Two of the most fascinating things in weather to me is a heat burst and the chinook wind. We may discuss the heat burst some other day, but this morning I want to discuss some unbelievable temperature changes due to either a dying chinook wind or, more likely, a stalled front in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
The extreme temperature changes in such a short period of time are unbelievable. This is not an old husband’s tale. This incident is documented in files of the National Weather Service in Rapid City.
On January 22, 1943 in Spearfish, South Dakota at 7:32 a.m. the temperature jumped from 4 below zero to 45 above—a rise of 49 degrees in just two minutes! That still stands as a world record. But it did not last long. At 9:00 a.m. it was 54 degrees, but 27 minutes later it was back down to 4 below zero.
The sudden change in temperatures cause some strange things to happen. Thick frost appeared almost instantly on windshields as people drove from the warm air into the cold air. Glass window panes broke. The contrast in temperature was even noticeable on different sides of buildings. You could escape winter by walking from the east side of the building around the corner to balmy spring-like conditions on the south side.
In Spearfish, every plate glass window in town broke because of the quick changes. At one time, the temperature was -2 on one side of the town of Spearfish at the same time it was 54 across town. Spearfish is about the size of Oneonta.
The changes were caused by a very shallow arctic air mass along the north and eastern slopes of the Black Hills with the lighter and warmer air aloft. As the boundary between the two air masses shifted slightly, like rocking a bowl of water, the temperature changed dramatically.
I remember being on duty one day at the NWS in Birmingham watching satellite photographs come off the printer every 15 minutes. I witnessed an 18-inch snow cover in NE Colorado disappear in 8 hours due to the warm downslope chinook winds.
All of this fascinates my little brain no end!
The extreme temperature changes in such a short period of time are unbelievable. This is not an old husband’s tale. This incident is documented in files of the National Weather Service in Rapid City.
On January 22, 1943 in Spearfish, South Dakota at 7:32 a.m. the temperature jumped from 4 below zero to 45 above—a rise of 49 degrees in just two minutes! That still stands as a world record. But it did not last long. At 9:00 a.m. it was 54 degrees, but 27 minutes later it was back down to 4 below zero.
The sudden change in temperatures cause some strange things to happen. Thick frost appeared almost instantly on windshields as people drove from the warm air into the cold air. Glass window panes broke. The contrast in temperature was even noticeable on different sides of buildings. You could escape winter by walking from the east side of the building around the corner to balmy spring-like conditions on the south side.
In Spearfish, every plate glass window in town broke because of the quick changes. At one time, the temperature was -2 on one side of the town of Spearfish at the same time it was 54 across town. Spearfish is about the size of Oneonta.
The changes were caused by a very shallow arctic air mass along the north and eastern slopes of the Black Hills with the lighter and warmer air aloft. As the boundary between the two air masses shifted slightly, like rocking a bowl of water, the temperature changed dramatically.
I remember being on duty one day at the NWS in Birmingham watching satellite photographs come off the printer every 15 minutes. I witnessed an 18-inch snow cover in NE Colorado disappear in 8 hours due to the warm downslope chinook winds.
All of this fascinates my little brain no end!
on March 4, 2005, 8:06 am
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