An Atlantic coast storm sets the lowest confirmed barometric pressure reading (955.0 mb (28.20 inHg)) for a non-tropical system in the continental United States.
January 1913 Atlantic coast storm
The January 1913 Atlantic coast storm was a strong extratropical cyclone that affected the eastern coast of the United States on January 3, 1913. It resulted in heavy damage due to the high winds and produced record low pressure readings. The lowest confirmed barometric pressure reading, 955.0 mb (28.20 inHg), for a non-tropical system in the continental United States (CONUS) was recorded during this storm at Canton, New York. This broke the record low of this type set by the January 1886 Blizzard. The lowest pressure reading of this type was later equalled on March 7, 1932, at Block Island, Rhode Island. The next lowest record, 955.2 mb (28.21 inHg), was during the October 2010 North American storm complex on October 26, 2010, at Bigfork, Minnesota.
Atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure, also known as air pressure or barometric pressure, is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere is a unit of pressure defined as 101,325 Pa (1,013.25 hPa), which is equivalent to 1,013.25 millibars, 760 mm Hg, 29.9212 inches Hg, or 14.696 psi. The atm unit is roughly equivalent to the mean sea-level atmospheric pressure on Earth; that is, the Earth's atmospheric pressure at sea level is approximately 1 atm.
Extratropical cyclone
Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of producing anything from cloudiness and mild showers to severe hail, thunderstorms, blizzards, and tornadoes. These types of cyclones are defined as large scale (synoptic) low pressure weather systems that occur in the middle latitudes of the Earth. In contrast with tropical cyclones, extratropical cyclones produce rapid changes in temperature and dew point along broad lines, called weather fronts, about the center of the cyclone.