2018–19 North American winter
The 2018–19 North American winter was unusually cold within the Northern United States, with frigid temperatures being recorded within the middle of the season.
Several notable events occurred, such as a rare snow in the Southeast in December, a strong cold wave and several major winter storms in the Midwest, and upper Northeast and much of Canada in late January and early February, record snowstorms in the Southwest in late February, deadly tornado outbreaks in the Southeast and a historic mid-April blizzard in the Midwest, but the most notable event of the winter was a record-breaking bomb cyclone that affected much of the Central United States and Canada in mid-March.
Unlike previous winters, a developing weak El Niño was expected to influence weather patterns across North America.
On October 18, 2018, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center released its U.S. Winter Outlook.
CPC Deputy Director Mike Halpert specified that development was expected to occur by late fall to early winter.
The outlook also noted that the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys, the Mid-Atlantic region, and the U.S. Southeast had equal chances of either above-, below-, or near-average temperatures.
The precipitation outlook noted an elevated probability of wetter-than-average conditions across the southern tier of the United States and along the eastern U.S. up to the Mid-Atlantic.
Drought conditions were favored to improve in the central Plains, the coastal Pacific Northwest, southern portions of Colorado and Utah, and in various areas in both Arizona and New Mexico.
[4] An early season winter storm developed in a deep dive of the jet stream into the mid-south on November 13.
In Monroe, Louisiana 0.4 inches (1.0 cm) of snow accumulated on the morning of November 14, breaking the record for the earliest snowfall by 10 days.
Meanwhile, in Ohio, ice accumulations of one-quarter to one-third of an inch were reported in Cincinnati and Dayton metros as well as parts of Northern and Central Kentucky.
[5] On November 15, as the storm headed northeastward, an unexpected 6.4 inches (~16.2 cm) of snow fell in Central Park, which became their earliest six inch snowfall on record,[6] as well as their second largest November winter storm on record,[7] which caught many off guard and resulting in several hour-long commutes that night.
[5] This was considered by some as one of New York City's worst commutes, as some were over ten hours, and New Jersey reported 555 car crashes.
In the Quad Cities and Rockford, Illinois, this snowstorm, plus one earlier in the month, made this the snowiest November on record.
[17] Additionally, as the storm pushed into Upstate New York and Northern New England, over a foot of snow were recorded in some locations.
This storm caused thousands of people to lose power and 60 car crashes were reported across the Lubbock area.
[30] Chicago area schools, universities, public transportation, and cultural attractions announced closures or reduced schedules during the weather emergency.
As the storm tracked eastward, snow was wreaking havoc on parts of the Four Corner States and the Midwest, closing roads and cancelling over 700 flights.
Closer to the Atlantic coast a mix of rain and snow affected major cities such as Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City and Boston and further south, precipitation was rain, with severe thunderstorms along the cold front in the Deep South,[43] resulting in a deadly early-season tornado outbreak in Dixie Alley.
[47] A Colorado low formed in the southwest and began tracking northeastward, undergoing explosive intensification in the process, bottoming out near 968 millibars over Kansas, meeting the criteria for a bomb cyclone and smashing all-time low pressure records at several towns in New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas and Texas.
[53] Meanwhile, the storm brought extreme blizzard conditions to the plains, poor visibility closing many interstates from North Dakota to Colorado and just to the south, severe flooding caused billions of dollars in damage.
[54][55] A historic mid-April winter storm produced several feet of snow across the Northern Plains and Midwest, with snowfall rates exceeding 2 inches per hour at times, combined with powerful winds resulted in widespread blizzard conditions.
[69] Several all-time record low temperatures were set during a historic cold wave at the end of January.
On January 30, temperatures at the Quad Cities International Airport bottomed out at −33 °F (−36 °C), which set an all-time record low.
[70] Other cities that set all-time record lows include Mather, Wisconsin, Rockford, Illinois and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
[79] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
