What winter was like the year you were born

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1 year ago

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Written by: Rachel Cavanaugh
Description:Stacker put together a list featuring information and statistics for each year of the past century using data from NOAA’s Climate at a Glance Series and Snowfall Extremes database.

The United States has seen a wide range of winters over the past century—everything from warm, mild years where folks could stroll leisurely through parks in February to turbulent, frigid seasons where people had to hunker down inside. There were years when blizzards swept in unannounced, covering huge swaths of the country in blankets of snow, while other years brought hurricane-force winds to cities and towns across the nation.The Midwest region is particularly susceptible to cold winters, especially in states like Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Michigan. In these places, residents lie in the path of both the low-pressure systems that originate in Alberta and travel southward (sometimes called “Canadian clippers”) and the shortwave low-pressure systems that come from the southwest, traveling northeast toward the Great Lakes region (also called “Panhandle hooks”). Additionally, some winters, particularly in recent years, see the polar vortex in the north sending giant masses of freezing Arctic air southward. These often settle over the Midwest, causing jarring and dangerous drops in temperature.

The Midwest isn’t the only place in America that’s vulnerable to blustery, bitter-cold winters. New England experiences a large number of hurricane-level storms and cyclones, mainly from nor’easters that form in Canada and travel south. The Rocky Mountains are prone to extreme temperature lows as well as heavy blizzards, especially in states like Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana (the latter of which can reach temperatures of 50 degrees below zero in the thick of winter). Alaska sees freezing, storm-filled winters that often break records for lowest temperatures and heaviest snowfalls. And the western states often get hit with torrential rainstorms that cause widespread flooding and damage. In contrast, Hawaii, Florida, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas have historically enjoyed some of the mildest winters in the U.S., though that trend has begun to shift in recent years.

To give you an idea of how these winters have played out over time, Stacker put together a list featuring information and statistics for each year of the past century, beginning in 1922 right up through 2022. In addition to average highs and lows, we’ve included major weather events like storms, blizzards, or other occurrences that captured headlines those years. Much of the data was compiled from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Centers for Environmental Information in November 2022. The average, maximum, and minimum temperatures and average precipitation data for each year were gathered from the Climate at a Glance: National Time Series. This temperature data applies to winters (designated by the NOAA as December of the preceding year through February of the current year) in the contiguous U.S. The record one-day snowfall data were gathered from the NOAA’s Snowfall Extremes and includes the record from any day within the calendar year.

Take a look at the slides to see what winter was like the year you were born.

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Library of Congress // Wikimedia Commons

1922: The Knickerbocker Storm

– Average winter temperature: 31.28°F (#24 coldest year; 0.9°F below 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 41.84°F (#23 coldest year; 0.9°F below 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 20.73°F (#19 coldest year; 1.0°F below 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 6.71 in. (#50 wettest year; 0.1 inches below 100-year average)
– Record 1-day snowfall: Los Angeles County, California on Feb. 24 (40.0 in.)

In January 1922, a fierce blizzard tore through the Mid-Atlantic section of the United States, crumbling the Knickerbocker Theatre in Washington D.C., and causing other damage. The weather event, which came to be known as the Knickerbocker Storm, resulted in the deaths of 98 people and 133 additional injuries.

Sault Ste. Marie Public Library Archive

1923: Major snowfall in Sault Ste. Marie

– Average winter temperature: 32.57°F (#47 coldest year; 0.3°F above 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 43.16°F (#47 coldest year; 0.4°F above 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 21.99°F (#50 coldest year; 0.3°F above 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 6.97 in. (#39 wettest year; 0.2 inches above 100-year average)
– Record 1-day snowfall: Sanders County, Alaska on Dec. 13 (36.0 in.)

The winter of 1923 was a brutal year for folks in the Midwest, where temperatures were especially low and snowfall was intense. In Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, where snowfall typically averaged around 70 inches, residents received a staggering 105 inches. By April, the city had amassed more than 9 feet of snow, and residents reportedly had to use horses to clear the streets.

Sheldon, Charles // Shorewood Historical Society

1924: Blizzard in Milwaukee

– Average winter temperature: 32.48°F (#43 coldest year; 0.3°F above 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 43.16°F (#46 coldest year; 0.4°F above 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 21.81°F (#44 coldest year; 0.1°F above 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 6.66 in. (#50 driest year; 0.1 inches below 100-year average)
– Record 1-day snowfall: Kenai Peninsula Borough, Wyoming on Mar. 21 (49.0 in.)

As the 1924 Winter Olympics was wrapping up in Chamonix, France, residents of Milwaukee experienced their own winter storm on Feb. 4 when 20.3 inches of snow fell in 24 hours. The intense weather event, which caused more than $1 million in damage, marked the largest volume of snow in a one-day period in Milwaukee since 1884.

Brown Brothers // Wikimedia Commons

1925: Alaska’s Great Race of Mercy

– Average winter temperature: 31.66°F (#29 coldest year; 0.6°F below 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 42.49°F (#35 coldest year; 0.2°F below 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 20.83°F (#22 coldest year; 0.9°F below 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 6.69 in. (#53 wettest year; 0.1 inches below 100-year average)
– Record 1-day snowfall: Johnson County, Nebraska on Dec. 14 (30.0 in.)

In 1925, the remote town of Nome, Alaska, suffered its worst winter in 20 years. With intense blizzards and sub-zero temperatures raging, an outbreak of diphtheria required emergency vaccine supplies to be delivered via dog sled to the isolated town. The event came to be known as the Great Race of Mercy, and its lead sled dog Balto became a hero memorialized as a statue in New York’s Central Park.

Shipler, Harry // Wikimedia Commons

1926: Utah mining town avalanche

– Average winter temperature: 33.49°F (#35 hottest year; 1.3°F above 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 43.77°F (#41 hottest year; 1.1°F above 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 23.23°F (#33 hottest year; 1.5°F above 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 6.07 in. (#22 driest year; 0.7 inches below 100-year average)
– Record 1-day snowfall: Banner County, West Virginia on Feb. 10 (36.0 in.)

On Feb. 17, 1926, a devastating avalanche killed 36 people and injured 13 more in a small Utah mining town in Bingham County when more than a dozen cottages and a three-story boarding house were destroyed. “Because the canyon was so narrow, Bingham only had one street,” wrote Catherine Armstrong for Only In Your State. “Homes lined the street all the way up the canyon for seven miles. Unfortunately, this narrow topography would prove to be deadly.”

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Alin Brotea // Shutterstock

1927: Record snowfall in Raleigh, North Carolina

– Average winter temperature: 33.59°F (#32 hottest year; 1.4°F above 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 43.68°F (#44 hottest year; 1.0°F above 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 23.52°F (#26 hottest year; 1.8°F above 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 7.16 in. (#30 wettest year; 0.4 inches above 100-year average)
– Record 1-day snowfall: Tucker County, Idaho on Nov. 30 (42.0 in.)

Although the winter of 1927 was fairly mild throughout the United States, the people of Raleigh, North Carolina, experienced an extremely intense winter with record-breaking snowfall. On March 2, the city received 17.8 inches of snow in 24 hours—a record that wasn’t broken for more than seven decades until it received 17.9 inches in January of 2000.

Pixabay

1928: A mild winter everywhere

– Average winter temperature: 31.51°F (#28 coldest year; 0.7°F below 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 42.25°F (#30 coldest year; 0.5°F below 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 20.77°F (#20 coldest year; 1.0°F below 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 5.8 in. (#13 driest year; 1.0 inches below 100-year average)
– Record 1-day snowfall: Custer County, Pennsylvania on Apr. 28 (20.0 in.)

The winter of 1928 was a season of respite, and folks in blizzard-prone regions were spared major storms and catastrophes. The average temperature for most of the country was above average and even the Atlantic hurricane season that preceded it was mild, with no major storms striking U.S. land. This was a major contrast to the previous season, which saw four hurricanes.

Unknown // Wikimedia Commons

1929: Extreme cold in the U.S—and Europe

– Average winter temperature: 28.72°F (#3 coldest year; 3.5°F below 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 39.46°F (#4 coldest year; 3.3°F below 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 17.99°F (#3 coldest year; 3.8°F below 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 6.12 in. (#25 driest year; 0.7 inches below 100-year average)
– Record 1-day snowfall: Routt County, Colorado on Mar. 2 (30.0 in.)

After two fairly mild winters in a row, 1929 came in with a vengeance, hammering the United States with the third-coldest winter in the last century. It was even worse across the pond, where Europe experienced one of its coldest winters in history. Berlin, for example, was hit with the worst ice wave since 1719, and Vienna saw its lowest temperatures since 1775. As the cities dealt with ice-cold conditions, Europe’s 1,770-mile Danube River froze over completely.

Grand Canyon National Park // Wikimedia Commons

1930: Another moderate season

– Average winter temperature: 32.53°F (#46 coldest year; 0.3°F above 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 43.37°F (#52 hottest year; 0.7°F above 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 21.69°F (#42 coldest year; 0.0°F below 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 6.53 in. (#42 driest year; 0.3 inches below 100-year average)
– Record 1-day snowfall: Marquette County, Virginia on Dec. 17 (22.0 in.)

The winter of 1930 was a big year for innovation: The diesel engine made its first auto voyage, and the first field-effect transistor patent was granted. The season was fairly uneventful weather-wise, though. Temperatures were mild, with an average of 32.5 degrees and no major storms or blizzards to note.

Ed Bierman // Wikimedia Commons

1931: Pleasant Hill Bus Tragedy

– Average winter temperature: 34.03°F (#25 hottest year; 1.8°F above 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 44.38°F (#25 hottest year; 1.7°F above 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 23.68°F (#24 hottest year; 1.9°F above 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 4.68 in. (#2 driest year; 2.1 inches below 100-year average)
– Record 1-day snowfall: Aleutians West Census Area, Colorado on Nov. 22 (40.0 in.)

Average precipitation made the winter of 1931 the second-coldest in the past century. In southeastern Colorado, an especially fierce March blizzard stranded a school bus in freezing temperatures for 33 hours, claiming the lives of five children along with the driver. The tragedy received national attention and led to many safety reforms and a great deal of school bus legislation that’s still in place today.

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Los Angeles Public Library photo collection

1932: Snowfall in Los Angeles

– Average winter temperature: 34.44°F (#21 hottest year; 2.2°F above 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 44.31°F (#28 hottest year; 1.6°F above 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 24.57°F (#15 hottest year; 2.8°F above 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 8.86 in. (#3 wettest year; 2.1 inches above 100-year average)
– Record 1-day snowfall: Conejos County, Idaho on Dec. 18 (40.0 in.)

While Los Angeles is usually sunny and warm, the winter of 1932 brought a unique snowstorm to Hollywood, covering the region in a blanket of white snow. At the time, the LA Times called it the “first official snowfall recorded in the United States Weather Bureau’s fifty-four year existence in the city.” It was only 2 inches, yet it remains the largest amount of snow the city has ever seen. Elsewhere in the country, temperatures were moderate with no major blizzards.

W.L.Huber // Wikimedia Commons

1933: Long Beach earthquake

– Average winter temperature: 31.1°F (#19 coldest year; 1.1°F below 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 41.94°F (#24 coldest year; 0.8°F below 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 20.28°F (#14 coldest year; 1.5°F below 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 7.11 in. (#36 wettest year; 0.3 inches above 100-year average)
– Record 1-day snowfall: Tulare County, California on Jan. 19 (60.0 in.)

Although there weren’t any significant blizzards in 1933, the Long Beach earthquake struck Los Angeles County that winter, resulting in the second-deadliest on record in the contiguous states (after San Francisco’s 1906 quake). The devastating 6.4 magnitude event, which occurred on March 10, resulted in an estimated 115 to 120 deaths and caused roughly $40 million in damage.

United States Department of Agriculture // Wikimedia Commons

1934: South Dakota’s first Dust Bowl storm

– Average winter temperature: 35.28°F (#14 hottest year; 3.1°F above 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 46.43°F (#7 hottest year; 3.7°F above 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 24.14°F (#21 hottest year; 2.4°F above 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 6.13 in. (#26 driest year; 0.7 inches below 100-year average)
– Record 1-day snowfall: Sublette County, Idaho on Nov. 27 (30.5 in.)

The winter of 1934 was another year that spared the United States any major blizzards; however, South Dakota suffered an intense dust storm leading up to it on Nov. 11. The giant cloud that swept through the Midwestern state was the first to kick off the Dust Bowl, which lasted several years as drought plagued the region.

Lass // Wikimedia Commons

1935: Times Square blizzard

– Average winter temperature: 33.4°F (#37 hottest year; 1.2°F above 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 43.87°F (#35 hottest year; 1.2°F above 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 22.92°F (#40 hottest year; 1.2°F above 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 6.02 in. (#21 driest year; 0.8 inches below 100-year average)
– Record 1-day snowfall: Clearwater County, Washington on Jan. 21 (52.0 in.)

In 1935, a blizzard struck New York City, burying Times Square under nearly a foot and a half of snow. As the Big Apple dealt with its extreme weather situation, places like Baltimore, Newark, and Philadelphia also got pummeled, receiving 10-16 inches of snow.

Seattle Municipal Archives // Flickr

1936: North American Cold Wave

– Average winter temperature: 27.78°F (#2 coldest year; 4.5°F below 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 38.01°F (#2 coldest year; 4.7°F below 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 17.53°F (#2 coldest year; 4.2°F below 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 7.27 in. (#28 wettest year; 0.5 inches above 100-year average)
– Record 1-day snowfall: Okanogan County, West Virginia on Mar. 21 (36.0 in.)

Known as the 1936 North American Cold Wave, this year saw strikingly low temperatures throughout the country—the second-coldest in the past century. The Midwest was affected most as Iowa, Minnesota, and North Dakota experienced their coldest winters on record. February was especially brutal, marking the coldest February on record in the contiguous United States.

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Beaverton Oregon Historical Photo Gallery // Wikimedia Commons

1937: Snowstorms in Oregon

– Average winter temperature: 30.35°F (#7 coldest year; 1.9°F below 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 40.59°F (#8 coldest year; 2.1°F below 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 20.09°F (#9 coldest year; 1.7°F below 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 8.66 in. (#4 wettest year; 1.9 inches above 100-year average)
– Record 1-day snowfall: Tehama County, California on Feb. 4 (39.0 in.)

Although it’s typically a fairly mild state weather-wise, Oregon received a huge amount of snow over the winter of 1937. Between Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, a heavy blizzard dumped nearly 17 inches in Portland and 2 feet in Salem—a number that remains the latter’s record snowfall. Meanwhile, as the cities dug themselves out, giant snowdrifts blocked highways throughout the Cascade Range.

Bill Brinkman // NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

1938: Michigan’s great snowstorm

– Average winter temperature: 33.61°F (#31 hottest year; 1.4°F above 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 43.43°F (#50 hottest year; 0.7°F above 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 23.79°F (#23 hottest year; 2.1°F above 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 6.95 in. (#41 wettest year; 0.2 inches above 100-year average)
– Record 1-day snowfall: Archuleta County, Nevada on Feb. 11 (41.0 in.)

Michigan was the recipient of nature’s frigid fury in 1938 when the Upper Peninsula region was pounded with 50-mile-per-hour winds during a storm NPR called “surreal.” The blizzard trapped students in schools, stalled trains, and caused several fires. Damages in the city of Marquette—the epicenter of the vicious weather—amounted to what would be about $6.5 million today.

State Archives of North Carolina Raleigh, NC // Flickr

1939: Washoe County snowfall record

– Average winter temperature: 32.7°F (#49 coldest year; 0.5°F above 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 43.39°F (#51 hottest year; 0.7°F above 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 22.02°F (#52 hottest year; 0.3°F above 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 7.13 in. (#33 wettest year; 0.3 inches above 100-year average)
– Record 1-day snowfall: Washoe County, Maine on Mar. 13 (38.0 in.)

Although plenty of storms blew through in 1938, the following year was fairly mild, with moderate temperatures and semi-average precipitation. The people of Washoe County in Nevada, however, saw a record one-day snowfall on Feb. 11 when the region was pummeled with 41 inches—almost 3.5 feet.

National Weather Service

1940: Armistice Day Blizzard

– Average winter temperature: 31.8°F (#33 coldest year; 0.4°F below 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 41.94°F (#25 coldest year; 0.8°F below 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 21.65°F (#41 coldest year; 0.1°F below 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 6.79 in. (#48 wettest year; 0.0 inches above 100-year average)
– Record 1-day snowfall: Oxford County, New Mexico on Nov. 24 (36.0 in.)

The Armistice Day blizzard was a disastrous, far-reaching storm that pelted the Midwest with snow and 50-mile-per-hour winds from November 10-12. The blizzard caused 145 fatalities, many of which came from a large group of duck hunters who became stranded on the Mississippi River as 5-foot waves washed out their encampments. Some froze while others drowned. One notable survivor was Gerald Tarras, a Minneapolis boy who huddled between two labrador retrievers. His father, brother, and uncle froze to death, but the dogs’ body heat is credited with the child’s survival.

#N/A

Photo Media/ClassicStock/Getty Images

1941: Ides of March blizzard

– Average winter temperature: 36.12°F (#12 hottest year; 10.5% above 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 45.66°F (#20 hottest year; 6.8% above 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 26.56°F (#7 hottest year; 17.5% above 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 2.81 in. (#25 wettest year; 19.6% above 100-year average)
– Record one-day snowfall: Colfax County, NM on Nov. 24 (36 in.)

On March 15, 1941, a brutal storm tore through the Red River Valley along the Minnesota-North Dakota border, killing 72 people. A large number of folks who perished in what came to be known as the Ides of March blizzard were stranded motorists. “It slammed into the valley virtually out of nowhere with the force of a tornado or a hurricane, and turned what had been a bright, sunny, warm springlike day into a raging nightmare,” wrote Kevin Bonham for Inforum.

ildirettore // Wikimedia Commons

1942: Midwestern New Year’s blizzard

– Average winter temperature: 32.23°F (#41 coldest year; 0.0°F above 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 42.49°F (#36 coldest year; 0.2°F below 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 21.95°F (#46 coldest year; 0.2°F above 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 6.39 in. (#36 driest year; 0.4 inches below 100-year average)
– Record 1-day snowfall: Lake County, Maryland on Mar. 29 (31.0 in.)

The Midwest was once again the subject of winter’s wrath in 1942 when a blizzard swept across the region, burying it beneath 2 feet of snow in some places. The storm, which occurred on New Year’s Day, kicked off a cold spell that plunged temperatures into single digits. Ames, Iowa, hit a frigid 24 degrees below zero. A photographer who became stranded in the blizzard turned his experience into a two-page magazine spread.

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Ross Dun // Flickr

1943: Northern Rockies storm in January

– Average winter temperature: 32.89°F (#53 hottest year; 0.7°F above 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 44.04°F (#33 hottest year; 1.3°F above 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 21.74°F (#43 coldest year; 0.0°F above 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 6.48 in. (#39 driest year; 0.3 inches below 100-year average)
– Record 1-day snowfall: Washington County, Washington on Jan. 20 (44.0 in.)

From Jan. 18-25, a dangerous Category 5 storm spread across the Northern Rockies and Plains, affecting residents in Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Apart from this major storm, that winter was fairly mild, with an average temperature of about 33 degrees.

Seattle Municipal Archives // Flickr

1944: California storm inspires a famous photo

– Average winter temperature: 33.04°F (#48 hottest year; 0.8°F above 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 43.64°F (#46 hottest year; 0.9°F above 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 22.44°F (#46 hottest year; 0.7°F above 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 6.28 in. (#32 driest year; 0.5 inches below 100-year average)
– Record 1-day snowfall: Chelan County, California on Feb. 22 (38.0 in.)

It was a relatively warm year in 1944; however, the aftermath of a light snowstorm in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains inspired one of famed photographer Ansel Adams’ better-known images: “Clearing Winter Storm.” As the name suggests, the photograph depicts snowfall and swirling clouds as a storm clears in Yosemite National Park.

redeyexxx // Flickr

1945: Great Midwestern snowstorm

– Average winter temperature: 32.15°F (#39 coldest year; 0.1°F below 100-year average)
– Maximum winter temperature: 42.32°F (#32 coldest year; 0.4°F below 100-year average)
– Minimum winter temperature: 21.97°F (#48 coldest year; 0.2°F above 100-year average)
– Average precipitation: 6.61 in. (#46 driest year; 0.2 inches below 100-year average)
– Record 1-day snowfall: Wasatch County, Iowa on Feb. 21 (19.0 in.)

Although 1945 wasn’t a cold winter overall, a December blizzard early in the season created havoc in the Midwest, killing 25 people and dumping snow onto a large swath of the U.S. and southeastern Canada. “Airports were clogged, flights were cancelled, and cars were stranded while inch after inch of snow blanketed the entire United States,” wrote Jessica Hilburn for Titusville’s NWPA Stories.