Normally, the Northern Hemisphere jet stream travels fast enough to keep the polar vortex stationary in the stratosphere over the North Pole. In late January 2019, a weakening of the jet stream split the polar vortex in two, with one formation traveling southward and stalling over central Canada and north-central United States for about a week before it dissipated. 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.[6]
Canada
The polar vortex split into three parts, with the dominant part setting up over the Great Lakes and Nunavut. This gave prairie Canada and northern Ontario a persistent northern flow, leading to record cold temperatures.[7]Eastern Ontario and southern Quebec were on the slightly milder side of that vortex, but still set record temperatures of lower than −30°C (−22°F).[citation needed]
Alberta
On February 5, Edmonton recorded a temperature of −32.3°C (−26.1°F) and a wind chill of −36°C (−33°F), as a result of the polar vortex making its way west.[8][9]
Manitoba
In Winnipeg, Manitoba, temperatures reached as low as −40°C (−40°F),[10] the coldest temperature recorded in the city since February 2007, when it reached −42°C (−44°F).[11] Wind chills were as low as −52°C (−62°F).[citation needed]
Nunavut
Environment Canada issued extreme cold warnings for most of Nunavut.[12] The temperature in Baker Lake dropped to a frigid −41°C (−42°F) with a wind chill of −59°C (−74°F), its lowest recorded wind chill on record.[13] On January 25th, Shepherd Bay recorded −48.8°C (−55.8°F).[14]
Ontario
Toronto snowstorm
Ottawa, Ontario experienced its snowiest January on record with temperatures as low as −25°C (−13°F).[15]Toronto, Ontario experienced the largest snowstorm in six years with 33 centimetres (13in) of snow accumulating at Toronto Pearson International Airport, before dropping to a low of −23°C (−9°F),[citation needed] with a wind chill of −35°C (−31°F).[16] Numerous cars were stuck and abandoned on the Don Valley Parkway.[citation needed] Many local schools and universities cancelled classes due to the weather. At Niagara Falls, the falls were left partially frozen by the extreme temperatures.[17][18] Blowing snow and blizzard conditions closed numerous roads in the region.[citation needed]
On January 31, Windsor reached −27.0°C (−16.6°F) with a wind chill of −40°C (−40°F). Warming centres were set up in Windsor and Chatham-Kent libraries for homeless people and anyone else affected by the cold.[19] On the same day, London dropped to −26°C (−15°F) with a wind chill of −39°C (−38°F). Temperatures in St. Catharines dropped to −20°C (−4°F).[20] with a wind chill of −35°C (−31°F),[21] while Port Colborne fell to −18°C (0°F)[22] with a wind chill of −31°C (−24°F).[23]
Québec
January 25, 2019 in Québec
The cold snap in Montreal, Québec, began with a blizzard where base temperatures reached −15°C (5°F). The combination with a single-day 25 centimetres (10in) snowfall was the coldest snowiest day in nearly a century.[24] The Fête des neiges winter festival was cancelled due to the extreme cold for the first time in a decade.[25]
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.[26]
United States
District of Columbia
In the early morning of January 31, 2019, Washington, D.C., reached 10°F (−12°C), below the average low temperature of 29°F (−2°C).[27][28] The wind chill reached −3°F (−19°C).[27]
Georgia
On January 30, Atlanta received a wind chill of 18°F (−8°C).[29]
Illinois
In the Chicago area, temperatures plummeted as low as −23°F (−31°C) at O'Hare International Airport on January 30, with a windchill of −52°F (−47°C). Chicago's Northerly Island recorded temperatures as low as −21°F (−29°C) and Chicago's Midway International Airport recorded a temperature of −22°F (−30°C).[30] Chicago also reached record lows on January 31, with a temperature of −21°F (−29°C) and a windchill of −41°F (−41°C).[31]
Rockford reached an all-time record low of −31°F (−35°C), shattering the old record of −27°F (−33°C) from 1982. Moline in the Quad Cities reached an all-time record low of −33°F (−36°C). In Mount Carroll, a temperature of −38°F (−39°C) was recorded on January 30. If verified, this would be the all-time lowest temperature in the state of Illinois.[32]
Indiana
Temperatures in Indianapolis plummeted as low as −11°F (−24°C) on January 30, tying the record low, with a wind chill of −41°F (−41°C).[33]Kokomo recorded a wind chill of −49°F (−45°C)[33] while Evansville recorded wind chills as low as −19°F (−28°C).[34]
Hundreds of schools and businesses closed and the United States Postal Service suspended delivery service on Wednesday, January 30 and Thursday, January 31.[35]
University of Iowa student Gerald Belz died after being found unresponsive near Halsey Hall.[37]
Michigan
On January 28, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency due to the record low windchill temperatures.[38] Three people died due to the extremely low temperatures in Michigan: one in Detroit, another in Ecorse, and a third in East Lansing.[39][40]
On January 31, the city of Flint recorded a low temperature of −14°F (−26°C), breaking the record for that date of −8°F (−22°C), set in 1963. The previous day's low temperature of 2°F (−17°C) broke a record of 8°F (−13°C) set in 1951.[41] In Metro Detroit on January 31, temperatures were between −5°F (−21°C) to −15°F (−26°C) with windchill values between −20°F (−29°C) and −40°F (−40°C).[42] The community named Hell in Livingston County was declared to be frozen over on January 31.[43]
Whitmer and Consumers Energy asked residents to turn down their thermostats to 65°F (18°C) until midnight ET on February 1, after a fire at the compressor station in Macomb County on January 30 due to extra gas usage during the cold wave, to avoid "heat interruptions".[44][45]
Hundreds of Michigan schools and businesses were closed for the entire week.[47]
Minnesota
The town of Cotton was the coldest location in the country with a low of −56°F (−49°C) on January 30, 4 degrees shy of the all-time state record low in Minnesota.[48] The coldest wind chill was −66°F (−54°C) recorded at Ponsford.[49]
On January 30, Minneapolis recorded a record low temperature of −28°F (−33°C) with a windchill of −49°F (−45°C), the coldest since 1996.[31]
On January 29, at 10:30 p.m., about 150 homes in the Princeton area, about an hour north of Minneapolis, lost natural gas service. As a result Xcel Energy resorted to asking over 400,000 customers to turn their thermostats down to 63 degrees to conserve natural gas through Thursday.[50]
New York
In New York City, the temperature on January 31 reached 2°F (−17°C) with a windchill of −17°F (−27°C).[31]
In Williamsville, a locally well-known homeless man, Lawrence "Larry" Bierl, was found frozen to death in a bus shelter on the morning of January 31.[51] The wind chill that previous night was −25°F (−32°C).[52]
North Dakota
Grand Forks experienced a windchill value of −65°F (−54°C).[30]
Wisconsin
On January 28, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers declared a state of emergency due to the record low windchill temperatures.[53]
↑ Noseworthy, Kelly (January 25, 2019). "Niagara's Frozen Falls". CHCH News. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
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