Re: What happened out west?
There is a thin sliver of territory along the West Coast that widens when you go south into California where snow is less common, but from the Cascade Mountains east snow and cold temps are normal in the winter. There are fewer people living in these areas so it doesn't get as much attention though. The record Snow fall totals are all from Washington State, it had been at 92' until that was broken with a new measurement of 105' (or close to that). I just had snow a week ago less than 40 miles from my house, it was only freezing at my place, some areas still get snow in June.
While we do get snow and freezing temps, we don't get the bitter cold that the Mid West experiences and most of the major cities are located near the coast at very low elevations, so they don't see the more severe weather that occurs a hundred miles or so inland.
