Winter’s frigid finish
Last eight weeks were coldest in 37 years in Philadelphia.
After quite a mild start, winter asserted itself on Jan. 26, and so far hasn't paid much attention to the vernal equinox, with the longer term outlooks showing continued below-normal temperatures.
Since Jan. 26 through Sunday, the official temperature at Philadelphia International Airport was 31.2 degrees, with only 11 of the 56 days seeing above-normal temperatures.
That made it the coldest such eight-week period since 1978, and the ninth-coldest in records dating to 1874.
The winters ahead of this one, as one might expect, include some hall-of-famers, including '78, which finished No. 3 on the list with an average of 29.1 for the Jan. 25-March 22 period.
As for snow, the 23.8 inches ranked No. 16.
Here are the 10 chilliest eight-week periods, beginning with Jan. 26: