One of the Coldest Winters in 20 Years Shatters Snow Records

Despite the arrival of spring, the icy grip of winter still retains a stranglehold on much of the Midwest and Northeast. The 2013-14 winter season is one of the coldest winters in 20 years, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Dombek.

"It's probably the coldest the Northeast has seen since 1993-94," he said in early March.

With snowfalls approaching annual all-time record highs in many of the major metropolitan areas across the country, the winter season has shattered expense records in the North.

According to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jack Boston, the reason behind the record-breaking winter is due to a blocking high pressure ridge over Alaska, the Yukon and the Northeastern Pacific Ocean.

"That system deflected the jet stream across the North Pole, down through Canada and into the United States," he said, citing unseasonably low temperatures as a result of this burst of arctic air.

The cool air from the North meets with the jet stream and moisture in the South to create storm systems, and this is the main reason behind this year's heavy snowfall totals, Boston said.

Toledo, Ohio, experienced their snowiest winter ever, with a record breaking snowfall of 84.8 inches. Weather data for the city has been collected since the late 1800s, according to AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Brian Edwards.

Toledo's average annual snowfall is usually 37.8 inches. The previous record snowfall was recorded in the winter of 1978-79 at 73.1 inches.

"The high snowfall totals were more due to actual storm systems rather than lake-effect snow," he said, adding that Erie, Pa., received 130.7 inches of snow compared to the annual 95 inches and that a total of 122 inches fell in Buffalo, N.Y.

"It's impressive," he said. "Everybody is way above normal."

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/record-breaking-cold-winter-we/24831365