Home
Weather New York
WeatherRadar
RainRadar
TemperatureRadar
WindRadar
LightningRadar
Weather News
Editor's Pick
Discover the app
Weather widget
Contact us
Apps
Career
    Home / Weather News /

    This week in weather and science

06:00 PM
January 16, 2022

This week in history
Weekly throwback — Jan. 17-23

Here is a brief look at a few of the events that happened the third week of January. In this history throwback, we look at rare snow in some unusual places, winter tornado outbreaks and crazy wintertime temperatures.

Monday January 17

Severe storms and tornadoes are possible across the South and Mid-South in January. On January 17, 1999, tornadoes rolled through Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. The biggest one, a F4 tornado struck nearly Jackson, Tenn. It flattened more than 200 structures, killing 6 and injuring more than 100 more. Total tornado related death toll from the outbreak was 8 and damage estimates reached $40 million.

Tuesday January 18

On January 18, 1978, after a week of snow and ice accumulation, the roof of the relatively new Hartford, Conn., Civic Center collapsed. The arena was empty, and no one was injured. Although the weight of the snow was considered a contributing factor, investigators determined engineering flaws related to undersized support columns bearing the roofs weight and expected load were major factors in the collapse.

Wednesday January 19

On this day in 1977, a rare event occurred — snow fell in the Miami area.

For the first time in recorded history, snow was observed as far south as Homestead, Fla., with snowflakes seen in Miami Beach. Tampa reported almost a quarter inch of accumulation while interior Plant City saw an inch of snow.

The arctic blast that brought the snow brought freezing temperatures across Florida, devastating certain citrus and vegetable crops. An estimated $350 million in damage was reported across Florida with Miami-Dade County reporting $100 million on its own.

Miami snow
A headline from the Miami News about snow in Miami. (NWS Miami)

Thursday January 20

Moving to another U.S. warm weather spot. On this day in 1933, Phoenix received an inch of snow, the first time for the city. The city would also see an inch of snow on January 21 and 22, 1937.

Friday January 21

Four days after a Mid-South tornado outbreak, the start of a Mid-Mississippi Valley tornado outbreak occurred on January 21, 1999. This three-day event produced 127 tornadoes, killing 9 people, injuring 168 others, and causing more than $90 million damage.

The outbreak produced one F4 tornado and nine F3 tornadoes. An F3 tornado hit Little Rock, Ark., that evening, killing 3 people and destroying more 200 buildings, including a grocery store.

Saturday January 22

A record-setting temperature spike occurred on this day in 1973. A chinook, a strong wind rolling downslope off the Rockies that can compresses and produces dramatic warm-ups, in tandem with a warm front hit Spearfish, S.D., early on January 22, 1973.

In just two minutes during the overnight hours, the temperature rose from minus-4 degrees to 45 degrees, a jump of 49 degrees. The thermometer reversed course about 90 minutes later when denser and colder arctic air pushed the warm front south and the temperature plummeted from 54 degrees to minus-4 degrees in 27 minutes, a drop of 58 degrees!

Sunday January 23

Brrrr!! On this day in 1971, the coldest U.S. temperature was recorded. A reading of minus-80 was recorded in Prospect Creek, Alaska, at a construction camp for the Trans-Alaska pipeline.

James West
More on the topic
Super Typhoon Bavi threatens Taiwan. 155 mph winds. . Weather Videos. Wednesday, July 8, 2026
The image shows an intense tropical cyclone over the western Pacific, east of Taiwan and the Philippines. The centre of the system is depicted as a light purple and white vortex with a clearly visible eye, surrounded by a ring of red and orange areas indicating the strongest wind speeds. A white arrow marks the typhoon’s predicted track towards the north-west, in the direction of Taiwan. To the west of the storm lie the Philippines, with the cities of Manila and Cebu; to the north of these lies Taiwan, with Taipei. Further west, the Chinese coast, including Hong Kong, and parts of Vietnam can be seen. The coloured wind map shows predominantly green areas outside the storm’s core, indicating significantly weaker winds. White streamlines illustrate the typhoon’s anti-clockwise circulation in the Northern Hemisphere. The highest wind speeds are concentrated around the eye of the cyclone.
Weather VideosWednesday, July 8, 2026

155 mph winds

Super Typhoon Bavi threatens Taiwan
Rip currents & safety tips. As more head to the coast. . . Saturday, July 25, 2026
rip current
Saturday, July 25, 2026

As more head to the coast

Rip currents & safety tips
Longest day of the year is here. Summer solstice. . . Sunday, June 21, 2026
Sunday, June 21, 2026

Summer solstice

Longest day of the year is here
All weather news
This might also interest you
Moisture surge fuels strong storms. Northeast deluge. . . Friday, August 7, 2026
Friday, August 7, 2026

Northeast deluge

Moisture surge fuels strong storms
Big 50-degree jump. Northwest heat extremes. . . Thursday, August 6, 2026
Big temperature jumps
Thursday, August 6, 2026

Northwest heat extremes

Big 50-degree jump
Thunderstorms: Anywhere. Anytime.. How do they form?. . . Sunday, August 2, 2026
Sunday, August 2, 2026

How do they form?

Thunderstorms: Anywhere. Anytime.
All articles
Weather & Radar

Weather & Radar is also available on

Google Play StoreApp Store

Company

Contact us Privacy policy Legal info Accessibility statement

Services

Uploader

Socials

instagramfacebookthreadslinkList