...1754... Recorded in a New England diary as "an uncommon cold day, coming suddenly, many people perished."

...1781... A great Southwester swept the New York and New England coasts. several British Men-of-War sunk, equalizing the opposing fleets.

...1904... An F4 tornado leveled the northern half of Moundville, Alabama. 36 people were killed and 150 were injured. Sections of the northeastern part of the town were left with only bare ground. Some manner of "phosphorescent glow" was noted in this nighttime tornado.

...1918... 25 inches was snow was recorded in 24 hours at Corning, Arkansas for the state all-time record 24 hour snowfall.

...1940... Four days of lake effect snow squalls came to an end at Watertown, New York over which time 69 inches of snow fell on the city.

...1943... Chinook winds during the early morning hours caused the temperature at Spearfish SD to rise from 4 below zero to 45 above in just two minutes, the most dramatic temperature rise in world weather records. An hour and a half later the mercury plunged from 54 above to 4 below zero in twenty-seven minutes.

...1959... At Newport, Rhode Island the wind gusted to 63 miles per hour, breaking the record of 49 miles per hour that was set back in 1902.

...1970... A wind chill of 24 degrees below zero was recorded at Newport, Rhode Island, breaking the record of 13 degrees below zero which was set in 1961.

...1976... 8.5 inches of snow fell at Newport, Rhode Island setting the record high for the date. The previous record was 4.7 inches of snow that fell back in 1918.

...1987... A major snowstorm struck the East Coast of the U.S. Up to 20 inches of snow fell in North Carolina, making this the worst snowstorm to hit the state in nearly 50 years. Williamsport, Pennsylvania recorded 5 inches of snow in one hour and winds gusted to 76 mph at Chatham, Massachusetts. Stalled traffic nearly paralyzed the Washington, DC and Boston, Massachusetts areas. The pressure of the very deep low pressure center dropped to 968 millibars (28.60 inches) as it passed through New England.

...1988... The nation was free of winter storms for a day, however, winds in southern California gusted to 80 mph in the Grapevine area of the Tehachapi Mountains, and winds along the eastern slopes of the Rockies reached 100 mph in the Upper Yellowstone Valley of Montana.

...1989... Low pressure brought heavy rain and gale force winds to Florida. Daytona Beach was drenched with 5.48 inches of rain in 24 hours to establish a January record for that location, and winds at Titusville FL gusted to 63 mph.

...1990... It was a very tame and peaceful mid winter day. Mild weather prevailed across the nation, with rain and snow primarily confined to the northeastern U.S. and the Pacific Northwest. Warm weather continued in Florida. Highs of 83 degrees at Hollywood and 85 degrees at Miami were records for the date.

...2005... A major winter snowstorm, referred to as the Blizzard of 2005, affected the Northeastern United States. More than one foot of snow covered much of southern New England in the storm's aftermath, with well over two feet in some areas of Massachusetts. Strong winds created blizzard conditions with low visibilities and considerable blowing and drifting of snow.  At Newport, Rhode Island 6.5 inches of snow was recorded and the temperature dipped to 1 degree below zero, tying the record from 1970.