Meteorological events that happened on February 4th:
1824
The sea-level pressure fell to 924 millibars or 27.28 inHg at Reykjavik, Iceland, the lowest observed pressure on land in the North Atlantic.
1878
Snow and extreme cold occurred in Montreal, Quebec Canada as 16 inches of snow was followed by the temperature dropping to -6°.
1893
Calgary, Alberta Canada's coldest day saw the temperature drop to -49°.
1905
Heavy rains from this day through the 6th caused the San Diego River in California to run for the first time in six years. 4.23 inches fell in San Diego in 43 hours.
1956
Plainview, TX recorded the states greatest 24-hour snowfall total with 25 inches.
1961
The third great snowstorm of the winter season struck the northeastern U.S. Cortland, NY received 40 inches of snow, 24 inches at New York City, 23 inches at Newark, NJ, 19 inches at Worcester, MA and 14.4 inches at Boston, MA. Up to two feet fell across parts of eastern Massachusetts. A wind gust of 96 mph was recorded at the Blue Hill Observatory in Milton, MA.
1964
A great blizzard was in progress across the Texas Panhandle. This blizzard, which began on the 2nd and ended on the 5th, dumped 26 inches of snow at Borger, 23.8 inches at Miami, and 23.5 inches at Claude.
1976
A heavy rain period that began on this day ended on the 10th in southern California. 4.30 inches of rain fell at San Diego. Strong wind gusts hit 64 mph at Palmdale.
Tasmania, Australia's hottest day on record saw the high at Hobart soar to 105.4°.
1982
A Pacific air mass brought mild temperatures to parts of Alaska with a few locations reporting record highs for the date including: McGrath, AK: 42°, Barrow, AK: 36°, Kotzebue, AK: 35° and Bettles, AK: 34°.
Fort Myers and Vero Beach, FL also set record highs for the date with 87° and 85° respectively.
1984
On this day through the 5th, a fast moving blizzard was racing across northeast, east central South Dakota and most of Iowa with bouts of heavy snow and high winds. Snow amounts were generally less than two inches with the storm. However, as the cold front tore across the area temperatures plunged by as much as 30 degrees in three hours and winds gusted to 70 mph. Another 2 to 3 inches fell before the event was over. Gusty winds struck quickly, plummeting visibilities to near zero in blowing snow and making travel very difficult in a matter of minutes with dangerous wind chills. Hundreds of travelers became stranded in the white-out conditions.
1988
A winter storm produced heavy snow from the Upper Ohio Valley to New England, with up to 12 inches reported in Vermont and New Hampshire. Strong northerly winds in the Upper Midwest produced wind chill readings as cold as -60°.
Daytona Beach, FL set a record high of 84°.
1989
Many cities in the south central and northwestern U.S. reported new record low temperatures for the date including: Great Falls, MT: -33°, Helena, MT: -33°, Duluth, MN: -29°, Denver, CO: -24°, Missoula, MT: -23°, Billings, MT: -22°, Rapid City, SD: -21°, Elko, NV: -19°, Colorado Springs, CO: -15°, Boise, ID: -14°, Pendleton, OR: -13°, Clayton, NM: -8°, Amarillo, TX: -5°, Reno, NV: 1°, Tulsa, OK: 2°, Salem, OR: 3°, Lubbock, TX: 3°, Wichita Falls, TX: 6°, Eugene, OR: 7° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Abilene, TX: 7°, Seattle, WA: 7°, Midland-Odessa, TX: 8°, Roswell, NM: 9°, Olympia, WA: 10°, Dallas, TX: 11°, San Angelo, TX: 12°, Astoria, OR: 13°, Portland, OR: 14°, Medford, OR: 17°, Quillayute, WA: 19° and Redding, CA: 27°.
A winter storm continued in the southwestern U.S. Alta, UT reported 49 inches of snow over 4 days, Wolf Creek, CO reported 66 inches over 6 days, including 28 inches in 24 hours, and up to 84 inches buried the ski resorts of northern New Mexico over 3 days.
A mix of rain and snow occurred over the south end of the San Joaquin Valley in California, including 2 inches of snow at Edison. Meanwhile, gusty winds whipped the Owens Valley where gusts over 100 mph were recorded in Inyokern causing an estimated half a million dollars damage at the airport.
Vero Beach, FL set a record high with 87°.
1990
A winter storm produced heavy snow in the northeastern U.S. Snowfall totals in Maine ranged up to 13 inches at Gorham, with 11 inches reported at Portland. Totals in New Hampshire ranged up to 14 inches at Franconia, with 13 inches reported at Portsmouth. A mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain caused numerous traffic accidents in eastern New York State resulting in three deaths and 14 injuries. Subzero cold also gripped parts of the northeastern U.S. Caribou and Houlton, ME reported morning lows of -15°.
A southwesterly flow ahead of a cold front brought record high temperatures to parts of the southeast including: Daytona Beach, FL: 87°, West Palm Beach, FL: 87°-Tied, Orlando, FL: 86°-Tied, Jacksonville, FL: 84°-Tied, Savannah, GA: 81°-Tied, Cape Hatteras, NC: 71° and Wallops Island, VA: 60°.
1991
Many cities mainly from the Ohio Valley and Lakes to the East Coast reported new record high temperatures for the date during a 2-day heat wave including: Borrego Springs, CA: 86°, Tupelo, MS: 73°-Tied, Greensboro, NC: 73°-Tied, Richmond, VA: 72°, Baltimore, MD: 72°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 70°, Washington, D.C: 70°, Jackson, KY: 69°, Wallops Island, VA: 69°, Newark, NJ: 69° (broke previous record by 15 degrees), Philadelphia, PA: 69°, Atlantic City, NJ: 68° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), New York (Central Park), NY: 68° (broke previous record by 14 degrees), New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 68° (broke previous record by 16 degrees), New York (LaGuardia), NY: 68° (broke previous record by 16 degrees), Wilmington, DE: 67°, Providence, RI: 66° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Islip, NY: 66°, Allentown, PA: 65° (broke previous record by 13 degrees), Harrisburg, PA: 65°, Hartford, CT: 64°, Boston, MA: 64°, Milton, MA: 63° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Youngstown, OH: 62°, Akron, OH: 61°, Albany, NY: 61° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Concord, NH: 61°, Worcester, MA: 61°, Syracuse, NY: 60°, Bridgeport, CT: 59°, Avoca, PA: 58°, Mansfield, OH: 58°-Tied, Rochester, NY: 58°-Tied, Williamsport, PA: 57°, Buffalo, NY: 57°-Tied, Flint, MI: 55°, Binghamton, NY: 55°, Alpena, MI: 53°, Marquette, MI: 53°, Burlington, VT: 52°, Portland, ME: 50°-Tied, St. Cloud, MN: 48°, Houghton Lake, MI: 46° and Ste. St. Marie, MI: 46°.
1993
Parts of Hawaii enjoyed record low temperatures for the date including: Honolulu: 54° and Hilo: 57°-Tied.
1995
A huge nor'easter pounded areas from the southern Mid-Atlantic to northern New England. It would be the only significant storm in the 94-95 winter season. Over 20 inches of snow buried parts of upstate New York. Wind chills dropped as cold as -40°.
Behind the storm, arctic air crossing the relatively warm waters of the Great Lakes produced intense lake effect squalls which meandered across the areas downwind of the lakes in western New York for nearly two weeks from the 4th through the 14th. Snowfall totals for the storm ranged from near two feet to seven feet. At one point during the storm east of Lake Ontario, snow was falling at the incredible rate of five inches an hour. The heavy snows combined with strong winds produced whiteouts and hazardous driving. Actual storm totals downwind of Lake Erie included: Erie County: West Seneca: 39 inches, Orchard Park: 36 inches, Cheektowaga: 36 inches, Colden: 32 inches and Buffalo Airport: 31 inches; Genesee County: Corfu: 38 inches; Chautauqua County: Sinclairville: 27 inches and Jamestown: 15 inches. Downwind of Lake Ontario, storm totals included: Oswego County: Palermo: 85 inches, Fulton: 60 inches, and Oswego: 46 inches; Lewis County: Montague: 66 inches, Highmarket: 48 inches, and Lowville: 36 inches; Cayuga County: Fairhaven: 36 inches, Wayne County: Wolcott: 22 inches and Jefferson County: Adams 47 inches.
High winds developed across the Foothills west of Denver, CO. A gust of 97 mph was reported on top of Squaw Mountain. Rollinsville reported a gust of 83 mph. Wind gusts of 50 to 70 mph were common.
1996
Frigid temperatures continued over the northern U.S. and spread southward to the Gulf Coast. A cooperative observer near Couderay, WI reported a temperature of -55°, which set a new state record. Amasa, MI dropped to -51°, which tied the record low for Michigan. Tulsa, OK had a morning low of -11° for their lowest temperature in 66 years and broke their previous daily record low by 13 degrees. La Crosse, WI completed their longest stretch of subzero temperatures ever at 144 straight hours. The center of the frigid arctic high-pressure system moved over Louisiana. Baton Rouge recorded their all-time record high barometric pressure with a reading of 30.82 inHg, while the temperature remained below freezing continuously for 68 hours.
Jackson, KY set a February record low dropping to -8°, that broke previous daily record by 18 degrees.
Locations that reported daily record lows for the date included: St. Cloud, MN: -34°, Marquette, MI: -31°, La Crosse, WI: -31°, Duluth, MN: -29°-Tied, Waterloo, IA: -25°, Moline, IL: -24°, Green Bay, WI: -24°, Dubuque, IA: -23°, Rockford, IL: -19°, Muskegon, MI: -19°, Milwaukee, WI: -19°, Elkins, WV: -18°, Springfield, IL: -17°, Grand Rapids, MI: -17°, Pueblo, CO: -14°, Boise, ID: -14°, Chicago, IL: -14°, Indianapolis, IN: -12°, Cincinnati, OH: -11°, Lexington, KY: -10°, Cleveland, OH: -10°, Beckley, WV: -10°-Tied, Bristol, TN: -9°, Huntington, WV: -9°, Springfield, MO: -8°, Akron, OH: -8°, Oak Ridge, TN: -8° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Wichita, KS: -7°, Louisville, KY: -7°, Mansfield, OH: -7°, St. Louis, MO: -7°-Tied, Charleston, WV: -5°, Binghamton, NY: -4°, Paducah, KY: -3°, Atlantic City, NJ: -3°, Oklahoma City, OK: -3°, Nashville, TN: -3°, Huntsville, AL: 1°, Chattanooga, TN: 3°, Wichita Falls, TX: 3°, Lynchburg, VA: 3°, Birmingham, AL: 4°, Wilmington, DE: 4°, Tupelo, MS: 4°, Memphis, TN: 4-Tied, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 4°, Little Rock, AR: 5°, Bridgeport, CT: 5°-Tied, Abilene, TX: 6°, Atlanta, GA: 7°, San Angelo, TX: 7°, Greensboro, NC: 7°-Tied, Newark, NJ: 7°-Tied, Meridian, MS: 8°, Dallas (DFW), TX: 8°, Richmond, VA: 8°-Tied, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 9°, Wallops Island, VA: 9°, Jackson, MS: 10°, Islip, NY: 10°, New York (LaGuardia), NY: 10°-Tied, Dallas, TX: 11°-Tied, Montgomery, AL: 12°, Waco, TX: 12°, Columbus, GA: 13°-Tied, Mobile, AL: 14°, Shreveport, LA: 14°, Baton Rouge, LA: 15°, Pensacola, FL: 17°, Wilmington, NC: 17°-Tied, Lake Charles, LA: 19°, Tallahassee, FL: 20°-Tied, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 21°, Houston, TX: 22°-Tied and Galveston, TX: 26°.
1997
Junction, TX set a record low for date of 9°. Not unusual, except for the fact they would set their record high on the 22nd with 98°.
2001
High pressure across the Great Basin provided an off shore flow to most of the west bringing record high temperatures to parts of the region including: Santa Ana, CA: 93°, Riverside, CA: 90°, Escondido, CA: 89°, Long Beach, CA: 87°, Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 84°, Santa Maria, CA: 84°, San Diego, CA: 82°, Idyllwild, CA: 75°, San Francisco Airport, CA: 71°, Reno, CA: 69°, Sacramento, CA: 69°, Stockton, CA: 69° and Eugene, OR: 60°-Tied.
2002
Between the 1st and the 4th, Jakarta, Indonesia suffered their worst flooding in decades. At least 67 people were killed and 330,000 were left homeless. Unfortunately, thousands more homes were inundated in other waves of flooding on February 14th and 22nd.
2003
Condensation inside the tunnel underneath Britain and continental Europe caused electrical failure aboard several Eurostar trains. The condensation was caused by temperature differences between the relatively warm tunnel and cold air over France, where heavy snow had fallen.
The fantastically named northern Dutch town of Sexbierum was hit by a tornado which caused millions of dollars damage.
2004
Pinson, AL recorded their all-time record 24-hour rainfall total as 7.15 inches fell.
2007
Kahului, HI tied their record low temperature record for the date with 54°.
On this date through the 5th, severe thunderstorms struck the Shiselweni and Lubombo regions of Swaziland, producing strong winds and hail that damage 500 homes and produce widespread power outages.
2008
Bitterly cold weather and heavy snow left 37 people dead in central Afghanistan. The victims, included 20 children who died in remote areas of Ghazni province.
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