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1936 North American cold wave

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Winter 1935 (December 1935 – February 1936) Temperature, in degrees Fahrenheit. Record warmest and coldest is based on a 112-year period of records, 1895–2006.

The 1936 North American cold wave ranks among the most intense cold waves in the recorded history of North America. The Midwestern United States and the Canadian Prairies were hit the hardest. Only the Southwestern United States and California largely escaped its effects. February 1936 was the coldest month ever in Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota and was the coldest February in the contiguous U.S., narrowly eclipsing February 1899.

The winter of 1935/36 was much colder than the immediately preceding winters. 1930 through 1934 had very mild winters in the U.S. 1930/31 was warm in the western north central states; 1931/32 in the mid- and south-Atlantic states, the eastern north central states, and the eastern south central states; 1932/33 in New England; and, 1933/34 in the mountain and Pacific states.[1] In the northern plains, the Februaries of 1925, 1926, 1927, 1930, 1931, and 1935 are among the 25 warmest Februaries between 1895 and 2017, although 1929 had the third-coldest February of all-time.[2]

Despite a mild March over most areas east of the Rocky Mountains, the six months from October 1935 to March 1936 were the fifth-coldest on record over the contiguous U.S.[3]

November–December 1935

Winter 1935 (December 1935 – February 1936) Precipitation, in inches. Record wettest and driest is based on a 112 yr period of records, 1895–2006.

The 1935/36 cold wave began in the plains states in November, when temperatures were well below normal in many areas west of the Mississippi River. November 1935 was one of the coldest Novembers on record for Idaho (fourth coldest),[4] Oregon (sixth coldest),[5] Washington (seventh coldest),[6] and North Dakota (seventh-coldest).[7]

During December, cold weather spread to the eastern half of the U.S., where most places were much below average. Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina had their second-coldest Decembers of all-time, with Florida averaging 50.8 °F (10.4 °C),[8] Georgia 39.3 °F (4.1 °C),[9] and South Carolina 37.5 °F (3.1 °C).[10] Because of persistent chinook winds,[citation needed] however, Montana[11] and British Columbia [citation needed] were significantly above average.

January 1936

North Dakota had an average temperature of −6.9 °F (−21.6 °C), and all of the U.S. east of the Rocky Mountains was colder than average. The month began with a mild spell in the eastern states, but a large storm covered the eastern half of the country by the nineteenth[12] The storm produced heavy snow and blocked most roads in the Appalachian Mountains.[13] Snow was a contributing factor to several highway accidents that killed up to 100 people.[13]

The cold continued during the following weeks. The sea froze partially as far south as Chesapeake Bay. From January 25 to 28, the east had its coldest January temperatures in eighteen years, with Washington, D. C. averaging 14 °F (−10.0 °C)[14] High winds in some locations caused wind chills below −85 °F (−65.0 °C). In the Centralia district and Ohio,[15] the cold completely destroyed the peach crop, whilst defective heaters caused numerous dangerous fires in Minnesota.[14]

February 1936

February 1936 US Temperature, in degrees Fahrenheit. Record warmest and coldest is based on a 112 yr period of records, 1895–2006.

February was by far the coldest month in the severe winter. The states of South Dakota, Minnesota, and North Dakota saw their coldest month on record with average temperatures below 0 °F (−17.8 °C) whilst in Canada away from the Atlantic Ocean temperatures averaged as much as 36 °F or 20 °C below normal. In Saskatoon, temperatures did not rise above 0 °F (−17.8 °C) between January 11 and February 19.[16][17]

As far south as Richmond, Virginia, rivers were completely ice-bound,[15] Skis had to be used in rescue operations as a succession of snowstorms hit the Pacific Northwest states and much of the nation east of the continental divide.[18]

Thaws accompanied by heavy rain over the southern states led to flooding, but did not extend beyond the Mason–Dixon line, where food and fuel shortages had created critical situations by the end of the first week of February.[18]

More heavy snow and severe wind chills created very dangerous conditions over the two following weeks. By the middle of the month, all schools in the midwest, Great Plains, and Pacific Northwest were closed by deep snowdrifts. Health care was affected by a shortage of serum. Many remote South Dakota towns did not have outside contact for several weeks,[19]

Two states during this brutal February recorded their coldest temperatures on record. McIntosh, South Dakota sank to −58 °F (−50.0 °C), and Parshall, North Dakota hit −60 °F (−51.1 °C).[20] An unofficial reading of −60 °F (−51.1 °C) also was recorded in Jordan, Montana, and an official temperature of −63 °F (−52.8 °C) was reached in Sceptre, Saskatchewan.[21]

Four states saw their coldest winter on record: North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa. In one Iowa town, the average winter temperature was 31 °F (17.2 °C) below average, whilst at Devil's Lake, North Dakota the average temperature for the five weeks ending February 21 was −21 °F (−29.4 °C).[22] At the peak of the cold wave, stores in the plains states were estimated to generally have only two days’ supply left.[21]

March 1936

In the final week of February, a thaw finally came to the nation. Temperatures rose above freezing for the first time in many weeks. Fargo, North Dakota reached 32 °F (0.0 °C) on March 1 for the first time since December 14, 1935. The warming led, however, to avalanches in the Pacific Northwest, where three people were killed on Snoqualmie Pass on February 24.[23]

Above average to near average temperatures were recorded throughout the U.S. in March, except for the Pacific Northwest. The heavy winter snowfalls and freezing of the ground, along with the wettest March on record in the northeastern states[24] led to record floods in most of the region’s rivers, especially on smaller tributary streams.[25]

See also

References

  1. ^ Henry F. Diaz; Robert G. Quayle (October 1978). "The 1976-77 Winter in the Contiguous United States in Comparison with Past Records". Monthly Weather Review. 106 (10): 1402–6. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  2. ^ "February, Average temperature, Central NWS Region". National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  3. ^ "October-March, Average Temperature, Contiguous U.S., All 48 States". National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  4. ^ "Climatological Rankings, November 1935, Average Temperature, Idaho". National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  5. ^ "Climatological Rankings, November 1935, Average Temperature, Oregon". National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  6. ^ "Climatological Rankings, November 1935, Average Temperature, Washington". National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  7. ^ "Climatological Rankings, November 1935, Average Temperature, North Dakota". National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  8. ^ "Climatological Rankings, December 1935, Average Temperature, Florida". National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  9. ^ "Climatological Rankings, December 1935, Average Temperature, Georgia". National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  10. ^ "Climatological Rankings, December 1935, Average Temperature, South Carolina". National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  11. ^ "Climatological Rankings, December 1935, Average Temperature, Montana". National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  12. ^ ‘Cold of 1.8 Here Sets Feb. 19 Mark: 5˚ Low Due Today – Little Hope for Relief Held Out for City as the Whole Nation Suffers’; The New York Times, February 19, 1936, pp. 1, 3
  13. ^ a b Gallagher, John P.; ‘Frigid Grip of Winter Holds Most of Nation’; Los Angeles Times, January 19, 1936, pp. 1, 5
  14. ^ a b ‘14˚ Average for 4 Days is Unequalled since 1917-18 Winter: 15 Deaths Brings U.S. Total to 250 – Devils’ Lake with -27˚ Has Coldest Temperature’; The Washington Post; January 28, 1936, p. 1
  15. ^ a b ‘Potomac Ice-Bound for First Time in 18 Years; Warmer Forecast’; The Washington Post, February 1, 1936, p. 1
  16. ^ Saskatoon Airport Daily Data Report, January 1936
  17. ^ Saskatoon Airport Daily Data Report, February 1936
  18. ^ a b ‘Weather Fair as Cold Eases Grip on Capital’; The Washington Post, February 6, 1936, pp. 1, 3
  19. ^ ‘Expeditions Rush Aid to Snowbound: Many Midwest Towns Cut Off – Meningitis Adds to Danger; Planes to Fly Supplies to Stricken Sections’; Los Angeles Times, February 14, 1936, pp. 1, 3
  20. ^ "State Climate Extremes Committee: Records, Minimum Temperature, All States". National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  21. ^ a b ‘Record Cold Continues in West: 63 Below at Sceptre, Sask’; The Montreal Gazette February 17, 1936, p. 1
  22. ^ Kincer, J.B.; ‘Weather Cycle Changing: Present Hard Winter May Be a Foretaste of a Series of Colder and Wetter Years’; The New York Times, February 21, 1936, p. E10
  23. ^ ‘At Least 3 Perish in Avalanche: Workers, Menaced by ‘Slides, Continue to Dig through Snow – Cars Uncovered: All Vehicles Unoccupied: snow-slip Occurs at Snoqualmie Pass’; Saskatoon Star-Phoenix; February 24, 1936, p. 2
  24. ^ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Northeast Precipitation, March
  25. ^ Talman, C. F.; ‘Hard Winter Brings New Burst of Floods: Rush of Water Over Frozen Ground Causes in the East a Costly Disaster Yet Unlike Overflows of Spring’; The New York Times, March 15, 1936, p. E12
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