Latest news with #WinterStormEnzo
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
On Today's Date: Valentine's 1895 America's 'Most Anomalous Snowstorm'
While January 2025's Winter Storm Enzo was a historic Gulf Coast snowstorm, a late 19th century event was even more bizarre in some areas. From Feb. 14-16, 1895, 130 years ago, a major snowstorm buried parts of the Gulf Coast in over a foot of snow. Yes, that's right, over 12 inches of snow in some of the southernmost locations in the Lower 48 states. The town of Rayne, Louisiana, set the state's all-time record with 24 inches of snowfall. Lake Charles, known more recently for damaging hurricanes and flash flood events, picked up 22 inches of snow. Baton Rouge had 12.5 inches and New Orleans 8 to 10 inches of snow. This Valentine's storm was even more bizarre in Texas. Houston was buried in a record 20 inches and even Galveston managed over a foot of snow (15.4 inches) just five years before America's deadliest hurricane wiped out the city. But even that wasn't the most bizarre part of this storm. Brownsville, Texas, picked up 5 to 6 inches of snow. They've only managed measurable snow two other times since 1895, one on Christmas 2004, the other in December 2017. And snow flurries even were seen in Tampico, Mexico, below the Tropic of Cancer, the most southerly sea-level snow observed in the Northern Hemisphere, according to weather historian Christopher Burt. The storm went on to wring out snow elsewhere along the coast from Mississippi, Alabama and Florida to Georgia, including as far south as Tampa. Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
February Temperature Outlook Trends Warmer In South, East, But There's A Catch
February's temperature forecast looks much different than January's persistent cold, but there's a late month wild card that could change that, according to an updated outlook released Friday by The Weather Company and Atmospheric G2. How February looks: For the month as a whole, most of the East and South are expected to be warmer than average, particularly from the mid-Atlantic and Southeast to coastal and southern Texas. However, a colder February is expected in the Northwest, Northern Rockies and Northern Plains. Since the map is an overall snapshot for all 28 days in the month, it masks some notable week-to-week temperature swings, which we'll discuss later. How the month's temperatures might evolve: February should start out generally colder from the Northwest to the Northern Plains, and occasionally into the Great Lakes and Northeast as some cold air in western Canada sweeps across the northern tier. Meanwhile, the southern tier of the country should be warmer than usual for this time of year. However, there's a pattern change that could happen around mid-month, according to Todd Crawford, Vice President of Meteorology at Atmospheric G2. "Heading into the back half of February, this represents a low-probability colder risk," said Crawford, referring to this potential pattern change's impact on temperatures in the East and South. How the pattern change could make it colder later in February: Patterns of the jet stream, including sharp southward plunges and domes of high pressure, help steer storm systems that either deliver or deflect cold air. As of the time this article was published, computer forecast models suggested a dome of high pressure known as a Greenland block could form by mid-month. When that happens, the jet stream is forced to take a southward nosedive over the eastern U.S., delivering more persistent cold there. At the same time a positive phase of the Pacific-North American pattern could move another dome of high pressure near or just off the West Coast. If that pattern change happens, it could shift the country to a warm West - cold East and South scenario for late February. So, you may want to enjoy your February thaw early in the month, while you can. Cold January: This February forecast looks quite a bit different than January, as the map below of January temperature anomalies (through the 27th) shows. According to AG2's Todd Crawford, it was America's coldest January since 2014, that's the January when the "polar vortex" first entered into the pop culture lexicon. The month featured four major winter storms in under three weeks, beginning with Winter Storm Blair and punctuated by the historic Gulf Coast Winter Storm Enzo.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
More Than 100 Sea Turtles Rescued In Florida Cold Snap
People weren't the only ones feeling the chill during a recent winter storm that froze parts of the Sunshine State. Dozens of cold-stunned sea turtles were rescued after temperatures plunged. An 'exhausting and relentless' five days: In one case, two officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, or FWC, rushed to pull 30 turtles from the waters around Apalachicola Bay and the Gulf of Mexico in the Florida Panhandle. In another, the University of Florida Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Laboratory received 100 patients from Jan. 22 through Jan. 26. The facility is located in St. Augustine, on Florida's Atlantic Coast. "Our hospital shifted into full emergency mode to triage cold-stunned green sea turtles," a social media post from the lab read, calling the mission "exhausting and relentless." Each morning, FWC personnel arrived to take the turtles to other facilities in order to make room for more. The lab noted the uptick in rescues was expected based on the weather forecast. Cold water is dangerous for sea turtles: Winter Storm Enzo brought frigid air into the Southeast, causing the northern Gulf Coast of Florida to reach lows well below freezing. When the water temperatures drop even as low as the 50s, sea turtles are susceptible to becoming "cold-stunned," digital meteorologist Sara Tonks, who also holds a masters in marine science, said Wednesday. When that happens, they can become lethargic and unable to swim. "When a turtle becomes cold-stunned, the most important thing is to get the turtle out of the cold water as quickly as possible," Tonks said. "Rescue teams have to act fast to get as many turtles into controlled environments so that they can be safely warmed back up.' The turtles rescued following Winter Storm Enzo were taken to facilities where trained sea turtle veterinarians can take care of them until they are healthy enough to be released back into the wild. Winter Storm Enzo was historic for Florida: The state's all-time 24-hour snowfall record was shattered when more than 9 inches of snow was measured on Jan. 22 in the Florida Panhandle town of Milton. The previous record was 4 inches set in 1954 in the same area. Beaches were covered in snow, as was Interstate 10, the main east-west corridor across North Florida. Nearly half of the state's 67 school districts were shut down for at least one day because of the storm. Some were closed for the entire week. -Florida Manatee Rebound Continues, But It's Not All Good News -Storm Takes Out Hundreds Of Florida Sea Turtle Nests -Saving Dogs And Cats From Asheville's Ruins 'Is Just Everything' staff writer Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.
