Long before there were named winter storms…
too cold this day in history, December 30, 1917…
the “Great World War I Cold Wave” hit the northeastern part of the United States and points south. Numerous cold temperature records were set around New England. Seriously frigid temperatures…
But the extent of the cold reached far beyond the New England states, affecting even the Gulf Sates.
Central Park in New York City saw -13°, Boston -14° (with a high of only 2° – their coldest high ever), with lows below zero continuing for 5 nights.
The Examiner reports:
In Vermont, Berlin dropped to -44° and St. Johnsbury fell to -43°. Tennessee recorded its coldest temperature ever with a reading of -32° at Mountain City. West Virginia also set their all-time coldest with a reading of -37° at Lewisburg. Locations reporting all-time record lows included: Elkins, WV: -28°, Charleston, WV: -17° (broke previous daily record by 22 degrees) and Roanoke, VA: -12°.
All-time December record lows were seen in West Virginia, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Delaware, Virginia, and South Carolina.
Daily records lows affected 18 or more states that day, dipping into the single digits as far south as Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, and Georgia.
The Examiner article has a full list of the locations for that year plus other notable events spanning the years from 1880 to 2005!
But as for our news brief, the “Great World War I Cold Wave” was enough for us to say “Baby, it’s cold outside!”
News to Share Brief source: “Weather History: December 30: Record Temps, Storms, Snow, Ice & Tropics” by Charlie Wilson for Examiner
Image license CC0 Public Domain via Pixaby by RayMiller
