January 2024 Arctic outbreak and winter storms: Northwest to the Northeast
12–18 January 2024 · The Northwest, then the central, southern and northeastern US
In mid-January 2024 a lobe of the polar vortex sent Arctic air across most of the country. NCEI records a winter storm in the Northwest first (12 to 14 January), then a winter storm and cold wave across the central, southern and northeastern states (14 to 18 January).
What happened
- Chicago O'Hare fell to -10°F on both 14 and 15 January; Rockford fell to -16°F on 15 January. [2]
- Rockford's high of -3°F on 14 January was the coldest high on record for the date. [2]
- Wind chills reached -45°F in La Salle and Lee counties, Illinois, on 14 January. [2]
- River ice formed fast and ice jams flooded parts of the Kankakee River near Wilmington, Illinois. [2]
Deaths
- 20 deaths in NCEI's record for the Northwest winter storm of 12 to 14 January 2024. [1]
- 41 deaths in NCEI's record for the central, southern and northeastern winter storm and cold wave of 14 to 18 January 2024. [1]
Official counts differ when they cover different areas or count only deaths caused directly by the weather. Both are shown; neither is adjusted here.
Power outages
The official summaries used here give no power outage count for this storm.
Cost
$1.9 billion at the time, or $1.9 billion adjusted for inflation by NCEI [1]. NCEI's record name: Central, Southern, Northeastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave (January 2024); the Northwest storm of 12-14 January is a separate $1,690 million record.
States named in the sources used here: Illinois, Indiana.
Questions
When was the January 2024 Arctic outbreak and winter storms?
12–18 January 2024, across: The Northwest, then the central, southern and northeastern US.
How many people died?
20 deaths in NCEI's record for the Northwest winter storm of 12 to 14 January 2024. 41 deaths in NCEI's record for the central, southern and northeastern winter storm and cold wave of 14 to 18 January 2024.
Sources
- NOAA NCEI, U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters, events 1980-2024
- NWS Chicago: "January 14-17, 2024 Cold"
US government sources are public domain. Figures are quoted as the sources give them; this site has not added to or adjusted them.
Other major US winter storms
- February 22-23, 2026 East Coast blizzard · 22–23 February 2026
- January 24-26, 2026 winter storm · 24–26 January 2026
- January 2025 Gulf Coast snowstorm · 20–22 January 2025
- December 2022 winter storm and Buffalo blizzard · 21–26 December 2022
- February 2021 winter storm and Texas freeze · 10–19 February 2021
- January 2019 polar vortex cold · 30–31 January 2019
- February 2011 Groundhog Day blizzard · 1–3 February 2011
- January 1998 ice storm · 5–9 January 1998
- March 1993 Superstorm · 11–14 March 1993
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