfalls in the first month of meteorological spring are rare. With the bust of the current “Snowquester”, it’s likely that 2013 will add to a string of nearly s…
Blizzard Threatens Texas All-Time Snowfall Records
8 PM CST February 26 Update: Map updated with final totals.8 PM CST Update: The Amarillo snow total of 19″ is the third heaviest for any storm on record:19 inches of snow at NWS #Amarillo. 2nd most snow in a calendar day and 3rd most for any event. #p…
Record Low Mid-Atmospheric Pressure Predicted for Midwest Blizzard
The maximum intensity for the developing Midwest blizzard is nearly 2 days away, but a major forecast model is predicting mid-atmospheric pressures at least as low as any observed during February in the region since systematic upper-air observations b…
Next Storm Threatens Wichita All-Time Monthly Snow Record [Update: Record Broken]
February 26, 9 AM CST Update: The Wichita daily record snowfall of 4.8″ yesterday, plus 2″ so far today, brings the monthly total to 21″, which breaks the record.February 25, 8 PM CST Update: The heaviest snow appears to be passing south of Wichita. T…