Draft:January 2024 North American cold wave
 Map of the very cold temperatures across the United States on January 15, 2024 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | January 12, 2024 |
| Dissipated | January 23, 2024 |
| Cold wave | |
| Lowest temperature | −45 °F (−42.8 °C) in Bozeman, Montana on January 13 |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | At least 55[1] |
| Damage | Unknown |
| Areas affected | Canada, Central United States, Eastern United States, Northern Mexico |
Part of the 2023–24 North American winter | |
The January 2024 North American cold wave was an extreme weather event that brought record low temperatures to a significant portion of Canada, the United States and parts of northern Mexico during the middle of January 2024. The cold was caused by a southern migration of the polar vortex, likely caused by a sudden stratospheric warming event that occurred a few weeks prior.
Background
[edit]A large arctic airmass over Canada began to spill over into the Pacific Northwest, as the storm system and arctic airmass advanced east.[2]
Records
[edit]United States
[edit]Wind chills following the arrival of the cold reached as low as −60 °F (−51 °C) in Montana, and wind chills were still −9 °F (−23 °C) as far south as Dallas on January 14.[3] On January 13, Dillon, Montana reached an all time record low of −42 °F (−41 °C), while Bozeman, Montana recorded their second coldest temperature at −45 °F (−43 °C).[4] That same day, Dickinson, North Dakota reached a −70 °F (−57 °C) wind chill, their coldest since the wind chill formula was updated in 2001, and a −33 °F (−36 °C) air temperature, a daily record and their coldest temperature since 1990.[5] On January 16, Houston dropped to a daily record low of 19 °F (−7 °C).[6]
Impact
[edit]United States
[edit]Midwestern United States
[edit]Freezing temperatures affected campaign events leading up to the Iowa Caucuses on January 15, and could affect turnout in the first contest in the 2024 presidential primaries and caucuses.[7] In addition, the cold temperatures resulted in the 4th coldest NFL game on record between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins, with kickoff temperature being −4 °F (−20 °C).[8]
Northeastern United States
[edit]Numerous Northeast Corridor trains were cancelled due to the cold weather over the Northeastern United States on January 18.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ Brutally cold weather hitting storm-battered South and Northeast US this weekend, AP News, January 20, 2024
- ^ Arctic Chill Sweeps U.S., Earth Observatory, January 15, 2024
- ^ Dangerous Subzero Wind Chills Blanket Much of the U.S., New York Times, January 14, 2024
- ^ Historic cold grips SW Montana, KBZK, January 13, 2024
- ^ Records set over the weekend; recapping the coldest part of our Arctic blast, KFYRTV, January 14, 2024
- ^ "Houston breaks low temperature record for Jan. 16 as freeze sweeps Texas". Chron. January 16, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
- ^ Iowa campaign events are falling as fast as the snow as the state readies for record-cold caucuses, Associated Press, January 12, 2024
- ^ Chiefs and Dolphins play fourth-coldest game in NFL history at minus-4 degrees, ABC News, January 13, 2024
- ^ Amtrak cancels more than a dozen Northeast Corridor trains due to winter weather, CBS News, January 18, 2024