December 2017–January 2018 North American cold wave
The December 2017–January 2018 North American cold wave was an extreme weather event in North America in which record low temperatures gripped much of the Central, Eastern United States, and parts of Central and Eastern Canada. Starting in late December as a result of the southward shift of the polar vortex, extremely cold conditions froze the eastern United States in the last few days of 2017 as well as into the new year. Following a brief respite in mid-January, cold temperatures swung back into the eastern U.S. shortly afterwards. The cold wave finally dissolved by around January 19, as near-average temperatures returned.
The Hudson River in New York City, frozen over during the first week of January
January 2018 North American blizzard
The January 2018 North American blizzard caused widespread severe disruption and blizzard conditions across much of the East Coasts of the United States and Canada in early January 2018. The storm dropped up to 2 feet of snow in the Mid-Atlantic states, New England, and Atlantic Canada, while areas as far south as southern Georgia and far northern Florida had brief wintry precipitation, with 0.1 inches of snow measured officially in Tallahassee, Florida. The storm originated on January 3 as an area of low pressure off the coast of the Southeast. Moving swiftly to the northeast, the storm explosively deepened while moving parallel to the Eastern Seaboard, causing significant snowfall accumulations. The storm received various unofficial names, such as Winter Storm Grayson, Blizzard of 2018 and Storm Brody. The storm was also dubbed a "historic bomb cyclone".
GOES-16 satellite image of the blizzard rapidly deepening off the Northeastern United States at 13:45 UTC (8:45 a.m EST) on January 4, 2018.
The Empire State Building barely visible from the 12th floor of an office building 2 blocks north during the peak of the storm due to near whiteout conditions.
Snow cover at the National Guard armory in North Charleston, South Carolina.
Aftermath of the blizzard in Newington, Virginia.