The top climate story of 2008, as it was in 2007, was the extraordinary summertime sea ice retreat in the Arctic. For the second consecutive year, we experienced the opening of the fabled Northwest Passage through the Canadian Arctic waters. Explorers have been attempting to sail the Northwest Passage since 1497, and 2007 and 2008 are the only known years the passage has been ice-f
Weather Underground Forecast for Wednesday, January 14, 2009.
The Jet Stream will continue to plunge into the Eastern United States on Wednesday keeping frigid temperatures in place for yet another day. Dangerously cold weather will occur in the northern Plains and Mid-West where daytime highs will remain below -10 degrees Fahrenheit in the coldest locations. Overnight lows will be even worse, with portions of Minnesota expected to drop into the -30s.
Temperatures in the New England interior will also drop to similarly dangerous levels, especially from the Adirondacks in northern New York into Maine. Below freezing temperatures are anticipated nearly to Tampa Florida, where overnight lows should just remain above the freezing level.
Light to moderate snow is anticipated across the Northeastern Interior, which combined with the frigid temperatures, could make travel conditions nasty from Ohio to New York. Just east of the northern Rockies, light snow is possible from Montana through western Kansas.
West of the Rockies, a completely different story will shape up on Wednesday. As the Jet stream dives in the east, it surges northward over the eastern Pacific. With the surge of warm air rushing in from the south, the West will see another day of clear skies and likely record breaking temperatures.
Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Tuesday ranged from a low of -41 degrees at Bigfork, Minn to a high of 87 degrees at Santa Ana, Calif.
On this date in 1910, the luxury liner Lusitania was heavily damaged on its way from Liverpool to New York City by an eighty foot wave. The same storm that produced the wave also brought blizzard conditions to the East Coast and dropped 15 inches of snow on New York City.