A “cold wave” flag used to warn residents about upcoming frigid weather.
It was February 9th, 1899. A huge chunk of arctic air broke loose from its mooring across the North Pole and began to sink south. It was an unprecedented area of arctic high pressure with a reading of 31.16 inches of mercury. It stands as one of the highest readings ever recorded in North America. At the same time north Georgia was basking under sunshine and 70 degree warmth. Families were having picnics in the park. Men were riding bicycles along country roads. It was very spring-like. No one knew what was coming.
Because high pressure rotates clockwise, its position in the center of the country acted like a giant pump, driving down frigid, dry air from the North Pole, straight down into the Gulf of Mexico. At the same time an area of low pressure was developing in the northwest gulf. Both the high pressure and low pressure systems were extremely strong and would create 60 mph winds as they merged. Georgians went to sleep that night, windows open, enjoying fresh spring-like air. They were totally unaware that in 48 hours the temperature would drop more than 80 degrees and snow would be measured in feet!
The cold was so intense it caused the Mississippi River to freeze all the way to New Orleans, with ice floes eventually reaching the Gulf. The cold was so dry and fierce that the Chattahoochee River was reported to be a solid sheet of ice in places. The state’s agriculture, particularly the peach and apple orchards, were decimated. It took years for them to recover. The coldest temperature to ever occur in Atlanta happened on February 13th, 1899 at -9 with an afternoon high of 7 degrees. Tallapoosa recorded a numbing -12 degrees, while Gainesville recorded a low of -15 degrees!
By 1899, the U.S. Weather Bureau had transitioned from the military to the Department of Agriculture, and they had developed a surprisingly sophisticated “low tech” warning system to reach citizens across the South. If you were a Georgian in 1899, you would have checked with the local post office, or even a passing train. The “cold wave” flag was the most critical tool for the 1899 event. The Weather Bureau used a system of large, 6 foot square, signal flags flown from post offices, courthouses, and prominent downtown buildings. The solid white flag with a black square in the middle of it, signaled an immediate “cold wave.” The tailboard was the “internet”of 1899. Many trains carried the flags on the side of baggage cars or cabooses. As the train traveled from Atlanta to rural towns like Tallapoosa or Gainesville, farmers in the fields could see the cold wave flag. Newspapers like the Atlanta Constitution reserved a small box on the front page, usually the upper corner (known as the “ear”) specifically for the weather probabilities. One account noted that many ranchers were able to secure their livestock before the freeze hit.
Then there was the Enigma Tornado Outbreak on February, 19, 1884, one of the most significant weather events in U.S. history. The reason it is called the Enigma Outbreak is that an article from a Macon newspaper reported the city felt “three rounds of storms,” at 2 pm, 4:20 pm, and 6 pm. The confusion about whether it was one big storm or many small ones is why it remained an enigma. In addition, no really knows how many people died. Reports ranged from 500 to 1,200 fatalities. Ironically, 1884 was the year the U.S. issued its first experimental tornado forecasts. Sergeant John Park Finley of the Signal Service correctly predicted the possibility of tornadoes the very day of the Enigma Outbreak. They telegraphed 18 regions across the country with his concerns. However, the word TORNADO was actually banned from the forecast because the government feared it would cause a public panic. Below is a blurb from the Atlanta Constitution three days later.
Here we are back to present day. After a brutally cold January with collapse of the polar vortex, many of us would like to see warmer temperatures after our heating bills have looked like second mortgage payments. The Climate Prediction Center is forecasting above average temperatures for February. There are too many variables with rainfall to say either way. The average high for the 1st is 54 to 61 degrees on the 28th. Our average low will range from 35 on the 1st to 41 degrees on the 28th. Rainfall average is 4.5-5 inches for the month.
As we know, February is a month of extremes. Anything goes in weather. We also gain an hour of daylight through the month. Sunrise on the first is 7:34 and Sunset on February 1st is 6:08 pm. On February 28th sunrise is 7:07 am with sunset at 6:33 pm. We gain about 54 minutes of daylight. Hope you enjoyed our look back in time. See you next month.
Photo: courtesy NOAA
