11:30 AM | ***Nationwide deep freeze continues...snow, extreme cold hits southern states...February 1895 cold air outbreak and major winter storm revisited***

1895 Press Photo Canal Street After Snow Storm, New Orleans, Louisiana (nola.com)

Overview

Bitter cold Arctic air persists across much of the nation with numerous daily low temperature records set across the southern and eastern states. In fact, a few all-time low temperature records were set this morning across southern Louisiana where clear skies, light winds, and a fresh, deep snowpack allowed temperatures to plunge to single digit levels across the region. A rare major winter storm has brought significant accumulating snow across the southern US from Texas-to-Florida-to-the Carolinas and, in some cases, this matched or surpassed the great winter storm of February 1895. The precipitation field associated with this southern storm will push off the southeast coast today, but the bitter cold will persist for a bit longer.

The nationwide deep freeze continues and there were numerous near record or record “daily” low temperatures set this morning across many sections of the US with the most numerous in the southern and eastern states. In fact, a few “all-time” low temperature records were set this morning across southern Louisiana under clear skies, light winds, and a fresh deep snowpack…perfect conditions for radiational cooling. Map courtesy coowx.com, NOAA

Nationwide deep freeze...southern states snow, extreme cold

Temperatures dropped to near record or record lows for the day across many sections of the nation this morning, but the most numerous took place across the eastern and southern states. In the Mid-Atlantic’s DC-to-Philly-to-NYC corridor, as an example, temperatures dropped to the low-to-middle single digits in many spots and some thermometers were at their lowest since January of 1994. In fact, Chester County in southeastern Pennsylvania had its coldest morning in the last 31 years dating back to January 19, 1994. There were 7 stations this morning in Chester County that recorded below zero readings including 9.1 below zero at Warwick Township (station record 14 years of data) and this was the coldest station reading in the county since the 11 below zero reading at Coatesville in 1994. One other note, Chester County has had below-normal temperatures 70% of the time since Thanksgiving Day and on 25 of the past 33 days (credit ChescoWx.com).

An amazing array of single digit temperatures this morning across southern Louisiana following significant snowfall on Tuesday/Tuesday night. In fact, there were unconfirmed reports of below-zero temperature readings at 4:45 AM (left, gray area); 7:15 AM temperatures are shown at the right. Maps courtesy NOAA, weathermodels.com (Dr. Ryan Maue, X; right plot), Weather Bell Analytics (Joe Bastardi, X; left plot)

Even more amazing is what took place this morning across portions of the southern US. Temperatures dropped to single digits across southern Louisiana and there were unconfirmed reports of below-zero readings in that part of the state. Radiational cooling conditions were very favorable in this entrenched Arctic air mass given the clear skies, light winds, and fresh, deep snowpack. Baton Rouge, for example, dropped to 7 degrees this morning following yesterday’s 7.6 inches of snow which was their lowest temperature reading since February of 1899, and a few “all-time” low temperature records were set including 9 degrees at Lake Charles.

The snowfall was significant from this major winter storm across a wide swath that extended from eastern Texas to northern Florida to the Carolina coastline. Map courtesy NOAA, weathermodels.com (Dr. Ryan Maue, X)

In terms of snowfall, significant accumulations were recorded in many unusual places across the southern states including Houston, Texas where 4 inches of snow fell. This was the second biggest snowstorm in that city beating all prior storms except for the granddaddy of them all which took place in February of 1895 and one that dumped 20 inches (see below). In New Orleans, ~10 inches of snow fell yesterday, and this looks like it matched the output from the same February 1895 major winter storm system. The significant accumulating snow on Tuesday and Tuesday night extended all the way to Florida with 10 inches recorded in Pensacola...their most ever in a single storm system. The wintry precipitation from this southern storm system pushed northeastward in the overnight hours to the coastal Carolinas and eastern portions of Georgia and is just now exiting off to the open waters of the western Atlantic.

Main Street in Houston after 20″ of snow in 1895. (University of Houston Digital Archives/NWS Houston) (courtesy spacecityweather.com)

February 1895...cold air outbreak and major winter storm revisited

The winter of 1894-1895 was quite cold indeed and resulted in some extreme winter weather conditions across parts of the nation. The citrus crop in Florida was decimated during the winter of 1894-95 suffering greatly with back-to-back serious widespread freezes. In Oklahoma, there were pleas for help during the extremely cold early-to-middle part of February 1895. And much like with the current Arctic air outbreak in the US, there was a widespread cold air outbreak around Valentine’s Day in 1895 that penetrated all the way down to the Gulf coast.

(Left) Stories and pleas such as this one from Oklahoma were discovered in regional newspapers during the extremely cold early-mid February of 1895. (courtesy Galveston Daily News, February 17, 1895)

(Right) Florida saw snow from the 1895 storm, but it was the multiple severe freezes of that winter that decimated the citrus crop of that state. (New Orleans Picayune, February 10, 1895)

A major storm system developed around Valentine’s Day in February 1895 gathering lots of Gulf moisture and the result was significant snowfall across much of the southern US from Texas-to-Florida. In Houston, Texas, an amazing 20 inches of snow fell during that Valentine’s Day storm, and the month of February 1895 remains to this day, the coldest February in Houston’s weather records. In fact, the only month that was colder in Houston’s recorded history was January of 1978. In Louisiana, significant snow fell as well during this major winter storm with anywhere as much as 10 inches recorded in New Orleans, 12.5 inches fell in Baton Rouge, and as much as 22 inches of snow was recorded in Lake Charles. Florida also saw snow from the Valentine’s Day storm system in February of 1895; however, it was the multiple severe freezes of that winter that decimated the citrus crop and had the long-lasting impact on the Sunshine State.

Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Arcfield
arcfieldweather.com

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Video discussion includes a look ahead to February: