2014 was the year we all became familiar with
the term "Polar Vortex". The 2014 North American cold wave was an extreme
weather event extending from December 2013 to April 2014, and was also part of
an unusually cold winter affecting parts of Canada and the Eastern United
States. The event consisted of 2 episodes, the first one in December 2013 and
the second in early 2014, both caused by southward shifts of the North Polar
Vortex. Record cold temperatures also extended well into March. On January 2,
an Arctic cold front initially associated with a nor'easter, tracked across
Canada and the United States, resulting in heavy snowfall. Temperatures fell to
unprecedented levels, and low temperature records were broken across the United
States.
2014 was another active year with an estimated
827 tornadoes reported in the United States, of which at least 401 have been
confirmed. Of those, 7 were ranked EF4 tornadoes. At least 53 fatalities have
been confirmed worldwide in 2014: 49 in the United States and two each in
Australia and Russia.
The
2014 Atlantic Basin Hurricane Season was fairly quite. There were 8 named
storms, the fewest named since 1997.
Severe,
extreme or exceptional drought covered 95% of California by September 2014,
thanks to a drought that one research team said was the state's worst 1-year
and 3-year drought for at least 1,200 years. The California Farm Water
Coalition estimated agricultural losses at $3.6 billion.
In
mid-November, a strong winter storm brought copious amounts of lake-effect snow
across the Northeast. Several counties were heavily impacted, with areas in and
around Buffalo, New York, particularly the city's southern suburbs, receiving
snowfall totals in the range of 5 to 7 feet! Under the sheer weight of the
snow, roofs began collapsing. The maximum snowfall recorded from the storm was
88 inches in Cowlesville, NY. The pictures were unbelievable!
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