January–February 2019 North American cold wave
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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 tem ...
caused by a weakened jet stream around the Arctic
polar vortex A circumpolar vortex, or simply polar vortex, is a large region of cold, rotating air that encircles both of Earth's polar regions. Polar vortices also exist on other rotating, low-obliquity planetary bodies. The term polar vortex can be used to ...
hit the
Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
and
Eastern Canada Eastern Canada (also the Eastern provinces or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of the Hudson Bay/ Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newfoundland and Labrado ...
, killing at least 22 people. It came after a
winter storm A winter 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 climates, these storms are not necessa ...
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, everyday language or general parlance, is the linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom normally employed in conversa ...
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

Normally, the Northern Hemisphere jet stream travels fast enough to keep the concentration of Arctic air known as the "
polar vortex A circumpolar vortex, or simply polar vortex, is a large region of cold, rotating air that encircles both of Earth's polar regions. Polar vortices also exist on other rotating, low-obliquity planetary bodies. The term polar vortex can be used to ...
" stationary in the stratosphere 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 A sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) is an event in which the polar stratospheric temperature rises by several tens of kelvins (up to increases of about 50 °C (90 °F)) over the course of a few days. The warming is preceded by a slowing ...
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 the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada ...
. The influx of frigid air from the North Pole created high winds, and brought extreme sub-zero temperatures, further exacerbated by severe wind chill. Large amounts of snow fell in the affected area. Some have attributed the unusual weather pattern to
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
.


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, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
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 in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...
and Nunavut. This gave prairie Canada and
northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Pro ...
a persistent northern flow, leading to record cold temperatures.


Alberta

On February 3, Calgary 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, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of we ...
. On February 5,
Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
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, the coldest March temperature ever recorded in the city. Temperatures dropped to in
Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in 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 to the northwest are with ...
, only 0.9 away from the March record low.


British Columbia

On February 4, the temperature in Richmond 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 scarab beetle. The adult measures in length and in width, has iridescent copper-colored elytra and a green thorax and head. It is not very destructive in Japan (where it is control ...
s, an invasive species to the area. On February 5, 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 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 dropped to and a wind chill of .


Manitoba

In
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...
,
Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...
, 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 (; Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and 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 ...
dropped to and a wind chill of .


Nunavut

Environment Canada 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 25th, Shepherd Bay recorded .


Ontario

Ottawa experienced its snowiest January on record with temperatures as low as .
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
experienced the largest snowstorm in six years with of snow accumulating at
Toronto Pearson International Airport Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as 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 surr ...
, 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 border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...
, the falls were left partially frozen by the extreme temperatures. On January 31,
Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
reached with a wind chill of . Warming centres were set up in Windsor and Chatham-Kent libraries for homeless people and anyone else affected by the cold. On the same day,
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
dropped to with a wind chill of . Temperatures in St. Catharines 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 afte ...
fell to with a wind chill of .


Quebec

The cold snap in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
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

In
Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the 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 Yellowhead Highway, and has served as th ...
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 Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...
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 there was of snow. And the temperature was . Around the Sierra Nevada Mountain range the temperature there was and of snow fell between February 4, 2019 and February 16, 2019. This year had the most significant snowfall in California since 2011. In Downtown
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, 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. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages ...
, Eagle Rock and
Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, 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 district. ...
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. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, as measured at
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport , sometimes referred to colloquially as National Airport, Washington National, Reagan National Airport, DCA, Reagan, or simply National, is an international airport in Arlington County, Virginia, across ...
, 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 Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located in Loudoun County and Fa ...
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 colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hi ...
, temperatures plummeted as low as at O'Hare International Airport on January 30, with a windchill of . Chicago's
Northerly Island Northerly Island is a man-made peninsula along Chicago's Lake Michigan lakefront. The site of the Adler Planetarium, Northerly Island connects to the mainland through a narrow isthmus along Solidarity Drive. This street is dominated by Neoclass ...
recorded temperatures as low as and Chicago's
Midway International Airport Chicago Midway International Airport , typically referred to as Midway Airport, Chicago Midway, or simply Midway, is a major commercial airport on the Southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, located approximately 12 miles (19 km) from the Lo ...
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 cities (originally four, see History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois. These cities are t ...
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.


Indiana

Temperatures in Indianapolis 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, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...
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 Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
suspended delivery service on Wednesday, January 30 and Thursday, January 31. Temperatures in
South Bend South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...
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 ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
were cancelled. Other major universities in the state, such as
Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...
,
Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...
and Ball State University, 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 land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...
,
University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and gr ...
, and the
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a 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 into 12 col ...
. 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, she served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2001 to 2006 ...
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 largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
, another in
Ecorse Ecorse ( ') is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,512 at the 2010 census. Ecorse is part of the Downriver community within Metro Detroit. The city shares a northwestern border with the city of Detroit ...
, 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 with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County. At the 2020 Census the population was 47,741. Located directly east of the state capital ...
. 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. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...
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 The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the a ...
on January 31, temperatures were between to with windchill values between and . The community named Hell 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 thermostats to until midnight ET on February 1, after a fire at the compressor station in
Macomb County Macomb County ( ) is a county located in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Michigan, bordering Lake St. Clair, and is part of northern Metro Detroit. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 881,217, making it the third-most populous co ...
on January 30 due to extra gas usage during the cold wave, to avoid "heat interruptions". The
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
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 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 cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
(near
Duluth , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...
) 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 the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
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 research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...
area, about an hour north of Minneapolis, lost natural gas service. As a result,
Xcel Energy Xcel Energy Inc. is an American utility holding company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, serving more than 3.7 million electric customers and 2.1 million natural gas customers in Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico in 2019. It consists of four ope ...
resorted to asking over 400,000 customers to turn their thermostats down to to conserve natural gas through Thursday.


Montana

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...
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 Elk Park Pass, elevation , is a mountain pass on the Continental Divide in southwestern Montana, about northeast of Butte. It is traversed by Interstate 15 and is one of three crossings of the Divide by the Interstate (all in Montana), the othe ...
hit , setting a statewide low temperature record for March.


New York

In
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, 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. 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 United States federal administrative detention facility in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. It holds male and female prisoners of all security levels. It ...
, 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 lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cu ...
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 federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...
would be investigating the outage.


North Dakota

Grand Forks 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. T ...
, including the
Puget Sound region The Puget Sound region is a coastal area of the Pacific Northwest in the U.S. state of Washington, including Puget Sound, the Puget Sound lowlands, and the surrounding region roughly west of the Cascade Range and east of the Olympic Mountains. ...
, 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 Seattle–Tacoma International Airport , branded as SEA Airport and also referred to as Sea–Tac (), is the primary commercial airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is in the city of SeaTac, which ...
. Daytime temperatures continued to drop throughout the week, reaching as low as and causing
black ice Black ice, sometimes called clear ice, is a thin coating of glaze ice on a surface, especially on streets. The ice itself is not black, but visually transparent, allowing the often black road below to be seen through it. The typically low level ...
to form on roads. A second snowstorm struck the
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
area and Western Washington on February 8, bringing of snow that triggered a state of emergency from Governor
Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee (; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician, lawyer, and economist who has served as the 23rd governor of Washington since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Represent ...
. 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.


Wisconsin

On January 28, Wisconsin Governor
Tony Evers Anthony Steven Evers (born November 5, 1951) is an American educator and politician serving as the 46th governor of Wisconsin since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Wisconsin's Superintendent of Public Instruction from 2009 ...
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 ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
. 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 .


See also

* 2017–18 North American cold wave * 2018–19 North American winter * 2019–20 North American winter *
Early 2014 North American cold wave The early 2014 North American cold wave was an extreme weather event that extended through the late winter months of the 2013–2014 winter season, and was also part of an unusually cold winter affecting parts of Canada and parts of the north-cen ...
*
February 2021 North American cold wave The February 2021 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 first half of February 2021. The cold was ...


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 Cold waves in Canada Cold waves in the United States January 2019 events in North America