In late January 2019, a severe

cold wave 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 temp ...

caused by a weakened

jet stream Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow thermal wind, air currents in the Earth's Atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere. The main jet streams are located near the altitude of the tropopause and are westerly winds, flowing west to east around the gl ...

around the Arctic

polar vortex A polar vortex, more formally a circumpolar vortex, is a large region of cold, rotating air; polar vortices encircle both of Earth's polar regions. Polar vortices also exist on other rotating, low-obliquity planetary bodies. The term polar vor ...

hit the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

and

Eastern Canada Eastern Canada (, also the Eastern provinces, Canadian East or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of Hudson Bay/ Hudson Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newf ...

, killing at least 22 people. It came after a

winter storm A winter storm (also known as snow storm) is an event in which wind coincides with varieties of precipitation that only occur at freezing temperatures, such as snow, mixed snow and rain, or freezing rain. In temperate continental and subarct ...

brought up to of snow in some regions from January 27–29, and brought the coldest temperatures in over 20 years to most locations in the affected region, including some all-time record lows. In early February, a concentration of Arctic air

colloquially Colloquialism (also called ''colloquial language'', ''colloquial speech'', ''everyday language'', or ''general parlance'') is the linguistic style used for casual and informal communication. It is the most common form of speech in conversation am ...

referred to as the "polar vortex" moved west, and became locked over Western Canada and the Western United States. As a result, February 2019 was among the coldest and snowiest on record in these regions. In early March, the cold once again shifted east, breaking records in many areas. In mid-March, the cold wave finally retreated, but combined with above-average temperatures, precipitation, and a deep snowpack, widespread flooding ensued in the Central US.

Meteorology

AIRS Captures Polar Vortex 2019 PIA22823

Normally, the Northern Hemisphere

travels fast enough to keep the concentration of Arctic air known as the "

" stationary in the

stratosphere The stratosphere () is the second-lowest layer of the atmosphere of Earth, located above the troposphere and below the mesosphere. The stratosphere is composed of stratified temperature zones, with the warmer layers of air located higher ...

over the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

. From late December to early January, a

sudden stratospheric warming Sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) is an atmospheric phenomenon that occurs when polar stratospheric temperatures suddenly rise by several degrees (sometimes as much as 50 °C (90 °F)) over the course of a few days. SSW's occur high in ...

event was observed over the Arctic, which caused the "polar vortex" to weaken and split into three lobes. In late January 2019, one of these lobes traveled southward and stalled over central Canada and north-central United States for about a week before the upper-level flow of the atmosphere directed it over to

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...

. The influx of frigid air from the North Pole created high winds, and brought extreme sub-zero temperatures, further exacerbated by severe

wind chill Wind chill (popularly wind chill factor) is the sensation of cold produced by the wind for a given ambient air temperature on exposed skin as the air motion accelerates the rate of heat transfer from the body to the surrounding atmosphere. Its va ...

. Large amounts of snow fell in the affected area. Some have attributed the unusual weather pattern to

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

Impact

At least 22 deaths in North America have been directly attributed to the cold wave, with several of these people frozen to death (

hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe ...

). Around 2,700 flights were canceled on January 30, with 2,000 canceled the next day.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

also canceled several trains.Polar vortex 2019: Relief coming for the Midwest that is suffering another record-low day
NBC News, January 31, 2019

Canada

The "polar vortex" split into three parts, with the dominant part setting up over the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

and

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

. This gave prairie Canada and

northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on p ...

a persistent northern flow, leading to record cold temperatures.

Alberta

On February 3,

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

recorded a temperature of and a wind chill of . On February 5, the city dropped to and a wind chill of . The coldest was actually that was located in

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

. On February 5,

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

recorded a temperature of and a wind chill of , as a result of the "polar vortex" making its way west. Extreme cold carried into March, with temperatures hitting in Calgary on the second, and in

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 106,550 in the 2023 Alberta municipal censuses, 2023 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

, the coldest March temperature ever recorded in the city. Temperatures dropped to in

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff, Alberta, R ...

, only 0.9 away from the March record low.

British Columbia

On February 4, the temperature in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

dropped to with a wind chill of . On the same day, the temperature in Abbotsford dropped to with a wind chill of . Again on the same day, the daily high in downtown Victoria was at , the first time the daily high was below freezing since January 2017. The next day, on February 5, the city's temperature dropped to with a wind chill of . Prince George dropped to as low as with a wind chill of on February 4. On February 11 the city recorded a temperature of with a wind chill of . Vancouver recorded a temperature of on February 5. On February 11 the city surpassed this, dropping to . Vancouver had its coldest February on record. One benefit from the cold, however, was that it killed many

Japanese beetle The Japanese beetle (''Popillia japonica'') is a species of Scarabaeidae, scarab beetle. Due to the presence of Predation, natural predators, the Japanese beetle is not considered a pest in its native Japan, but in North America and some region ...

s, an invasive species to the area. On February 5,

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna ...

dropped to with a wind chill of . The next day, on February 6, the wind chill dropped to as low as . On February 10 the temperature in the city dropped to with a wind chill of . Temperatures reached in

Ashcroft Ashcroft may refer to: Places * Ashcroft, British Columbia, a village in Canada **Ashcroft House in Bagpath, Gloucestershire, England—eponym of the Canadian village * Ashcroft, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia * Ashcroft, Colorado, ...

on February 5, the coldest temperature recorded in February since record keeping began in 2010. This record was broken again on the 10th when it reached . On February 6, the temperature in

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city of about 100,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. "The Harbour City" was previously known as the "Hub City", which was attributed to its original layout design with streets radiating fr ...

dropped to and a wind chill of .

Manitoba

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, temperatures reached as low as , the coldest temperature recorded in the city since February 2007, when it reached .

Northwest Territories

On February 2, the temperature in

Yellowknife Yellowknife is the capital, largest community, and the only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the outlet of t ...

dropped to and a wind chill of .

Nunavut

Environment Canada Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC; )Environment and Climate Change Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of the Environment (). is the Ministry (government department), department ...

issued extreme cold warnings for most of Nunavut. The temperature in Baker Lake dropped to a frigid with a wind chill of , its lowest recorded wind chill on record. On January 25, Shepherd Bay recorded .

Ontario

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

experienced its snowiest January on record with temperatures as low as .

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

experienced the largest snowstorm in six years with of snow accumulating at

Toronto Pearson International Airport Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surrounding region known as the Golden Horseshoe. Pearson is the ...

, before dropping to a low of , with a wind chill of . Many local schools and universities cancelled classes due to the weather. At

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

, the falls were left partially frozen by the extreme temperatures. On January 31, Windsor reached with a wind chill of . Warming centres were set up in Windsor and

Chatham-Kent Chatham-Kent (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 103,988) is a Census divisions of Ontario#Single-tier municipalities, single-tier municipality in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is mostly rural, and its population centres are Chatham, Wallac ...

libraries for homeless people and anyone else affected by the cold. On the same day,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

dropped to with a wind chill of . Temperatures in

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2021, St. Catharines has an area of and 136,803 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, south of Toronto ac ...

dropped to . with a wind chill of , while

Port Colborne Port Colborne is a city in Ontario, Canada that is located on Lake Erie, at the southern end of the Welland Canal, in the Niagara Region of Southern Ontario. The original settlement, known as Gravelly Bay, dates from 1832 and was renamed after ...

fell to with a wind chill of .

Quebec

The cold snap in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

began with a blizzard where base temperatures reached . The combination with a single-day snowfall was the coldest snowiest day in nearly a century. The Fête des neiges winter festival was cancelled due to the extreme cold for the first time in a decade. Among those killed by the cold was Hélène Rowley Hotte, the 93-year-old mother of Gilles Duceppe, a former federal opposition leader. She was found outside her seniors' residence after being accidentally locked out following a fire alarm.

Saskatchewan

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

temperatures plummeted to as low as with a frigid wind chill of on February 6. On February 8, temperatures dropped to and a wind chill of in Regina. The cold continued throughout the rest of February, resulting in one of the coldest Februaries on record there.

United States

California

On February 4, the temperature in Eureka dropped to , and the city experienced the coldest February 4 in 30 years. On February 5, the temperature dropped to , also the coldest recorded for that date for 30 years. On February 6, the minimum was , the coldest temperature recorded for that date since 2005. In Humboldt County, snow fell on the beaches for the first time in 16 years. On February 4, 2019, in the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...

there was of snow, with a temperature of . Around the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

Mountain range the temperature there was and of snow fell between February 4 and February 16. This year had the most significant snowfall in California since 2011. In Downtown

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, the temperature never reached the entire month of February, the first ever occurrence in 142 years of record-keeping. On February 22, snow was reported in the lower elevations

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. History Most historical writings about West Hollywood be ...

, Eagle Rock and

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

within the urban areas of Los Angeles. Across the state, the persistent cold and heavy rains were beneficial in eliminating drought conditions in California for the first time since 2011.

District of Columbia

In the early morning of January 31, 2019,

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, as measured at

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is a public airport in Arlington County, Virginia, United States, from Washington, D.C. The closest airport to the nation's capital, it is one of two airports owned by the federal government and ope ...

, reached .Streit, David (January 31, 2019).
D.C.-area forecast: Bitter arctic air today with snow showers possible tomorrow
. ''The Washington Post''. The wind chill reached . Nearby Washington Dulles International Airport reached an air temperature of , the coldest reading since another cold spell in February 2015.

Illinois

In the

Chicago area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities ...

, temperatures plummeted as low as at

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, Loop business district. The airport is ope ...

on January 30, with a windchill of . Chicago's

Northerly Island Northerly Island (also Northerly Island Park) is a land reclamation, human-made peninsula and park located on Chicago's Lake Michigan lakefront. Originally constructed in 1925, Northerly Island was the former site of the Century of Progress w ...

recorded temperatures as low as and Chicago's

Midway International Airport Chicago Midway International Airport is a major commercial airport on the southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, located approximately 12 miles (19 km) from the city's Loop business district, and divided between the city's Clearing and ...

recorded a temperature of ; O'Hare's maximum of that day was a daily record and also only higher than Chicago's official record cold maximum set on January 18, 1994, and December 24, 1983. Chicago also reached record lows on January 31, with a temperature of and a windchill of . Rockford reached an all-time record low of , shattering the old record of from 1982. Moline in the

Quad Cities The Quad Cities is a region of five cities (originally Tri-Cities, later four, see #History, History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport, Iowa, Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, Bettendorf (the fifth to be included) in southeaster ...

reached an all-time record low of . In Mount Carroll, a temperature of was recorded on January 30. Now verified, this is the all-time lowest temperature in the state of Illinois. Several people died in Chicago due to the cold. The cold wave resulted in 1,444 flights being cancelled at O'Hare, and 254 flights being cancelled at Midway.

Indiana

Temperatures in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

plummeted as low as on January 30, tying the record low, with a wind chill of . Kokomo recorded a wind chill of while

Evansville Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 census, it is Indiana's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the most populous city in S ...

recorded wind chills as low as . Hundreds of schools and businesses closed and the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

suspended delivery service on Wednesday, January 30 and Thursday, January 31. Temperatures in

South Bend South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

plummeted as low as , and all classes at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

were cancelled. Other major universities in the state, such as

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

and

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State or BSU) is a public research university in Muncie, Indiana, United States. The university has three off-campus centers in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and Fishers, Indiana. The university is composed of seven aca ...

, also cancelled all classes.

Iowa

Temperatures broke records, with the coldest temperature ever recorded at on January 31, 2019. Wind chills got dangerously low as on January 30, 2019. Most universities closed, including

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 90 majors across five colleges. The fall 2024 total enrollment was 9,283 students. The university was initially founded in 1 ...

, and the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

. University of Iowa student Gerald Belz died after being found unresponsive near Halsey Hall.

Kentucky

After windchill temperatures were predicted to plunge to between to , many Kentucky schools closed. Two brothers in Boone County, Obie (72) and Roy Fugate (67), died in their driveway outside of their home due to the cold after their truck was stuck in the mud.

Michigan

On January 28, Michigan Governor

Gretchen Whitmer Gretchen Esther Whitmer (; born August 23, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 49th governor of Michigan since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she served in the Michigan House of R ...

declared a state of emergency due to the record low windchill temperatures. Three people died due to the extremely low temperatures in Michigan: one in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, another in Ecorse, and a third in

East Lansing East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, although a small portion extends north into Clinton County, Michigan, Clinton County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

. On January 31, the city of

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

recorded a low temperature of , breaking the record for that date of , set in 1963. The previous day's maximum temperature of broke the record cold maximum of set in 1951. In

Metro Detroit Metro Detroit is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and over 200 municipalities in the Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the officia ...

on January 31, temperatures were between to with windchill values between and . The community named

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

in Livingston County was declared to be frozen over on January 31. Whitmer and

Consumers Energy Consumers Energy is an investor owned utility that provides natural gas and electricity to 6.7 million of Michigan's 10 million residents. It serves customers in all 68 of the state's Lower Peninsula counties. It is the primary subsidiary of C ...

asked residents to turn down their

thermostat A thermostat is a regulating device component which senses the temperature of a physical system and performs actions so that the system's temperature is maintained near a desired setpoint. Thermostats are used in any device or system tha ...

s to until midnight ET on February 1, after a fire at the

compressor A compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume. An air compressor is a specific type of gas compressor. Many compressors can be staged, that is, the gas is compressed several times in steps o ...

station in Macomb County on January 30 due to extra gas usage during the cold wave, to avoid "heat interruptions". The

suspended mail delivery on January 30 and 31 for most of Michigan. Hundreds of Michigan schools and businesses were closed for the entire week.

Minnesota

The town of

Cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

(near

Duluth Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

) was the coldest location in the country with a low of on January 30, shy of the all-time state record low in Minnesota. The coldest wind chill was recorded at Ponsford. On January 30,

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

recorded a minimum temperature of with a windchill of , the coldest since 1996.Polar Vortex Live Updates: Bitter Cold Weather Spreads East
''The New York Times'', January 31, 2019 On January 29, at 10:30 p.m., about 150 homes in the

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

area, about an hour north of Minneapolis, lost natural gas service. As a result,

Xcel Energy Xcel Energy Inc. is a U.S. regulated electric utility and natural gas delivery company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, serving more than 3.7 million electric customers and 2.1 million natural gas customers across parts of eight states (Color ...

resorted to asking over 400,000 customers to turn their thermostats down to to conserve natural gas through Thursday.

Montana

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

saw some of the worst effects from the cold wave, which lingered into early March. The cold front in Montana didn’t hit until February 2, with highs of in Great Falls. That would be the last high above freezing for Great Falls for 32 days. The average temperature in Great Falls was , the second coldest February on record. The state ultimately saw their second coldest February on record. On March 3, Elk Park Pass hit , setting a statewide low temperature record for March. On March 3, Great Falls tied a monthly record low of .

New York

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the temperature on January 31 reached with a windchill of . The temperature at noon was still only . The high was only . This tied a record cold high for the day.

Islip, New York Islip ( ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States, on the South Shore (Long Island), South Shore of Long Island. The population was 339,938 at th ...

set a record low on the morning of January 31 at . In Williamsville (near Buffalo), a locally well-known homeless man, Lawrence "Larry" Bierl, was found frozen to death in a bus shelter on the morning of January 31. The wind chill that previous night was . Following a January 27 electrical fire at the federal

Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn The Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn (MDC Brooklyn) is a List of United States federal prisons#Administrative facilities, United States federal administrative detention facility in the Sunset Park, Brooklyn, Sunset Park neighborhood of ...

, over 1,600 inmates were held with little or no heat or electricity until power was restored on February 3. Numerous inmates reported ill health and were seen banging on windows for help. Activists and some New York officials became involved in seeking to improve conditions. Governor

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( , ; born December 6, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 until his resignation in 2021. A member of the Democratic Party and son of former governor Mario Cuomo, ...

announced on February 4 that the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

would be investigating the outage.

North Dakota

Grand Forks Grand Forks is a city in and the county seat of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. The city's population was 59,166 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in the state, after Fargo and Bismarck. Grand For ...

experienced a windchill value of . The cold wave made February 2019 the second coldest February in North Dakota.February 2019 National Climate Report
NOAA

Washington

A snowstorm on February 3–4 brought of snow to parts of

Western Washington Western Washington is a region of the United States defined as the area of Washington State west of the Cascade Mountains. This region is home to the state's largest city, Seattle, the state capital, Olympia, and most of the state's residents. ...

, including the

Puget Sound region The Puget Sound region is a coastal area of the Pacific Northwest in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, including Puget Sound, the Puget Sound lowlands, and the surrounding region roughly west of the Cascade Range and east of the ...

, after a winter without measurable snowfall. It was caused by cold air arriving from the north alongside a low-pressure system, dropping temperatures to the 30s and 40s. The snowstorm caused minor disruptions, including school releases and flight cancellations at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport. Daytime temperatures continued to drop throughout the week, reaching as low as and causing

black ice Black ice, sometimes called clear ice, is a coating of glaze ice on a surface, for example on streets or on lakes. The ice itself is not black, but visually transparent, allowing the often black road below to be seen through it and light to be ...

to form on roads. A second snowstorm struck the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

area and Western Washington on February 8, bringing of snow that triggered a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...

from Governor

Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee ( ; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician and lawyer who served from 2013 to 2025 as the 23rd governor of Washington. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 1993 to 1995 and again from 1999 to 2012 as a ...

. The storm disrupted numerous services and caused shortages of supplies at grocery stores. At least one person died as a result of exposure. The rare intensity of the snowstorm has been described as the strongest that Seattle had seen in over a decade and crippled the city. The snowstorm continued for the next 3 days, with falling on the 9th, on the 10th, and on the 11th, before the snow turned to rain after that, for a total of of snow over a 4-day period. This was the most snow that the Seattle area had seen over a 4-day period since 1969.

Wisconsin

On January 28, Wisconsin Governor

Tony Evers Anthony Steven Evers ( ; born November 5, 1951) is an American politician and educator serving since 2019 as the 46th governor of Wisconsin. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 2009 to 2019 as Wisconsin's 26th superintendent of p ...

declared a state of emergency due to the record low windchill temperatures.Road conditions deteriorating rapidly as Evers declares a state of emergency and frigid temperatures move in
''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'', January 28, 2019 A 55-year-old man froze to death in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. Milwaukee reached record lows on January 31, with a temperature of and a windchill of , with some suburbs reaching as low as and a windchill of .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:January–February 2019 North American cold wave 2018–19 North American winter 2019 in Illinois 2019 in Manitoba 2019 in Michigan 2019 in Minnesota 2019 in New York (state) 2019 in North Dakota 2019 in Ontario 2019 in Quebec 2019 in Wisconsin 2010s cold waves 2019 meteorology 2019 natural disasters Cold waves in Canada Cold waves in the United States January 2019 in North America