Unseasonal, record-shattering cold and snow engulf central and eastern U.S.
An unusually cold front swept through the central and eastern U.S. Tuesday, April 20, 2021, bringing chilly conditions and snow all the way to Mid-South. By Wednesday morning, April 21, scores of record cold temperatures were set. The cold is expected to settle in across the eastern half of the country, with a number of record low temperatures possible Thursday, April 22, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
At least 80 million Americans were under freeze or frost alerts from the NWS as a wintry blast engulfed much of the central region Tuesday, bringing unseasonably cool temperatures and snow.
"The record-breaking cold has settled in this morning across the central US, stretching from near Mexico to southern Canada as cross-polar flow drops in Arctic levels of frost/freeze temps in the late spring season," wrote BAMWX meteorologist Kirk Hinz.
Record cold temperatures were set by Wednesday morning. Oklahoma City saw -1.1 °C (30 °F), beating the previous daily record of 1.1 °C (34 °F) set in 1966. It was also the latest in the season that Oklahoma has recorded such a reading– the average low this time of the year is 10 °C (51 °F).
Kansas City dropped to 1.1 °C (34 °F), which was shy of a record but still below average. Dallas also shivered through below freezing levels, breaking the previous record of 3.9 °C (39 °F) set in 1918.
Little Rock registered 2.2 °C (36 °F), smashing the past record of 3.9 °C (39°F) in 1983. Chicago dropped to 1.1 °C (34 °F), while Sioux City fell to -2.7 °C (27 °F) and Sioux Falls -7 °C (19 °F).
Record shattering cold this morning. #AGwx #oatt #Plant21
This cold snap has been mentioned tohttps://t.co/CZEgLjnpFw clients dating back to March 30th. pic.twitter.com/3gJXLs8XmF
— BAMWX (@bamwxcom) April 21, 2021
RECORD CENTRAL TX COLD THIS MORNING:
Folks, we broke a 111 year old record today with the unseasonably cold air this morning! Waco fell to 37°! Some areas northwest of town fell to near freezing. Yikes! #TXwx pic.twitter.com/EjIx9ksKVd
— Josh Johns (@JoshJohnsWx) April 21, 2021
A new record low temperature for April 21. Lambert dipped to 30 this morning, breaking the record of 32 in 1904. Skies clear tonight as we have another cold night on the way. A Freeze Warning in effect again. Metro STL drops to 32, but outlying areas drop to the upper 20s. #stlwx pic.twitter.com/yAKNfJs04t
— Angela Hutti (@AngWxGrl) April 21, 2021
My hometown saw some record breaking snow yesterday!! That same cold front that Chicago snow is bringing ENC the chance for some severe weather this afternoon, along with a BIG cool down. Tomorrow, we will be struggling to get to 60 degrees…enjoy the heat today if you can! https://t.co/5k6g9zEiAd
— Zoe Mintz (@wx_zoe) April 21, 2021
RECORD COLD? After a dry cold front passed our area this morning, overnight lows will drop to the 30’s and 40’s. Grab a jacket tomorrow morning!! pic.twitter.com/NPBJ35J7xK
— WKRG Caroline Carithers (@wkrgcaroline) April 21, 2021
Snow a few inches deep over Indianapolis this morning. #FITF
My friend Harley Magden from @WindowNation captured these outside his plane window.
Yes, that’s the @IMS below- home home the #indy500 @TonyPannWBAL @capitalweather @judah47 @JimCantore @hbwx #INwx pic.twitter.com/VLdfE5QuP5— Justin Berk (@JustinWeather) April 21, 2021
A look at #snow coming down at a fairly heavy pace around 8 PM @NWSPaducah. This is now officially the latest observed snowfall in Paducah's recorded climate history. pic.twitter.com/dwdblOyRfC
— NWS Paducah, KY (@NWSPaducah) April 21, 2021
We had two cold high records broken over the past two days here at Midland Int'l! We had a high of 55 yesterday, breaking the old record of a cold high of 57. This afternoon we only reached 56, which broke the previous record of 60. #txwx #nmwx pic.twitter.com/O0DHMGgiI5
— NWS Midland (@NWSMidland) April 22, 2021
The wintry blast also brought late-season snow, which first blanketed the Rockies and High Plains on Monday night. In Boulder, Colorado, around 20 to 28 cm (8 to 11 inches) of snow fell across the city overall.
In Denver, up to 41 cm (16 inches) of snow fell in the mountains north and west of the city. In Rapid City, up to 0.3 m (1 foot) of snow piled up in the Black Hills.
A broad 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 inches) fell across much of Nebraska, while around 30 cm (12 inches) was recorded in Hays. Kansas City registered its biggest snow late in the season with 9 cm (3.5 inches) of snow.
Areas to the east in Illinois and Indiana registered 5 to 13 cm (2 to 5 inches), while up to 18 cm (7 inches) fell in Toledo. In Cleveland, the lake-effect phenomenon boosted snowfall totals, with a number of areas recording 15 cm (6 inches) of snow.
Indianapolis was covered by roughly 5 cm (2 inches) of snow– the most it has recorded this late in the season. Meanwhile, Paducah, Kentucky, witnessed its latest snowfall ever recorded. In Louisville, record-breaking snow of 5 cm (2 inches) was also observed
Pittsburgh saw snow in a two-hour period on Wednesday that was more than during the past two months. In Upstate New York and northern New England, snow and cold were also felt. Snow was seen as far south as West Virginia and Western Maryland.
Chilly conditions are expected to linger, with record lows possible Thursday, warned the NWS. Widespread freeze warnings are currently in place. More winter weather is forecast over northern New England through Friday, April 23, while another round of snow will hit Mountain West.
"Additional record cold pushes east into Thursday morning as well before things start to moderate into the weekend," said Hinz.
Featured image credit: Harley Magden
Commenting rules and guidelines
We value the thoughts and opinions of our readers and welcome healthy discussions on our website. In order to maintain a respectful and positive community, we ask that all commenters follow these rules:
We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these rules. By commenting on our website, you agree to abide by these guidelines. Thank you for helping to create a positive and welcoming environment for all.