By SALINA POST
The frigid weather that descended on the middle of the United States was something that many will not soon forget.
The outbreak of historic cold overspread the Plains on Feb. 6 and stuck around like a tongue on a flag pole through Feb. 18.
"A persistent Arctic airmass like this hasn't affected the region since the 1980s! During this stretch, there were days where the high temp did not make it out of the single digits! The Arctic surge made it all the way down to south Texas, where snow was observed on the beaches of Galveston!" the National Weather Service (NWS) in Wichita exclaimed in a report about the Arctic blast.
As for Salina's time in the deep freeze, we had 12 consecutive days of temperatures below 32 degrees, which ended on Feb. 17. According to NWS-Wichita, that was the longest time below freezing since 1983, which saw a 15-day frozen run. Salina's longest below-freezing streak was 18 days in 1905.
Additionally, Salina set a record for the number of consecutive days during which the temperature didn't get above 20: 10 consecutive days that ended on Feb. 16, NWS-Wichita reported.
Salina also had a consecutive three-day stretch of low temperatures below zero. That frigid streak was the longest since 2016, NWS-Wichita noted. Salina's record for consecutive days with a low temperature below zero was eight in 1983.
While Feb. 14 was a day for warm feelings and love, Feb. 15 was a frigid record-setter for Salina. The low came in at -10 degrees, breaking a 1905 record of -7 degrees. Salina's high on Feb. 15 was 2 degrees, which broke a 2007 record of 10 degrees, according to NWS-Wichita.