NATIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY

 

DECEMBER 2022

 

4-10: Very warm, dry weather dominated the Deep South, especially near the Gulf Coast. In fact, weekly temperatures averaged at least 10 to 15°F above normal in most locations from Texas to Georgia. Readings averaged more than 5°F above normal in a larger area, extending as far north as the Ohio Valley and central Appalachians. A separate area of warmth (5°F or more above normal) covered much of New England and parts of New York. In contrast, temperatures were at least 10°F below normal in parts of Montana and North Dakota. More broadly, readings averaged more than 5°F below normal in several locations from the Pacific Coast to the northern Plains and far upper Midwest. Scattered readings below -30°F were reported in northern North Dakota. Early-week warmth was prominent across the south-central U.S., where record-setting highs for December 5 reached 81°F in Wichita Falls, TX; 80°F in Lawton, OK; and 79°F in Roswell, NM. Subsequently, warmth became established in the Gulf Coast region. On the 6th, Pensacola, FL, tied a December record with a high of 81°F, matching that mark again on the 7th and 8th. Similarly, Mobile, AL, tied a monthly record with a high of 82°F on December 6, followed by a reading of 85°F on December 7. Mobile’s previous latest calendar-year reading of 85°F or higher had occurred on November 8, 2022, with a high of 88°F. Monthly records tied on December 7 included 83°F in Alma, GA, and 84°F in Tallahassee, FL, and Shreveport, LA. From November 6-9, Montgomery, AL, reported four consecutive highs of 81°F, breaking a daily record on the final day of that streak. In contrast, chilly conditions gripped the northern Plains and Northwest. Ellensburg, WA, opened the week on December 4 with a dailyrecord low of 6°F. Farther east, Glasgow, MT, reported sub-zero temperatures each day from December 2-9, except the 7th. In North Dakota, December 7 low temperatures dipped to -22°F in Williston and -23°F in Grand Forks.

 

11-17: Weekly temperatures averaged more than 10°F below normal in scattered locations across the West, mainly in valley locations where cold air remained trapped beneath a nearly stationary high-pressure system. Many of those locations also dealt with dense fog and air stagnation. Farther east, readings averaged as much as 5°F below normal in portions of the Atlantic Coast States. Elsewhere, readings averaged 5 to 15°F above normal in the upper Great Lakes region and at least 5°F above normal in parts of the Deep South, mainly from southern Texas to southern Alabama and western Florida. Lingering warmth across the South led to several daily-record highs. On December 13, for example, McAllen, TX, posted a high of 88°F, a record for the date. The following day, record-setting highs for December 14 included 79°F in Pensacola, FL; 78°F in Mobile, AL; and 76°F in Gulfport, MS. Meanwhile, with high pressure firmly in control across the West, temperatures remained lower than average. Eureka, NV, notched a daily-record low of -8°F on December 16. Temperatures in Eureka were lower the next 2 days, falling to -12 and -13°F, respectively, on December 17-18, although no additional records were set. In Utah, sub-zero, daily-record lows were established on December 17 in Randolph (-24°F) and Marysvale (-3°F). Meanwhile, Duluth, MN, experienced daily average temperatures more than 10°F above normal each day from December 11-16, with highs ranging from 31 to 33°F and lows ranging from 26 to 31°F.

 

18-24: The Arctic outbreak generally peaked from December 22-25, holding weekly temperatures at least 10°F across a vast area. Readings averaged more than 30°F below normal across parts of the northern Plains. In fact, only northern New England experienced broadly above-normal weekly temperatures. Early in the week, chilly conditions lingered in the West. Record-setting lows for December 18 dipped to -17°F in Ballard, UT, and -15°F in Burns, OR. Meanwhile, Arctic air began to surge southward across the Great Plains. Cut Bank, MT, reported a reading below -25°F each day from December 19-23, including a daily-record low of -29°F on the 20th. By December 21, enough cold air bled westward into Washington to result in daily-record lows in locations such as Pullman (-20°F) and Wenatchee (-7°F). That marked Pullman’s lowest temperature since February 2, 1996, when it was -24°F. Ellensburg, WA, posted consecutive daily-record lows (-8 and -9°F, respectively) on December 21-22. On the 21st, Cheyenne, WY, noted a record-setting 1-hour temperature drop (from 42 to 0°F), starting at 1:05 pm MST. Elsewhere in Wyoming, Casper set an all-time station record on December 22 with a low of -42°F (previously, -41°F on December 21, 1990). In Montana, record-setting lows for the 22nd included -49°F in West Yellowstone and -45°F at the Bozeman Airport. Bozeman narrowly missed its all-time station record of -46°F, achieved most recently on December 24, 1983. By December 23, bitterly cold air swept into the East, resulting in sub-zero, daily-record lows in Dayton, OH (-9°F), and Pittsburgh, PA (-5°F). In Georgia, Athens posted consecutive daily-record lows (11 and 7°F, respectively) on December 23-24. Additional sub-zero, daily-record lows occurred on December 24 in Blacksburg, VA (-4°F) and Bluefield, WV (-9°F), with the latter location noting its lowest reading since January 19, 1994, when it was -18°F. In South Carolina, daily-record lows for the 24th plunged to 7°F in Greenville-Spartanburg and 12°F in Columbia. Elsewhere, high temperatures remained below the freezing mark on December 24 for the first time on record in downtown Charleston, SC (high of 31°F); Augusta, GA (30°F); and Columbia, SC (28°F). In contrast, late-week warmth appeared in southern California, where Anaheim notched a daily record-tying high of 84°F on December 24.

 

25-31: A pair of late-December storm systems moved ashore in the West, delivering heavy precipitation in the Pacific Coast States and significant snow from the Cascades and Sierra Nevada to the western slopes of the Rockies. Weekly precipitation totals in the Sierra Nevada and adjacent foothills locally totaled 4 to 12 inches or more, with an average of more than 5 inches of liquid equivalency being added to the Sierra Nevada snowpack during the final week of December. Farther east, mostly dry weather prevailed across the nation’s mid-section, although light snow and blowing snow continued to cause rural travel disruptions across parts of the northern Plains and upper Midwest.

 

Throughout the central and eastern U.S., sudden warming in the wake of the previous week’s brutal cold snap boosted temperatures to near- or above-normal levels, except in the southern Atlantic region. Meanwhile, Western warmth was gradually replaced by slightly cooler, increasingly stormy weather. Following the frigid conditions of December 18-24, when temperatures averaged more than 30°F below normal across portions of the northern Plains, weekly readings averaged more than 10°F above normal in much of western Montana and environs. Any lingering cold weather was largely confined to the Southeast, where weekly temperatures averaged more than 5°F below normal in portions of the southern Atlantic States.

 

It was the warmest Christmas Day on record in parts of the West, with highs in California soaring to 85°F in Ramona and Woodland Hills. Eugene, OR, also posted a daily-record high (63°F) for December 25, breaking by 1°F a record originally set in 1913. Southern California’s warmth continued through December 26, when daily-record highs reached 85°F in Escondido, 84°F in Anaheim, and 82°F in San Diego. In contrast, Christmas Day high temperatures remained below the 50-degree mark— lowest on record for the date—in Florida locations such as St. Petersburg (44°F), Vero Beach (47°F), and Fort Lauderdale (49°F); previous records had been set on December 25, 1989. By December 27, record-setting warmth arrived on the High Plains, where temperatures rose to 72°F in Borger, TX, and 68°F in Burlington, CO. Wichita Falls, TX, collected a daily-record high (75°F) on December 28. During the final 3 days of 2022, an impressive surge of warmth covered much of the central and eastern U.S. The parade of daily-record highs began on December 29 with a high of 73°F in Columbia, MO—exactly 80 degrees higher than the minimum reading of -7°F just 6 days earlier, on December 23. Elsewhere on the 29th, daily-record highs surged to 70°F in locations such as Springfield, IL, and Chanute, KS. Warmth shifted into the East by December 30, when daily-record highs climbed to 71°F in Clarksburg, WV; and 63°F in Boston, MA. In Maine, Augusta closed the month (and year) with consecutive daily-record highs of 51 and 50°F, respectively, on December 30-31. New Year’s Eve featured the return of record-setting warmth in the Deep South; daily-record highs for the 31st included 87°F in Vero Beach, FL, and 83°F in Del Rio, TX.

 

 

Jim G. Munley, jr.
http://www.jimmunleywx.com