February 14 Weather History

...1899... A great blizzard struck the eastern U.S. Washington D.C. received 20.5 inches of snow to bring their total snow depth to nearly three feet. The storm produced 36 inches of snow at Cape May NJ. Newport, Rhode Island received 9.3 inches of snow, setting the record for the date.

...1940... The low barometric pressure fell to 28.79 inches at Newport, Rhode Island, breaking the record of 29.17 set in 1937 and 6.6 inches of snow along with a wind gust of 50 milers per hour.  A "Saint Valentine's Day Blizzard" hit the northeastern U.S. Up to a foot and a half of snow blanketed southern New England, and whole gales accompanied the heavy snow stranding many in downtown Boston.

...1949... Late afternoon heavy snows began on Valentine's Day in Boise, Idaho and by 5:00 am the following morning, 14 new inches of snow had fallen.

...1978... There were 24 inches of snow on the ground at Newport, Rhode Island, breaking the record of 14 inches, set back in 1907.

...1987... A powerful storm spawned severe thunderstorms in Texas and Oklahoma, and produced heavy snow in the Rocky Mountain Region. Snowfall totals in Colorado ranged up to 27 inches at Telluride. Straight line winds gusting to 104 mph howled through Guadalupe Pass in West Texas.

...1988... Strong northerly winds ushered arctic air into the north central U.S. Snow and high winds created blizzard conditions in Minnesota and the Dakotas. Winds gusted to 56 mph at Rapid City SD, and reached 65 mph at Cody WY.

...1989... While "Valentine's Day" was a soggy one in the Ohio Valley and the Tennessee Valley, unseasonably warm weather prevailed in the southeastern U.S. Seventeen cities reported record high temperatures for the date as readings warmed into the 70s and 80s.

...1990... Valentine's Day was a snowy one for many parts of the western and central U.S. Five to ten inches of snow fell across Iowa, and 6 to 12 inches of snow blanketed northern Illinois, and strong northeasterly winds accompanied the heavy snow. Air traffic came to a halt during the evening at O'Hare Airport in Chicago, where 9.7 inches of snow was reported. More than 250 traffic accidents were reported around Des Moines IA during the evening rush hour. An ice storm glazed east central sections of Illinois, causing twelve million dollars damage in Champaign County alone.

...2004... Dallas receives 3 inches of snow, wreaking havoc with Valentine's Day flower deliveries. The greatest snowfall since 1978 caused numerous traffic accidents, power outages and flight cancellations at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

...2016... It was a super cold Valentine's Day at Newport, Rhode Island. The low temperature got down to 7 degrees below 0, which broke the record of 4 degrees below zero set in 1979. The day high temperature only rose to 13 degrees and the wind chill dipped to  30 degrees below zero, breaking that record of 28 degrees below zero set in1979.

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