1936 North American cold wave

The 1936 North American cold wave ranks among the most intense cold waves in the recorded history of North America. The Midwestern United States and the Canadian Prairies were hit the hardest. Only the Southwestern United States and California largely escaped its effects.

February 1936 was the coldest February on record in the contiguous U.S., narrowly eclipsing February 1899. It also was the coldest month ever in Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

The meteorological winter (December through February) of 1935/36 was the coldest on record for Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

This winter was much colder than the immediately preceding winters. 1930 through 1934 had each seen exceptionally mild winters in substantial parts of the United States: 1930/31 in the northern Great Plains; 1931/32 in the mid- and south-Atlantic states, the eastern north central states, and the eastern south central states; 1932/33 in New England and, 1933/34 in the Mountain and Pacific states. In the northern plains, the Februaries of 1925, 1926, 1927, 1930, 1931, and 1935 are among the 25 warmest Februaries between 1895 and 2017, although 1929 had the third-coldest February of all-time.

Despite a mild March over most areas east of the Rocky Mountains, the six months from October 1935 to March 1936 were the fifth-coldest on record over the contiguous U.S.