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Unusual weather trivia that is hard to google


Scott

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I heard on another forum that Mangum reached 99 in 2017(Great February 2017 heatwave east of the Rockies) to tie the previous record from 1918. There was also what I consider to be a bogus 114 reading at Weatherford in May 2000. Most of the stations around Weatherford were in the 100-105 range, but the SW corner of the state(Altus/Frederick) was where the 110-112 readings actually occurred. That's why I listed the 112 at Altus rather than the 114 at Weatherford as the true May record.

I would agree with you on the Altus 112 reading over Weatherford. Altus is more than likely one of the better kept stations in the state and has been one of the more reliable (daily) record setters and keepers over my lifetime. I've known the Watts cold record from 1930 stood for a long time but I never knew of the 1947 tying record of -27. I thought that "if" there was one that tied it, it may have been recorded at Vinita, OK but cannot find nor remember the year. It seems sometimes that as records get updated, some of that stuff is getting harder to find than it used to be. I may have misheard or, again, it may have been revised on the Feb '17 record. I thought I actually had a screenshot of the reading somewhere but I'll have to get my old phone out and check. Either way, I'm not making arguments with you. Awesome stuff and thank you for listing it all.

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       I have always had a huge curiousity for monthly extremes from Michigan.  It is a very strange beast indeed.  Here is my list of credible ​extremes for MI:

 

Jan 72 1950 Ann Arbor   -48 1915 Humboldt

Feb 72 2000, 1999 Dowagiac, Three Rivers/Holland/Battle Creek   -51 1934 Vanderbilt

Mar 89 1910 Lapeer   -45 1943 Fife Lake

Apr 95 1915 Harrisville   -30 1923 Humboldt(I still believe the -34 at Bergland occurred on 3/31 not 4/1)

May 100 1934, 1895 Ironwood/Iron River/Iron Mtn, Berrien Sprs   8 1966 Fife Lake

June 107 1934 Houghton Lake 6SW   17 1998 Champion

July 112 1936 Mio/Stanwood   25 1898 Baldwin

Aug 108 1918 Morenci/Mount Pleasant   22 1976 Cornell

Sept 104 1954, 1913 Wayne, Adrian   9 1942 Watersmeet

Oct 94 1922, 1897 St. Joseph, Mottville   -3 1905 Humboldt

Nov 84 1950 Wayne   -23 1950 Pellston

Dec 72 2001 Three Rivers/Dowagiac   -41 1983 Iron River

 

​    This is definitely one of the most complex of all the states I have tried, and the most interesting!!  Feel free to chime in.   The Highs are pretty easy.  The Lows are much more complex...

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June 107 1934 Houghton Lake 6SW  

 

 

1934 did have an impressive heat wave in late May and early June 1934, but the 107 at Houghton Lake on 6/1/1934 does stand out a bit.    That was an impressively hot day, but was warmer than the surrounding stations.  

 

-45 1943 Fife Lake

 

 

The March 1943 Fife Lake reading does stand out as well.  Michigan can get cold then and there was a cold snap then, but the Fife Lake reading does seem colder than the surrounding area.  Maybe the thermometer was in a cold air sink though and it might really get colder at that location.

 

Either reading could be valid, but perhaps worth looking into.  

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       I have always had a huge curiousity for monthly extremes from Michigan.  It is a very strange beast indeed.  Here is my list of credible ​extremes for MI:

 

Jan 72 1950 Ann Arbor   -48 1915 Humboldt

Feb 72 2000, 1999 Dowagiac, Three Rivers/Holland/Battle Creek   -51 1934 Vanderbilt

Mar 89 1910 Lapeer   -45 1943 Fife Lake

Apr 95 1915 Harrisville   -30 1923 Humboldt(I still believe the -34 at Bergland occurred on 3/31 not 4/1)

May 100 1934, 1895 Ironwood/Iron River/Iron Mtn, Berrien Sprs   8 1966 Fife Lake

June 107 1934 Houghton Lake 6SW   17 1998 Champion

July 112 1936 Mio/Stanwood   25 1898 Baldwin

Aug 108 1918 Morenci/Mount Pleasant   22 1976 Cornell

Sept 104 1954, 1913 Wayne, Adrian   9 1942 Watersmeet

Oct 94 1922, 1897 St. Joseph, Mottville   -3 1905 Humboldt

Nov 84 1950 Wayne   -23 1950 Pellston

Dec 72 2001 Three Rivers/Dowagiac   -41 1983 Iron River

 

​    This is definitely one of the most complex of all the states I have tried, and the most interesting!!  Feel free to chime in.   The Highs are pretty easy.  The Lows are much more complex...

 

March 2012 cleaned up in Michigan:

 

90 @ Lapeer

89 @ Dearborn 

89 @ Wellston

89 @ Detroit - Willow Run Airport

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1934 did have an impressive heat wave in late May and early June 1934, but the 107 at Houghton Lake on 6/1/1934 does stand out a bit.    That was an impressively hot day, but was warmer than the surrounding stations.  

 

 

The March 1943 Fife Lake reading does stand out as well.  Michigan can get cold then and there was a cold snap then, but the Fife Lake reading does seem colder than the surrounding area.  Maybe the thermometer was in a cold air sink though and it might really get colder at that location.

 

Either reading could be valid, but perhaps worth looking into.  

        I think both readings are certainly legit.  The 107 at Houghton Lake occurred on 6/1/1934.  Points east of Lake Michigan(MI, IN) actually had their highest temps on 6/1 not 5/31.  For example, Collegeville, Indiana holds the May record for the state at 103 on 5/31/1934.  The next day, it hit 109 on 6/1/1934.  If the heatwave was a day earlier, these two states would have shattered their old records just like other states did on 5/31.

        The Fife Lake reading of -45 in 1943 is legit as well.  Roscommon hit -43 with Cadillac and Vanderbilt coming in both at -39.  Several other stations were well under -30 on the Northern LP. 

 

        The 25 degree reading in July 1898 for Baldwin is the most legit reading I can find for that month. There was a 22 reading at Seney at 1912, but it seems too cold.  The next coldest reading was 29.  The 20 degree readings at Wetmore and Baraga in 1903 are completely bogus.

       

        I am not entirely sure about what the true August low might be.  The 21 degree reading at Baraga seems too low even though there was a legitimate cold wave.  In fact, a lot of their summer readings are ridiculously low.  Very little to no credibility for that station IMO.  There was a 22 at Cornell in 1976, though it seems a little bit too cold.  There is also a 23 reading at Dukes in 1934, which seems very credible to me.

 

        The 17 degrees in Champion in 1998 is definitely the coldest June temp. in Michigan.  The 12 reading at Humboldt in 1897 is dubious.  There was a cold snap on the first couple days of 6/1897, but its shows the 12 reading happened in the middle of the month.  I think there was even a warm spell on those same days.  Maybe it was a data input error...

 

        As for the April record high, there was originally a reading of 96 at Seney in 1915.  ​ ​I definitely think the thermometer was overexposed during this period there.  There is also a 95 at Harrissville(also in 1915) on the Northern LP on the shores of Lake Huron.  This one is a bit more believable as there were a few 90+ reading in the area during that time.  If the 95 reading is also not legit, there is a 94 reading in Alberta in the UP in 1980 and another 94 somewhere else(I forgot the station).

 

       Just trying to clarify a confusing situation with this complex state...

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     Thanks for the info. Wx_Statsman. Are these RAWS or COOP readings??  

 

COOP for three of them, and ASOS for Willow Run. I don't include non-official readings in these discussions. If I mention any RAWS/Snotel/CoCoRaHS etc. readings as an aside, I'll specify it. Just to keep things straight.

 

By the way, I recommend you use xmACIS in your efforts. It's great for quickly cross-referencing data:

 

http://xmacis.rcc-acis.org/

 

If you go under "multi-station" and then "monthly data," and select March 2012, maximums, and Michigan, this is the result (after sorting descending):

March2012.JPG

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 The 107 at Houghton Lake occurred on 6/1/1934.  Points east of Lake Michigan(MI, IN) actually had their highest temps on 6/1 not 5/31.  For example, Collegeville, Indiana holds the May record for the state at 103 on 5/31/1934.  The next day, it hit 109 on 6/1/1934.  If the heatwave was a day earlier, these two states would have shattered their old records just like other states did on 5/31.

 

 

Yes, I agree that it was a legitimate heat wave for sure.   The Houghton Lake was warmer than all of the other stations in the vicinity, but two other ones in the area did get very close.  West Branch isn't that far away and had a 105.  Fife Lake had 106.  The other stations in the vicinity had 97-104.  

 

Adrian Michigan also had a 106, but it's much farther south and in the southeast corner.  

 

The Fife Lake and West Branch values due seem to verify it, so yes, it is probably valid. The May 1934 records are impressive for sure.  

 

1934 was another crazy year in the 1930's for temperature records, and on both ends.  

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Any thoughts on the -39 reading on 2/16/1943 at Portland Maine?    Portland is on the coast and almost always has some of the mildest winter temperatures in Maine.   In February 1943, Portland was supposedly the second coldest place in Maine for the month.  Places like Presque Isle and Caribou are almost always colder than Portland on all winter days.  

February 1943 was also the only occasion in which Portland dropped below -26.   Records go back to 1874.

 

maine.JPG
 

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Any thoughts on the -39 reading on 2/16/1943 at Portland Maine?    Portland is on the coast and almost always has some of the mildest winter temperatures in Maine.   In February 1943, Portland was supposedly the second coldest place in Maine for the month.  Places like Presque Isle and Caribou are almost always colder than Portland on all winter days.  

 

February 1943 was also the only occasion in which Portland dropped below -26.   Records go back to 1874.

 

attachicon.gifmaine.JPG

 

 

Yeah, that reading certainly sticks out. I'm not sure how you could screw up a low temp reading that badly at an airport location, especially with an alcohol thermometer (I'm assuming an alcohol thermometer was being used). Snowcover & decoupling can lead to crazy low readings under a record cold airmass. For example, Depoe Bay here on the Oregon Coast supposedly fell to -7 in December 1972 when most winters don't fall below 25 there. 

 

The lack of cold readings in interior Maine is the biggest problem in my opinion. There should have been readings pushing -50 in favored cold spots, or even lower with an airmass of that caliber (if -39 is to be believed). So I don't know. 

 

Speaking of the Feb. 1943 cold wave, readings of -47 exist on the books at both Chelsea & Marshfield in Vermont. Lower than the -46 state monthly record given in the Infoplease tables (@ East Barnet, also in 1943). 

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       I have always had a huge curiousity for monthly extremes from Michigan.  It is a very strange beast indeed.  Here is my list of credible ​extremes for MI:

 

Jan 72 1950 Ann Arbor   -48 1915 Humboldt

Feb 72 2000, 1999 Dowagiac, Three Rivers/Holland/Battle Creek   -51 1934 Vanderbilt

Mar 89 1910 Lapeer   -45 1943 Fife Lake

Apr 95 1915 Harrisville   -30 1923 Humboldt(I still believe the -34 at Bergland occurred on 3/31 not 4/1)

May 100 1934, 1895 Ironwood/Iron River/Iron Mtn, Berrien Sprs   8 1966 Fife Lake

June 107 1934 Houghton Lake 6SW   17 1998 Champion

July 112 1936 Mio/Stanwood   25 1898 Baldwin

Aug 108 1918 Morenci/Mount Pleasant   22 1976 Cornell

Sept 104 1954, 1913 Wayne, Adrian   9 1942 Watersmeet

Oct 94 1922, 1897 St. Joseph, Mottville   -3 1905 Humboldt

Nov 84 1950 Wayne   -23 1950 Pellston

Dec 72 2001 Three Rivers/Dowagiac   -41 1983 Iron River

 

​    This is definitely one of the most complex of all the states I have tried, and the most interesting!!  Feel free to chime in.   The Highs are pretty easy.  The Lows are much more complex...

 

By the way, I agree with you that the Bergland reading most likely occurred on 3/31/1923, not 4/1. I argued with you about this in the past, but I was wrong. I took a closer look at the temperature profiles on those two mornings. On 3/31, nearby towns to Bergland hit -30 (at Bruce Crossing) and -27 (at Sidnaw). On 4/1, Bruce Crossing had warmed to -20 and Sidnaw to -14. This definitely supports 3/31 as the colder morning in the western UP, where all three towns including Bergland are located. Humboldt is further east in the UP, where the coldest readings appear to have been on 4/1 (as they also were in the lower peninsula). Humboldt shows -24 on 3/31 and -30 on 4/1, and Mio went from -10 on 3/31 to -23 on 4/1. 

 

So the Humboldt reading of -30 on 4/1/1923 looks to be the legitimate April record for Michigan. 

 

My guess is that the Bergland observer was following the COOP instructions precisely, which dictated that readings from 7 AM the previous day to 7 AM on the current day should be filed under current day. The -34 on the morning of 3/31 probably occurred just after 7 AM. This is an era when most observers manually corrected in order to have the readings on the "real" day, which is why we don't see offsets nearly as often compared to recent decades (this is especially noticeable with maximums). So either the Bruce Crossing & Sidnaw readings occurred before 7 AM on 3/31, or the observers made the choice to enter the readings on 3/31 to correct for the offset if they had occurred after 7 AM. 

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By the way, I agree with you that the Bergland reading most likely occurred on 3/31/1923, not 4/1. I argued with you about this in the past, but I was wrong. I took a closer look at the temperature profiles on those two mornings. On 3/31, nearby towns to Bergland hit -30 (at Bruce Crossing) and -27 (at Sidnaw). On 4/1, Bruce Crossing had warmed to -20 and Sidnaw to -14. This definitely supports 3/31 as the colder morning in the western UP, where all three towns including Bergland are located. Humboldt is further east in the UP, where the coldest readings appear to have been on 4/1 (as they also were in the lower peninsula). Humboldt shows -24 on 3/31 and -30 on 4/1, and Mio went from -10 on 3/31 to -23 on 4/1. 

 

So the Humboldt reading of -30 on 4/1/1923 looks to be the legitimate April record for Michigan. 

 

My guess is that the Bergland observer was following the COOP instructions precisely, which dictated that readings from 7 AM the previous day to 7 AM on the current day should be filed under current day. The -34 on the morning of 3/31 probably occurred just after 7 AM. This is an era when most observers manually corrected in order to have the readings on the "real" day, which is why we don't see offsets nearly as often compared to recent decades (this is especially noticeable with maximums). So either the Bruce Crossing & Sidnaw readings occurred before 7 AM on 3/31, or the observers made the choice to enter the readings on 3/31 to correct for the offset if they had occurred after 7 AM. 

       I am glad I managed to plead my case for the -34 at Bergland being on 3/31 rather than on 4/1. I didn't think anyone agreed with me at all.  Thank you so much for going and checking through the data and posting it on here Wx_Statsman!  It means a lot - trying to find the 'true' extremes for each month in each state.  I am still trying to find the 'real' lows for July and August.  Any ideas on those??

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It's interesting to note that Concord, NH hit -37 on 2/16/1943, their all-time record. Perhaps that area of lower New England was especially favored for uber radiational cooling that night. 

 

That one is easier to believe since there is collaboration from other nearby weather stations (which doesn't seem to be the case with the Portland reading).

 

Anyway, the reason I am on the fence with this one is that Portland does seem like it has a long and accurate weather record.   If it were a station with a bunch of funky readings, I'd just dismiss the -39.  

 

The -39 really does stand out though, especially when compared to the interior stations (Concord is usually colder than Portland on cold winter nights as well).  

 

The only thing I can think of is that perhaps the skies were clear at Portland and perhaps there was cloud cover in interior Maine, which kept the temperatures warmer.  

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  I am glad I managed to plead my case for the -34 at Bergland being on 3/31 rather than on 4/1.

 

 

So the Humboldt reading of -30 on 4/1/1923 looks to be the legitimate April record for Michigan. 

 

 

Interesting.  

 

That brings up another interesting question of what the record low for April is in the Lower 48?     At least if the (controversial) readings at Peter Sinks are ignored.

 

I have thought that the -34 at Bergland might be the record low for April in the Lower 48, which would also make it the only monthly record recorded east of the Rocky Mountains.

 

I still think that the -36 at Eagle Nest in New Mexico is dubious, especially since the high that day was supposedly 47 (83 degrees warmer).    The -35 at Breckenridge in Colorado is also dubious.   In my opinion, so is the -30 at White Mountain 2 on 4/27/1970.

 

As far as I know, that would leave the following as the possible April record:

 

-30 at Humboldt Michigan on 4/1/1923

-30 at Summit Montana on 4/2/1935

-30 at Fraser Colorado on 4/4/1970

 

Comments?

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   Those three -30 readings that you mentioned above are all certainly legit and credible.  I cant find anything else either.  There is also a -33 reading at Gate Park, Montana on 4/2/2002.  It is either a RAWS or SNOTEL station.  Not sure if this reading would be considered official though...

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SNOTELS are definitely not considered to be official, even if when plausible and accurate. It doesn't seem that RAWS are either though you do sometimes see those values reported in news stories and occasionally in the daily temperature records for the Lower 48.

 

They do make for interesting discussion though.

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It's interesting to note that Concord, NH hit -37 on 2/16/1943, their all-time record. Perhaps that area of lower New England was especially favored for uber radiational cooling that night.

If there were higher pressures to the N/NW and they decoupled, it’s definitely possible.

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If there were higher pressures to the N/NW and they decoupled, it’s definitely possible.

I definitely believe the Concord readings, but the Portland one really does stand out.

 

Also, I noticed that Portland did have several other readings that stand out, always between the early 40's and early 50's.

 

More later.

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The March record low of -21 (1950) for Portland (Jetport) also seems out of place.    Like the February 1943 reading, Portland reported colder temperatures than the usually much colder inland locations.  Also telling, in March 1950 Portland COOP had the warmest reported monthly low in Maine.  

 

It seems really out of place that the two stations in Portland on the same day would simultaneously record both one of the coldest lows in the state and the warmest low in the state.  Further, Lewiston which is inland only recorded a -7 when Portland was supposedly -21.

 

port 1.JPG

port 2.JPG

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I’ll have to check the regional water temperature reconstructions, but I do have some knowledge about that area.

 

Land use changes have altered the local thermodynamic climatology to some extent across coastal ME/NH since the early/mid-20th century, but even today it’s not uncommon to get cold spots when the pressure gradient runs perpendicular to the coastline. Late in the winter is also ideal for decoupling since there’s less warm waters to produce a nocturnal land-breeze and local subsidence.

 

If it were in December, I’d be skeptical. But since it’s late in the season, I think it’s legit. Not uncommon to see cold pockets and wild variations of over 20*F within the span of just 5-10 miles.

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The 12 reading at Humboldt in 1897 is dubious.  There was a cold snap on the first couple days of 6/1897, but its shows the 12 reading happened in the middle of the month.

 

Which day was it on?  Other than in the state records, I don't see any 12 reading for Humboldt in 6/1897.   There was a supposed 19 on 6/21/1897.  

 

The 17 degrees in Champion in 1998 is definitely the coldest June temp. in Michigan.  

 

 

Kenton also had a reported 17 on 6/6/1948.   The next coldest reading in Michigan then was 25 though.

 

 The 25 degree reading in July 1898 for Baldwin is the most legit reading I can find for that month. There was a 22 reading at Seney at 1912, but it seems too cold.  The next coldest reading was 29.  The 20 degree readings at Wetmore and Baraga in 1903 are completely bogus.

 

       

I think you have it right.   I'd go with the 25 at Baldwin. 

 

I am not entirely sure about what the true August low might be.  The 21 degree reading at Baraga seems too low even though there was a legitimate cold wave.  In fact, a lot of their summer readings are ridiculously low.  Very little to no credibility for that station IMO.  There was a 22 at Cornell in 1976, though it seems a little bit too cold.  There is also a 23 reading at Dukes in 1934, which seems very credible to me.

 

 

The 23 at Dukes is definitely credible and collaborated

 

It's hard to say on the Cornell reading (8/30/1976).   22 is as low as the September record.   Vanbderbilt 11 ENE did hit 24, so it was cold then, but Vanderbilt is usually a little cooler than Cornell.  I'd put a question mark on the Cornell reading.  It could be valid, but it does seem a bit cool.    

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Land use changes have altered the local thermodynamic climatology to some extent across coastal ME/NH since the early/mid-20th century, but even today it’s not uncommon to get cold spots when the pressure gradient runs perpendicular to the coastline. Late in the winter is also ideal for decoupling since there’s less warm waters to produce a nocturnal land-breeze and local subsidence.

 

If it were in December, I’d be skeptical. But since it’s late in the season, I think it’s legit. Not uncommon to see cold pockets and wild variations of over 20*F within the span of just 5-10 miles. 

 

 

I would agree on the above, but the Portland readings are out of place for more than one reason.   

 

The Portland readings in February 1943 and March 1950, for example are much colder than all other readings in the area and even colder than most of the places in Maine that are known as severely cold spots (such as Caribou, Presque Isle, and Houlton).

 

Yes, there are variations (especially in valley floors) of locations in the span of 5-10 miles (including around where I live), but why would Portland be colder than the inland locations?   And why only Portland?   Shouldn't at least some other locations in the area collaborate the readings at Portland and also be colder than inland?  No other stations at or even near the coast were.

 

Another red flag for me is that the outliers all seem to be confined to the time period of the early 1940's to the early 1950's.   Before the 1940's and after the 1950's, no such outliers exist.   Records span from 1874 to 2018, a period of 144 years.   It is only an eight year time period which has produced such outliers.  No other time periods have.

 

I’ll have to check the regional water temperature reconstructions

 

  

I'd be interested in that.   Note that it's really only Portland that I would question, there were definitely low readings in other locations during those time periods, they just don't seem to be so out of place. 

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       I am glad I managed to plead my case for the -34 at Bergland being on 3/31 rather than on 4/1. I didn't think anyone agreed with me at all.  Thank you so much for going and checking through the data and posting it on here Wx_Statsman!  It means a lot - trying to find the 'true' extremes for each month in each state.  I am still trying to find the 'real' lows for July and August.  Any ideas on those??

 

No problem! This stuff is very interesting to me as well, as you may have guessed.  :)

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I would agree on the above, but the Portland readings are out of place for more than one reason.

 

The Portland readings in February 1943 and March 1950, for example are much colder than all other readings in the area and even colder than most of the places in Maine that are known as severely cold spots (such as Caribou, Presque Isle, and Houlton).

 

Yes, there are variations (especially in valley floors) of locations in the span of 5-10 miles (including around where I live), but why would Portland be colder than the inland locations? And why only Portland? Shouldn't at least some other locations in the area collaborate the readings at Portland and also be colder than inland? No other stations at or even near the coast were.

 

Another red flag for me is that the outliers all seem to be confined to the time period of the early 1940's to the early 1950's. Before the 1940's and after the 1950's, no such outliers exist. Records span from 1874 to 2018, a period of 144 years. It is only an eight year time period which has produced such outliers. No other time periods have.

 

 

I'd be interested in that. Note that it's really only Portland that I would question, there were definitely low readings in other locations during those time periods, they just don't seem to be so out of place.

One of my best friends lives up there, so I’m somewhat familiar with how the thermals work. When the nocturnal land breeze is weaker in conjunction with a perpendicular MSLP gradient relative to the shoreline, the area can decouple right up to the coast.

 

Also, I believe 1943 was a gradient year with a deep snowpack up there. January 1943 in particular. Reduced nocturnal subsidence later in the winter in conjunction with that could have easily supported those kind of numbers in favored cold pockets until the suburban development accelerated in the 1960s. Or so I suspect.

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When the nocturnal land breeze is weaker in conjunction with a perpendicular MSLP gradient, the area can decouple right up to the coastline.

 

 

Why only at Portland Jetport though?  All other coast locations were much warmer than the interior locations.  And why only the time period between the early 40's and early 50's? It is puzzling for sure.  

 

Also, I believe 1943 was a gradient year with a deep snowpack up there.

 

 

1943 was actually a low snowpack year.  Both snow cover and snowfall were well below average.    10 inches of snow did fall on 2/13 and 2/14 though, just before the cold air settled in.   By 2/20/1943, the temperature in Portland was 56, which is very warm for them in February.  

 

Interestingly, February 1943 wasn't really that cold of a month in New England and temperatures were only slightly below normal to above normal, depending on the location.   2/1943 just happened to have one extreme, but short lived cold snap.  

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Why only at Portland Jetport though? All other coast locations were much warmer than the interior locations. And why only the time period between the early 40's and early 50's? It is puzzling for sure.

There are a number of cold spots like that, even today, but no official stations exist where they are climatologically favored to occur. And there are less of them now than there used to be.

 

1943 was actually a low snowpack year. Both snow cover and snowfall were well below average. 10 inches of snow did fall on 2/13 and 2/14 though, just before the cold air settled in. By 2/20/1943, the temperature in Portland was 56, which is very warm for them in February.

 

Interestingly, February 1943 wasn't really that cold of a month in New England and temperatures were only slightly below normal to above normal, depending on the location. 2/1943 just happened to have one extreme, but short lived cold snap.

Maybe I’m thinking of the wrong year. I know one of those early/mid 1940s winters was a blockbuster snow year up there. I’ll have to check.

 

But a fresh snowpack like that could easily have produced a shallow cold pocket. IIRC, it also happened in Oklahoma back in 2011. Sometimes they’re more localized, but it’s amazing what snowcover can do under the right conditions.

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      I am still trying to find the 'real' lows for July and August.  Any ideas on those??

 

Agreed about Wetmore. Not a credible station at all. They reported 23 in July 1902 (no other reading in MI below 34), and followed it up with 20 in July 1903 (when on other station was below 28). In July 1905, Wetmore reported 24 when no other station was below 29. Junk readings, IMO. 

 

Humboldt reported 22 on July 14, 1897 when no other station in MI was below 39. Seems to fall in line with their junk reading of 12 from June of that year. 

 

Agreed that the 22 at Seney on 7/16/1912 is dubious, although readings were 29 in Chatham and 30 in Humboldt that morning. 

 

Baldwin looks to be the winner indeed, with 25 degrees on 7/11/1898. This reading is well corroborated as Grayling & Newberry were both 28 that morning. The MI state climate report noted that killing frosts were observed on the 10th & 11th with crops damaged. 

 

Also, Champion hit 25 on July 20, 2000. This reading most likely occurred on the 19th, when numerous record lows were set in that region. Marquette tied their monthly record with a reading of 36 on 7/19/2000. 

 

For August - Gaylord reported 22 degrees way back on August 25, 1887. This is what the MI state report for that month had to say:

 

...a very low temperature of 21.5 degrees is reported at Gaylord. This record is from tested instruments, yet this seems to be an exceedingly low temperature for the month of August for the latitude. 

 

Indeed, both Baraga & Escanaba only fell to 38 during the late August 1887 cold wave, according to the same monthly report. Although Saranac, east of Grand Rapids, did report 26 on the 24th...

 

Agreed that the 21 at Baraga on 8/18/1915 is probably bogus. Humboldt did hit 24, but this was on the 27th during a verifiable record cold wave later that month. Watersmeet also hit 24 on the 30th that month. 

 

To me, both the 23 at Dukes in Aug. 1934 & the 22 at Cornell in Aug. 1976 *could* be reliable, based on other readings in MI during those months. Plenty of other 20's in both cases. 

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Maybe I’m thinking of the wrong year. I know one of those early/mid 1940s winters was a blockbuster snow year up there. I’ll have to check. 

 

 

1944-1945 had 89.9 inches, which is above normal, but not off the charts.

 

You may be thinking of the 1950's?  They had two very high snow years.    105.5 inches in 1951-1952 and 166.5 inches in 1955-1956. At the time, the 1955-1956 season was close to record breaking, but then the 1970-1971 came and shattered all records with 141.5.

There are a number of cold spots like that, even today, but no official stations exist where they are climatologically favored to occur.

 

 

That still wouldn't explain why no such outlying occurrences were recorded before the early 1940's or after the early 1950's in the same location (unless the weather station was moved significantly).  For sure the station has been in close to the same location since 1940.   

 

The COOP station is only about one mile from the airport station.  

 

Before and after that time period, the cold snaps at Portland align nicely and so does the collaboration with other stations.

 

Anyway, I did find some collaboration on the 3/1950 reading.   Belfast, also on the coast recorded a -18 in 3/1950.

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Interesting.  

 

That brings up another interesting question of what the record low for April is in the Lower 48?     At least if the (controversial) readings at Peter Sinks are ignored.

 

I have thought that the -34 at Bergland might be the record low for April in the Lower 48, which would also make it the only monthly record recorded east of the Rocky Mountains.

 

I still think that the -36 at Eagle Nest in New Mexico is dubious, especially since the high that day was supposedly 47 (83 degrees warmer).    The -35 at Breckenridge in Colorado is also dubious.   In my opinion, so is the -30 at White Mountain 2 on 4/27/1970.

 

As far as I know, that would leave the following as the possible April record:

 

-30 at Humboldt Michigan on 4/1/1923

-30 at Summit Montana on 4/2/1935

-30 at Fraser Colorado on 4/4/1970

 

Comments?

 

I'll add that Summit, MT also hit -30 on 4/11/1940. 

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1944-1945 had 89.9 inches, which is above normal, but not off the charts.

 

You may be thinking of the 1950's? They had two very high snow years. 105.5 inches in 1951-1952 and 166.5 inches in 1955-1956. At the time, the 1955-1956 season was close to record breaking, but then the 1970-1971 came and shattered all records with 141.5.

 

That still wouldn't explain why no such outlying occurrences were recorded before the early 1940's or after the early 1950's in the same location (unless the weather station was moved significantly). For sure the station has been in close to the same location since 1940.

 

The COOP station is only about one mile from the airport station.

 

Before and after that time period, the cold snaps at Portland align nicely and so does the collaboration with other stations.

 

Anyway, I did find some collaboration on the 3/1950 reading. Belfast, also on the coast recorded a -18 in 3/1950.

But it’s an airport station..pretty well maintained.

 

Given the fresh snowcover and wind direction, my bet is there was a shallow cold pocket there. I’ve seen that happen here before as well after a snowfall..in 2010 there were pockets of cold down to -5*F with areas just a few miles away still in the teens at times.

 

Nothing too strange there, when you really think about it.

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The Portland, ME observations were moved from downtown (and right on the water) to the new airport in 1940. Big microclimate differences between those spots. I suspect that rapid urbanization around the new airport quickly killed off the radiational cooling potential of that spot, but not before it was tapped in the 1940's and 1950's. Lots of impressive record lows from that era. BTW, the Portland ME record is so disjointed with the 1940 airport move that Threadex actually cautions against comparing the two eras (image attached). You don't usually see that. 

 

FWIW, the old city station managed -21 on 12/30/1917. That was a tremendous cold wave. I wouldn't be surprised if the PWM location was between -30 and -40 that morning. 

 

 

PortlandME.JPG

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The Portland, ME observations were moved from downtown (and right on the water) to the new airport in 1940. Big microclimate differences between those spots. I suspect that rapid urbanization around the new airport quickly killed off the radiational cooling potential of that spot, but not before it was tapped in the 1940's and 1950's. Lots of impressive record lows from that era. BTW, the Portland ME record is so disjointed with the 1940 airport move that Threadex actually cautions against comparing the two eras (image attached). You don't usually see that.

 

FWIW, the old city station managed -21 on 12/30/1917. That was a tremendous cold wave. I wouldn't be surprised if the PWM location was between -30 and -40 that morning.

Thank you for this information. Definitely explains it.

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The Portland, ME observations were moved from downtown (and right on the water) to the new airport in 1940. Big microclimate differences between those spots. I suspect that rapid urbanization around the new airport quickly killed off the radiational cooling potential of that spot, but not before it was tapped in the 1940's and 1950's. Lots of impressive record lows from that era. BTW, the Portland ME record is so disjointed with the 1940 airport move that Threadex actually cautions against comparing the two eras (image attached). You don't usually see that. 

 

FWIW, the old city station managed -21 on 12/30/1917. That was a tremendous cold wave. I wouldn't be surprised if the PWM location was between -30 and -40 that morning. 

 

Yes, very good information and it does explain a lot.

 

I admit I'm still on the fence on this one (and that probably won't change).   I agree that the new station might be much more prone to radiational cooling, but it's hard for me to picture that it would be enough to make Portland (on the coast) that much colder than the historic cold spots in the interior (Portland was even colder than Mt Washington on that date).   I guess cloud cover or something Phil was referring to might explain it though.  

 

I'll likely stay on the fence on this one (which means I am not discounting the possibility that the readings are 100% accurate), but the above is very good information.  

 

Anyway, something similar to what you are describing is almost certain true of the Salt Lake International Airport station.

 

The station existing between 1874-1928 was in a much warmer spot, at least when it comes to low temperatures.  The station from 1928 to present is in a colder location for low temperatures, but urbanization has probably negated the radiational cooling potential.   I don't think that there is even a slim chance, at least until the next ice age, that Salt Lake will again get even close to the -30 recorded on 2/9/1933.   Interestingly, the downtown station only reached -10 during that cold snap, which demonstrates what you are talking about quite well.  

 

I'll just leave it there though.    Just call me a fence sitter on the Portland reading. ;)   Same with the high reading in Parker Arizona.  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Anyway, do you still believe the -36 reading in Eagle Nest?  I think that is one that I do think is dubious (especially with the high of 47).  I don't know if you have changed your mind on this one, or if you still consider it to be plausible.  

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