...1789... Extreme cold occurred on Ground Hog Day. It dropped to 28 degrees below zero at Hartford, Connecticut and 18 degrees below zero near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

...1898... Newport, Rhode Island recorded a snow depth of 24 inches, which broke the record of 12 inches from the year before (1897).

...1947... The lowest temperature recorded on the North American continent occurred at Snag, Yukon Territory with a reading 81 degrees below zero.

...1951... The record low temperature for the state of Indiana was set at Greensburg when the mercury fell to 35 degrees below zero (this record was broken in January, 1994).

...1952... The only tropical storm of record to hit the U.S. in February moved out of the Gulf of Mexico and across southern Florida. It produced 60 mph winds, and two to four inches of rain. (2nd-3rd)

...1956... A record snowstorm in New Mexico and west Texas began on Ground Hog's Day. The storm produced 15 inches of snow at Roswell NM, and up to 33 inches in the Texas Panhandle.

...1961... The temperature at Newport, Rhode Island dipped to 2 degrees below zero, breaking the record of 4 degrees, set back in 1898 and the wind chill got down to 22 degrees below zero. breaking that record of 11 degrees below zero from 1959.

...1976... A quick moving but extremely intense coastal storm struck New England. Wind gusts exceeded 115 mph at Bear Island and Southwest Harbor, Maine. Chatham, Massachusetts recorded a wind gust to 98 mph. Caribou, Maine set a new all-time record low pressure of 957 millibars (28.26 inches) and Boston, Massachusetts recorded it second lowest pressure ever (965 millibars or 28.48 inches). Tides 3 to 5 feet above normal caused much coastal flooding. Parts of Bangor, Maine were under 12 feet of water as a storm surge funneled up the Penobscot River to the mouth of the Kenduskeag Stream which in turn inundated Bangor in a matter of 15 minutes. A 40 to 50 degree temperature drop followed a sharp cold front with blizzard conditions occurring over interior sections of New England for a few hours.  Newport, Rhode Island recorded a low barometric pressure of 28.68 inches (which broke the record of 29.12 inches set in 1958), wind gust of 50 mph and a 41 degree temperature drop.

...1987... A fast moving arctic front brought snow and high winds to the north central U.S. Winds gusted to 69 mph at Brookings SD. Big Falls MN reported nine inches of snow. Record warmth was reported just ahead of the front. Burlington IA reported a record high of 59 degrees.

...1988... A dying low pressure system over southern California deluged the San Diego coastal mountains with more than four inches of rain causing half a million dollars damage. Arctic air invading the north central U.S. sent the mercury plunging to 38 degrees below zero at Park Rapids MN. Raleigh NC reported a record high of 75 degrees.

...1989... Bitter cold air covered much of the central U.S. Butte MT reported a wind chill reading of 91 degrees below zero, Salt Lake City UT was blanketed with 11.9 inches of snow in 24 hours, and winds around Reno NV gusted to 80 mph. Unseasonably warm weather continued in the southeastern U.S. Twenty-eight cities reported record high temperatures for the date, including Wilmington NC with a reading of 80 degrees.

...1990... Thunderstorms developing ahead of a cold front produced severe weather in the Lower Mississippi Valley during the late afternoon and evening hours. One person was injured in a tornado near Reidheimer LA. Thunderstorms northeast of Brandon MS produced hail three inches in diameter along with high winds which downed or snapped off one hundred trees.

...1996... Extremely cold air covered the north central U.S. Tower, Minnesota dropped to 60 degrees below zero to set a new state low temperature record. Both International Falls, Minnesota and Glasgow, Montana set records for the month of February with 45 and 38 below zero, respectively. Rochester, Minnesota dipped to 34 below zero for its coldest temperature in 45 years. Green Bay, Wisconsin only reached 16 below zero for the high temperature for the day, for its coldest high temperature on record in February. Meanwhile, farther to the east, heavy snow fell across the Mid Atlantic region.18 inches of snow was recorded at Rehobeth Beach, Delaware and 17 inches fell at Solomons, Maryland. Charleston, West Virginia recorded 6.8 inches of snow for the day to bring its seasonal snowfall to 80.7 inches, the city's snowiest winter ever -- and still two months of winter to go!

...2006... New Orleans is struck by two tornadoes, collapsing at least one previously damaged house and battering Louis Armstrong International Airport.

...2007... Killer tornadoes struck central Florida during the pre-dawn hours. An EF3 tornado tracked 16 miles through Lake County with a mobile home park hit in Lady Lake -- 8 killed, 25 injured, and $114 million in damages from this tornado. Another EF3 tornado, spawned by the same super cell, tracked 26 miles through Lake and Volusia Counties with mobile homes hit in Lake Mack -- 13 killed, 51 injured, and $98 million in damages from this tornado.

...2008... Hilo, HI, is deluged by 10.82 inches of rain in a period of 24 hours, breaking the previous record set in 1969 by 3.5 inches.