The
2014 North American cold wave was an
extreme weather event extending from January to April that was part of an unusually cold winter affecting parts of
Canada and the
Eastern United States.
[5] An Arctic
cold front, initially associated with a
nor'easter on January 2, tracked across Canada and the United States, resulting in heavy snowfall. Temperatures fell to unprecedented levels, and low temperature records were broken across the United States. Business, school, and road closures were common, as well as mass flight cancellations.
[6][7][8][9] Altogether, more than 200 million people were affected, in an area ranging from the
Rocky Mountains to the
Atlantic Ocean and extending south to include roughly 187 million residents of the Continental United States.
[10]
The Cold Wave was so strong it exceeded all the way to Tampa,Florida and the rest of Central Florida. On January 5, 2014,
Green Bay, Wisconsin was −18 °F (−28 °C). The previous record low for this day was set in 1979.
[12]
On January 6, 2014, Babbitt, Minnesota was the coldest place in the country at −37 °F (−38 °C). The cold air reached as far as Dallas, which experienced a low temperature of 16 °F (−9 °C).[
citation needed]
The low temperature at
O'Hare International Airport in
Chicago was −16 °F (−27 °C) on January 6. The previous record low for this day was −14 °F (−26 °C), set in 1884 and tied in 1988.
[8][13] The
National Weather Service adopted the
Twitter hashtag #Chiberia (a
portmanteau of Chicago and
Siberia) for the cold wave coverage in Chicago
[14] and local media adopted the term as well.
[15][16] In spite of cold temperatures and stiff winds which exceeded the 23 mph wind and -23 air temperature when Chicago set its all-time wind chill record of −82 °F (−63 °C) in 1983, Chicago did not break the record because the NWS had adopted a new wind chill formula in 2001.
[17]
The average daily temperature for the United States on January 6 was calculated to be 17.9 °F (−7.8 °C). The last time the average for the country was below 18 was January 13, 1997; the 17-year gap was the longest on record.
[18]
On January 7, at least 49 record lows for the day were set across the country.
[19] On the night of January 6–7,
Detroit hit a low temperature of −14 °F (−26 °C) breaking the records for both dates. The high temperature of −1 °F (−18 °C) on January 7 was only the sixth day in 140 years of records to have a subzero high.
[20] On January 7, 2014, the temperature in
Central Park in
New York City was 4 °F (−16 °C). The previous record low for the day was set in 1896, twenty-five years after records began to be collected by the government.
[21] Pittsburgh bottomed out at −9 °F (−23 °C), setting a new record low on January 6–7.
Cleveland also set a record low on those dates at −11 °F (−24 °C). Temperatures in
Atlanta fell to 6 °F (−14 °C), breaking the old record for January 7 of 10 °F (−12 °C) which was set in 1970. Temperatures fell to −6 °F (−21 °C) at
Brasstown Bald, Georgia.
[22] Although the cold air moderated, the cold temperatures even reached subtropical Florida, where Tampa had a low of 34 °F (1 °C) in January 2014.[
citation needed]
United States
On January 3,
Boston had a temperature of 2 °F (−17 °C) with a −20 °F (−29 °C)
wind chill, and over 7 inches (180 mm) of snow.
Boxford, Massachusetts recorded 23.8 inches (600 mm).
Fort Wayne, Indiana had a record low of −10 °F (−23 °C). In
Michigan, over 11 inches (280 mm) of snow fell outside
Detroit and temperatures around the state were near or below 0 °F (−18 °C).
New Jersey had over 10 inches (250 mm) of snow, and schools and government offices closed.
[27]
On January 5, a storm system crossed the Great Lakes region. In
Chicago, where 5 inches (13 cm) to 7 inches (180 mm) of snow had fallen,
O'Hare and
Midway Airports cancelled 1200 flights.
[28] Freezing rain caused a
Delta Air Lines flight to skid off a taxiway and into a snowbank at
John F. Kennedy International Airport, with no injuries.
[29] The storms associated with the Arctic front caused numerous road closures and flight delays and cancellations.[
citation needed]
Snowfall was lighter farther south, with between 0.5 and 2 inches (1.3 and 5.1 cm) of snow falling in
Tennessee.
[30]
In
New York City temperatures fell to a record low of 4 °F (−16 °C) on January 7, which broke a 116-year record. The cold came after days of unseasonably warm temperatures, with daytime highs dropping as much as 50 degrees Fahrenheit overnight.
[31] Also on January 7, the day after a record-setting −16 °F (−27 °C), Chicago recorded −10 °F (−23 °C). Embarrass, Minnesota had the coldest temperature in the lower 48 states with −35 °F (−37 °C)
Canada
The coldest parts of Canada were the eastern prairie provinces, Ontario, Quebec, and the Northwest Territories. However, only Southern Ontario set temperature records.
During most of the early cold wave,
Winnipeg was the coldest major city in Canada. On January 6, it reached a low of −37 °C (−35 °F), while on January 7, the low was −36 °C (−33 °F). On both days, the temperature did not go above −25 °C (−13 °F). Other parts of southern Manitoba recorded lows of below −40 °C (−40 °F).
[23] On January 5, the daily high in
Saskatoon was −28.4 °C (−19.1 °F) with a wind chill of −46 °C (−51 °F).
[24]
On January 7, 2014, a cold temperature record was set in
Hamilton, Ontario: −24 °C (−11 °F);
[25] London, Ontario was −25 °C (−13 °F).