HISTORICAL WEATHER EVENTS - 24 January

From the files of the Aviation Weather Center, Kansas City, MO and Intellicast

• ...1857...The coldest weather in pre-U.S. Weather Bureau history occurred with temperatures of 50 degrees below zero reported in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The temperature was 30 degrees below zero in Boston, MA and 11 degrees below zero on Nantucket Island. (Intellicast)
• ...1916...The temperature at Browning, MT plunged 100 Fahrenheit degrees in just 24 hours, from 44 degrees above zero to 56 degrees below zero. This 24-hour temperature drop is a record for the U.S. (Weather Channel) (National Severe Storms Forecast Center)
  ....1922...The all-time record low temperature for the state of Wisconsin was set at Danbury when the temperature dipped to 54 degrees below zero. (Intellicast) (This record has been broken by one degree in February, 1996)
• ...1935...Snowstorms hit the northeastern U.S. and the Pacific Northwest producing record 24 hour snowfall totals of 23 inches at Portland, ME and 52 inches at Winthrop, MA. (David Ludlum)
• ...1956...Thirty-eight inches of rain deluged the Kilauea Sugar Plantation of Hawaii in 24 hours, including twelve inches in just one hour. The 38.00 inches remains the Aloha State's 24-hour maximum precipitation record. (David Ludlum)
• ...1963...A great arctic outbreak reached the southern U.S. The cold wave broke many records for duration of cold weather along the Gulf Coast. A reading of 15 degrees below zero at Nashville, TN was an all-time record low temperature for that location. (David Ludlum)
• ...1967...An outbreak of 32 tornadoes struck the central U.S. with 14 tornadoes in Iowa, nine in Missouri, eight in Illinois, and one in Wisconsin. Never had a tornado been recorded in Iowa or Wisconsin in January until this day. Seven people were killed in this outbreak. This was the farthest north tornado outbreak ever recorded for the winter season. (Intellicast)
• ...1982...Chinook winds plagued the foothills of southeastern Wyoming and northern and central Colorado for the second straight Sunday. The winds gusted to 140 mph at Wondervu, CO, located northeast of Denver. Chinook winds a week earlier produced wind gusts to 137 mph. (Storm Data)
• ...1987...Temperatures in Minnesota plunged far below the zero mark. International Falls, MN reported a morning low of 35 degrees below zero, and Warroad, MN was the cold spot in the nation with a low of 45 degrees below zero. A storm developing in northeastern Texas produced severe thunderstorms with large hail in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. Camden, AR reported golf ball size hail. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• ...1988...A blizzard rapidly developed in the north central U.S. In just one hour weather conditions in eastern North Dakota switched from sunny skies, light winds and temperature readings in the 20s, to rapidly falling temperatures and near zero visibility in snow and blowing snow. High winds in Wyoming, gusting to 72 mph at Gillette, produced snowdrifts sixteen feet high. Northwestern Iowa experienced its second blizzard in just 24 hours. High winds in Iowa produced wind chill readings as cold as 65 degrees below zero. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• ...1989...Heavy snow blanketed the Rockies and the Northern High Plains Region. Hettinger, ND received 12 inches of snow. Wolf Creek Pass, CO was blanketed with 16 inches of snow in just 24 hours. Severe cold prevailed across Alaska. Between the 24th and the 29th of January, a total of thirty stations in the state reported all-time record low temperatures. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• ...1990...A deep low-pressure system brought high winds and heavy snow to the western Aleutian Islands of Alaska. Winds gusting to 82 mph at Shemya reduced the visibility to near zero in blowing snow. Rain and gale force winds lashed the northern Pacific coast. Thunderstorms produced locally heavy rains over the central Gulf Coast states. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• ...1997...Managers at a Tuscaloosa, AL supermarket saved lives when they ushered people in from the parking lot seconds before a tornado struck the store. (National Weather Service files)