...1835... It was a record cold morning in the eastern U.S. The mercury at the Yale Campus in New Haven CT plunged to 23 degrees below zero, and reached 40 below in the Berkshire Hills of Connecticut.

...1884... A severe arctic outbreak hit the Midwest, sending Des Moines to a low of 30 degrees below zero and Indianapolis to a low reading of 25 degrees below zero. Peoria, Illinois had a record low reading of 27 degrees below zero

...1904... Bitterly cold air gripped the northeastern U.S. Morning lows of -42 degrees at Smethport PA and -34 at River Vale NJ established state records.

...1913... The temperature at the east portal to Strawberry Tunnel reached 50 degrees below zero to tie the record established at Woodruff on February 6, 1899.

...1935... The high barometric pressure record for the date was set at Newport, Rhode Island when the barometer peaked at 30.81 inches, breaking the record of 30.72 inches set in 1929.

...1959... The high wind gust was 61 miles per hour at Newport, Rhode Island, breaking the record of 35 miles per hour set in 1952.

...1981... It was a very cold and dry day on this day in Newport, Rhode Island. The low temperature fell to 5 degrees below zero (breaking the record of 2 degrees below set set in 1910 & 1904), the dew point was 21 degrees below zero (breaking the record of 17 degrees below zero set in 1959) and the wind chill was 24 degrees below zero (breaking the record of 17 degrees below zero (set in 1959)

...1982... A three day rainstorm in the San Francisco area finally came to an end. Marin County and Cruz County were drenched with up to 25 inches of rain, and the Sierra Nevada Range was buried under four to eight feet of snow. The storm claimed at least 36 lives, and caused more than 300 million dollars damage.

...1987... A massive winter storm spread heavy snow from the southwestern U.S. into the Rockies. In Utah, the Alta ski resort reported a storm total of 42 inches of snow. Winds gusted to 64 mph at Albuquerque NM.

...1988... Thunderstorms helped produce heavy snow in the Lower Great Lakes Region. Snow fell at the rate of four to five inches per hour, and snowfall totals ranged up to 69 inches at Highmarket NY.

...1989... A strong Pacific cold front produced heavy snow and high winds in Nevada. Winds gusted to 80 mph north of Reno, while up to two feet of snow blanketed the Lake Tahoe ski area.

...1990... Thunderstorms produced heavy rain in the Central Gulf Coast Region. New Orleans LA was drenched with 4.05 inches of rain in 24 hours. An overnight storm blanketed the mountains of northern Utah with up to eleven inches of snow.

...1998... A five day ice storm began across northern New England, resulting in worst icing conditions ever experienced in Maine. ice accumulations were as high as 3 inches. At one time, 840,000 people were without power (70 percent of the state's population). Many locations had no power from one to three weeks. 3200 utility poles were snapped, 2100 transformers had to be replaced along with 1.2 million feet of wire and cable. Damages totaled 304 million dollars.

...1999... The temperature at Congerville, Illinois dipped to 36 degrees below zero -- the coldest temperature ever recorded in the state of Illinois.