The 2019–20 North American winter was unusually warm for many parts of the United States; in many areas, neutral ENSO conditions controlled the weather patterns, resulting in strong El Niño like conditions and the sixth-warmest winter on record, and many areas in the Northeastern United States saw one of the least snowy winters in years. In fact, Baltimore and Islip saw no snow in February for the first time.No snow recorded in February in these 2 places for the first time in recorded history, Fox Weather, March 2, 2020 Some notable events still occurred, such as a powerful blizzard that impacted the Western United States in late November, a series of cold shots in January and February, a snowstorm within the Texas Panhandle and a late-season blizzard in the High Plains.
While there is no well-agreed-upon date used to indicate the start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, there are two definitions of winter which may be used. Based on the astronomical definition, winter begins at the winter solstice, which in 2019 occurred on December 21, and ends at the March equinox, which in 2020 occurred on March 19. Based on the meteorological definition, the first day of winter is December 1 and the last day February 29. Both definitions involve a period of approximately three months, with some variability. Winter is often defined by meteorologists to be the three calendar months with the lowest average temperatures. Since both definitions span the calendar year, it is possible to have a winter storm spanning two different years.
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Seasonal forecasts
On October 17, 2019, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center released its U.S. Winter Outlook. The El Niño–Southern Oscillation was in its neutral phase and was thus not expected to be a key predictor for the season. As a result, other oscillations such as the Madden–Julian Oscillation and the Arctic Oscillation were anticipated to be more significant drivers of the seasonal weather, particularly in the form of large temperature and precipitation swings. From the outlook, the greatest likelihoods for above-normal temperatures were for Alaska and Hawaii, with lower but still above-normal odds of above-average temperatures for most of the lower 48 states. The exception was for the Northern Plains, Upper Mississippi Valley, and western Great Lakes regions, which were ascribed equal changes for above-, near-, or below-average temperatures. No area in the United States was favored to have below-average temperatures. In terms of precipitation, wetter-than-average conditions were most likely in Alaska, Hawaii, part of the Northern Plains, Upper Mississippi Valley, Great Lakes, and parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern U.S. Drier-than-average conditions were favored for Louisiana and parts of Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as parts of central and northern California, with the rest of the U.S. having equal changes of above-, near-, or below-average precipitation. The drought outlook highlighted the presence of abnormally dry conditions across much of the Southern U.S, with improvement expected in part of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, Alaska, and Hawaii. Drought was expected to persist in central Texas and the Southwestern U.S, with further development anticipated in parts of central California.
Seasonal summary
Events
Late September winter storm An unusually early winter storm blanketed parts of the northern Rockies at the end of September 2019. Great Falls, Montana recorded of snow on September 28 and 29th, which is the largest September storm on record in the region and the second largest two day storm on record there, behind April 27–28, 2009. Missoula also saw their heaviest September snow on record.Record-Smashing, Historic September Snowstorm Brings Up to 4 Feet of Snow, Blizzard Conditions to Northern Rockies, The Weather Channel, September 30, 2019 Wind gusts reached as high as .Details of the September 27-30th, 2019 Snowstorm, National Weather Service Great Falls, Montana Browning, Montana received of snow.Montana is digging out of a September snowstorm that dropped up to 4 feet of snow, Insider, October 1, 2019 Spokane, Washington saw their earliest snow in over 100 years and their snowiest September as well, with record cold highs as well on September 29, with Spokane only reaching .Spokane sees earliest snowfall in over 100 years, Fox 13 Spokane, September 30, 2019 Portland, Oregon tied their all time record low high in September, which was in downtown and at Portland International Airport.Yesterday Was the Coldest September Day in Portland Since 1934, Wweek, September 30, 2019 The University of Lethbridge was forced to cancel classes due to of snow.Recalling the record-breaking September when a snowstorm buried Calgary, The Weather Network, September 28, 2021 Several roads in Glacier National Park were also closed.Calendar Says September, Glacier National Park Weather Says January, National Parks Traveler, September 28, 2019 In Calgary, the snowfall total of on September 29 made that the snowiest September day in history there.Sunday marked Calgary’s snowiest September day in history, Global News, September 30, 2019 Then-governor Steve Bullock of Montana declared a state of emergency following the storm.Some Montana Kids Get a Rare September Snow Day After Historic Snowfall, The Weather Channel, September 30, 2019
Early November cold wave Record breaking temperatures and snowfall caused disruption throughout the Midwestern United States in early November. Approximately 1000 flights were grounded at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport as of snow fell on November 11, breaking the previous daily record of on November 11, 1995. On November 12, Chicago set records for a record cold low () and high (). That was the coldest so early in the season.Cold snap of historic proportions hits East Coast, over 300 records fall, Washington Post, November 13, 2019 In areas of Michigan's lower peninsula, over of snow fell. The of snow in Detroit made this the largest November snowstorm for the city. Parts of Texas saw feels like temperatures drop from to as the arctic blast moved through. In Canada, Southern Ontario and Southern Quebec had their first major winter storm of the season on November 11 and 12 respectively, which was followed by record, January-like cold. of snow fell across much of the region crippling large cities such as Montreal and Toronto. In Montreal, local officials announced the city's earliest ever snow removal operation in the aftermath of the storm. Over 10 school boards province-wide closed the day after the storm. Paducah, Kentucky saw their earliest in-season sub-freezing high.Arctic Cold Surge Smashes Over 400 Mid-November Records in the Plains, Midwest, South and East, The Weather Channel, November 14, 2019 Lexington, Kentucky established a new record low of . In New York City, the air was considered cold even by January standards, as November 12 saw a record low temperature of , and November 13 also saw a record cold low of , and a high of only . The high on November 13 was well below the average low of . Pittsburgh saw a new record low temperature of , breaking the previous record from 1911. In the Lehigh Valley, temperatures tied a record low of and the high of became a record cold high. In Toronto, a record low on November 12 was established at , and on November 13, a new record low of was established. This forced Toronto to give an extreme cold alert.Extreme cold hits Toronto area, breaking another temperature record, CityNews, 13 November 2019 It got as cold as in Mississippi, causing sea smoke off the Gulf of Mexico. Watertown, New York tied their monthly record of that was previously set the previous winter, while breaking the daily record by .The temperature at #Watertown NY dipped to -7 °F this morning. Not only did this shatter the daily record of 11 °F (1997) but it also tied the November monthly low temperature...set less than a year ago...November 22nd and 23rd of last year., National Weather Service Buffalo, New York, Twitter, November 13, 2019 Some places, like Pensacola, which plunged to , had a day colder than any day the previous winter. The cold wave also killed six people, and another winter storm related death occurred in Michigan.The US is being hit by a frigid, early cold snap that has killed at least 6 people and could break 100 temperature records, Business Insider, November 13, 2019 Before the arctic blast, it was unseasonably warm in certain places. In Great Falls, Montana, the high on November 9 was , but by noon on November 10, it dropped to . Due to the cold wave, several locations in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan saw a record cold first half of November, with average highs hovering around freezing.Record cold start to November prompts thoughts of a white Thanksgiving, News Channel 3, November 18, 2019
Late November–early December blizzard
Moving ashore November 26–27 near the border between Oregon and California as an over-achieving bomb cyclone, it produced wind gusts in excess of near its point of landfall. The storm produced a record low pressure reading of in Crescent City, California. From November 27–30, the low merged with the subtropical jet stream as it tracked slowly eastward across the Rockies, Great Plains and Midwest. The combination of cold air, moisture and high winds produced a wide swath of blizzard conditions from Colorado through western South Dakota, including the Denver metropolitan area. In Rapid City, South Dakota, of snow fell on the 30th, breaking the one-day snowfall record for November. In Duluth, Minnesota, where of snow accumulated, it was the city's heaviest snowstorm in 10 years. As the first major winter storm of the season in the northeast, it dumped of snow in Albany, New York, where it was the heaviest snowfall since the 1993 Superstorm. Widespread totals in excess of 20 inches occurred in the Albany metropolitan area, southern New Hampshire, and northwestern Massachusetts with a regional peak of of snow in New Ipswich, New Hampshire. The low finally moved out to sea December 3.
January storm complexes First storm (January 8–10) A large complex of low pressure systems began developing January 9 over Central North America. A large trough dug into the jet stream over the Southwestern United States, providing arctic air that had been settled over Canada to move southwards and clash with warm, moist air moving northward from the Gulf of Mexico. In the warm sector, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes broke out in the south central United States on the morning of January 10. Tornado warnings were issued for more than 1.7 million in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, an at 7:52 pm CST a PDS tornado warning was issued for Scranton, Arkansas and surrounding communities. More than 111,000 customers were left without power in Texas alone. Severe weather continued in the deep south into following day, with Alabama being affected particularly severely. North of the boundary, a mix of heavy snow and freezing rain caused travel problems across the Midwest. Along the Great Lakes, winds were forecast to whip up waves as lakeshore flooding had already begun in Chicago. Central Michigan through Eastern Ontario received a swath of crippling ice accretion. Several January rainfall records fell in Southern Ontario, as event rainfall totals over were widespread.
Second storm (January 14–18)