National Climate Data Center

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Published date May 24, 2010

2009-2010 Cold Season Special Report

  • Provides documentation, data analysis, and a preliminary understanding of large-scale climate patterns and their effects on regional weather events
  • States the 2009/2010 Cold Season for North America was historically active and powerful
  • Finds that extreme fluctuations in temperature and precipitation in the mid-latitudes during this period can be attributed to a wide variety of rapidly progressing weather systems
  • Finds the persistent systems were influenced by larger scale patterns
  • Finds the strong warm phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) helped to alleviate moderate to exceptional drought across the contiguous United States
  • Finds the record-setting negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation produced record cold temperatures in the Deep South
  • Holds that the effects of large-scale climate patterns are often influential on regional weather events and when they are extreme and historic in nature, their local effects are profound and far reaching