Cold Sunday
Cold Sunday refers to a severe cold wave that struck parts of the United States on January 17, 1982, characterized by record-breaking low temperatures and hazardous weather conditions. During this period, an extensive polar high-pressure system led to a significant influx of frigid air from Canada into the Midwest and Northeast. This resulted in remarkable temperature drops, with cities near the Great Lakes experiencing temperatures as low as -52 degrees Fahrenheit, while Philadelphia recorded its lowest maximum temperature at zero degrees Fahrenheit. The extreme cold, combined with high winds, caused numerous challenges, including power outages, transportation disruptions, and fire emergencies, particularly in urban areas like Chicago where firefighters faced difficulties due to frozen equipment.
The cold wave was linked to over 280 fatalities attributed to hypothermia and other cold-related health issues, highlighting the severe impact on vulnerable populations living in unheated homes. Economically, the situation proved costly, with cities incurring substantial snow-removal expenses and families grappling with soaring heating bills. Grocery prices increased due to southern crop failures, and the overall economic strain raised concerns about potential unemployment and further inflation. Cold Sunday is remembered as a significant weather event that not only set numerous low-temperature records but also profoundly affected the day-to-day lives of those in the impacted regions.
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Cold Sunday
The Event A cold wave disrupts the lives of millions of Americans
Date January 17, 1982
Place The United States from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic and Gulf coasts
On Cold Sunday, extreme cold, heavy snowfall, and high winds claimed lives and threatened the economic well-being of the United States.
During the first two weeks of January, 1982, an extensive polar high-pressure system developed over eastern Canada, as jet stream winds in the upper atmosphere shifted unusually far north before dipping southward. Weather services predicted that a vast accumulation of frigid air would move from Canada into the Midwest and the Northeast. Residents of Chicago experienced the coldest day on record on January 10, when thermometers registered -26 degrees Fahrenheit. Winds flowing above the cold air as it passed over the Great Lakes caused an extremely heavy snowfall in New York and Minnesota. The arctic air then rolled into a low-pressure trough extending from Ontario to the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in temperatures far below average throughout that region. Heavy snows and hazardous ice spread through parts of the South, the Ohio Valley, and the Middle Atlantic states.
Temperatures fell even further on January 17, a day that was dubbed “Cold Sunday” as a result of the record-breaking cold. Hardest hit were cities near the Great Lakes; they experienced temperatures ranging from -26 degrees Fahrenheit in Milwaukee to -52 degrees Fahrenheit in northern Minnesota. The day’s high temperature in Philadelphia, zero degrees Fahrenheit, proved to be the lowest maximum temperature ever recorded in the Delaware Valley. Winds in Colorado reached hurricane force, gusting up to 137 miles per hour.
During the cold wave, a series of accidents, power outages, and other difficulties brought sections of the country to a near standstill. In Chicago, firefighters battled eight major fires on Cold Sunday, their efforts hampered by frozen hydrants and ice-filled hoses. Furnace fuel oil congealed in storage tanks in the Midwest, even as natural gas consumption peaked in six major eastern cities. High winds and icy roads caused thousands of automobile accidents, and commuters in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia faced disabled subways and trains on the Monday following Cold Sunday. The death toll rose, as over 280 deaths were attributed to the cold conditions between January 9 and 19. Dozens of victims in unheated homes succumbed to hypothermia (low body temperature) or heart attack. In all, the cold wave of the first two weeks of January set some one hundred low-temperature records.
Impact
The cold wave in which Cold Sunday fell cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Snow-removal expenses drained city budgets, and families struggled to pay soaring fuel bills. Grocery prices rose in response to southern crop failures, businesses were forced to operate on shortened hours, and retail sales fell. Economists feared that the subzero temperatures and continued bad weather would increase unemployment and inflation, as well as deepen the recession.
Bibliography
Ludlum, D. M. “Ten Days That Shook the Weather Record Book.” Weatherwise 35 (February, 1982): 50.
“The Numbing of America.” Time, January 25, 1982, 12-16.
Wagner, A. James. “Weather and Circulation of January 1982: A Stormy Month with Two Record Cold Waves.” Monthly Weather Review 110, no. 4 (April, 1982): 310-317.