While much of the continental United States endured several cold snaps in January 2014, record-breaking warmth gripped Alaska. Spring-like conditions set rivers rising and avalanches tumbling.
This map depicts land surface temperature anomalies in Alaska for January 23–30, 2014. Based on data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite, the map shows how 2014 temperatures compared to the 2001–2010 average for the same week. Areas with warmer than average temperatures are shown in red; near-normal temperatures are white; and areas that were cooler than the base period are blue. Gray indicates oceans or areas where clouds blocked the satellite from collecting usable data.
A persistent ridge of high pressure off the Pacific Coast fueled the warm spell, shunting warm air and rainstorms to Alaska instead of California, where they normally end up. The last half of January was one of the warmest winter periods in Alaska’s history, with temperatures as much as 40°F (22°C) above normal on some days in the central and western portions of the state, according to Weather Underground’s Christopher Bart. The all-time warmest January temperature ever observed in Alaska was tied on January 27 when the temperature peaked at 62°F (16.7°C) at Port Alsworth. Numerous other locations—including Nome, Denali Park Headquarters, Palmer, Homer, Alyseka, Seward, Talkeetna, and Kotzebue—all set January records....
The record snow falls of 2010-2011 and 2013-2014 are among the seventh highest amounts in the history of New York City with 2010-2011 being the highest.
February 14, 2014By Jen Chung
Mayor de Blasio (click here) has been worked over for his response to snow storms—he's barely been in office for two months and NYC has seen about 54 inches of snow! Compare that with Mayor's Bloomberg's first months as mayor—the 2001-2002 winter season only had 3.5 inches of snow (and he didn't give his first snow day until 2004).
With news that NYC's snowfall accumulation for the 2013-2014 season cracked the top 10 for the snowiest winters on record, we decided to look at how crazy this snowfall is compared to other years. And guess what—it's definitely one of the snowiest! Especially when you consider how March still lingers on the calendar, pregnant with potential for more powder. And history reminds us that there was a rare April blizzard (April 7, 1982, when 9.6 inches fell in Central Park....
