Cold wave in North America in 2014

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Polar vortex 2013/14 (Hercules)
A GOES 13 satellite image taken on January 2, 2014
A GOES 13 satellite image taken on January 2, 2014
storm Cold wave with snow storm
Data
Climax from January 2, 2014
Core pressure 939 hPa (in Labrador , 8.1. )
temperature -36 ° C ( Crane Lake  MN, 6.1. )
consequences
affected areas eastern and central North America ( USA , Canada )
Victim > 20 (as of 8.1.)
Deep Hercules became a winter storm in Europe

The winter 2013-14 cold spell in North America was an extreme weather event in the first half of January 2014 that affected parts of Canada and the United States . An arctic cold front combined with a nor'easter (northeast storm) deflected cold air from the polar vortex onto the North American continent, which led to heavy snowfalls and cold records.

meteorology

course

The third cold event of the season, often referred to in the press as polar vortex ('polar vortex'), formed a snow storm from Tuesday, January 2nd, 2014 . A mighty low Hercules carried cold air deep into North America . The Boston , New York and Pennsylvania areas in particular recorded storms and snowfalls up to a good half a meter (2 ft).

Snow area on January 6, 2014 (NOAA, white: snow, yellow: ice)

Large parts of the USA have been affected by a cold spell since around January 4th . In southern Michigan, south of the Great Lakes (42 ° N, latitude like Rome), up to 50 cm of snow fell, in Tennessee (36 ° N, more south than Tunis) up to 5 cm.

On Sunday, January 5th, temperatures of −28 ° C were measured in Green Bay , the lowest value ever recorded. At O'Hare International Airport in Chicago , -26 ° C was measured on January 6th, another record.

At Crane Lake in Minnesota on Monday, January 6th, a temperature of −36 ° C was measured, with a windchill temperature of down to −60 ° C.

On Tuesday, January 7th, the cold spell reached the east coast of the USA again . In many places there, the temperature fell from +12 ° C to −14 ° C within 24 hours. New York reported 4 degrees Fahrenheit (−13.8 ° C) in the morning; this broke a 118 year old record.

On Wednesday, January 8th, a new low of 939  hPa core pressure over the Davis Strait off Labrador reached its maximum value.

Causes and climatic situation

There was already a cold spell in the United States around December 6, 2013, with heavy snowfalls in the northeast the following week. In central and eastern Canada there was an ice storm ( Toronto ice storm ) from about December 20 to 23, 2013 .

A high over the North Pacific and the low Hercules over the North Atlantic worked together. These two huge air vortices brought polar air , which penetrated as Nor'easter in the area Midwest - Great Lakes - Hudson Bay ("Americas Icebox") deep into the south of the USA. The effects of the cold have been strengthened by wind, storm or blizzard by the strong pressure gradient storm forces reach.

The central phenomenon is an abnormally strong oscillation of the jet stream in the northern hemisphere ( Arctic Oscillation , AO), which formed a standing wave with only two periods roughly along the 50th parallel ( atmospheric blockage ). The Arctic Oscillation index fell rapidly from +4 to −2 from mid-December to early January. As a result, the air masses of the temperate latitudes were intensively mixed with the polar air and transported far to the north and south. The temperatures at the North Pole around January 5th were the same as in central North America.

A heat wave formed explosively over eastern Siberia in late December. (by over +10 ° C in Vladivostok , 1st week of January; Novosibirsk by far warmer than Chicago). At the same time, the Pacific Depression carried warm air over the American west coast to Alaska (+29 ° C in Florida, 6.1.) The cold air advance also reached Hawaii several times (snow on Mauna Kea December 28th; −8 ° C on 6.1.). The warm air masses over North America before Christmas were pushed eastward over the North Atlantic . Deep Hercules , then Christina called , led on the other side subtropical warm air to Europe (+ 16 ° C Munich, 6.1.), Very high waves hit the Atlantic coasts of the Iberian Peninsula , and then moved with severe flooding over the British Isles ( see storm surge on the European Atlantic coast in February 2014 and floods in England 2013–2014 ). There is also an extreme cold spell in Central Asia (−11 ° C Kurigram , northern Bangladesh , at the end of December; several deaths). At the same time, the southern hemisphere exhibited an exceptionally stable temperature distribution for summer heat. In the Antarctic it was comparatively friendly, in Australia there is an extreme heat wave (+54 ° C Oodnadatta 3.1.), Also in South America , with a heat wave in the south of Brazil , Argentina and Uruguay (+40 ° C Rio de Janeiro , 9.1.) .), and a prolonged drought in Chile (severe forest fires).

Cpc-ncep-noaa CDAS 10-hPa Temp Anoms anim 06DEC2013-05JAN2014.gif World map of the combined pressure and temperature anomaly , Dec. 6, 2013 - Jan. 5, 2014, America center right: The animation shows the blockage situation of the strongly dampened west wind drift due to the extremely strong Arctic oscillation until the end of December and the explosive formation of the Siberia heat anomaly , with the cold waves over North America and Central Asia. The southern hemisphere is abnormally calm.
(NOAA / NCEP / CPC 10-hPa Temp Anoms, moving 11-day average)
Jan52014 polar vortex geopotentialheight mean Large.jpg The Northern Hemisphere with low pressure systems , high troughs and Jetstream , Jan. 5, 2014, North America down: Against America relocated high polar low which südgedrängte pressure anomaly with a low over central Canada. At the same time, a mighty Iceland low ( Hercules , right), a high altitude low over central Siberia (above) and a strong North Pacific low (left). High pressure bridges over Eastern Siberia and Alaska.
(NOAA / NCEP / CPC Northern Hemisphere, potential 500 hPa)

Consequences after the cold spell

Frost mood in Chicago, −15 ° C, January 6th morning

In total, over 180 million people were affected by the natural disaster. More than 20 deaths are attributed to the effects of the cold snap, particularly caused by poor road conditions and extreme cold.

Many flights were canceled, as was school lessons. Train connections to Chicago have been partially canceled.

In Newfoundland , around 190,000 households were without electricity due to a power failure on January 5th.

In the southern states of Louisiana and Mississippi, farmers hurried with an early lemon harvest to prevent the fruit from being destroyed by frost. Farmers in the southern United States fear for their crops.

Less than three weeks after the cold spell in North America, the temperature dropped in Northern Europe. This time span can often be observed.

Web links

Commons : Cold wave in the winter of 2013-14 in North America  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Map Surface Analysis WED JAN 08 2014 , Weather Prediction Center, NOAA NWS NCEP ( updated original , archived ( memento from January 8, 2014 on WebCite ) on webcitation.org)
  2. ↑ a b c Arctic Monday for 140 million as 'Polar vortex' barrels across the US: 4,400 flights canceled, schools closed as far south as Atlanta and the coldest temperatures recorded in 20 years ( English ) In: Daily Mail . January 6, 2014. Accessed January 7, 2014. Extensive article with numerous illustrations
  3. ↑ a b c Edmund DeMarche: 'Polar vortex' set to bring dangerous, record-breaking cold to much of US ( English ) In: FoxNews.com . Fox News. January 4, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
  4. ↑ N America weather: Polar vortex brings record temperatures ( English ) In: BBC News - US & Canada . BBC. January 6, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
  5. ↑ Storm Herculesgrip Northeast, Canada records temperatures cold - Digging out from snowpocalyse: Travel chaos on the East Coast as Hercules grounds 4,000 flights and makes roads unusable after dumping 22 inches of snow , Mail online, dailymail.co.uk, January 2, 2014 ( with photo gallery).
  6. ↑ Snow totals, Jan 6, 2013 ( Memento from January 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) , clickondetroit.com (pdf)
  7. ↑ Dangerously Cold Temperatures Settle Into Mid-State ( English ) Nashville News Channel January 5, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
  8. ↑ NCEP GFS 2-meter Temperature anomaly [° F] valid Mon, 18Z06Jan2014 , image on pbs.twimg.com, accessed January 7, 2014
  9. ↑ a b Cold wave in the USA: Polar air freezes America , photo gallery, sueddeutsche.de, January 2014
  10. ^ Life-Threatening Wind Chill , New York Today, Jan. 7, 2014
  11. ↑ In the past 30 years (1983–2013), according to statistics from the reinsurer Munich Re, there have been eight cold spells in the United States, each with losses of more than one billion dollars. In March 1993, 270 people were killed in a blizzard; Damage totaling around five billion US dollars was incurred. Almost two billion dollars of this was insured. The last major winter storm in the USA (January 31 to February 2, 2011) caused damage of 1.3 billion US dollars.
    → en: January 31 - February 2, 2011 North American blizzard , en: 1993 Storm of the Century
  12. ↑ → en: 2013 North American cold wave at the
    same time in Europe the hurricane Xaver
  13. ↑ Storm brings heavy snowfalls to US Midwest, Northeast , The Voice of Russia, December 15, 2013.
  14. ^ Ice, snow storm hits Central and Atlantic Canada. Toronto Hydro CEO calls situation 'highest level of emergency'; outages could last until Christmas , CBC News, December 22, 2013; Ice storms in Canada, wetness in Germany. Hurricane "Dirk" blows a white Christmas away , n-tv online, December 23, 2013; → en: December 2013 North American storm complex
    simultaneously in Europe the hurricane Dirk
  15. ↑ "Hercules" has the US East Coast in the handle ( English ) 4. January 2014. Retrieved on January 6, 2014.
  16. ↑ What's going on with the Polar Vortex? , National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, pmel.noaa.gov, January 6, 2014.
  17. ↑ a b Mild Europe, cold North America , ZAMG → Weather → News , January 7, 2014
  18. ↑ Oscillation  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov   , National Weather Service / National Centers for Environmental Prediction / Climate Prediction Center (NOAA NCEP CPC) > Climate & Weather Linkage> Teleconnections ( graphic, updated, with forecasts )
  19. ↑ a b Chicago Extreme Cold: Weather in 'Chiberia' Colder Than South Pole ( Memento from January 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) . Emily Morris, Erica Demarest at DNAinfo Chicago January 6, 2014.
  20. ↑ No snow in Siberia? Locals marvel - and worry - at the 'snow shortage' , Anna Liesowska in The Sibierian Times , December 17, 2013;
    What has happened to Siberia? Russian region famous for being cold experiences freak warm weather in December for first time in living memory . Daily Mail, December 18, 2013.
  21. ↑ See, for example, Figure A pool of warm water gathers near Alaska creating a pressurized ridge in Polar Vortex, Arctic Cold to Rock Much of US on Monday , mashable.com, January 4, 2014.
  22. ↑ Hawaii snow, Mauna Kea Access Road closed - Part of a wet start to the weekend on Hawaii Island , Big Island video news.com, December 28, 2013.
  23. ↑ Deadly cold snap in US shatters temp. records, sends even polar bears to shelter , rt.com, January 8, 2014.
  24. ↑ 15 children die in Bangladesh cold snap, Church steps in ( Memento of January 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) , Vatican Radio website, December 31, 2013.
  25. ↑ A Russian research ship was trapped in the pack ice for 2 weeks and several rescue attempts with icebreakers failed. Ships and men are freed from the ice , Welt.de, January 7, 2014
  26. ↑ Australian Heatwave temperatures climb towards 50C at start of 2014 , Indymedia Australia, January 6, 2014
  27. ↑ Rio's Heatwave Continues and 'Shock and Order' On the Beach , Sonia Gallego on abcnews.com
  28. ↑ Walbrände in Chile: Government releases health alarm , latina-press.com, January 9, 2014
  29. ↑ Winter Weather: Deep Freeze Grips the US , Photo gallery on Weather.com, January 8, 2014;
    Public life in the Midwest is collapsing minus 54 degrees! Record cold puts 140 million Americans at risk . focus.de, January 6, 2014 (the "minus 54 degrees Celsius" are a possible forecast by the weather services).
  30. ↑ Anthony Castellano: At Least 13 Died in Winter Storm That Dumped More Than 2 Feet of Snow Over Northeast (English) . In: ABC News , January 3, 2014. 
  31. ↑ At least 21 people died , orf.at, January 8, 2014.
  32. ↑ Even the Midwestern people tremble. - Arctic cold affects more than 140 million Americans. , FAZ.net
  33. ↑ : Metra: Most trains will run during evening rush , Peter Nickeas, Rosemary Regina Sobol in Chicago Tribune online, January 7, 2014 - Report on difficulties at METRA , the local transport system in the greater Chicago area
  34. ↑ CTVNews.ca Staff: Power restored to majority of customers in Newfoundland ( English ) In: CTV News . Bell Media. January 6, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2014.