Extreme Cold in Pennsylvania, January 6 to 7, 2014

Name: Extreme Cold in Pennsylvania, January 6 to 7, 2014
Start: 2014-01-06T16:00
End: 2014-01-07T13:00
Location: Pennsylvania

January 6 to 7, 2014 · NWS CLE · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

A strong area of deepening low pressure moved up the Ohio Valley on January 5th. This low moved across northwestern Pennsylvania early on the 6th and then continued rapidly northeast.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS CLE wrote it up.

A strong area of deepening low pressure moved up the Ohio Valley on January 5th. This low moved across northwestern Pennsylvania early on the 6th and then continued rapidly northeast. At the same time, arctic high pressure settled over the Great Plains resulting in a very strong pressure gradient over the Upper Ohio Valley. Strong west to northwest winds ushered in an unusually cold and dangerous airmass and resulted in the coldest temperatures in northwestern Pennsylvania since January 1994. Record low temperatures and unprecedented wind chills were reported throughout the region on both January 6th and 7th. Sustained west to northwest winds were as high as 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 45 mph on the 6th. By daybreak on the 7th, sustained winds had dropped to 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 30 mph but this provided only slight relief from the brutal wind chills. Temperatures during the evening of the 5th were in the 40s across all of western Pennsylvania. By daybreak on the 6th, readings were in the teens or lower 20s with readings finally dropping below zero late in the afternoon. Wind chills dropped below negative 25 by late afternoon and eventually bottomed out around -35. Wind chills finally warmed above minus 25 during the early afternoon hours of the 7th. New records lows of -9 and -10 were established at Erie International Airport on the 6th and 7th. Low temperatures at the Meadville Airport on the 6th and 7th were -13 and -13. High temperatures on the 7th were only in the lower single digits above zero. All schools in the area were closed on both the 6th and 7th.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Cleveland, OH wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 6, 12:50 PM EST, 3 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 6, 12:50 PM EST, 3 hours 10 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 6, 3:47 PM EST, 13 minutes before

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In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 6, 10:04 AM EST, 5 hours 56 minutes before

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Local storm report, Jan 6, 10:09 AM EST, 5 hours 51 minutes before

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Local storm report, Jan 6, 10:57 AM EST, 5 hours 3 minutes before

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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Crawford

When: January 6, 4:00 PM EST to January 7, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Crawford forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 41.685, -80.106 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Brutal cold weather settled over the area on January 6th and 7th. The coldest temperatures since January 1994 were reported with lows of minus 10 or colder on both the 6th and 7th. Low temperatures at the Meadville Airport on the 6th and 7th were -13 and -13. Wind chills dipped below minus 25 degrees by late afternoon on the 6th and then continued for almost 24 hours. Sustained west to northwest winds were as high as 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 45 mph. All of the schools in the area were closed on both the 6th and 7th.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northern Erie

When: January 6, 4:00 PM EST to January 7, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Northern Erie forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 42.118, -80.098 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Brutal cold weather settled over the area on January 6th and 7th. The coldest temperatures since January 1994 were reported with lows of minus 10 or colder on both the 6th and 7th. Low temperatures at Erie International Airport on the 6th and 7th were -9 and -10. Wind chills dipped below minus 25 degrees by late afternoon on the 6th and then continued for almost 24 hours. Sustained west to northwest winds were as high as 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 45 mph. All of the schools in the area were closed on both the 6th and 7th.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Southern Erie

When: January 6, 4:00 PM EST to January 7, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Erie forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 42.118, -80.098 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Brutal cold weather settled over the area on January 6th and 7th. The coldest temperatures since January 1994 were reported with lows of minus 10 or colder on both the 6th and 7th. Wind chills dipped below minus 25 degrees by late afternoon on the 6th and then continued for almost 24 hours. Sustained west to northwest winds were as high as 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 45 mph. All of the schools in the area were closed on both the 6th and 7th.

What these are

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill: Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2014 Every state in 2014 This day in weather history Warnings in Pennsylvania, January 2014

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 495382, 495385, 495387.