A cold wave (known in some regions as a cold snap, cold spell or Arctic Snap) is a weather phenomenon that is distinguished by a cooling of the air. Specifically, as used by the U.S. National Weather Service, a cold wave is a rapid fall in temperature within a 24-hour period requiring substantially increased protection to agriculture, industry, commerce, and social activities. The precise criteria for a cold wave are the rate at which the temperature falls, and the minimum to which it falls. This minimum temperature is dependent on the geographical region and time of year.[1]
In the United States, a cold spell is defined as the national average high temperature dropping below 20 °F (−7 °C).[2] A cold wave of sufficient magnitude and duration may be classified as a cold air outbreak (CAO).[3][4]
Effects
A cold wave can cause death and injury to livestock and wildlife. Exposure to cold mandates greater caloric intake for all animals, including humans, and if a cold wave is accompanied by heavy and persistent snow, grazing animals may be unable to reach needed food and die of hypothermia or starvation. They often necessitate the purchase of foodstuffs to feed livestock at considerable cost to farmers.
Cold spells are associated with increased mortality rates in populations around the world.[5] Both cold waves and heat waves cause deaths, though different groups of people may be susceptible to different weather events.[6] More temperature-attributable deaths occur during a cold wave than in a heat wave,[7][8] though the mortality rate is higher in undeveloped regions of the world. Extreme winter cold often causes poorly insulated water pipelines and mains to freeze. Even some poorly protected indoor plumbing ruptures as water expands within them, causing much damage to property and costly insurance claims. Demand for electrical power and fuels rises dramatically during such times, even though the generation of electrical power may fail due to the freezing of water necessary for the generation of hydroelectricity. Some metals may become brittle at low temperatures. Motor vehicles may fail when antifreeze fails or motor oil gels, producing a failure of the transportation system.
Fires become even more of a hazard during extreme cold. Water mains may break and water supplies may become unreliable, making firefighting more difficult. The air during a cold wave is typically denser and thus contains more oxygen, so when air that a fire draws in becomes unusually cold it is likely to cause a more intense fire.[citation needed] However, snow may stop spreading of fires, especially wildfires.
Winter cold waves that are not considered cold in some areas, but cause temperatures significantly below average for an area, are also destructive. Areas with subtropical climates may recognize a cold wave at higher temperatures than other, colder areas of the globe. The cold wave may be recognized at barely freezing temperatures, as these are still unusually cold for the region, and plant and animal life will be less tolerant of such cold. The same winter temperatures that one associates with the norm for Colorado, Ohio, or Bavaria are catastrophic to crops in places like Florida, California, or parts of South America that grow fruit and vegetables in winter.
Cold waves that bring unexpected freezes and frosts during the growing season in mid-latitude zones can kill plants during the early and most vulnerable stages of growth, resulting in crop failure as plants are killed before they can be harvested economically. Such cold waves have caused famines. At times as deadly to plants as drought, cold waves can leave land in danger of later brush and forest fires that consume dead biomass. One extreme was the so-called Year Without a Summer of 1816, one of several years during the 1810s in which numerous crops failed during freakish summer cold snaps after volcanic eruptions that reduced incoming sunlight.
Recent research suggests a possible link between cold waves in North America and extratropical cyclogenesis over the East Atlantic.[9] These may be connected by large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns.[10] Examples include Rossby wave propagation from the North Pacific or an upper-level anticyclone west of Greenland.[11] In Europe, the advection of cold air masses from the northeast emerges as a potential precursor signal for the majority of cold waves, significantly affecting the energy, health, and agricultural sectors of the continent.[12]
Countermeasures
In some places, such as Siberia, extreme cold requires that fuel-powered machinery intended to be used occasionally must be run continually. Internal plumbing can be wrapped, and persons can often run water continuously through pipes. Energy conservation, difficult as it is in a cold wave, may require such measures as collecting people (especially the poor and elderly) in communal shelters. Even the homeless may be arrested and taken to shelters, only to be released when the hazard abates.[13] Hospitals can prepare for the admission of victims of frostbite and hypothermia; schools and other public buildings can be converted into shelters.
People can stock up on food, water, and other necessities before a cold wave. Some may even choose to migrate to places of milder climates, at least during the winter. Suitable stocks of forage can be secured before cold waves for livestock, and livestock in vulnerable areas might be shipped from affected areas or even slaughtered. Smudge pots can bring smoke that prevents hard freezes on a farm or grove. Vulnerable crops may be sprayed with water that will paradoxically protect the plants by freezing and absorbing the cold from surrounding air.
Most people can dress appropriately and can layer their clothing should they need to go outside or should their heating fail. They can also stock candles, matches, flashlights, and portable fuel for cooking and wood for fireplaces or wood stoves, as necessary. However, caution should be taken as the use of charcoal fires for cooking or heating within an enclosed dwelling is extremely dangerous due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Adults must remain aware of the exposure that children and the elderly have to cold.
Eastern cold wave of January and February 1835. First of three historic U.S. cold waves to hit during the 19th century (1835, 1857, 1899). In January, mercury thermometers froze throughout the Northeast. Mercury froze at −40 °F (−40 °C) in Bangor and Bath, Maine and Montpelier and White River, Vermont. In Connecticut, Hartford hit −27 °F (−33 °C) and New Haven −23 °F (−31 °C), and in Massachusetts, Williamstown hit −30 °F (−34 °C) and Pittsfield −32 °F (−36 °C), all low temperature marks that have never been matched since. In February, Savannah, Georgia the temperature hit 0 °F (−18 °C), 8 °F (4.4 °C) colder than would be reached during the 1899 cold wave later in the century and Charleston South Carolina hit 2 °F (−17 °C).[14]
1836
Last reported snowfall in Sydney, Australia occurred on 28 June of that year. British settlers in Hyde Park woke up to snow "nearly 1 in (2.5 cm) deep", with the meteorological table in The Sydney Herald recording that on the morning of the snow the temperature dropped to 3 °C (37 °F).[15]
1857
New England Cold wave of 1857. January 1857 was the coldest month ever recorded in New England. Average month temperatures of 16.7 °F (−8.5 °C) in New Haven, 16.8 °F (−8.4 °C) in Boston, and 19.6 °F (−6.9 °C) in New York City remain coldest months on record in those cities. The worst of the cold descended on New England on January 22 with January 23 being one of the coldest days known in the region. In Bath, Maine a temperature reading of −52 °F (−47 °C) and in Franconia, New Hampshire −51 °F (−46 °C) were recorded. In Norwich, Vermont −44 °F (−42 °C) was recorded. Boston suburbs of Malden and West Newton recorded −30 °F (−34 °C) overnight. Boston temperatures for January 23 never rose above 0 °F (−18 °C) all day and Nantucket Island was connected to the mainland by ice. In New York City, Erasmus Hall in Brooklyn reached a high of 0 °F during the day and the Hudson River froze over solidly enough for people to walk across to Hoboken.[16]
1859
January 1859: January 10 – coldest single daytime temperatures ever recorded experienced in New York City and in New England areas. Montreal recorded temperature of −43.6 °F (−42.0 °C) at 7 am, some 15 °F (8.3 °C) degrees lower than modern Montreal record of −29 °F (−34 °C) in 1933. Toronto recorded −27 °F (−33 °C) on the same day. At the University of Vermont in Burlington, −31.5 °F (−35.3 °C) was recorded at 7 am and −26 °F (−32 °C) at 2 pm. In Woodstock, Vermont a temperature of −45 °F (−43 °C) was recorded. Harvard College recorded −4.5 °F (−20.3 °C) at 2 pm and −18 °F (−28 °C) the next morning of January 11, the lowest known temperature reading recorded in Boston. Nantucket Island measured −12 °F (−24 °C), 6 °F (3.3 °C) colder than the modern known record. In New York City, recorded temperatures did not go above 0 °F (−18 °C). In Brooklyn Heights, a recorded reading of −9 °F (−23 °C) at noon and in Eramus Hall in Brooklyn recorded a high of −3.7 °F (−19.8 °C) at 7 am and −8 °F (−22 °C) at 9 pm that night. Union Hall in Jamaica Queens recorded −12 °F (−24 °C) at midnight between January 10 and 11. In White Plains, there were readings of −13 °F (−25 °C) at 7 am, −10 °F (−23 °C) at 2 pm, and −15 °F (−26 °C) at 9 pm.[17]
1874–1875
Winter 1874–1875 in Mid-Western United States.
1882–1883
Winter 1882–1883 in United States.
1886–1887
Winter of 1886–87 in the United States Great Plains and Upper Midwest.
1888
1888 US cold wave – A severe cold wave that passed through the Pacific Northwest. It led to a blizzard for the northern Plains and upper Mississippi valley where many children were trapped in schoolhouses where they froze to death.
1893
1893 East Asia Cold Wave – Produced snow in Hong Kong and South China, and freezing temperatures into tropical latitudes.
1893 Eastern United States Cold Wave.
1895
February 1895 United States Cold Wave (Great Freeze) – Damaged citrus crops in Florida. A snowstorm produced unprecedented snowfall amounts along the Gulf Coast, including 22 inches (56 cm) in Houston, TX. Snow fell as far south as Tampico, Mexico, the lowest latitude in North America that snow has been recorded at sea level.
The winter of 1904 was the coolest year on record worldwide.[19]
1912
January 1912 cold wave – The severe 1912 United States cold wave caused the longest recorded period of weather below 0 °F or −17.8 °C.
1916–1917
Winter of 1916–1917 – the "extended winter" (October to March) of 1916–17 was the coldest on record in the West and Midwest.
1917–1918
Winter of 1917–1918 – The winter was very frigid across the East and created a heating fuel crisis equaled only in January 1977. Severe cold wave in December 1917 and January 1918 in northeast. December 30 set a number of record lows at the time in New York City (−13 °F, −25 °C) and Boston (−15 °F, −26 °C).[20] Under ideal conditions for radiational cooling, including fresh snow cover and mostly clear skies, the morning of December 30, 1917, was exceptionally cold also in parts of Virginia and West Virginia, with all-time record cold temperatures (that stand until nowadays) recorded in many cities, including −37 °F (−38 °C) at Lewisburg (West Virginia state record), −34 °F (−37 °C) at White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, −25 °F (−32 °C) at Bluefield, West Virginia, and −27 °F (−33 °C) at Blacksburg and Burke's Garden, Virginia. January 1918 also brought persistent well below average temperatures for many parts of the East and Midwest, with another shot of very cold air in early February (New York City Central Park's high of only 4 °F (−16 °C) on February 5 is a monthly record, while Michigan's Houghton Lake reached a low of −48 °F (−44 °C) on February 1). The Ohio River froze solidly along its entire length.
This cold wave occurred not only in America but also East Asia. In Seoul, the weather was warm in early December 1917, but the temperature didn't go above (32 °F, 0 °C) during the cold wave from December 15–January 9. In addition, the temperature went lower than (14 °F, −10 °C) from December 15–31. The cold wave was especially fierce from December 26–27 and the low temperature on December 26 was (0.32 °F, −17.60 °C), while the high temperature was (9.86 °F, −12.30 °C). That day Incheon recorded a high temperature of (9.14 °F, −12.70 °C), this was the 3rd lowest high temperature recorded during winter. Also, the low temperature on December 27 was (−4.72 °F, −20.40 °C), this temperature is 2nd coldest temperature recorded in December in Seoul. (The lowest was (−9.58 °F, −23.10 °C) on December 31, 1927). The cold wave continued into January 1918, where it intensified. The low temperature on January 3 was (−7.24 °F, −21.80 °C). The temperature was a slightly warmer on January 14, but the weather was still quite cold, and the low temperatures were at (14 °F, −10 °C) or lower until January 28. Leading into February, this cold wave dissipated. Seoul had an average temperature of (21.74 °F, −5.70 °C) in December 1917, the lowest average recorded in December, and recorded an average temperature of (18.5 °F, −7.5 °C) in January 1918, the 6th lowest recorded in January.[21]
The cold wave also impacted North Korea, and the lowest temperature in Pyeongyang was (−11.74 °F, −24.30 °C)[22] in December 1917. Also, the average temperature was (12.56 °F, −10.80 °C).)[23]
1930
A cold wave gripped the western United States in January 1930. Two inches of snow fell in Palm Springs, CA on January 11, one of only two times in the city's history that snow was ever observed.[24]
1932
Major cold outbreaks affected California in January, February and December. Up to two inches of snow fell across the Los Angeles Basin on January 15, and two inches of snow was officially recorded at the Downtown Los Angeles Weather Bureau Office.[25] Snow also fell in San Francisco on three days in December 1932.
1933
1933 Western United States cold wave – The winter of 1932–33 was the second- or third-coldest on record[26] in most of the West (the coldest on record in Arizona[27]) and saw record cold temperatures in Seneca, Oregon (-54 °F/-48 °C), Moran, Wyoming (-66 °F/-54 °C) and Seminole, Texas (-23 °F/-31 °F) between February 7 and 10,[28] when sixty deaths were blamed on extreme cold and ice storms.
1934
February 1934 Cold Wave in New England and Eastern Canada – Longest period of cold weather ever experienced to this point. Average temperatures in upper New England and Eastern Canada were around zero degrees Fahrenheit for most of the month. Lake Ontario was reportedly completely frozen over. Temperatures reached above freezing only on one day in Burlington, VT in February.[29]
1936
1936 North American cold wave – The cold wave of 1936 was the only cold wave of the 1930s to severely impact the United States east of the hundredth meridian. One of the coldest winters in the Great Plains on record. Low temperatures dropped below −50 °F (−46 °C) in Malta, Montana on four separate days and most of Montana averaged 20 degrees below normal for the entire month of February Parshall, North Dakota hit −60 °F (−51 °C) on February 15, still a record. Langdon, North Dakota remained below 0 °F (−18 °C) for 41 straight days from January 11 to February 20, the longest stretch in recorded history for the U.S. outside of Alaska. The cold wave was followed by one of the hottest summers on record, the 1936 North American heat wave.[30]
1937
1937 Western United States cold wave – January 1937 was the coldest month on record in the West and saw snowfall as far south as the hot desert city of Yuma, Arizona, for one of only two occasions on record. California and Nevada saw their lowest temperatures on record: −45 °F (−42.8 °C) at Boca on January 20 and −50 °F (−45.6 °C) at San Jacinto on January 8.[28]
1940
January 1940 Southern United States cold wave – Late January saw record-breaking cold and snow across the Southern United States. It was the coldest month there since February 1899.
1941–1942
Winter of 1941–42 in Eastern Europe – The winter of 1941–42 was the coldest of the twentieth century in most of Eastern Europe (e.g. Moscow) and was the last of a succession of abnormally cold winters there that affected the course of World War II.[31]
February 1947 saw the coldest temperature on record in Canada, at -62.8 °C at Snag, Yukon.
1949
January 1949 Western United States cold wave – The winter of 1948–49 was the coldest since 1891 over the Western United States and saw record snowfall, ice storms as far south as Texas, and constant disruptions to surface transport, along with large losses in livestock and crops. Coldest winter was recorded in many places in California, Nevada, Idaho and Washington state. The cold was also accompanied by severe blizzards which isolated Wyoming ranches and paralyzed the Great Basin region. The U.S. Army ran "Operation Hay Lift" in the region to bring food and hay by plane to isolated ranches in the region. Las Vegas Nevada got a record 16.7 in (420 mm) of snowfall during the month of January. Snow fell in both San Diego and Los Angeles on three days in January 1949. All-time record low of 0 °F in San Antonio, Texas.[32]
1950
1950 Northwest North American cold wave – January 1950 saw unprecedented cold and snowfall in the Pacific Northwest, with normally mild Seattle and Portland, Oregon, both falling below 0 °F (−17.8 °C) and receiving extremely heavy snow that disrupted transport and schooling as it could not be removed easily. Western Canada saw by far its coldest month on record, leading to severe damage to fruit crops in the Okanagan Valley, the freezing of Okanagan Lake for the only time since 1862, and Calgary's only month where temperatures remained below 32 °F (0 °C) throughout. Vancouver, British Columbia, had an average temperature of −6.3 °C (20.7 °F),[33] compared to the average 4.1 °C (39.4 °F).[34]
1954–1955
Winter of 1954–1955 in East Asia – One of the coldest winters on record across China. Numerous major rivers and lakes froze over across southern China, including the Huai River, Han River, and Dongting Lake.
Between Late July and Early August 1955 the most intense cold wave ever recorded in Brazil was registered. It snowed heavily for over 24 hours in some cities of the south of the country, accumulating over 2 feet (60 cm) in the mountainous regions of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina states. The cold air reached the Amazon and even crossed the Equator, which is extremely rare. Temperatures plummeted to -10 °C (14 °F) in Bom Jesus, Rio Grande do Sul, and -2 °C (29 °F) in São Paulo (negative temperatures were never again recorded in the city center).
1956
1956 European cold wave – February 1956 was the coldest month of the twentieth century over large areas of Western Europe,[35] with mean temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F) as far south as Marseille being utterly unprecedented in records dating back into the eighteenth century.
1962–1963
Winter of 1962–63 in the United Kingdom – The winter of 1962–63 was the coldest for 223 years in England, and the freeze was accompanied by strong easterly winds and the freezing of rivers and streams.
January 1963 cold wave in Mid-Western United States, as well as a brief-but-severe cold spell in the western United States.
1966
1966 Western Canadian cold wave – January 1966 was the coldest January on record in the Yukon and the coldest since 1950 or 1936 in the Prairie Provinces, and the severe cold continued into March, when Winnipeg recorded its most severe winter snowstorm on record.
1968–1969
Winter of 1968–69 in Central Asia – Central Asia and western Siberia saw by far their coldest winter on record in 1968–69,[35][36] and in Central Asia also their wettest, producing record low temperature, severe blizzards and avalanches, numerous plant deaths and record spring flooding. The cold occasionally swept into East Asia, resulting in record snowstorms and cold in China and Japan.
1969 Northwest North American cold wave – December 1968 and January 1969 saw record cold and snow in the Pacific Northwest and Southern BC. Vancouver, BC recorded its coldest temperature on record of −23.3 °C (−9.9 °F) on January 23, 1969, and −18.3 °C (−0.9 °F) at the airport on December 29, 1968. Seattle recorded its snowiest winter on record with 67.5 inches (171 cm) for the season at Sea-Tac Airport.
1975
July 1975 was a historic month in South America. One of the most intense cold waves of the century climbed through the continent, even crossing the Equator in the Amazon Forest. On July 16, snow fell heavily in Argentina, and on the following day in Paraguay and Southern Brazil. In Curitiba it snowed for around 6 hours, accumulating on the ground, even in the city center. The phenomenon was registered in 5 states, a very rare occurrence. In July 18, the temperature dropped even more. In the state of Paraná, the coffee crops were killed by an episode of black frost (it occurs when the plants' tissues freeze and die), and some cities recorded -10 °C (14 °F), among the lowest temperatures ever recorded in the country. The cold wave reached as far as 10°N before dissipating.[37]
1977
Cold wave of January 1977. Greatest eastern US cold wave of the 20th century. The core of the cold air extended from New Hampshire to Florida and west to Iowa and Missouri. Ohio was at the very center of the cold air mass where every weather station there recorded its coldest month on record. Cincinnati recorded its lowest known temperature of −25 °F (−32 °C) dating back to 1820. The South Carolina state record temperature of −20 °F (−29 °C) was recorded during this cold wave near Long Creek. The wind chill in Minneapolis was −78 °F (−61 °C) on January 28, possibility the lowest ever recorded there up until that point. Snow fell in Miami and Homestead Florida, the farthest south snow was ever recorded in America. President Jimmy Carter walked in his inauguration parade in temperatures below freezing on January 20. Buffalo, New York was hit with its worst blizzard ever during the last week of January where near hurricane-force winds created whiteout conditions for three days. Temperatures in Buffalo were around 0 °F (−18 °C), wind chills recorded of −60 °F (−51 °C)using the old formula, and the blizzard paralyzed the city with snow drifts of up to 30 feet (9.1 m).[38]
1978
Cold wave of early 1978 – Produced one of the coldest winters on record in all states east of the Rockies, except Maine.
Europe and Asia, winter of 1978–1979, caused by the Kara Sea 1978 anticyclone. Weather conditions typical for polar regions were detected in Moscow, Leningrad (St. Petersburg), and Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg), affecting logistics and the energy industry, and causing fires at the Beloyarskaya Nuclear powerplant.[39] Freeze, but a lack of snow caused winter cereal crop failure throughout 1979.
1979
Cold wave of 1979 – widespread cold across the United States. One of the largest Chicago snowstorms in history at the time, with 21 inches of snowfall in the two-day period, the 1979 Chicago Blizzard occurred during the cold wave in January.
Late 1970s (1977, 1978, 1979) – In the last three years of the 1970s, almost all of the conterminous United States had at least one winter with a memorable cold wave, and the winter of 1978–79 was the coldest on record in the lower 48[citation needed], with everywhere, except normally frigid upstate Maine, experiencing well below average temperatures.
1981–1982
Winter of 1981/82 in the United Kingdom – This was a significantly colder than average winter. December started off very mild with temperatures up to 15 °C (59 °F), but it quickly became very cold and snowy. The night of the 12th–13th is particularly noted for its cold temperatures with many records broken. January 1982 was also a cold and snowy month with records being broken on the 10th in both England and Scotland. England recorded a record low of −26.1 °C (−15.0 °F) and down to −27.2 °C (−17.0 °F) in Braemar.
January 1982 cold air outbreak – January 1982 was very cold. The 1981 AFC Championship Game, held in Cincinnati, was nicknamed the "Freezer Bowl" due to the −9 °F (−22.8 °C) temperature at kickoff and −59 °F (−50.6 °C) wind chill. The Sunday of the following week (January 17, 1982) is also known as Cold Sunday. Chicago's Midway and O'Hare airports record their all-time low temperatures of −26 °F (−32 °C). Milwaukee, Wisconsin recorded temperatures of −26 °F (−32 °C) on January 17, the lowest in 111 years there. Recorded temperature of −5 °F (−21 °C) in Atlanta and Jackson, Mississippi.[18]
1983
December 1983 Great Plains cold wave – The contiguous US had its coldest ever Christmas in 1983, except for the southwestern US. Severely cold winds blew in from Canada and about 70% of the month was colder than average. Many locations east of the Rockies broke December cold records on Christmas Eve. In addition to −23 °F (−30.6 °C) cold, the Sioux Falls area had 60 mph (97 km/h) winds bringing wind chills down to −70 °F (−56.7 °C). High temperatures did not even reach −10 °F (−23.3 °C) in northern Illinois during the days before Christmas.[40] Temperatures dropped below 0 °F (−17.8 °C) on December 15 and remained there for over nine days at Sioux Falls.[41] Minneapolis recorded an average temperature for the month of 3.7 °F (−15.7 °C), the coldest on record.[42] In Chicago, a temperature of −23 °F (−30.6 °C) and 30 mph winds resulted in a wind chill of −82 °F (−63.3 °C) (−57 °F (−49.4 °C) under the new formula) on Christmas Eve.
1985–1986
1985 Great Western cold air outbreak – February 1985 saw the contiguous U.S.'s second-coldest temperature of −69 °F (−56.1 °C) in Peter Sinks, Utah. About a month of severe cold affected a large part of the nation. 1985 became the fourth-coldest calendar year on record in the Pacific Northwest.[citation needed]
January 1985 – January 1985 was the coldest January since 1979 in the United Kingdom with significantly below-average temperatures.
January 1985 US cold air outbreak – On January 21, 1985, it was so cold that President Ronald Reagan's inauguration took place in the Capitol Rotunda. In addition to the cold in Washington, D.C., Miami Beach recorded its only frost since records began, lasting for a full three hours. Several other Southern cities set all-time record cold.
Winter of 1985/86 in the United Kingdom – The cold weather started in November 1985 with the month being considerably below average, being the coldest since at least 1925. December 1985 was a milder month and January was close to average. February was the coldest month since February 1947 in United Kingdom and it became the 5th coldest February in the CET records dating back to 1659.
January 1987 Southeast England snowfall – This was a notably cold winter month for the United Kingdom and snowy too, especially so for the southeast with a very heavy lake-effect type snow event that affected the areas of East Anglia, south-east England and London between 11 and 14 January. It was the heaviest snowfall since 1981/82.
March 1987 Greece cold wave - very rare cold air mass trapping phenomenon - The cold wave of March '87 lasted at least ten days in Athens and more in northern Greece according to weather reports and caused by a cold air mass that was trapped in the region of Greece after a high pressure system had been extended pushing trapped cold air from Russia.[45]
1989
February 1989 featured a significant, week-long cold wave across the Western United States. Major cities affected by the cold stretched from Seattle, WA to as far south as Los Angeles, CA. Las Vegas set a record low for February with 16 °F (−8.9 °C) degrees on February 7, 1989.
Winter of 1990–91 in Western Europe – This winter was noted for its effects especially on the United Kingdom and for two significantly heavy snowfalls which occurred in December 1990 and February 1991, such snowfalls would not be seen again until February 2009. The winter was the coldest since January 1987.
December 1990 western United States – Extreme cold dropped down from Canada in the second half of December, causing record low temperatures up and down the West Coast, including one of California's most damaging freezes since 1949.
1994
1994 Northern US/Southern Canada cold outbreak – January 1994 was the coldest month ever recorded or since January 1977 or February 1934 over many parts of the northeast and north-central United States, plus adjacent southeastern Canada. Many overnight record lows were set. Cold outbreaks continued into February but the severity eased somewhat. Detroit, Michigan saw the city's coldest temperature since 1985.
1995
1995 White Earthquake in southern Chile – In August 1995 southern Chile was struck by a cold wave consisting of two successive cold fronts. Fodder scarcity caused a severe livestock starvation. Cows and sheep were also buried in snow. In parts of Tierra del Fuego up to 80% of the sheep died.
December 1995 Great Britain cold wave – On the 30th of December the United Kingdom recorded a record low of −27.2 °C (−17.0 °F) in Altnaharra in Scotland equalling the record set on February 11, 1895, and January 10, 1982.
1996
1996 Great Midwest cold outbreak – Late January and early February was Northern Minnesota's coldest short-term period on record. The record low of −60 °F (−51.1 °C) was recorded in Tower, Minnesota. Cities like Minneapolis experienced temperatures near −35 °F (−37.2 °C).
1997
1997 Northern Plains cold air outbreak – Mid-January across the Northern U.S. was one of the windie
