We’ve certainly had our fill of cold outbreaks recently in the East and South.
But in mid-February 1899, 127 years ago this week, America was in the heart of what weather historian Christopher Burt considers «the greatest cold wave in modern U.S. history.»
This outbreak was extreme in magnitude, aerial coverage and longevity. It encompassed the first two weeks of February 1899.
For the first and only time on record, every state in the Union (there were only 45 states at the time) dipped below zero, according to Burt. Subzero cold invaded parts of south-central Texas, the Gulf Coast beaches and northwest Florida.
Tallahassee, Florida, plunged to minus 2 degrees on Feb. 13, the only subzero low in the city’s history. This remains the all-time record low for the Sunshine State. A pre-Valentine’s Day storm saw snow fall as far south as Fort Myers and Tampa.
All-time record lows were set in a dozen states from the Plains to the Ohio Valley, Southeast and District of Columbia. In addition to Florida, state record lows in Louisiana (minus 16 degrees in Minden), Nebraska (minus 47 in Camp Clarke) and Ohio (minus 39 in Milligan) still stand today.
Dozens of cities still hold onto their all-time record low from this outbreak, including Atlanta (minus 9), Grand Rapids, Michigan (minus 24), and Wichita, Kansas (minus 22). Temperatures as frigid as minus 61 (Montana), minus 59 (Minnesota) and minus 50 (Wisconsin) were recorded.
The Mississippi River froze solid north of Cairo, Illinois, and ice not only clogged the river in New Orleans, but also flowed into the Gulf of Mexico a few days after the heart of the cold outbreak.
Ice jams triggered floods along parts of the Ohio, Tennessee, Cumberland and James rivers. Ice skating was the activity of choice as the San Antonio River froze.
New York City engineers found trusses on the Brooklyn Bridge had contracted 14 feet due to the cold, according to «Extreme American Weather» by Tim Vasquez. Due to frozen aqueducts from Catskills reservoirs, the city of Newark was forced to draw water from other rivers and bays.