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Early January 2014 cold snaps - featuring the polar vortex of doom


Ian

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I think even Dulles may struggle to get below 0 when all is said and done.

It will be a believe when we see it for sure. Our resume of not hitting big lows is too extensive to bet against. I'm more interested in dca have a high in the teens. I hope they score that above all else.

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It will be a believe when we see it for sure. Our resume of not hitting big lows is too extensive to bet against. I'm more interested in dca have a high in the teens. I hope they score that above all else.

For all the focus on DCA heat island I think this graphic is pretty telling.. had not looked till last night:

 

post-1615-0-79974800-1388944351_thumb.gi

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Are the following numbers right for DCA?

Since 1/94, the coldest two days at DCA for average daily temp are 2/4/96 (17 high/9 low) and 2/5/96 (21/5)?

 

I think so....Ian?

 

a couple other were 14.5 i think

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For all the focus on DCA heat island I think this graphic is pretty telling.. had not looked till last night:

dulles-lows.gif

Wow, that is telling. But not surprising unfortunately. I know memory is foggy. Especially going back to child/teenage times. But we used to play ice hockey on ponds in the 80's a lot. Ice was totally safe. The 70's speak for themselves.

One thing that has hurt us in the last 5 years or so is the cold being focused on russia etc. They've had some brutal cold even at latitudes similar to ours in southern russia and china. Not the case this year. And it makes a huge difference because we are getting some good cold with lack of blocking. Upper midwest is going old school this year.

It's pretty obvious we don't do low lows often at all anymore and it's not just because we've warmed a degree or 2 the last 20 years as a planet. At least this winter has some cold talking points in our area.

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That's crazy. Not one day below 0 in two decades...wow. I guess I really never will experience what my parents experienced back then.

 

Well, 2009 they hit 0. There might be a few others like that. Sometimes things look quite different based on a degree or two.  But, the trend there is clearly that it's harder to get below zero. I know the area around Dulles has expanded quite a bit which must factor in some way.

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And this lovely stretch after the 1/22/87 snow, including the day of the second 10" storm:

1/24/87: -2 F

1/25/87: -5 F

1/26/87:  3 F

1/27/87: -9 F

1/28/87: -17 F (!)

1/29/87: -1 F

 

yep...insane

 

Am I correct that since 1/94, we have only had 2 days with a max in the teens....2/96 and 1/09??

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I checked the coldest days during 1/03, 1/04, 2/07, and 1/09-- none of those matched the 2/96 days. I don't think I'm missing a cold wave....

 

This is the top 10 coldest avg at DCA since/including 1994

 

1/19/1994    2.0

1/16/1994    11.5

1/15/1994    12.0

1/20/1994    13.0

2/4/1996    13.0

2/5/1996    13.0

1/21/1994    14.0

1/10/2004    14.5

1/16/2009    14.5

2/6/1995    16.0

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And this lovely stretch after the 1/22/87 snow, including the day of the second 10" storm:

1/24/87: -2 F

1/25/87: -5 F

1/26/87:  3 F

1/27/87: -9 F

1/28/87: -17 F (!)

1/29/87: -1 F

Wow. That's ridiculous. I would think that stretch would top any 6 day minimums for any major city outside of Northern New England including Boston and Hartford.

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yep...insane

 

Am I correct that since 1/94, we have only had 2 days with a max in the teens....2/96 and 1/09??

These are the coldest maxes since/including 1994 at DCA

 

1994    1/19/1994    8

1995    2/6/1995    25

1996    2/4/1996    17

1997    1/18/1997    22

1998    12/23/1998    28

1999    1/2/1999    25

2000    1/18/2000    22

2001    2/22/2001    29

2002    12/5/2002    30

2003    1/23/2003    22

2004    1/10/2004    21

2005    1/22/2005    23

2006    2/19/2006    30

2007    2/5/2007    22

2008    12/22/2008    28

2009    1/16/2009    18

2010    1/30/2010    23

2011    1/22/2011    28

2012    1/22/2012    32

2013    1/25/2013    25

 

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For all the focus on DCA heat island I think this graphic is pretty telling.. had not looked till last night:

dulles-lows.gif

That graph correlates pretty well to the amount of development that's taken place in the Dulles area in the last 20 years. I don't know exactly where Dulles's readings are taken, but there are definitely edges of the airport that wouldn't be directly affected by being on/near concrete, though I assume temps would be moderated somewhat just due to all the concrete within a couple miles of the airport no matter where the station is located.

I wonder how that graph correlates to below zero readings at regional sites that aren't affected by UHI or UHI-like effects. Is it all UHI-related, or is it also a reflection of a change in global climactic regimes during that time?

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That graph correlates pretty well to the amount of development that's taken place in the Dulles area in the last 20 years. I don't know exactly where Dulles's readings are taken, but there are definitely edges of the airport that wouldn't be directly affected by being on/near concrete, though I assume temps would be moderated somewhat just due to all the concrete within a couple miles of the airport no matter where the station is located.

I wonder how that graph correlates to below zero readings at regional sites that aren't affected by UHI or UHI-like effects. Is it all UHI-related, or is it also a reflection of a change in global climactic regimes during that time?

Yeah that's a good question in second para. I think all three local sites are UHI impacted so it's hard to tell if it's just that or climate change. I guess you'd need to look at places in the Apps etc. My guess is the frequency is down there too but perhaps not as much.

This is big cold no doubt but even for the upper Midwest for this to be the coldest since the 1990s must indicate we've had less cold in the past 20 years or so overall.

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These are the coldest maxes since/including 1994 at DCA

 

1994    1/19/1994    8

1995    2/6/1995    25

1996    2/4/1996    17

1997    1/18/1997    22

1998    12/23/1998    28

1999    1/2/1999    25

2000    1/18/2000    22

2001    2/22/2001    29

2002    12/5/2002    30

2003    1/23/2003    22

2004    1/10/2004    21

2005    1/22/2005    23

2006    2/19/2006    30

2007    2/5/2007    22

2008    12/22/2008    28

2009    1/16/2009    18

2010    1/30/2010    23

2011    1/22/2011    28

2012    1/22/2012    32

2013    1/25/2013    25

 

 

thanks...that is more interesting to me...we suck at mins

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This is the top 10 coldest avg at DCA since/including 1994

 

1/19/1994    2.0

1/16/1994    11.5

1/15/1994    12.0

1/20/1994    13.0

2/4/1996    13.0

2/5/1996    13.0

1/21/1994    14.0

1/10/2004    14.5

1/16/2009    14.5

2/6/1995    16.0

Where'd you find the temps? 

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These are the coldest maxes since/including 1994 at DCA

 

1994    1/19/1994    8

1995    2/6/1995    25

1996    2/4/1996    17

1997    1/18/1997    22

1998    12/23/1998    28

1999    1/2/1999    25

2000    1/18/2000    22

2001    2/22/2001    29

2002    12/5/2002    30

2003    1/23/2003    22

2004    1/10/2004    21

2005    1/22/2005    23

2006    2/19/2006    30

2007    2/5/2007    22

2008    12/22/2008    28

2009    1/16/2009    18

2010    1/30/2010    23

2011    1/22/2011    28

2012    1/22/2012    32

2013    1/25/2013    25

 

Do you have this same data for 1970-1993?

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How about 12 lows in the single digits during 12/89 at IAD? That's pretty crazy impressive too. 

Just went back and took a look at BWI during that span in 87 and although it was very impressive there too it was nothing in comparison to IAD. The lowest temp.recorded at BWI during those six days was 0. No low below zero and BWI always radiates very well.

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Do you have this same data for 1970-1993?

1970    1/9/1970    12

1971    2/1/1971    22

1972    1/16/1972    18

1973    1/8/1973    24

1974    1/13/1974    33

1975    1/14/1975    31

1976    1/18/1976    24

1977    1/17/1977    18

1978    1/10/1978    23

1979    2/18/1979    15

1980    3/1/1980    21

1981    1/12/1981    22

1982    1/17/1982    10

1983    12/25/1983    14

1984    1/21/1984    20

1985    1/21/1985    17

1986    1/28/1986    23

1987    1/25/1987    17

1988    1/6/1988    20

1989    12/22/1989    17

1990    2/26/1990    31

1991    1/22/1991    26

1992    1/19/1992    25

1993    12/28/1993    25

 

Here's the whole record in a graph with lows too:

 

post-1615-0-21951600-1388946776_thumb.gi

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