NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

DECEMBER 2024

1-7: The only other areas reporting any meaningful precipitation included parts of the Northwest and an area stretching from the Great Lakes region into the Northeast. Locations downwind of the Great Lakes were hit with multiple days of lake-effect snow squalls, but snow was scarce in other parts of the country. By the morning of December 8, snow blanketed less than 18 percent of the Lower 48 States, with non-mountain coverage mostly limited to the nation’s northern tier (from North Dakota to New England).

In Michigan, snowfall during the first 7 days of December totaled 13.4 inches in Houghton Lake and 17.9 inches in both Marquette and Sault Ste. Marie. During the 13-day period from November 25 – December 7, Sault Ste. Marie measured 59.9 inches of snow. Similarly, Erie, PA, received 37.1 inches of snow during the last 2 days of November, followed by 17.6 inches from December 1-6. In western New York, Buffalo netted 10.8 inches of snow on December 4-5. Heavy snow also clipped South Bend, IN, on December 5, when a daily-record sum of 6.1 inches was reported.

In Deep South Texas, the arrival of heavy showers led to a daily-record sum of 1.71 inches in Harlingen on December 3. Harlingen collected another daily record on December 6, with 2.77 inches. Brownsville, TX, also received a daily-record total (2.04 inches) on the 6th. Some of the heaviest rain in the central Gulf Coast region fell on December 4, when Alexandria, LA, posted a daily record total of 3.72 inches. Meanwhile, northwesterly winds sweeping across the Midwest resulted in a monthly record wind gust of 61 mph in Peoria, IL (previously, 59 mph on December 15, 1987). Late in the week, increasingly showery weather in the Pacific Northwest contributed to a daily-record sum of 0.80 inch on December 7 in Bellingham, WA.

8-14: A more active pattern developed, especially in northern California and the Northwest, as well as an area stretching from the middle and lower Mississippi Valley to the Eastern Seaboard, excluding the lower Southeast. Weekly precipitation topped 4 inches in parts of northern California, while 2- to 4-inch totals were common from the central Gulf Coast into the Atlantic Coast States, from Georgia to Maine.

East of the Rockies, wintry precipitation remained scarce until late in the week, when some snow, sleet, and freezing rain affected the western Corn Belt and environs. During colder periods, snow fell downwind of the Great Lakes; otherwise, meaningful snow cover in the central and eastern U.S. was limited to the nation’s northern tier. Elsewhere, late-week storminess resulted in a rare December tornado in Santa Cruz County, CA, while high-elevation snow blanketed the Cascades, Sierra Nevada, and northern Rockies.

Mostly dry weather covered the remainder of the West, with southern California experiencing a period of Santa Ana winds on December 9-10 that contributed to the rapid spread of the 4,037 acre Franklin Fire, which damaged or destroyed four dozen structures in or near Malibu.

Early in the week, snow across the nation’s northern tier resulted in daily-record totals for December 8 in International Falls, MN (7.1 inches), and Bangor, ME (3.6 inches). However, Bangor’s snow quickly melted on December 11; after starting the day with a 6-inch depth, the snow disappeared amid the previously mentioned high of 59°F, along with more than 2 inches of rain and southerly wind gusts above 50 mph. Officially, Bangor’s December 11-12 precipitation totaled 2.69 inches, while the peak gust on the latter date reached 59 mph. In fact, heavy rain and gusty winds were broadly noted across the eastern U.S. on December 10-11. On the 10th, daily-record rainfall totals included 2.39 inches in Greenville-Spartanburg, SC, and 1.99 inches in Montgomery, AL. The 11th was the wettest December day on record in Providence, RI, with the 4.60-inch total easily topping the previous mark of 3.47 inches, set on December 26, 1969. It was the wettest day in Providence since March 30, 2010, when 5.32 inches fell. Providence also clocked a peak southerly wind gust to 55 mph on December 11. Elsewhere, Northeastern daily-record totals for December 11 topped the 2-inch mark in Boston, MA (2.76 inches), and Bangor, ME (2.18 inches). Farther west, the week had begun with Santa Ana winds raking parts of southern California. On the night of December 9-10, official wind gusts in southern California included 58 mph in Sandberg, 52 mph in Camarillo, and 51 mph in Oxnard. Shortly before the Franklin Fire was reported, a gust to 54 mph was reported northeast of the wildfire site, at an automated station in Malibu Hills, elevation 1,575 feet. Just to the west, a sensor located at an elevation of 1,714 feet on Boney Mountain, in the western Santa Monica Mountains, clocked a gust to 76 mph early on December 10. A few days later, heavy precipitation arrived in northern California and parts of the Northwest. Mt. Shasta City, CA, netted precipitation totaling 3.24 inches from December 11 14, including a daily-record sum of 2.41 inches on the 13th. The following day, a rare, December tornado struck near the community of Scotts Valley, in Santa Cruz County, CA. Record-setting precipitation totals for December 14 topped an inch not only in parts of California, where Sacramento received 1.10 inches, but also across the nation’s mid-section. On that date, amounts included 2.05 inches in Columbia, MO; 1.81 inches in Quincy, IL; and 1.27 inches in Concordia, KS. December 14 also featured considerable freezing rain across the western Corn Belt, including much of Iowa and portions of neighboring states.

15-21: Significant precipitation was confined to two primary areas, from the mid-South into the Northeast, and across northern California and the Northwest. Additionally, late-week snow—light to moderately heavy— blanketed parts of the North, extending southeastward from eastern Montana and the Dakotas. Even with the pre-holiday wintry weather, snow covered barely one-quarter (26.5 percent) of the Lower 48 States by the morning of December 22.

On December 17 in western Washington, daily record precipitation totals reached 3.05 inches in Hoquiam and 2.36 inches in Olympia. Both locations received measurable rain each day during the week, totaling 5.12 inches in Hoquiam and 4.10 inches in Olympia. At times, precipitation fell as far east as the northern Plains, where Montana locations such as Miles City (0.44 inch) and Townsend (0.35 inch) collected daily-record amounts for December 15. On the 16th, daily-record amounts included 0.58 inch in Burns, OR, and 0.27 inch in Twin Falls, ID. Meanwhile, periods of precipitation—mostly rain—led to some daily-record totals in the South and East. On Long Island, NY, Islip collected a daily-record sum of 1.49 inches on December 16. Heavy showers dotted Florida’s east coast, where Fort Pierce measured a record-setting total (3.05 inches) for December 17. A few days later, as colder air arrived, snow accumulated from the northern Plains into the Northeast. December 19 featured the first 1-inch snowfall of the season in La Crosse, WI, where 6.6 inches fell, as well as Rochester, MN, which received 5.9 inches. Cold weather trailing the snowfall resulted in a low of -12°F (not a record for the date) in La Crosse on December 21. Farther east, the first measurable snow of the season occurred on December 21 in New York locations such as LaGuardia Airport (2.8 inches) and Islip (2.0 inches), with both sites noting record setting totals for the date.

22-28: The week’s first significant rounds of precipitation developed on Christmas Eve across the mid-South and Northwest, respectively. Record-setting totals for December 24 included 1.96 inches in Fort Smith, AR, and 0.92 inch in Klamath Falls, OR. For the week, Fort Smith measured 3.11 inches of rain—2.07 inches on December 23-24 and 1.04 inches from December 26-28. Rainfall totals for December 22-28 topped the 4-inch mark in several Southern locations, including Memphis, TN (6.03 inches); Mobile, AL (5.90 inches); El Dorado, AR (5.78 inches); and Tyler, TX (4.51 inches). All those cities reported at least one daily-record sum, with Memphis measuring 4.44 inches on the 28th; Mobile collecting 3.47 inches on the 27th; El Dorado enduring 3.11 inches on the 28th; and Tyler tallying 2.51 inches on the 28th. Meanwhile in the Northwest, it was the wettest Christmas Day on record in several communities, including Pendleton, OR (0.57 inch), and Ephrata, WA (0.56 inch). Rainfall records for December 25 were also set in Texas locations such as Palacios (1.16 inches) and Victoria (0.83 inch). Farther north, snow cover east of the Rockies on Christmas morning was limited to the North, with depths of 4 inches in Grand Forks, ND; 3 inches in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN; 2 inches in La Crosse, Madison, and Wausau, WI; and 1 inch in Lansing, MI. In the Northeast, depths on the morning of the 25th included 3 inches in Burlington, VT, and 2 inches in Concord, NH, and Buffalo, NY. Double-digit snow depths on December 25 were limited to a few Northern locations, including International Falls, MN (10 inches), and Sault Ste. Marie, MI (17 inches). Fresh snow fell on December 24 in parts of the Northeast, with daily amounts in Maine—not records for the date— totaling 3.9 inches in Bangor and 2.0 inches in Caribou. Elsewhere, lingering Northwestern storminess resulted in several additional daily precipitation records, with totals reaching 0.67 inch (on the 26th) in Omak, WA: 0.58 inch (on the 28th) in Burley, ID; and 0.45 inch (on the 27th) in Redmond, OR.

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