It Was So Cold In Cleveland In 1994, Temperatures Stayed Below Zero For 56 Hours
By Nikki Rhoades|Published December 14, 2022
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Nikki Rhoades
Author
Nikki is a lifelong Ohioan with a love for literature. She holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Akron and has enjoyed publishing her written work since 2007. She has a love of travel and does so frequently, though she believes that home is where the heart is — she continues to work in and around Cleveland as a digital content specialist to this day, working on everything from commercial scripts and social media posts to grassroots marketing initiatives.
Wintertime in Cleveland, Ohio is a season like no other. Brisk, icy, and dreary with endless grey skies and freezing temperatures, Clevelanders have grown to be hardy in face of the seasonal challenges. However, one year was infamously worse than any other. In 1994, the coldest day in Cleveland history was recorded. While a few hours of unforgiving cold might have been tolerable, this particular cold weather event stretched across three long, cold days and laid waste to the city’s infrastructure. Let’s take a look at this chilling moment in time, shall we?
Winters in Clevelands nowadays are arguably mild, especially if you look back to historical temperatures over three decades ago.
The National Weather Service tracks temperatures in Cleveland, and they show that our winters truly aren't the harshest in the nation. Our coldest and snowiest month is undeniably January, with average snowfall totaling around 18.4 inches and the average temperature hovering around 29.1 degrees Fahrenheit. However, one January was particularly brutal.
The coldest day on record was January 19, 1994. The temperature plummeted to -20 degrees... and that's not even factoring in windchill.
Locals tried their best to use humor to get through the situation. The local news station placed water, pie, and oranges outside to see what would happen... arguably, the result was a bit humorous. "Anybody trying to eat this slice of pecan pie would be making one dentist very rich right about now," said Andre Bernier in a live stream that day. As you guessed, everything they left outside was frozen solid in very little time.
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If that chill wasn't bad enough, this next figure is going to chill you to the core: from January 18 to January 20 that year, temperatures wouldn't rise above zero for a whopping 56 hours.
Furnaces almost couldn't keep up with the chill during that stretch! Layers helped a bit indoors, but treks in the great outdoors were unforgivingly brutal.
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That level of freeze impacted locals and local infrastructure, too. At least 10 cases of frostbite were recorded, and 614 pipes burst during that deep freeze.
Today, fixing a burst pipe costs between $600 and $1,000 dollars. Back in 1994, more than 600 locals had to fork over a pretty penny to repair the damages, making local plumbing pros very busy.
On average, circa 64 inches of wintery precipitation is average for Cleveland. The snowiest winter Cleveland ever experienced was in 2005, when locals watched with horror as more than 108 inches of snow blanketed the region. With that record-breaking year in mind, 1994 wasn't too bad in terms of precipitation!
It broke records, though just barely. The former coldest day in Cleveland history happened on January 24, 1963, when it was just one degree colder.
Of course, -19 was shocking enough, but the 1994 temperature would go on to break that record. Interestingly, that season only accumulated a mere 50.9 inches of snow in total, proving that cold doesn't always come with heavy snowfall.
Fortunately, these freezing winters of yore aren't the norm for Cleveland.
In fact, temperatures in Cleveland rarely dip below 20 degrees in January. This means that, most years, you can bundle up and head out for a wintery hike in the Metroparks or a snow angel session in the backyard.
Of course, records are set to be broken... right?! The next record-breaking temperatures in Cleveland will only be revealed by time.
If your older relatives have ever talked about how much worse winters in Cleveland used to be, there may be some truths to their claim. Over the years, the region has been impacted by some pretty significant weather events, but few moments are as chilling as the coldest day in Cleveland history.
Want to reminisce on the most chilling winter storms in Cleveland history? Check out our list of the seven worst blizzards in Cleveland to travel back in time.
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