Midwest Storm Breaks U.S. Pressure Record
The pressure within the powerful storm that left a trail of destruction across the Midwest on Tuesday not only broke records in individual states and cities, but also one for the United States.
Bigfork, Minn., recorded the storm's lowest pressure at 4:13 p.m. CDT Tuesday. The pressure bottomed out at 28.20 inches (955 millibars). That is equivalent to a typical pressure within a Category 3 hurricane.
The pressure within the Midwest storm dropped below the Edmund Fitzgerald Storm of Nov. 10, 1975, which is highlighted in the above video.
That pressure is now the lowest recorded on land in the contiguous United States, outside of coastal states affected by nor'easters and hurricanes.
"Extreme Weather: A Guide and Record Book" reports that the lowest pressure ever measured on U.S. soil occurred at Long Key, Fla., during the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane. The pressure that day plummeted to 26.35 inches.
Despite the new record, it should be noted that the current storm is actually the second strongest system to sweep through the Great Lakes.
AccuWeather.com Expert Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski reported on Tuesday that the Great Ohio Blizzard, which occurred on Jan. 26, 1978, ranks first with a pressure of 28.05 inches. That pressure, however, was recorded over the waters of Lake Huron, according to the National Weather Service in Detroit.
With the current Midwest storm setting a record for the United States, it is not surprising that individual states also broke pressure records on Tuesday.
The pressure of 28.20 inches at Bigfork shattered Minnesota's previous lowest pressure reading. The old record was 28.43 inches from Nov. 10, 1998, in Albert Lea and Austin.
A new lowest pressure record was also set in Wisconsin on Tuesday as the pressure dropped to 28.38 inches in Superior. That broke the record of 28.45 inches set in Green Bay on April 3, 1982.
Des Moines, Iowa, even set a new October record low pressure on Tuesday. The pressure bottomed out at 28.90 inches, dropping past the previous record low pressure of 29.05 inches from October 1996.
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Daily U.S. Extremes
past 24 hours
| Extreme | Location | |
|---|---|---|
| High | 89° | Harlingen, TX |
| Low | 5° | Chama, NM |
| Precip | 2.56" | Stampede Pass, WA |
WeatherWhys®
Avalanches are caused by a number of factors. Thick layers of snow and ice of varying intensity along a mountainside are weakened by the force of gravity and changing weather conditions. At some point, this large mass of snow is released down the mountain in a form of an avalanche.
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