2018-02-12

Author: Mary Knapp

February isn’t immune to extreme cold, as we’ve noticed this year. However, perhaps the greatest of all arctic outbreaks commenced on February 11th, 1899. The temperature plunged to 61 degrees below zero in Montana. At the same time a "Great Eastern Blizzard" left a blanket of snow from Georgia to New Hampshire. The state of Virginia took the brunt of the storm, with snowfall totals averaging 30 to 40 inches. The system progressed south, and on Feb 12, 1899 Dodge City set an all-time low of 26 below zero. The cold extended east to Kansas City, Missouri where temperatures dropped to 22 degrees below zero. To the south, Fort Worth Texas dropped to 8 degrees below. And north, Camp Clark Nebraska recorded 47 degrees below zero.

Figure 1. Ice on Trees (WDL archives)

Mary Knapp, Weather Data Library
mknapp@ksu.edu