WEATHER HISTORY FOR 1ST - 10TH
http://www.examiner.com/weather-in-wilmington/charlie-wilson
Charlie Wilson Wilmington Weather ExaminerSubscribeSponsor an Examiner A member of the American Meteorological Society, 
Charlie Wilson has combined his knowledge of Meteorology & Weather History with his Education background in Communications.
Co-Host and Producer of two radio shows every Tuesday: At 7pm ET - Weather Talk with WBAL-TV Channel 11 Morning Meteorologist 
Tony Pann (3 years) and solo with "Center of Circulation" at 8pm ET (5 years). Producer of Science & Spirit - Tue. 7:30pm ET
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December 1st:

1831
A cold outbreak commenced throughout the northeastern U.S., marking the coldest December on record in the area. New York City had an average monthly temperature of 22° with only four days above freezing while Burlington, VT never rose above the freezing mark during the entire month. The Erie Canal was closed for the entire month of December beginning on this date.

1896
The temperature rose 34 degrees in just 7 minutes at Kipp, MT and an astonishing 80 degrees in several hours. A 31-inch snow cover melted in 12 hours.

1913
A 6-day Front Range snowstorm began, ultimately producing a 45.7 inches of snow at Denver, CO, the heaviest 5-day total snowfall on record for the city. The first three days of the month, 8 inches accumulated followed by an additional 37.4 inches on the 4th and 5th.  The town of Georgetown west of Denver picked up 86 inches over the five days with 63 inches of that falling on the 4th. Snow cover on an inch or more from the storm persisted for 60 consecutive days from this date through 1/29/1914, the third longest period of snow cover on record for Denver. Additional snowfall during this time prolonged the snow cover. 

1925
An extremely rare late November hurricane began to affect the west coast of Florida as it strengthened during the day. The storm made landfall very early on this date south of Tampa Bay, weakened to a tropical storm as it crossed central Florida, and exited around St. Augustine. The storm regained Hurricane strength off Jacksonville later in the day. Heavy rain continued over northeast Florida on the 2nd. Gale force winds were reported from the Keys to Jacksonville and over 50 people lost their lives, mostly on ships at sea. Damage along the coast south of Jacksonville was heavy and excessive rain and wind seriously damaged citrus and truck crops.

1959
An upper level ridge brought an off shore flow to central and southern California.  Record high temperatures were set at Santa Ana, CA: 92°, Riverside, CA: 89°, Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 88°, Long Beach, CA: 87°, Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 85°, San Diego, CA: 83°, Bishop, CA: 73°, Palomar Mountain, CA: 72°, San Francisco (Airport), CA: 70°, Stockton, CA: 69° and Sacramento, CA: 68°.

1962
An upper level ridge over the Ohio Valley brought record high temperatures from the northern Plains, Midwest to the Ohio Valley and New York. The following locations reported their warmest December temperatures: Hatfield, WI: 64°, Decorah, IA: 63° and Charles City, IA: 62°.  Other daily record high temperatures for the date included:

Tupelo, MS: 74°, Paducah, KY: 71°, New York (Central Park), NY: 68°-Tied, Cincinnati, OH: 67°, Newark, NJ: 67°, Elkins, WV: 66°, Akron, OH: 64°, Columbus, OH: 64°, Dayton, OH: 64°, Springfield, IL: 64°-Tied, Des Moines, IA: 63°, Moline, IL: 63°, Indianapolis, IN: 63°, Sioux City, IA: 62°, Waterloo, IA: 62°, Rochester, MN: 62°, Chicago, IL: 62°, Rockford, IL: 61°, Fort Wayne, IN: 61°, Mansfield, OH: 61°, Peoria, IL: 61°-Tied, Green Bay, WI: 60°, La Crosse, WI: 60°, Milwaukee, WI: 60°, Flint, MI: 60°-Tied, Alpena, MI: 59°, Muskegon, MI: 59°, Lansing, MI: 59°-Tied, St. Cloud, MN: 58°, Madison, WI: 58°, Marquette, MI: 58°, Fargo, ND: 57°, Minneapolis, MN: 57°, International Falls, MN: 56°, Duluth, MN: 54° and Grand Forks, ND: 51°.

A severe lakefront fog halted the Grey Cup game between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Winnipeg Blue Bombers with 9:22 left to play at Toronto, Ontario Canada. Winnipeg won the Fog Bowl the following day by a score of 28-27.

1964
On this date through the 2nd, a severe windstorm hit the Canadian Maritimes packing winds gusting to 100 mph. Three fishing vessels and 23 lives were lost. Total damage due to high seas, wind and flooding was estimated at over $1 million dollars.

1970
High pressure provided a warm flow out ahead of a strong cold front bringing record high temperatures from the southern Plains to the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes region.  Temperatures ranged from the 60’s in the Ohio Valley to 70’s and 80’s across parts of the south.

Record high temperatures for the date included: Corpus Christi, TX: 83°-Tied, Houston, TX: 82°, Dallas, TX: 81°, Waco, TX: 81°, New Orleans, LA: 81°, Lake Charles, LA: 80°, Mobile, AL: 80°, Little Rock, AR: 79°, Columbia, SC: 79°, Bristol, TN: 74°, St. Louis, MO: 73°, Nashville, TN: 73°, Knoxville, TN: 72°, Decatur, IL: 72°, Huntington, WV: 72°-Tied, Chattanooga, TN: 71°, Kansas City, MO: 70°, Springfield, IL: 70°, Indianapolis, IN: 70°, Cincinnati, OH: 70°, Lexington, KY: 70°, Louisville, KY: 70°, Oak Ridge, TN: 69°, Chicago, IL: 68°, Evansville, IN: 68°, Champaign, IL: 68°, Fort Wayne, IN: 67°, South Bend, IN: 67°, Columbus, OH: 67°, Dayton, OH: 67°, Mansfield, OH: 67°, Des Moines, IA: 66°, Omaha, NE: 65°, Peoria, IL: 65°, Grand Rapids, MI: 65°, Lansing, MI: 65°, Akron, OH: 65°, Cleveland, OH: 65°, Toledo, OH: 65°, Lincoln, NE: 64°, Detroit, MI: 64°, Milwaukee, WI: 63°, Flint, MI: 63°, Green Bay, WI: 62°, Madison, WI: 62°, Rockford, IL: 62°, Muskegon, MI: 60°, Dubuque, IA: 59°, Houghton Lake, MI: 59° and Alpena, MI: 59°-Tied.

1978
A small tornado cut a path 6 miles long near Zephyrhills, FL. Three mobile homes were destroyed and 17 others were damaged. Five brooder houses were also destroyed, resulting in the death of about 3,000 chickens.

A powerful winter storm began to produce heavy snows across mainly the Nebraska panhandle. By the time it ended the next day, Bridgeport, NE reported 15 inches and Scottsbluff, NE reported 11.5 inches.

1985
On this date through the 2nd, awinter storm produced 6 to 15 inches of snow from the Northern and Central Plains to parts of Michigan, with 36.4 inches reported at Marquette, MI.  Many roads were blocked by the blowing and drifting snow. A family was stranded for 25 hours south of Colome, SD. Drifts up to 12 feet high were reported in north central Nebraska. Locations setting their greatest 24 hour snowfall total were Jump River, WI: 17 inches, Necedah, WI: 16 inches, Winona, MN: 16 inches, tied 3/19/1933 and 3/30/1934 for greatest one-day snowfall, Spring Grove, MN: 15 inches, In IA: Decorah, IA: 14.5 inches,  Westby, WI: 13.5 inches and Mondovi, WI: 11.5 inches.

1987
A powerful storm hit the northwestern U.S. Winds gusted to 94 mph at Cape Blanco, OR and 80 mph at Cape Disappointment, WA. Thunderstorms in western Washington State produced wind gusts to 60 mph, and dime size hail at Hoquiam. Stevens Pass, in the Cascade Mountains of Washington, received 7 inches of snow during the morning hours.  Quillayute, WA recorded the lowest air pressure ever recorded on land in the continental United States at 28.40 inHg.

1988
Squalls in the Great Lakes Region produced up to a foot of snow in Ashtabula County, Ohio, up to 10 inches in Erie County, Pennsylvania, and up to a foot in western New York State.

Out west, Redding, CA tied their daily record high with 70° and Quillayute, WA set a record high with 58°.

1989
Heavy snow blanketed the mountains of New Mexico, with 12 inches reported at the Angel Fire Ski Basin. Strong northerly winds ushering cold air into the north central U.S. gusted to 55 mph at Devils Lake, ND. Low pressure over the Gulf of Alaska produced wind gusts to 69 mph at Kodiak Island.

1990
An F4 tornado struck the coastal city of Mobara, Japan injuring 100 people and destroying over 1,000 homes.

1998
An unprecedented late autumn heat wave shattered records from the Rockies to the East Coast courtesy of an upper level ridge extending from off the southeast coast to the southern Plains. More than 70 record highs were set in the first 8 days of December alone, as temperatures rose into the 70s as far north as South Dakota and Maine.

Locations setting their all-time December high temperature record on this date included: Austin, MN and Mondovi, WI hit 65°, establishing their warmest December temperature.

Other locations reporting daily record highs included: Macon, GA: 79°, Columbus, GA: 79°-Tied, Galveston, TX: 78°, Pueblo, CO: 76°, Valentine, NE: 74°, Charlotte, NC: 74°-Tied, Scottsbluff, NE: 73°, Greensboro, NC: 72°-Tied, Madera, CA: 71°, Colorado Springs, CO: 71°-Tied, Chattanooga, TN: 71°-Tied, Grand Island, NE: 70°, Lincoln, NE: 70°, Sioux City, IA: 70°, Wallops Island, VA: 70°, Norfolk, NE: 69°, Omaha, NE: 69°, Oak Ridge, TN: 69°-Tied, Minneapolis, MN: 68° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Cheyenne, WY: 66°, Atlantic City, NJ: 65°-Tied, Waterloo, IA: 63°, Islip, NY: 62°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 62°, Rochester, MN: 62°-Tied, St. Cloud, MN: 61°, La Crosse, WI: 61° and Binghamton, NY: 57°-Tied.

2000
An early winter storm swept across eastern Newfoundland bringing nearly 22 inches of snow to St. John's. The snow and winds over 55 mph cut power to thousands of residents.

2001
Strange bright lights were seen across the evening skies of Oklahoma and western north Texas. Witnesses described the lights as white and blue as they crossed the horizon from southwest to northeast then broke apart. The National Weather Service in Norman, OK speculated that it was likely space junk. The North American Aerospace Defense Command later officially confirmed that it was space debris from an expended Russian rocket reentering the atmosphere. The light show was seen in many places including Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Enid, Shawnee, OK and as far west as the Texas Panhandle, and as far north as Wichita, KS.

2002
The game-time temperature at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI was 23°. That meant a virtually guaranteed win for the Packers with QB Bret Favre starting. The Packers won the game against the Chicago Bears 30-20, making Favre 34-0 at home when the temperature was 34° or below. Favre's streak would come to an end a month later in a playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons.

2007
Heavy rain from a cutoff low with a tropical feed produced up to 6 inches of rain at Palomar Mountain and Forest Falls, CA beginning the previous day ending on this date. A debris flow, including large trees over the Poomacha Burn area buried a house in mud and caused serious damage to several vehicles. The flow was estimated at 15 feet high and 150 to 200 feet wide.

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December 2nd:

1896
An early season snow and ice storm struck the southeastern U.S. It produced 11 inches of snow at Charlotte, NC, and 6 inches at Atlanta, GA.

1925
A late season tropical cyclone caused extensive damage across the Florida peninsula, and then moved off the Georgia coast crossing Cape Hatteras, NC as a tropical storm. The storm produced whole gales along the Mid-Atlantic and Southern New England coast.  Winds gusted to 84 mph at the Delaware Breakwater, DE, 64 mph at Atlantic City, NJ and reached 60 mph at Block Island, RI.

1940
The high temperature of 78°at Las Vegas, NV set the all-time warmest temperature in December.

1948
The United Kingdom recorded its mildest December day on record when the high temperature reached 65° in Achnashellach, Scotland.

1950
The three tornadoes that occurred in Illinois on this date were half as many that had occurred in December during the previous 115 years of weather records. Four people died in Bond and Madison counties. The same storm caused $4 million dollars of hail damage at St. Louis, MO, the worst hailstorm on record to that time for the city. Hail piled up to tremendous depths, up to the tops of tires on automobiles.

A tornado causing F2 damage moved through Madison and Macoupin counties in Illinois. One person was killed and 3 more were injured in a car that was carried 200 yards near Mt. Olive.

1964
The first major snowstorm of the season covered parts of northwest Oklahoma with as much as 9 inches of snow through the 3rd. Most roads became snow packed and hazardous, which caused schools across the area to close for one to two days. Just south of the heavy snow area, freezing rain and sleet iced highways and bridges along a belt 100 miles wide, from southwest to northeast Oklahoma. Temperatures in the teens and 20s helped to maintain the snow cover for a week.

1970
A tornado, 400 yards in width, touched down about one mile below the summit of Timpanogos Divide in Utah. Trees up to 18 inches in diameter were snapped, and some of the 38 inch snow cover was carried 1,000 feet above the ground as the tornado traveled one mile.

1974
Big snows occurred across the lower Great Lakes and Ohio Valley. One of the more remarkable amounts was 19.5 inches at Detroit, MI.

1976
One of the coldest winters of the 20th century gets off to an early start, continuing the persistently cold pattern that began during the autumn. Temperatures plunge to record lows of -11°at Grand Rapids, MI and -2°at Muskegon, MI

1977
High winds buffeted the Colorado Rockies. Wind gusts were clocked at 104 mph at Nederland, CO, 100 mph at Morrison, CO and 62 mph at Rocky Flats, CO. 

1982
A tornado destroyed a home four miles south of Eastwood, MO. The owners were not injured in that tornado, but ironically one person was killed Christmas Eve when another tornado hit the replacement mobile home on the same site.

An unusual December tornado tore through portions of southeast Iowa damaging a house, destroying a garage and barn, and tearing the roof off of a mobile home. Debris was scattered across a two and a half mile path.

A tremendous rainstorm in central Illinois brought 6.12 inches of rain to Springfield during a 24 hour period through the 3rd.  Jacksonville, IL had 4.80 inches and Peoria, IL recorded 2.89 inches during this period. Lake Springfield rose two feet over the old record stage, flooding nearby land. $100,000 dollars damage occurred to the dam at the lake, due to the tremendous flow of water.

The following locations recorded their warmest December temperature on record: Fort Wayne, IN: 71° (the only time Fort Wayne ever reached 70° in December), South Bend, IN: 71°, Goshen, IN: 69°, Elkader, IA: 65°, Genoa, WI: 65°, Prairie du Chien, WI: 65°, Alma, WI: 64°, Dodge, WI: 64°, Hillsboro, WI: 64°, Lynxville, WI: 64°, Neillsville, WI: 63°, Trempealeau, WI: 63°, Viroqua, WI: 63°, Caledonia, MN: 62° and Theilman, MN: 62°.

1985
The significant snow storm from the previous day continued to effect the region, with snow totals including: Dorchester, IA: 18 inches (their greatest one-day snowfall), Hatfield, WI: 16 inches, Soldiers Grove, WI: 15 inches (their greatest one-day snowfall), Sparta, WI: 15 inches, Viroqua, WI: 15 inches (2.2 inches liquid equivalent, their wettest December day), Waukon, IA: 14 inches (their greatest one-day snowfall), La Crescent, MN: 13 inches, Preston, MN: 12.5 inches, Owen, WI: 11 inches (their greatest one-day snowfall, Dodge, WI: 11 inches, Goodrich, WI: 11 inches, Mather, WI: 10 inches, Fayette, IA: 8.5 inches, Alma, WI: 8 inches, Genoa, WI: 8 inches, Lansing, IA: 8 inches, Harmony, MN: 8 inches, Lanesboro, MN: 8 inches, Caledonia, MN: 6.5 inches, Charles City, IA: 6.5 inches, Muscoda, WI: 6.5 inches, Cresco, IA: 6 inches, Elkader, IA: 6 inches. Elgin, MN: 6 inches, Grand Meadow, MN: 6 inches, Minnesota City, MN: 6 inches. Prairie du Chien, WI: 6 inches, Richland Center, WI:  6 inches.

1987
A powerful storm over the Gulf of Alaska continued to produce high winds and heavy rain along the northern and central Pacific coast. Winds gusted to 80 mph south of Port Orford, OR. Stevens Pass, WA was blanketed with 16 inches of snow, and Blue Canyon, CA was soaked with 1.63 inches of rain.

1988
Squalls in the Great Lakes Region produced 10 inches of snow at Union City, PA. Gale force winds gusted to 55 mph at Buffalo, NY.

1989
Squalls produced heavy snow in the Great Lakes Region. Totals in the U.P. of Michigan ranged up to 20 inches at Ironwood. Heavy snow and high winds caused 150 auto accidents in Michigan, resulting in 16 deaths and 22 injuries. Strong northwesterly winds gusted to 73 mph at Johnstown, PA; and Lowville, PA received 20 inches of snow in 36 hours.

1992
Unusual tornadoes for California occurred on this date near Santa Rosa.

1998
Grand Meadow, MN and Jump River, WI recorded their warmest December temperature with 62° and 61° respectively.

1999
Severe thunderstorms produced three tornadoes in central Oklahoma. Two tornadoes occurred in Logan County near Guthrie, and one tornado touched down near Perry, in Noble County. The tornadoes damaged trees, power poles, barns, outbuildings, and one of them unroofed homes near Guthrie. The December tornado event capped off a record year for tornadoes in Oklahoma, as 145 twisters were observed.

2001
A strong winter storm dropped 50 inches of snow at Gin Flat, CA in 34 hours and 31 inches of snow at Big Flat, CA in 20 hours. Yosemite Valley, CA recorded 7 inches of snow in just 10 hours.

2003
As the southern Hemisphere soon approaches their Summer Solstice, the temperature reached 112° at Marble Bar, Australia.

2005
Over the east-central North Atlantic, Epsilon reached hurricane intensity with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. Hurricane force winds persisted for five days. Epsilon is only the sixth December hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin.

2007
A giant Sitka spruce known as the "Klootchy Creek Giant" snapped nearly in half under strong winds at Seaside, OR. The tree, the largest in Oregon stood 200 feet tall and was estimated to be 500 to 750 years old, near the end of its life cycle.

More than 30,000 households were without power due to a heavy snowfall on Vancouver Island, British Columbia Canada. Total accumulations along the eastern shoreline ranged up to 20.5 inches at Campbell River, 17.3 inches at Comox and 12.6 inches at Shawnigan Lake.

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December 3rd 

1838
Cleveland Abbe was born on this date in New York City. Abbe was a meteorologist who pioneered in the foundation and growth of the U.S. Weather Bureau, later renamed the National Weather Service.

1856
A severe blizzard raged across Kansas and Iowa, producing up to 16 inches of snow in northern Iowa. The storm caught many settlers unaware of the hazards that prairie storms of this nature create.

1886
On this date through the 6th, a great snowstorm dumped up to 42 inches in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. 33 inches fell at Asheville, NC and 25 inches at Rome, GA.

1926
Yuma, AZwas soaked with 1.10 inches of rain and by the 10th they had received 4.43 inches, making it the wettest December on record. The average annual rainfall for Yuma is 3.38 inches.

1957
Beginning on this date and ending on the 4th, snow fell across the Mid-Atlantic States.  Snowfall totals included: Washington, D.C.: 11.1 inches, Baltimore, MD: 7.8 inches, Philadelphia, PA: 7 inches and Richmond, VA: 2.1 inches.

1958
Upper level high pressure and a surface high over the Great Basin brought record highs from the Rockies to the West Coast.  Locations setting record highs for December included: Santa Ana, CA: 95°, Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 94° Riverside, CA: 93°, Palm Springs, CA: 93° and Palomar Mountain, CA: 80°.  Santa Maria, CA & Bishop, CA tied their December highs with 90° and 78° respectively.  Other daily record highs included:

Long Beach, CA: 92°, Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 89°, Yuma, AZ: 86°, San Diego, CA: 85°, Idyllwild, CA: 80°, San Francisco Airport, CA: 73°, Fresno, CA: 72°-Tied, Goodland, KS: 71°, Sacramento, CA: 70°, Stockton, CA: 69°, Ely, NV: 67°, Colorado Springs, CO: 66°, Grand Island, NE: 65°-Tied, Sheridan, WY: 64° and Burns, OR: 61°.

1966
An intense storm brought heavy precipitation to parts of central and south-central California, especially the mountains, starting on this day and ending on the 7th. Over the five days, 27.74 inches fell at Lake Arrowhead, 23.73 inches fell at Palomar Mountain, 18.72 inches in Big Bear Lake, 17.85 inches in Idyllwild, and up to a foot of rain at lower elevations. On this day, local flooding occurred at the coast and at Palm Springs. Strong winds caused power outages.

1970
An upper level west-southwest flow brought record high temperatures from the Plains to southern New England. Locations recording their warmest December temperatures included: St. Louis, MO: 76, Quincy, IL: 72 and Waukon, IA: 63. 

Other daily record highs included: San Angelo, TX: 84-Tied, Dallas, TX: 83, Dallas (DFW), TX: 83, Jacksonville, FL: 82, Macon, GA: 81, Savannah, GA: 81, New Orleans, LA: 81, Fort Smith, AR: 79, Tallahassee, FL: 79-Tied, Columbia, SC: 79, Tupelo, MS: 78, Columbus, GA: 77, Little Rock, AR: 76, St. Louis, MO: 76, Huntsville, AL: 75, Knoxville, TN: 75, Memphis, TN: 75, El Paso, TX: 75-Tied, Athens, GA: 74, Springfield, IL: 74, Nashville, TN: 74-Tied, Charlotte, NC: 73-Tied, Evansville, IN: 72, Louisville, KY: 72, Greensboro, NC: 72, Oak Ridge, TN: 72, Atlanta, GA: 72-Tied, Asheville, MC: 72-Tied, Chicago, IL: 71, Peoria, IL: 71, Columbia, MO: 71, Bristol, TN: 71, Lexington, KY: 70, Moline, IL: 69, Cincinnati, OH: 69, Rockford, IL: 65, Indianapolis, IN: 65, Dayton, OH: 65, Fort Wayne, IN: 64, Newark, NJ: 64, New York (Central Park), NY: 64, New York (LaGuardia), NY: 64, Dubuque, IA: 64-Tied, South Bend, IN: 63-Tied, Mansfield, OH: 62, Bridgeport, CT: 60, Detroit, MI: 60-Tied, Milwaukee, WI: 60-Tied and Albany, NY: 56.

1971
A small low pressure area moving across the Florida Peninsula dumped heavy snow in North and South Carolina. Tryon, NC checked in with 18 inches for their heaviest total.  Asheville, NC recorded 16.3 inches which set a new 24 hour snowfall record and Landrum, SC reported 14 inches. The cold front trailing from the low pressure area pushed southeastward through Sarasota and Manatee County in Florida preceded by thunderstorm winds, heavy rain and at least five tornadoes. Roofs were ripped off, trees and utility lines downed. A tornado moved across the Venice Airport damaging three planes, and into the winter quarters of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum Bailey Circus collapsing two large tents. 3.19" of rain fell at Venice and 2.65" at Sarasota causing some water damage. Ten people were injured by the tornadoes.

1982
An unseasonal ridge of high pressure off the southeast coast brought record heat from the Plains to the East Coast and southern Canada.  Across southern Ontario Canada, high temperatures reached 73° at Hamilton and 68° at Toronto.

Many locations in the U.S. set record highs for December including: Huntington, WV: 80° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Charleston, WV: 80°-Tied (broke previous daily record by 10 degrees), Nashville, TN: 79°, Cleveland, OH: 77° (broke previous daily record by 12 degrees), Youngstown, OH: 76° (broke previous daily record by 15 degrees), Akron, OH: 76° (broke previous daily record by 13 degrees and their only day in December above 70°, Columbus, OH: 76°, Erie, PA: 75° (broke previous daily record by 10 degrees), Cincinnati, OH: 75°-Tied, Pittsburgh, PA: 74° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Mansfield, OH: 73° (broke previous record by 10 degrees and only time they have been at or above 70 in December), Blair, WI: 64°, Preston, MN: 63°, Mather, WI: 62°, Owen, WI: 60°, and Medford, WI: 59°.

Other daily record highs included: Tampa, FL: 84°-Tied, Augusta, GA: 82°, Meridian, MS: 82°-Tied, Tallahassee, FL: 81°, Macon, GA: 81°-Tied, Montgomery, AL: 80°, Columbus, GA: 79°, Jackson, KY: 79°, Knoxville, TN: 79°, Charleston, SC: 79°, Athens, GA: 77°, Oak Ridge, TN: 77°, Evansville, IN: 76°, Louisville, KY: 76°, Bristol, TN: 76°, Birmingham, AL: 76°-Tied, Lexington, KY: 75°, Memphis, TN: 75°-Tied, Atlanta, GA: 74°, Buffalo, NY: 74° (broke previous record by 13 degrees), Chattanooga, TN: 73°, Paducah, KY: 73°-Tied, Rochester, NY: 72°, Elkins, WV: 72°, Dayton, OH: 71°, Fort Wayne, IN: 69°, Indianapolis, IN: 69°, Beckley, WV: 69°-Tied, Detroit, MI: 68°, Toledo, OH: 68°, Flint, MI: 67°, Lansing, MI: 66°, Williamsport, PA: 66°, Syracuse, NY: 65°, South Bend, IN: 64°, Alpena, MI: 64°, Grand Rapids, MI: 63°, Yakima, WA: 61°, Ste. St. Marie, MI: 60° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Houghton Lake, MI: 60°-Tied, Milwaukee, WI: 60°-Tied, Marquette, MI: 59°, Olympia, WA: 59°, Burlington, VT: 56° and Binghamton, NY: 55°.

The 24-hour rainfall record for Arkansas was set as 14.06 inches fell at Big Fork.

1983
9.22 inches of rain fell at Birmingham, AL in 24 hours, causing severe flash flooding which literally submerged traffic.

1987
Stormy weather in the northwestern U.S. finally began to abate, but not before Gold Beach, OR was drenched with 7.94 inches of rain in 24 hours. 

Low pressure brought widespread snow from the Upper Mississippi Valley to the Central Appalachians.

1988
Gale force winds ushered cold air into the northeastern U.S., and produced snow squalls in the Lower Great Lakes Region. Winds gusted to 48 mph at Buffalo, NY.

1989
Heavy snow and high winds created blizzard conditions in northern New England. Snowfall totals in Maine ranged up to 31 inches, at Limestone. Presque Isle, ME reported a record 30 inches of snow in 24 hours, along with wind gusts to 46 mph.

Up to a foot of lake effect snow fell at South Bend, Elkhart, Goshen, and Plymouth, IN

1990
Weather Channel Meteorologist Marny Stanier delivered the network's first live broadcast from a snowstorm as she broadcast during a raging blizzard at Milwaukee, WI. Low pressure moved eastward from the Rockies bringing heavy snow to the Midwest.  Wind gusts up to 60 mph created whiteout conditions across a large part of the Upper Midwest. 22 inches fell at Adams, WI.  Madison, WI set their 24 hour snowfall record with 17.3 inches and drifts reached 7 feet. Dubuque, IA recorded 15 to 17 inches and 13 inches piled up at Green Bay, WI.  Generally, 6 to 18 inches of snow fell. Due to the weight of the snow, the dome roof of a sports stadium collapsed in Iowa City causing about $2 million dollars in damage. For a large portion of Iowa, this was the worst snowstorm in several years.

1992
An intensifying low pressure area south of New England dumped a surprise heavy, wet snow across northern Connecticut, western Massachusetts, and east-central New York.  This was an elevation storm with the big snow accumulations primarily above 1,000 feet.  Monterey, MA recorded 19 inches of snow. This 19 inch amount was the biggest single snowfall in a storm in Massachusetts in nearly 5 years. Other snowfall amounts in Massachusetts included 16 inches at Great Barrington and 15 inches at Peru. 14 inches of snow was recorded in Stephentown, NY.

1998
Upper level high pressure ridging across the southeast brought record high temperatures from the Plains to the East Coast.  Necedah, WI set their record high for December with 63°.

Other record highs for the date included: Tampa, FL: 84°-Tied, Wilmington, NC: 79°, Charleston, SC: 79°-Tied, Galveston, TX: 79°-Tied, Huntsville, AL: 75°-Tied, Charlotte, NC: 75°, Chattanooga, TN: 75°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 74°, Topeka, KS: 73°, Baltimore, MD: 72°, Harrisburg, PA: 72°, Columbia, MO: 72°, Dodge City, KS: 70°, Newark, NJ: 70°, Atlantic City, NJ: 69°, New York (Central Park), NY: 69°, New York (LaGuardia), NY: 69°, Wilmington, DE: 68°-Tied, South Bend, IN: 67°, Wichita, KS: 67°, Islip, NY: 67°, Concordia, KS: 67°-Tied, Scottsbluff, NE: 67°-Tied, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 66°, Norfolk, NE: 66°-Tied, Lansing, MI: 66°-Tied, Allentown, PA: 66°, Avoca, PA: 65°, Grand Rapids, MI: 64°, Milwaukee, WI: 64°, Des Moines, IA: 63°, Sioux Falls, SD: 63°, Salt Lake City, UT: 63°, Green Bay, WI: 62°, Bridgeport, CT: 61°, Sioux City, IA: 61°, St. Cloud, MN: 61°, Madison, WI: 61°, Marquette, MI: 59°-Tied, Albany, NY: 58° and Binghamton, NY: 58°.

Low pressure brought heavy snow to parts of the northern Rockies through the 4th. Snow fall totals included:

Heavy snow on the 3-4th: Livingston, MT: 21 inches, Nye, MT: 18 inches, McLeod, MT: 16 inches, Big Timber/Ryegate, MT: 12 inches, Shawmut/Paradise Valley, MT: 11 inches, Harlowton, MT: 9 inches, Roundup, MT: 8 inches, Gardiner, MT: 6 inches, Columbus, MT: 5 inches and Billings, MT: 4 inches.

1999
On this date through the 4th, heavy snow fell over the Foothill and Denver, CO. The heaviest snowfall occurred in the Foothills south of I-70 and near the Palmer Divide. Snowfall totals included: 25 inches near Tiny Town, 18 inches at Conifer, 15 inches near Evergreen, 14 inches at Chief Hosa & Blackhawk, 12 inches at Pine Junction, 11 inches atop Floyd Hill & Roxborough and 10 inches at Castle Rock. Around the Denver metro area, totals included: 10 inches at Highlands Ranch, 9 inches at Parker and 8 inches at Aurora and Wheat Ridge.

2002
Lake Charles, LA recorded 6.19 inches of rain on this day to bring their yearly rainfall total to 81.89 inches, their wettest year ever. The old record was 79.88 inches set in 1919.

Arctic air and fresh snow cover combine to drop the temperature to -18° at Lansing, MI setting a record for early season cold.

2007
Temperatures in Pincher Creek, Alberta Canada go on a fast rollercoaster ride this December day. At 2pm local time, the temperature stood at 7°, but in less than an hour, it had soared to the freezing mark. The "warmth" increased to 45° by 7:30pm then plunged to 9° less than 20 minutes later.

Heavy rainfall triggers flash floods across Sydney, Australia. In less than half an hour, areas of western Sydney receive as much as an inch of rain.

2009
Moscow experiences the warmest December day in recorded history. Muscovites walk without their fur coats as the temperature hit 50°.

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December 4th:

1786

The first of two great early December storms began. The storm produced 18 inches of snow at Morristown, NJ, and 20 inches at New Haven, CT. Great damage was done on Nantucket Island by a wind driven storm surge.

1886

Heavy snow fell on parts of the South and southern Appalachians through the 6th. Montgomery, AL recorded their greatest snow on record as 11 inches fell. An amazing 33 inches fell at Asheville, NC and 25 inches fell at Rome, GA.

1952

On this date through the 9th, London's Great Fog disaster occurred. A beautiful, chilly morning turned deadly as high pressure caused the atmosphere over London, England to stagnate. By the next day, a thick "fog" covered the city. Residents started to complain of a burning sensation in their throats. Hundreds of people were admitted to hospitals because of respiratory distress. Over 4,000 people died over the next 7 days. Other major toxic fogs affected the city in December 1873, January 1880 and in 1892, but the 1952 is London's worst ever smog event.

1953

The hottest December day on record occurred in The Netherlands when the high temperature reached 64° in Buchten.

1957

A weak wave of low pressure moved east from Kentucky to the Atlantic Ocean where warm Gulf Stream waters caused very rapid development. Snow rapidly spread throughout the Mid-Atlantic during the morning and became heavy. The blinding snow continued into the afternoon and finally ended during the evening, with 11.4 inches of snow measured at National Airport outside of Washington, D.C. That was the heaviest snowfall at National Airport since the spring snowstorm of March 1942. Up to 14 inches was reported in Loudon County, Virginia. Baltimore, MD reported 8 inches. Most of the snowfall took place with temperatures hovering at or near 32°.

1964

A big ice storm was in progress across the Northeast. Ice accumulated as much as an inch and a half thick in some places in Massachusetts and eastern New York. Over 80,000 homes were without power after the storm. Some customers did not get their power back for five days.

1972

Winds gusting to 70 mph sent the temperature at Livingston, MT plunging from 52°to 18°in just 20 minutes.

1973

Southwest Iowawas in the midst of experiencing one of their worst winter storms in history. A large number of power lines and trees were downed due to ice and snow causing power outages lasting several days. Travel was nearly impossible and most schools closed for two days. Several towers were also toppled in Hamilton and Hardin Counties.

1979

An upper level ridge off the southern California coast combined with surface high pressure across the Great Basin provided record high temperatures from parts of the Plains to the West Coast. It was 69° in Big Bear Lake, CA, their highest temperature on record for December. This also occurred four days later on 12/8/1979. Other daily record highs included: Santa Ana, CA: 92°, Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 91°, Escondido, CA: 90°, Riverside, CA: 89°, Long Beach, CA: 89°, Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 86°, San Diego, CA: 83°, Phoenix, AZ: 83°, Fresno, CA: 75°, Eureka, CA: 69°, Concordia, KS: 69°-Tied, Miles City, MT: 67°, Billings, MT: 65°, Bismarck, ND: 65°, Ely, NV: 63°, Winnemucca, NV: 63°, Lander, WY: 62°, Lewiston, ID: 61°, Glasgow, MT: 58°, Williston, ND: 58° and Aberdeen, SD: 56°.

Canadian high pressure built in across the southeast bringing a few record low temperatures for the date including: Columbia, SC: 16°, Augusta, GA: 16°-Tied, Athens, GA: 20°-Tied, Macon, GA: 20°-Tied and Cape Hatteras, NC: 27°.

1982

A ridge of upper level high pressure off the southeast coast pumped warm south to southwesterly winds from the Tennessee Valley to New England bringing record high temperatures. The temperature in New York City's Central Park reached 72°to establish a record high for December. The month as a whole was also the warmest on record.

Boston, MA recorded a record high minimum temperature of 57°.

Other daily record highs included: Tampa, FL: 84°, Tallahassee, FL: 82°-Tied, Macon, GA: 81°, Charleston, SC: 80°, Knoxville, TN: 80° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Oak Ridge, TN: 78°, Montgomery, AL: 78°-Tied, Jackson, KY: 77°, Richmond, VA: 77°, Columbus, GA: 76°, Cape Hatteras, NC: 76°, Bristol, TN: 76°, Roanoke, VA: 76°, Charleston, WV: 76°, Washington, D.C.: 75°, Lynchburg, VA: 75°, Athens, GA: 75°-Tied, Lexington, KY: 74°, Baltimore, MD: 74°, Chattanooga, TN: 74°, Nashville, TN: 74°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 74°, Huntington, WV: 74°, Huntsville, AL: 74°-Tied, Harrisburg, PA: 73°, Newark, NJ: 72°, Beckley, WV: 72°, Atlanta, GA: 72°-Tied, Hartford, CT: 71°, Wallops Island, VA: 71°, Wilmington, DE: 71°, Atlantic City, NJ: 70°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 70°, Cleveland, OH: 70°, Elkins, WV: 70°, Portland, ME: 69° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), New York (LaGuardia), NY: 69°, Cincinnati, OH: 69°, Allentown, PA: 69°, Concord, NH: 68°, Columbus, OH: 68°, Mansfield, OH: 67°, Youngstown, OH: 67°, Providence, RI: 67°, Avoca, PA: 66°, Rochester, NY: 66°-Tied, Milton, MA: 65°, Burlington, VT: 65°, Worcester, MA: 65°-Tied, Williamsport, PA: 64°, Albany, NY: 63° and Bridgeport, CT: 61°.

1983

Deepening low pressure dropped 2 to 4 feet of snow across the central Sierra Nevada Mountains in California, with reports of 17.5 inches at Lodgepole, CA and 10 inches at Grant Grove, CA. Wind gusts over 60 mph caused blowing snow and near zero visibility.

Brownsville, TX set a record high with 87°.

1987

On this date through the 5th, a cold front crossing the Pacific Coast Region brought high winds and heavy rain to California. Mount Wilson was drenched with 2.17 inches of rain in 6 hours. 1.02 inches of rain fell at Los Angeles, CA in two hours and rain rates of one inch per hour were reported for a time at John Wayne Airport. 0.61 inches fell in 30 minutes at San Diego. Flooding in downtown Los Angeles, CA prompted some evacuations. More flooding was reported all across San Diego County, including downtown San Diego, where numerous motorists were trapped in their vehicles. In Westminster winds gusted up to 60 mph and damaged 40 mobile homes, 9 of which were ripped out of the ground, and left 24 people homeless. Boats were shaken loose from their moorings. Thunderstorm winds gusted to 55 mph at Newport Beach knocking down power lines. Lightning struck a radio tower at Newport Beach, knocking the station off the air, and knocked out power to the area. Gale force winds prevailed along the Northern Pacific Coast, and winds in the Tehachapi Mountains of southern California gusted to 60 mph.

1988

Gale force winds continued to usher cold arctic air into the northeastern U.S. Winds gusted to 65 mph at Windsor Locks, CT. Up to a foot of snow blanketed the higher elevations of Vermont.

Out west, record highs were set at Palm Springs, CA: 86°, Grass Range, MT: 68°, Stanford, MT: 66°, Conrad, MT: 65°, Cut Bank, MT: 61°, Quillayute, WA: 58°-Tied and Del Bonita, MT: 56°.

1989

Several cities in the eastern U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date.  Watertown, NY was the cold spot in the nation with a low of -20°. Locations reporting record lows included: Bristol, TN: 14°, Oak Ridge, TN: 14°, Jackson, KY: 20°, Meridian, MS: 20°, Gainesville, FL: 24°, Shreveport, LA: 26°, Pensacola, FL: 26°-Tied, Lakeland, FL: 31°, Tampa, FL: 33°, Orlando, FL: 35°-Tied and Vero Beach, FL: 37°.

Out west, upper level high pressure brought warm temperatures with a few locations reporting record highs for the date including: Colorado Springs, CO: 69°-Tied, Eugene, OR: 66°, Valentine, MT: 62° and Olympia, WA: 56°.

Widespread flooding in St John, Newfoundland resulted when a near-record rainfall of 2 inches fell.

1992

The western and southwestern U.S. was in the middle of a major four day winter storm.  Flagstaff, AZ was buried under 23 inches of snow and 22 inches piled up at Sandia Peak, NM. Up to six inches of rain was reported in some mountain locations of southern California with a half to two inches in the valleys. Local flooding, mud slides, standing water, and road closures resulted. Six inches to two feet of snow fell in the higher elevations in the mountains. Flooding in Tijuana, Mexico killed four and left hundreds homeless. Two days earlier, the same storm produced two F1 tornadoes near Santa Rosa, CA.

The storm moved out in to the southern Plains during the late afternoon/early evening hours lingering through the 5th killing at least four people. The storm brought 4 to 9 inches of snow to northwest and north-central Oklahoma, and 1 to 4 inches of snow and sleet to much of central Oklahoma. Snow, sleet, and freezing rain fell over a large part of northeast Oklahoma. Behind the cold front and storm, bitterly cold temperatures were felt from the northern Rockies to the Pacific Northwest. Record low temperatures for the date included: West Yellowstone, MT: -36°, Rawlins, WY: -26°, Pocatello, ID: -22°, Laramie, WY: -20°, Ennis, MT: -17°, Elk Mountain, MT: -12°, Scottsbluff, NE: -10°, Centennial, MT: -10°, Burns, OR: -7°, Salt Lake City, UT: 3° and Olympia, WA: 19°.

1994

Widespread rainfall of 3 to 7 inches, with a maximum of 14.33 inches was measured across east Palm Beach County, Florida during a 24-hour period. Roadways were flooded and minor water damage was reported to some businesses in Delray Beach and Boca Raton. The combination of heavy rains and low astronomical tides caused many sea walls along canals to collapse. Sugar cane harvesting was halted due to the flooding of fields.  A few record highs were set in Florida including: Fort Myers, FL: 87°, Tampa, FL: 86° and Vero Beach, FL: 84°.

1995

Very strong downslope winds gusting to 100 mph in the Colorado Foothills knocked down trees and power lines. Dozen power lines sparked a half dozen brush fires ranging up to 4 acres in size. Structural damage was reported in Boulder with shattered automobile windows. The strongest gusts were Golden Gate Canyon: 100 mph, Rocky Flats: 99 mph, North Boulder: 96 mph, Wondervu: 94 mph, Conifer: 81 mph and 77 mph in South Boulder. 

1996

A persistent westerly flow aloft produced high winds across and near the Front Range Foothills in Colorado. Several locations reported hurricane force wind gusts of 100 to 120 mph. The high winds downed trees and power lines, blew a semi truck over and caused structural damage. Some of the highest winds gusts included: Blackhawk: estimated at 120 mph, Aspen Springs: 115 mph, Eldora Ski Resort: 100 mph, Atop Shanahan Ridge near Boulder: 75 mph, Conifer: 74 mph and 71 mph at the Rocky Flats Environmental Test Facility.

1998

An unseasonable upper level ridge extended from off the southeast coast across Florida into the Gulf of Mexico bringing record high temperatures from the Plains to the East Coast. The temperature soared to 76° at Washington, D.C. to establish a new all-time December high temperature record. The record was to be short-lived, however, as the temperature would top out at 78° on the 6th and 79° on the 7th.  Oelwein, IA set their December record high with 66°.

Other daily record highs for the date included: Montgomery, AL: 82°, Houston, TX: 82°-Tied, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 81°-Tied, Galveston, TX: 80°, Huntsville, AL: 79°, Columbus, GA: 79°, Birmingham, AL: 78°, Mobile, AL: 78°, Memphis, TN: 78°, Nashville, TN: 77°, Richmond, VA: 77°-Tied, Atlanta, GA: 76°, Chattanooga, TN: 76°, Newark, NJ: 75°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 75°, Athens, GA: 75°-Tied, Lynchburg, VA: 75°-Tied, Paducah, KY: 74°, New York (Central Park), NY: 74°, New York (LaGuardia), NY: 74°, Harrisburg, PA: 74°, Evansville, IN: 73°, Greensboro, NC: 73°, Atlantic City, NJ: 73°, Islip, NY: 73° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Philadelphia, PA: 73°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 73°-Tied, Bridgeport, CT: 72° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Springfield, IL: 72°, Louisville, KY: 72°, Cincinnati, OH: 72°, Allentown, PA: 72°, Hartford, CT: 71°, Moline, IL: 71°, Providence, RI: 71°, Wilmington, DE: 71°-Tied, Indianapolis, IN: 70°, Boston, MA: 70°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 70°-Tied, Peoria, IL: 69°, Avoca, PA: 69°, Dayton, OH: 68°, Williamsport, PA: 68°, Des Moines, IA: 67°, Dubuque, IA: 67°, Waterloo, IA: 67°, Milton, MA: 67°, Chicago, IL: 66°, Omaha, NE: 66°-Tied, Rockford, IL: 65°, Worcester, MA: 65°-Tied, Fort Wayne, IN: 64°, South Bend, IN: 64°, Toledo, OH: 64°, Binghamton, NY: 64°-Tied, Cheyenne, WY: 64°-Tied and Albany, NY: 63°-Tied.

2002

A total solar eclipse was experienced by millions of people from Africa to Australia, and from space. Some of the coolest images of the eclipse were from the International Space Station, where people onboard were able to observe the shadow created by the moon as it raced across the Earth's surface at 1,243 mph.

The Baltimore-Washington area was under Winter Storm Watches as low pressure developed along a stalled front across the Gulf Coast that moved through two days before. Low pressure moved from the Louisiana coast on the 4th to off the Carolina coast on the 5th. When it was over BWI/Marshall had picked up 7.4 inches, 6.2 inches at Dulles Airport in Sterling, VA and 6.1 inches at National airport in Washington, D.C.

2006

Aymen Ibrahem, an astronomer at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina rushes outside during a rainstorm in hopes of photograph a rainbow at Alexandria, Egypt. Instead he found a rare funnel cloud in the sky. It is unknown whether the funnel cloud touched down as a tornado.

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December 5th:

1886
A big snowstorm in the southeastern U.S. produced 11 inches at Montgomery, AL, 18.5 inches at Rome, GA, and 22.5 inches at Knoxville, TN.

1913
A major winter storm over the Rockies produced blizzard conditions across Denver, CO.  Snow fell for 40 consecutive hours measuring 37.6 inches. Winds gusted as high as 47 mph creating near white out conditions and drifts up to 5 feet high. Transportation was brought to a grinding halt for as much as a week. Structural damage occurred as roofs collapsed under the weight of the snow. The snow was remarkably moist for the time of year measuring 3.44 inches of liquid. The Foothills received even more snow.  Georgetown received 71 inches. Amounts in Wyoming totaled: 24 inches at Chugwater, 23.1 inches near Centennial and 21 inches at Cheyenne.

1941
Locations from Florida, parts of the Great Lakes and New England recorded late autumn warmth. Enosburg Falls soared to 72°to establish the state of Vermont’s high temperature record for the month of December. Other record high temperatures for the date included: West Palm Beach, FL: 90°, Fort Myers, FL: 86°, Key West, FL: 86°, Miami, FL: 86°, Burlington, VT: 67°, Concord, NH: 59°, Alpena, MI: 56° and Ste. St. Marie, MI: 51°.

1948
Canadian high pressure built in behind a cold front bringing chilly temperatures from parts of the Rockies to the West Coast. Record low temperatures for the date included: Bishop, CA: 6°, Winslow, AZ: 9°, Salt Lake City, UT: 11°, Las Vegas, NV: 18°, Santa Ana, CA: 28°, Riverside, CA: 28°, Escondido, CA: 31°, Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 37°, San Diego, CA: 38°, San Diego, CA: 38° and Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 39°.

1953
38 people were killed and 270 others injured as an F4 tornado struck Vicksburg, MS. This would be the last killer tornado in the very terrible tornado season of 1953. This was the most damage since the 47 days of continuous shelling the town received in the Civil War. Damage totaled $25 million dollars.

1958
Victorville, CA hit 85°, their highest temperature on record for December.

Other record highs temperatures for the date included: Yuma, AZ: 84°, New Orleans, LA: 82°, Pensacola, FL: 79°, El Paso, TX: 75°-Tied, Idyllwild, CA: 73°, Fresno, CA: 72°, Bishop, CA: 72°, Winslow, AZ: 71°, Albuquerque, NM: 68°, Reno, NV: 67° and Alamosa, CO: 59-Tied.

1968
High surf from an intense storm near Alaska swept rocks and seawater into pavilions at Onekahakaha Beach near Hilo, HI. Water reached 150 feet above the high-tide mark at Napili Beach and swept into the swimming pool and ground floor of a hotel there.

1972
A deep upper level low over central Canada created an incredible dip in the northern branch of the jet stream off the West Coast across the southwest out in to the Plains bringing a surge of brutally cold arctic air from the Plains to the West Coast. Record low temperatures for the date included: Glasgow, MT: -29°, Williston, ND: -28°, Helena, MT: -28°, Pocatello, ID: -25°, Aberdeen, SD: -22°, Rapid City, SD: -22° (broke previous record by 15 degrees), Great Falls, MT: -19°, Missoula, MT: -18°, Fargo, ND: -17°, Colorado Springs, CO: -16°, Billings, MT: -16°, Denver, CO: -15° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Pueblo, CO: -15°, Valentine, NE: -14°, Ely, NV: -14°, Burns, OR: -14°, North Platte, NE: -13°, Reno, NV: -12°, (broke previous record by 21 degrees), Winnemucca, NV: -10°, Kalispell, MT: -8°, Boise, ID: -6°, Salt Lake City, UT: -3° (broke previous record by 14 degrees), Clayton, NM: -2°, Pendleton, OR: 1° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Amarillo, TX: 4°, Grand Junction, CO: 8°-Tied, Medford, OR: 18°, Eugene, OR: 20°, Portland, OR: 20°, Salem, OR: 20°, Astoria, OR: 24°, Quillayute, WA: 25°, Sacramento, CA: 26°, Eureka, CA: 30°, San Francisco Airport, CA: 31° and Long Beach, CA: 37°.

1975
An F3 tornado struck Tulsa, OK during the late afternoon hours injuring 38 people and destroyed numerous structures, including homes and businesses.

1979
Upper level high pressure off the West Coast brought record high temperatures to parts of the west including: Santa Ana, CA: 89°, Palm Springs, CA: 89°, Long Beach, CA: 89°, Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 89°, Escondido, CA: 87°, Borrego Springs, CA: 85°, Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 85°, Sacramento, CA: 69°, San Francisco Airport, CA: 69°, Stockton, CA: 69° and St. Cloud, MN: 52°.

1981
An explosively deepening ocean storm southeast of New England caught forecasters off guard and unloaded heavy snow over New England. By the time it was all over on the 6th, Boston, MA was buried under 12.9 inches of snow. Some places south and west of Boston and in Rhode Island had over 2 feet.

1982
An unseasonal upper level ridge off the southeast coast was responsible for record high temperatures from the Ohio Valley to the East Coast including: Orlando, FL: 84°, Jacksonville, FL: 82°, Augusta, GA: 78°, Norfolk, VA: 78°, Richmond, VA: 77°, Cape Hatteras, NC: 77°, Wilmington, NC: 77°, Columbia, SC: 77°, Savannah, GA: 77°-Tied, Raleigh, NC: 76°, Charleston, WV: 75°, Charlotte, NC: 73°, Atlantic City, NJ: 73°, Lynchburg, VA: 73°, Huntington, WV: 73°, Washington, D.C.: 72°, Wilmington, DE: 72°, Greensboro, NC: 72°, Baltimore, MD: 71°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 71°, Elkins, WV: 71°, Harrisburg, PA: 70°, Philadelphia, PA: 70°, Bristol, TN: 70°, Rochester, NY: 68°, Erie, PA: 68°, Jackson, KY: 67°, Buffalo, NY: 67°, Syracuse, NY: 67°, Cincinnati, OH: 67°, Cleveland, OH: 67°, Allentown, PA: 67°, Wallops Island, VA: 67°, Akron, OH: 66°, Avoca, PA: 65°, Williamsport, PA: 65°, Fort Wayne, IN: 64°, South Bend, IN: 64°, Binghamton, NY: 64°, Grand Rapids, MI: 63°, Toledo, OH: 63°, Flint, MI: 62°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 62°, Mansfield, OH: 62°-Tied, Muskegon, MI: 60°, Detroit, MI: 60°-Tied and Houghton Lake, MI: 55°.

1984
A heavy snowfall, which began on the 4th, came to an end over central and northern Oklahoma. 6.1 inches fell at Oklahoma City, which set a new record for the heaviest snowfall for so early in the season. 10 inches of snow was measured at Skiatook.

In Florida, Daytona, Beach, FL set a record high with 84°.

1987
Heavy snow blanketed parts of the north central U.S., and freezing drizzle produced a coat of ice up to a half inch thick in northwestern Minnesota and eastern North Dakota. Snowfall totals ranged up to 7 inches at Grand Rapids, MN, and a foot at Seney, MI. High winds in the north central U.S. gusted to 63 mph at Pellston, MI, and reached 70 mph at Makinaw Bridge, MI.

A few locations across the Plains recorded record high temperatures for the date including: Roswell, NM: 77°, Amarillo, TX: 74°and Rapid City, SD: 67°.

1988
As a trough prevailed across the Northeast, a ridge across the Plains to the West Coast brought some record high temperatures including: Redding, CA: 68°, Norfolk, NE: 65°, Sheridan, WY: 62°-Tied, Huron, SD: 61°, Bismarck, ND: 60°-Tied and Quillayute, WA: 54°.

1989
A warm Pacific storm system brought high winds and heavy rain to western Washington and Oregon. Up to 10 inches of rain deluged the western slopes of the Cascade Mountain Range in Washington State over a 3-day period, and 500 people were evacuated due to flooding along the Skagit River. Up to 5 inches of rain drenched northwest Oregon, and winds gusted to 71 mph at Netarts.

A few locations from the Plains to the West Coast reported record high temperatures for the date including: Tulsa, OK: 77°-Tied, Grand Island, NE: 69°, Lincoln, NE: 69°, Concordia, KS: 69°-Tied, Flagstaff, AZ: 67°, Big Bear Lake, CA: 65° and Medford, OR: 63°.

1992
A major storm dropped 10 inches of snow on Sydney, Nova Scotia Canada as winds, gusting to 73 mph knocked out power.

1996
The first of two major storms brought extremely heavy snows to interior New England. Over a foot of snow fell from Northeastern Pennsylvania to Western Massachusetts through the 6th.

1998
An abnormally strong upper level and surface high pressure ridge extended from off the southeast coast to the Gulf of Mexico bringing widespread record high temperatures from the Plains & Midwest to the East Coast. Locations setting their all-time December high temperature record included: La Crosse, WI: 67°, Winona, MN: 65° and New Hampton, IA: 63°.

Locations reporting daily record high temperatures included: Orlando, FL: 84°-Tied, Houston, TX: 83°, Montgomery, AL: 83°-Tied, Baton Rouge, LA: 82°-Tied, Baton Rouge, LA: 82°-Tied, Meridian, MS: 81°, Columbia, SC: 81°, Augusta, GA: 80°, Wilmington, NC: 80°, Charleston, SC: 80°, Birmingham, AL: 79°, Huntsville, AL: 79°, Savannah, GA: 79°, Mobile, AL: 79°-Tied, Fort Smith, AR: 79°-Tied, Pensacola, FL: 79°-Tied, Tupelo, MS: 78°, Galveston, TX: 78°, Chattanooga, TN: 77°, Raleigh, NC: 76°-Tied, Washington, D.C.: 75°, Charlotte, NC: 75°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 75°, Atlanta, GA: 75°-Tied, Columbia, MO: 74°, Springfield, MO: 74°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 73°, St. Louis, MO: 72°, Asheville, NC: 72°, Harrisburg, PA: 72°, Greensboro, NC: 72°-Tied, Paducah, KY: 71°, Baltimore, MD: 71°-Tied, Evansville, IN: 68°, Erie, PA: 68°-Tied, Indianapolis, IN: 66°, Toledo, OH: 66°, Detroit, MI: 65°, Lansing, MI: 65°, Waterloo, IA: 64°-Tied, Flint, MI: 63°, Mansfield, OH: 63°, New York (Central Park), NY: 63°-Tied, Dubuque, IA: 62°, Madison, WI: 62°, Milwaukee, WI: 61°, Green Bay, WI: 56° and Minneapolis, MN: 54°.

1999
A fierce winter storm with winds of up to 109 mph battered Denmark leaving 6 people dead and many injured. Damage was estimated at more than $134.5 million. The sea level rose more than 16.5 feet above normal on the Danish west coast. This was the worst storm in Denmark this century.

2001
A strong low pressure system moved northeast from southeast South Dakota into northeast Minnesota. At the same time, a strong cold front moved east across the Upper Mississippi Valley. Strong thunderstorms developed along the cold front. The winds gusted to 50 mph at New Lisbon, WI and a severe thunderstorm produced nickel size hail just south of Eyota, MN. Strong southerly winds ahead of this cold front helped temperatures to climb into the lower and middle 60s across the region. Many record high temperatures were established for the date. Locations setting record high temperatures for December included: Holland, MI: 70°, Flint, MI: 70°, Grand Rapids, MI: 69°, Lansing, MI: 69°, Sparta, WI: 66° and Prairie du Chien, WI: 66°.

Locations reporting daily record high temperatures for the date included: Richmond, VA: 78°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 77°, Charleston, WV: 77°, Jackson, KY: 76°, Lynchburg, VA: 76°, Roanoke, VA: 76°, Huntington, WV: 76°, Raleigh, NC: 76°-Tied, Washington, D.C.: 75°, Baltimore, MD: 75°, Kansas City, MO: 74°, Bristol, TN: 74°, Elkins, WV: 74°, Topeka, KS: 73°, Wichita, KS: 73°, Louisville, KY: 73°, Harrisburg, PA: 73°, Pittsburgh, PA: 73°, Lexington, KY: 72°, Newark, NJ: 72°, Erie, PA: 72°, Wallops Island, VA: 72°, St. Louis, MO: 72°-Tied, Greensboro, NC: 72°-Tied, Nashville, TN: 72°-Tied, Cleveland, OH: 71°, Youngstown, OH: 71°, Philadelphia, PA: 71°, Evansville, IN: 70°, Indianapolis, IN: 70°, South Bend, IN: 70°, Islip, NY: 70°, New York (Central Park), NY: 70°, Cincinnati, OH: 70°, Columbus, OH: 70°, Toledo, OH: 70°, Oak Ridge, TN: 70°-Tied, Moline, IL: 69°, New York (LaGuardia), NY: 69°, Syracuse, NY: 69°, Akron, OH: 69°, Allentown, PA: 69°, Hartford, CT: 68°, Chicago, IL: 68°, Dayton, OH: 68°, Mansfield, OH: 68°, Providence, RI: 68°, Milwaukee, WI: 68°, Waterloo, IA: 67°, Peoria, IL: 67°, Rockford, IL: 67°, Fort Wayne, IN: 67°, Detroit, MI: 67°, Avoca, PA: 67°, Boston, MA: 66°, Omaha, NE: 66°, Williamsport, PA: 66°, Milton , MA: 65°, Alpena, MI: 65°, Albany, NY: 65°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 65°, Dubuque, IA: 64°, Houghton Lake, MI: 64°, Green Bay, WI: 64°, Madison, WI: 64°, Muskegon, MI: 63°, Minneapolis, MN: 63°, Bridgeport, CT: 62°, Ste. St. Marie, MI: 62° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Concord, NH: 62°, Worcester, MA: 61°, Portland, ME: 60° and Marquette, MI: 52°-Tied.

2002
An early season winter storm brought snow to the I-95 corridor of the Mid-Atlantic.  Snowfall totals included: 7.4 inches at Baltimore (BWI Airport), MD, 7 inches at Philadelphia, PA, 6.2 inches at Dulles Airport in Sterling, VA and 6.1 inches at Reagan-National Airport in Washington, D.C.

A major winter storm brought significant snow and ice accumulations to all of southern Illinois, beginning the previous morning and continuing into the morning on this date.  The precipitation was mostly snow, except in counties bordering the Ohio River, where the snow changed to an extended period of freezing rain. Ice accumulations were around a quarter of an inch from Cairo to Metropolis and Golconda. Snow accumulations across southern Illinois were generally 6 to 8 inches. Travel was heavily impacted as numerous vehicle accidents occurred. 

2003
On this date through the 7th, the greatest Nor'easter snowstorm in recent memory struck New York and New England. 14 inches fell in Central Park in New York City.  Providence, RI recorded its greatest single snowfall with 17 inches. The greatest accumulation buried Pinkham Notch at Mount Washington, NH with 47 inches.

2007
The morning temperature at Grand Forks bottomed out at -19°, shattering the previous record low set in 1972. It is the third time in five days that Grand Forks has set a low temperature record.

Surf with highest sets to 18 feet struck the coast of San Diego County, 10 feet in Orange County on this day through the 6th. Highway 101 in Cardiff was inundated with minor flooding. The Imperial Beach Pier sustained minor damage.

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December 6th:

1886
A great unprecedented snowstorm hit the southern range of the Appalachian Mountains dumping 42 inches of snow in three days. 33 inches fell at Asheville, NC with twice as much in the mountain passes and 25 inches fell at Rome, GA. Montgomery, AL received a record 11 inches and Columbia, SC picked up 11 inches of snow and 1 to 2 inches of sleet.

1950
A winter storm brought heavy snow to parts of the northern Plains and Midwest. Duluth, MN set their 24-hour snowfall record with 25.4 inches. Otherwise snowfall amounts generally ranged from 6 to 12 inches.

1970
A storm over the eastern U.S. produced high winds which toppled the national Christmas tree at the White House in Washington, D.C.

1971
Barcelona, Spain reported their wettest day on record as 7.72 inches of rain fell.

1972
Most of the country was under the influence of a massive deep upper level trough while Florida escaped the deep freeze with record high temperatures courtesy of an upper level ridge extending from off the southeast coast into the northern Caribbean. 

Some of the coldest December temperatures in history was recorded with some low temperatures well into the 20’s and 30’s below zero. Record low temperatures for the date included: Roundup, MT: -35° (also occurring two days later), Broadus, MT: -32°, Havre, MT: -31°, Medicene Bow, WY: -31°, Helena, MT: -30°, Williston, ND: -30°, Aberdeen, SD: -30°, Rochester, MN: -28°, Bismarck, ND: -28°, Sheridan, WY: -28° (broke previous record by 15 degrees), Miles City, MT: -27°, St. Cloud, MN: -27°, Fargo, ND: -26°, Lander, WY: -26° (broke previous record by 11 degrees),

Grand Forks, ND: -26°, Great Falls, MT: -25°, Huron, SD: -24°, Casper, WY: -24°, Valentine, NE: -23° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Sioux Falls, SD: -22°, Duluth, MN: -20°, Billings, MT: -20°, Rapid City, SD: -20°, Minneapolis, MN: -19°, Pueblo, CO: -19° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Cheyenne, WY: -19°, Scottsbluff, NE: -18° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Denver, CO: -17° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), La Crosse, WI: -16°, Colorado Springs, CO: -15° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), North Platte, NE: -15°, Green Bay, WI: -15°, Waterloo, IA: -12°, Pocatello, ID: -12°, Kalispell, MT: -12°, Madison, WI: -11°, Missoula, MT: -9°, Dubuque, IA: -8°, Milwaukee, WI: -7°, Dodge City, KS: -6°, Marquette, MI: -6°, Clayton, NM: -6°, Amarillo, TX: -1°, Chicago, IL: 0°, Peoria, IL: 0°, Boise, ID: 7°, Muskegon, MI: 8°, Eugene, OR: 15°, Astoria, OR: 16° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Quillayute, WA: 20°, Portland, OR: 22°-Tied and San Francisco Airport, CA: 37°-Tied.

Escaping the relentless cold, locations in Florida reported record high temperatures for the date including: West Palm Beach, FL: 87°, Fort Myers, FL: 86°, Orlando, FL: 86°, Daytona Beach, FL: 85° and Tampa, FL: 83°-Tied.

1982
High pressure off the East Coast brought record high temperatures from parts of the Ohio Valley to the East Coast including: Orlando, FL: 86°-Tied, Cape Hatteras, NC: 77°, Newark, NJ: 72°, Boston, MA: 70° (followed by a record high December minimum of 57°), Harrisburg, PA: 70°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 70°, Wilmington, DE: 69°, New York (Central Park), NY: 68°, Syracuse, NY: 68°, Allentown, PA: 68°, Philadelphia, PA: 68°, Hartford, CT: 67°, Worcester, MA: 67°-Tied, Binghamton, NY: 65°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 65°, Avoca, PA: 65°-Tied, Concord, NH: 63°, Albany, NY: 63°, Burlington, VT: 63°, Portland, ME: 61° and Caribou, ME: 54°.

1987
Another in a series of storms brought high winds and heavy rain to the northwestern U.S., with heavy snow in some of the higher elevations. In northern California, Crescent City was drenched with 2.58 inches of rain, and winds gusted to 90 mph. Up to 14 inches of snow blanketed the mountains of northern California, and snow and high winds created blizzard conditions around Lake Tahoe, NV.

1988
The morning low at Bismarck, ND was 11 degrees warmer than the low of 25°at Meridian, MS. During the afternoon, several cities from the Lakes to the northwestern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date, including: Redding, CA: 67°, Big Bear Lake, CA: 62°, Portland, OR: 60°, Salem, OR: 60°-Tied, Alpena, MI: 57°, Madison, WI: 53°and Ste. St. Marie, MI: 48°-Tied

1989
Heavy snow blanketed the Central Rocky Mountain Region. Totals in the southern foothills of Colorado ranged up to 17 inches at Rye. Arctic air invaded the north central U.S.  International Falls, MN was the cold spot in the nation with a morning low of -9°, and temperatures in northern Minnesota hovered near zero throughout the day. Islip, NY plunges to a record low of 18°. 

A few locations out west and one in Kentucky reported record high temperatures for the date. Borrego Springs, CA tied their December record high with 87°. Other record highs included: Redding, CA: 69°, Sacramento, CA: 68°, Stockton, CA: 68°and Jackson, KY: 65°.

1994
An intense winter storm blasted areas of the south-central Plains to the Midwest bringing everything from ice to heavy snow. A significant ice storm struck much of southwest Kansas coating surfaces with one half to 1 inch of ice. A tremendous amount of tree damage occurred. According to the electric companies there were communities without power for several hours. One traffic fatality was blamed on icy roads.

A heavy snow and ice event covered most of the northern two-thirds of Iowa. Much of the southern third of Iowa received freezing rain and sleet bringing down many trees and tree limbs as well as numerous power lines. At one time or another, nearly 300,000 residents lost power, some for as long as four days. To the north of the ice, heavy snow fell with 6 to 12 inches common. Dubuque and Ames received nearly a foot. Boone and Shelby received about 11 inches, Little Sioux had 10 inches and the town of Oelwein recorded 6 inches. Damage was well into the millions of dollars across the state of Iowa from this event.

1996
A tightly wrapped 990 millibar (29.23 inHg) low dumped unexpected heavy wet snow over eastern Pennsylvania, southeastern New York, and southern New England.  Snowfall totals included 19 inches at Tobyhanna, PA, 18 inches at Cornwall, CT, 17.6 inches at Worthington, MA, and 16 inches at East Jewett, NY.  Winds gusted to 75 mph at Nantucket, MA and to nearly 100 mph offshore from a ship on Georges Bank.

1997
The heaviest rains in 70 years struck Orange County, California with 4 to 8 inches of rainfall starting on this day and ending on 12.7. Ten inches was recorded at Mission Viejo and over 4 inches at Corona. Heavy downpours also hit the Victor Valley. Widespread flooding resulted in Orange County, along with mud slides and coastal erosion in Laguna Beach. Flooding also occurred in Corona and several communities of Victor Valley. Mud flowed through Adelanto.

1998
This was one of the wildest weather days in recent memory with just about all weather imaginable. 

One of the worst cold season derechoes ever recorded hit northern Indiana and northwest Ohio. Strong storms damaged a house in Elkhart, blew down trees and power lines in Markle, and spread 70 to 100 mph winds throughout northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio. 82 mph winds were observed at Grissom Air Reserve Base, where the roof was ripped off of a warehouse. Widespread damage to structures, trees and power lines were reported.

A tremendous upper level ridge brought widespread record highs from the Plains to the East Coast. The following locations in Wisconsin recorded their highest December temperatures: Platteville, WI: 64°, Richland Center, WI: 64° and Mauston, WI: 63°. 

Other daily record highs included: Brownsville, TX: 85°-Tied, Tampa, FL: 83°-Tied, Augusta, GA: 82°, Columbia, SC: 82°, Mobile, AL: 81°, Wilmington, NC: 81°, Charleston, SC: 81°, Richmond, VA: 81°, New Orleans, LA: 81°-Tied, Shreveport, LA: 81°-Tied, Savannah, GA: 80°, Raleigh, NC: 80°, Roanoke, VA: 80°, Galveston, TX: 79°, Pensacola, FL: 79°, Norfolk, VA: 79°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 79°, Tupelo, MS: 79°-Tied, Birmingham, AL: 78°, Washington, D.C.: 78°, Charlotte, NC: 78°, Lynchburg, VA: 78°, Athens, GA: 77°, Baltimore, MD: 77°, Chattanooga, TN: 77°, Little Rock, AR: 77°-Tied, Macon, GA: 77°-Tied, Huntsville, AL: 76°, Greensboro, NC: 76°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 76°, Nashville, TN: 76°, Memphis, TN: 76°-Tied, Charleston, WV: 75°, Huntington, WV: 75°-Tied, Atlanta, GA: 74°, Knoxville, TN: 74°, Oak Ridge, TN: 74°, Evansville, IN: 73°, Indianapolis, IN: 73°, Jackson, KY: 73°, Cincinnati, OH: 73°, Columbus, OH: 73°, Harrisburg, PA: 73°, Asheville, NC: 73°-Tied, Lexington, KY: 72°, Dayton, OH: 72°, Louisville, KY: 72°-Tied, Paducah, KY: 72°-Tied, St. Louis, MO: 72°-Tied, Cleveland, OH: 70°, Pittsburgh, PA: 70°, Elkins, WV: 70°-Tied, Fort Wayne, IN: 69°, Detroit, MI: 69°, Atlantic City, NJ: 69°, Buffalo, NY: 69°, Syracuse, NY: 69°, Toledo, OH: 69°, Youngstown, OH: 69°, Erie, PA: 69°, Philadelphia, PA: 69°, Williamsport, PA: 69°, Rochester, NY: 68°, Islip, NY: 67°, New York (LaGuardia), NY: 67°, Akron, OH: 67°, Mansfield, OH: 67°-Tied, Flint, MI: 66°, Avoca, PA: 66°, South Bend, IN: 65°, Lansing, MI: 65°, Alpena, MI: 57°-Tied, Madison, WI: 56°, Milwaukee, WI: 56°, Houghton Lake, MI: 55°, Green Bay, WI: 52°and Ste. St. Marie, MI: 50°.

With the ridge in the east, a trough across the west brought chilly unsettled weather. 

Phoenix, AZ saw their first snow since 1994 and Las Vegas picked up its heaviest snow since 1967 with 2 inches.  Over 45 accidents were reported in just a 3 hour period.

Redding, CA plunged to a record low with 25°.

In Nevada, Snow fell across the Las Vegas valley and most places recorded 2 inches on the ground. Over 45 accidents were reported in just a 3 hour period. US 95 between Eastern and Las Vegas Boulevard had to be closed due to the number of accidents.

2001
The ridge off the southeast coast held a cold front at bay bringing one more day of record warm temperatures. Atop Mount Washington, NH (elevation 6,288 feet), the temperature reached 47°, setting their highest temperature ever recorded in the month of December.

Other daily record highs included: Tampa, FL: 83°-Tied, Atlanta, GA: 75°, Hartford, CT: 74°, Newark, NJ: 74°, Atlantic City, NJ: 73°, Wilmington, DE: 72°, Boston, MA: 72°, Concord, NH: 72°, New York (LaGuardia), NY: 72°, Syracuse, NY: 72°, Philadelphia, PA: 72°, Providence, RI: 72°, Wallops Island, VA: 72°, Portland, ME: 71° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), New York (Central Park), NY: 71°, Milton, MA: 70°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 70°, Allentown, PA: 70°, Albany, NY: 68°, Rochester, NY: 68°-Tied, Bridgeport, CT: 67°, Worcester, MA: 67°-Tied, Burlington, VT: 64°, Alpena, MI: 62°, Ste. St. Marie, MI: 58°, Houghton Lake, MI: 57°and Caribou, ME: 56°.

2003
A major Nor'easter pounded regions of the Canadian Maritimes. Moncton, New Brunswick Canada received 24 inches of snow. Whipped by winds of up to 60 mph, the snow grounded planes and cut power to thousands of residents.

On this date through the 7th, heavy rains from Tropical Storm Odette, packing sustained winds of 65 mph, dumped up to 7 inches of rain in southern areas of the Dominican Republic.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
December 7th:

1740
In early December, two weeks of mild and rainy weather culminated in the worst flood in 50 years in the Lower Connecticut River Valley. The Merrimack River swelled to its highest level, and in Maine the raging waters swept away mills, carried off bridges, and ruined highways.

1830
The winter of 1830-31 was known as the "Winter of the Deep Snow" in Illinois. Records from Fort Armstrong (present-day Moline), Fort Dearborn (present-day Chicago), and Augusta indicated that heavy snowfall of 2 to 3 feet had fallen during the month of December. This severe winter, along with a poor corn harvest, compelled northern Illinoisans to seek grain in southern parts of the state, which had escaped the extreme conditions of the north. The furnishing of grain led to the use of the term "Little Egypt" being used to describe southern Illinois.

1935
On this date through the 8th, severe flooding hit parts of the Houston, TX area. Eight people were killed as 100 city blocks were inundated. The town of Satsuma reported 16.49 inches of rain.  

1938
Record December warmth prevailed across parts of the west. Palm Springs, Ca tied their highest temperature on record for December with 93° (12/3/1958).

Other locations reporting record high temperatures for the date included: Santa Maria, CA: 90°, Escondido, CA: 88°, Santa Ana, CA: 87°, Riverside, CA: 87°, Yuma, AZ: 83°, Las Vegas, NV: 76°, Eugene, OR: 67°, Pendleton, OR: 64°, Salem, OR: 61°, Seattle, WA: 57° and Spokane, WA: 54°.

1971
A strong Mono Wind event occurred during the evening hours producing wind speeds estimated at over 70 mph across Yosemite National Park by the U.S. Park Service. Over 200 trees were downed here and the ski lift at Badger Pass was severely damaged. Trees also fell down in the North Fork and Big Creek areas of the Sierra National Forest.

1972
Brutal record cold prevailed from the Lakes to the Pacific Northwest. Record low temperatures for the date included: Great Falls, MT: -30°, Williston, ND: -30°, Bismarck, ND: -28°, Rochester, MN: -28°, Helena, MT: -28°, Green Bay, WI: -21°, Minneapolis, MN: -20°, Billings, MT: -20°, Casper, WY: -18°, Sheridan, WY: -18°,

Madison, WI: -15°, Rapid City, SD: -12°: Tied, Pueblo, CO: -11°, Missoula, MT: -10°, Dubuque, IA: -9°, Marquette, MI: -8°, Burns, OR: -8°, Pendleton, OR: -7° (broke previous record by 14 degrees), Alpena, MI: -6°, Eugene, OR: -6° (broke previous record by 29 degrees), Pocatello, ID: -5°, Spokane, WA: -5°, Grand Rapids, MI: -4°, Salem, OR: -4° (broke previous record by 24 degrees), Boise, ID: 0°, Medford, OR: 1° (broke previous record by 16 degrees), Lewiston, ID: 2°, Muskegon, MI: 2°, Olympia, WA: 5°, Astoria, OR: 10° (broke previous record by 17 degrees), Quillayute, WA: 13°, Portland, OR: 17° and Austin (Bergstrom), TX: 40°.

Most of Florida escaped the deep freeze and a few locations reported record high temperatures for the date including: Vero Beach, FL: 87°, Fort Myers, FL: 86° and Tampa, FL: 85-Tied°.

1977
Snow, mostly lake-effect, born with winds gusting to 62 mph dumped 39.8 inches of snow at London, Ontario Canada.

1978
It was a frigid day across the west with numerous record low temperatures including:  Flagstaff, AZ: -19° (broke previous record by 13 degrees), North Platte, NE: -15°, Colorado Springs, CO: -13°, Missoula, MT: -12°, Winslow, AZ: -10° (broke previous record by 18 degrees), Goodland, KS: -9°, Grand Junction, CO: 0°, Big Bear Lake, CA: 5°, Idyllwild, CA: 10°, Palomar Mountain, CA: 11°, Victorville, CA: 12°, Bishop, CA: 13°, Fresno, CA: 25°, Phoenix, AZ: 27°, Riverside, CA: 28°, Eureka, CA: 28°, Sacramento, CA: 29°, Stockton, CA: 29°, Yuma, AZ: 30°, Borrego Springs, CA: 31°, Long Beach, CA: 31°-Tied, Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 32° and Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 37°.

Locations reporting record high minimum temperatures for the date included: Big Bear Lake, CA: 18°, Palomar Mountain, CA: 28°, Idyllwild, CA: 29°, Victorville, CA: 40°, Riverside, CA: 50°, Palm Springs, CA: 54°, San Diego, CA: 55°, Santa Ana, CA: 55° and Borrego Springs, CA: 55°.

In contrast, locations across from Texas to Florida set record high temperatures for the date including: Orlando, FL: 90°, Fort Myers, FL: 90°, Miami, FL: 86°, Tampa, FL: 86°, Jackson, MS: 84°, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 84°, Daytona, Beach, FL: 84°-Tied, Jacksonville, FL: 82°, Savannah, GA: 82°, Meridian, MS: 82°, Tallahassee, FL: 81°, Charleston, SC: 81°-Tied, Columbus, GA: 79° and Lake Charles, LA: 78°,

1983
Snow accumulated to 12 inches as a blizzard struck Ottawa, Ontario Canada

1987
Another in a series of storms hit the northwestern U.S., with wind gusts over 100 mph reported at Cape Blanco, OR. While snow and gusty winds accompanied a cold front crossing the Rockies, strong westerly winds, gusting to 93 mph at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder CO, helped temperatures in western Kansas reach the 60s for the sixth day in a row.  

Heavy rain fell across eastern Puerto Rico, with 19.41 inches reported at Las Piedras. Flooding caused $5 million dollars damage. 

1988
An upper level low brought up to 18 inches of snow to the Colorado Rockies, with 14 inches at Boulder, CO, and 4 to 8 inches across metro Denver caused numerous flight delays and traffic mayhem. Heavy snow blanketed New Mexico the following day, with 15 inches reported near Ruidoso.

1989
A storm moving out of the Central Rocky Mountain Region spread snow across Kansas and Oklahoma into Arkansas and Tennessee. Six inches of snow accumulated on parts of northwest and north-central Oklahoma, while one to two inches accumulated over central and eastern Oklahoma. The widespread snowfall led to slick and hazardous road conditions, which contributed to many traffic accidents. Snowfall totals ranged up to 7.5 inches at Winfield, KS. Freezing rain on trees and power lines cut off electricity to 24,000 homes in northeastern Arkansas, and 40,000 homes in the Nashville, TN area were without electricity for several hours.

A few locations enjoyed record high temperatures. Borrego Springs, CAtied their December high with 87°(12/6, 12/8 & 12/28/1980).

Los Angeles (LAX), CA hit 82°, setting a daily record high while San Diego, CA tied their record high with 80°.   

1995
A dense icy fog covered much of Northwest Missouri reducing visibilities to less than a quarter of a mile and to near zero in some locations. With temperatures well below freezing, the fog formed a thick frost which also built up on bridges and overpasses. The combination of heavy frost on roadways and poor visibility made for several minor traffic accidents during morning rush hour.

1996
A rapidly deepening coastal storm crossed New England, giving the region its second heavy snowfall in as many days. 20.5 inches of snow fell at Groton, VT, 19.5 inches was recorded at New Ipswich, NH, 18 inches piled up at Ashburnham, MA, and 16.5 inches was measured at Union, CT. Over eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire, the snow was extremely wet. Snow was still on trees and other objects from the previous day's storm, and this combined with the new snow and some rain mixing in resulted in an enormous amount of tree damage. Over 900,000 people lost power with 500,000 in Massachusetts alone. 113,000 people in Massachusetts were without power for several days. This was the most extensive and costliest weather related power outage in New Hampshire's history as 94,000 lost power during the storm.

A short-lived but strong F2 tornado touched down just east of I-75 near Riverview, FL that completely destroyed three mobile homes and damaged six others. One person and three dogs were killed when the occupants of an unanchored mobile home was lifted up by tornadic winds and tossed nearly 100 feet from it's foundation into a neighbor's yard where it disintegrated on impact. At least five parked cars were damaged by the tornado along with several sheds and outbuildings.

1998
It was another day of incredible warmth across the East as many cities reported all-time record highs for the month of December. 73° at Concord, NH and 71° at Portland, ME were not only records for the month, but their warmest winter season (December-February) readings ever. Overall, 70 all-time December temperature records and 700 daily records were broken during the first 8 days of the month as an unprecedented late autumn heat wave occurred from the Rockies to the East Coast.

The following locations set their all-time December record high: Wilmington, NC: 82°, Richmond, VA: 81°-Tied, Washington, D.C.: 79°, Lynchburg, VA: 79°-Tied, Greensboro, NC: 78°-Tied, Atlantic City, NJ: 77°, Islip, NY: 77° (broke previous daily record by 19 degrees), Providence, RI: 77° (broke previous daily record by 14 degrees), Baltimore, MD: 77°-Tied, Newark, NJ: 76°, Boston, MA: 76° (broke previous daily record by 10 degrees), Windsor Locks and Bridgeport, CT: 76° (broke daily record by 14 degrees), Hartford, CT: 76° (broke previous daily record by 14 degrees), New York (Central Park), NY: 75°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 75° (broke previous daily record by 16 degrees), New York (LaGuardia), NY: 75°, Harrisburg, PA: 75°-Tied, Milton, MA: 74° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Concord, NH: 73°, Philadelphia, PA: 73°-Tied, Worcester, MA: 72° and Portland, ME: 71°-Tied (broke previous daily record by 12 degrees),

Locations reporting daily record highs for the date included: Houston, TX: 84°, Meridian, MS: 84°, Augusta, GA: 82°, Savannah, GA: 82°-Tied, Mobile, AL: 81°, Tallahassee, FL: 81°-Tied, Charleston, SC: 81°-Tied, Raleigh, NC: 80°, Columbia, SC: 80°, Galveston, TX: 79°, Norfolk, VA: 79°, Roanoke, VA: 77°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 77°, Charlotte, NC: 76°, Asheville, NC: 75°, Oak Ridge, TN: 75°, Wilmington, DE: 72°, Allentown, PA: 71°, Syracuse, NY: 70°, Buffalo, NY: 69°, Rochester, NY: 69°, Cincinnati, OH: 69°, Columbus, OH: 69°, Avoca, PA: 69°, Erie, PA: 69°, Williamsport, PA: 69°, Dayton, OH: 68°, Lexington, KY: 68°-Tied, Jackson, KY: 67°, Cleveland, OH: 67°, Mansfield, OH: 67°, Youngstown, OH: 67°, Burlington, VT: 67°, Akron, OH: 66°, Albany, NY: 65° and Binghamton, NY: 62°-Tied.

An trough dug in out west bringing unsettled consitions with some record lows for the date including: Bishop, CA: 8°, Sacramento, CA: 27°, Dana Point, CA: 29°, Mission Viejo, CA: 29°, San Clemente, CA: 29°, Stockton, CA: 29°-Tied, Capistrano Beach, CA: 30°,  Escondido, CA: 32° and Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 37°-Tied.

2002
Fog reduced visibility on I-65 near the Tennessee River in Northern Alabama during the early morning hours. A tractor trailer jackknifed, leading to a chain reaction accident that involved 18 vehicles.

2004
A quick 12 hour snow burst in the southern Sierra Mountains produced 13 inches at Hume Lake, CA, 13 inches at Lodgepole, CA and 15 inches at Shaver Lake, CA.

2006
Valentine, NE residents experience and 80 degree temperature rise in about 36 hours from -14° to 66°.

2007
A tornado swept through a northwest London suburb leaving a trail of destruction, damaging homes and vehicles. The tornado injured six people.

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December 8th

1876
The term "blizzard" was coined for the first time in an article in the U.S. Weather Bureau's Monthly Weather Review.

1886
Ireland's lowest pressure of 27.38 inHg was reported at Belfast.

1892
A tremendous ice storm occurred at Gay Hill, TX.  Ice accumulated 4 to 6 inches thick.

1913
On this date through the 9th, heavy rains of more than 4 inches caused mudslides and train derailments at Canada’s rainiest location: Prince Rupert, British Columbia Canada.

1938
It was 100° at La Mesa, the national maximum temperature record for December. Los Angeles, CA saw their temperature reach 92°, the only time that 90° had been exceeded in December in the city's history.

Other record highs for the date included: Palm Springs, CA: 89°, Riverside, CA: 89°, Santa Ana, CA: 88°, San Diego, CA: 84°, Las Vegas, NV: 77°, Missoula, MT: 60°, Eugene, OR: 60°-Tied, Helena, MT: 59°, Salt Lake City, UT: 58°, Lewiston, ID: 58°-Tied, Spokane, WA: 56° and Kalispell, MT: 55°.

1946
Many locations from the Missouri Valley, Midwest to the Great Lakes set record high temperatures. Charles City and Osage, IA recorded their highest December temperatures on record with 63° and 62° respectively. Other daily record highs included: Topeka, KS: 70°, St. Louis, MO: 70°, Kansas City, MO: 69°, Des Moines, IA: 69°, Omaha, NE, 68°, Springfield, IL: 67°, Evansville, IN: 67°, Moline, IL: 66°, Peoria, IL: 66°, Waterloo, IA: 65°, Fort Wayne, IN: 65°, Indianapolis, IN: 65°, Chicago, IL: 64°, Dubuque, IA: 63°, Milwaukee, WI: 63°, Grand Rapids, MI: 61°, Green Bay, WI: 60°, La Crosse, WI: 60°, Madison, WI: 60°, Flint, MI: 59°, Lansing, MI: 59°, Rochester, MN: 58°, Muskegon, MI: 57° and Houghton Lake, MI: 56°.

1963
Pan American Flight 214, a Boeing 707, crashed in open country east of Elkton, MD after being struck by lightning, killing all 81 people on board. The lightning apparently caused an explosion in one of the outboard wing tanks.

1971
6.8 inches of snow fell at Tucson, AZ for the city's biggest snowstorm on record.

1972
Brutal record cold held a firm grip from the Rockies to the West Coast. The low at Billings, MT was a record at -25°, and the high was only -14°. This was the 3rd straight day that the high temp did not exceed -11°.

Record low temperatures for the date included: Great Falls, MT: -36°, Helena, MT: -35° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Havre, MT: -33°, Sheridan, WY: -30°, Billings, MT: -25°, Winnemucca, NV: -25°, Pocatello, ID: -24° (broke previous record by 15 degrees), Rapid City, SD: -23°, Fargo, ND: -21°, Kalispell, MT: -20°, Burns, OR: -20°, Missoula, MT: -19°, Boise, ID: -19° (broke previous record by 17 degrees), Casper, WY: -19°, Eugene, OR: -12° (broke previous record by 30 degrees), Salem, OR: -12° (broke previous record by 29 degrees), Reno, NV: -12° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Pendleton, OR: -11° (broke previous record by 14 degrees), Spokane, WA: -11°, Yakima, WA: -7°, Medford, OR: -6° (broke previous record by 19 degrees), Olympia, WA: -3°, Astoria, OR: 6° (broke previous record by 14 degrees), Quillayute, WA: 7°, Portland, OR: 8° (broke previous record by 18 degrees), Seattle, WA: 13°, Eureka, CA: 25°, Sacramento, CA: 25° and San Francisco Airport, CA: 30°.

The sunshine state lived up to its name with a few locations reporting record highs including: Fort Myers, FL: 88°, Orlando, FL: 86° and Tampa, FL: 86°.

1978
Record cold prevailed from the Rockies to the west coast thanks to a strong and deep upper level trough. Alamosa, CO tied their December record low with -42°. Other daily record lows for the date included: Flagstaff, AZ: -23° (broke previous record by 15 degrees), Pueblo, CO: -23° (broke previous record by 14 degrees), St. Cloud, MN: -22°, Sioux City, IA: -19°, North Platte, NE: -17°, Colorado Springs, CO: -14°, Grand Junction, CO: -12° (broke previous record by 15 degrees), Goodland, KS: -11°, Winslow, AZ: -10° (broke previous record by 15 degrees), Denver, CO: -10°, Clayton, NM: -7°, Roswell, NM: -7° (broke previous record by 13 degrees), Idyllwild, CA: 8°, Bishop, CA: 8°, Palomar Mountain, CA: 14°, Victorville, CA: 14°, Midland-Odessa, TX: 15°, San Angelo, TX: 18°, Santa Maria, CA: 21°, Stockton, CA: 22°, Las Vegas, NV: 23°-Tied, Fresno, CA: 25°, Sacramento, CA: 25°-Tied, Riverside, CA: 27°, Palm Springs, CA: 29°, Borrego Springs, CA: 29°, San Francisco Airport, CA: 29°, Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 30°, Long Beach, CA: 31°, Yuma, AZ: 31°, Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 33°-Tied and San Diego, CA: 34°.

Meanwhile, an upper level ridge off the southeast coast brought record high temperatures to parts of the southeast including: Fort Myers, FL: 90°, Orlando, FL: 88°, Daytona Beach, FL: 85°, Key West, FL: 85°, Vero Beach, FL: 85°-Tied, Jacksonville, FL: 83°, Columbia, SC: 83°, Savannah, GA: 82°, Charleston, SC: 82°, New Orleans, LA: 82°-Tied, Meridian, MS: 81°, Pensacola, FL: 80°, Wilmington, NC: 80°, Columbus, GA: 79°, Raleigh, NC: 78°, Bristol, TN: 77°, Chattanooga, TN: 77°, Richmond, VA: 77°, Norfolk, VA: 77°-Tied, Atlanta, GA: 76°, Tupelo, MS: 76°-Tied, Knoxville, TN: 75°-Tied, Cape Hatteras, NC: 74°, Washington, D.C.: 74°, Roanoke, VA: 73°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 72° and Oak Ridge, TN: 72°-Tied.

1987
A cold front crossing the northwestern U.S. continued to produce high winds along the coast, and heavy snow blanketed parts of the western U.S. Snowfall totals in the mountains of western Nevada ranged up to 18 inches at Heavenly Valley, and near the Boreal Ski Resort. Winds at Reno, NV gusted to 56 mph.

Goodland, KS, which one day earlier was 63°, was blanketed with 2 inches of snow.

Thunderstorms over southern Florida deluged the Florida Keys with up to 5 inches of rain. Strong winds, gusting to 48 mph at Gage, OK, ushered wintry weather into the Central Plains.  

1988
Santa Anawinds buffeted southern California, with gusts to 92 mph reported at Laguna Peak. The high winds unroofed buildings, and downed trees and power lines, ignited 5 major fires, and numerous smaller ones. Damage was estimated at $20 million dollars.

A few locations reported record highs included: Sacramento, CA: 71°-Tied, Redding, CA: 69°and San Francisco Airport, CA: 69°.

1989
A winter storm spread snow and freezing rain across much of the Atlantic Coast Region, from Georgia to New Jersey. Snowfall totals ranged up to 7 inches, at Staunton, VA and Tobacco, MD. Up to 6 inches of snow blanketed the mountains of northern Georgia. More than 100 auto accidents were reported in Gwinnett County, GA.

Behind the storm Houghton Lake and Marquette, MI set record lows for the date with -9° and -3° respectively.

Out west, it was 87° at Borrego Springs, tying the highest temperature on record for December. Other record highs included: Reno, NV: 66° and Lewiston, ID: 60°.

1991
A late-season outbreak of severe thunderstorms ahead of a cold front moved across central Illinois. Baseball-size hail was reported at Manito in Mason County, as well as Tremont in Tazewell County. In Menard County, tennis-ball size hail was reported at Petersburg. A tornado touched down near the town of McLean and moved east to near Heyworth. This tornado caused some damage to a manufacturing plant, as well as several outbuildings on farms along the storm's path.

A southwesterly flow ahead of the front brought record high temperatures to parts of the Missouri Valley.  Columbia, MO recorded their highest December temperature with 76°.  Other daily record highs for the date included: Fort Smith, AR: 80°, Springfield, MO: 77°, St. Louis, MO: 74°, Tulsa, OK: 73°, Peoria, IL: 69°, Springfield, IL: 68°, Moline, IL: 67°, Rockford, IL: 60° and Yakima, WA: 53°.

1995
Two to five inches of snow fell in advance of an arctic cold front followed by a change to sharply colder temperatures across the Missouri Valley. Rapidly falling temperatures after the snow ended kept roads very slippery and wind chills dipped to -20° to -35°.

1996
The same coastal storm the dumped heavy snow over central and northern New England produced 3 inches of rain at the Blue Hill Observatory in Milton, MA. This pushed its yearly rainfall to 65.77 inches. This set a new record for yearly rainfall for a site that has kept records at a relatively unchanged climatological location for 110 years. This new record was broken only two years later, in 1998.

1998
The latest first freeze at Oklahoma City, OK occurred on this date. On average, the first freeze can be expected around November 4th.

2000
California braced for blackouts as the state continued to experience an electrical power crisis. Abnormally cold temperatures, 10 to 20 degrees below normal, pushed power demands to critical levels. The state warned that it was facing a Staff 3 crisis, where mandatory blackouts would occur.

2002
A tragedy unfolded as residents in North Carolina started using unorthodox methods to keep warm during the state's worst ice storm ever. Over 100 people were hospitalized and two died from carbon monoxide poisoning. One man died after using a charcoal grill to heat his home and another died while using a generator in an enclosed sun-porch area. National Guardsmen went door to door to caution residents about heating their homes improperly and to notify them about the availability of shelters.

Super Typhoon Pongsona crossed Guam as one of the worst typhoons to ever strike the island. It gained Super-Typhoon status with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph. Tiyan recorded 19.67 inches of rain, a new record for daily rainfall during December.

2005
An upper level low over the central Plains combined with an upper level trough brought record low temperatures from the Plains to the Ohio Valley. Record lows for the date included: Scottsbluff, NE: -20°, Topeka, KS: -16°: Tied, Denver, CO: -11°, Goodland, KS: -11°-Tied, Amarillo, TX: -3°, Fort Wayne, IN: -2°, Mansfield, OH: 1°, Youngstown, OH: 1°, Grand Rapids, MI: 2°, Muskegon, MI: 2°, Midland-Odessa, TX: 6°, Wichita Falls, TX: 9°, Abilene, TX: 10°, San Angelo, TX: 12°, Waco, TX: 19°, Jackson, KY: 22°-Tied, Del Rio, TX: 23°, Austin, TX: 23°-Tied, Austin (Bergstrom), TX: 25° and Victoria, TX: 28°.

2008
A low pressure system developed over the southern Plains with a warm front running well northeast of the low center, extending into the Great Lake States. Warm, moist air pushed into and north of this boundary, resulting in areas of precipitation across Iowa and Illinois in the morning, moving north in the early afternoon. Much of this precipitation fell as freezing rain and sleet, with ice accumulations of an eighth to as much as a half inch. By mid to late afternoon, precipitation blossomed across southern Minnesota and central and southern Wisconsin. While there was some sleet associated with this precipitation, the dominant precipitation type was snow. In the evening, snow, moderate to heavy at times, fell across Minnesota and Wisconsin. Over northeast Iowa and southwest Wisconsin, a wintery mix affected these areas initially, but transitioned to all snow after sunset. Snowfall rates from a half to one inch per hour occurred with the moderate to heavy snow bands. Accumulations generally ranged from 6 to 12 inches.

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December 9th:





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December 10th:
People tend to be a lot more depressed in the winter than in the summer, but it seems that it is the dark and not the cold that does it. It is estimated that around 35 million Americans suffer to some degree from Seasonal Affective Disorder (also known as SAD) or the "winter blues" caused by reduced sunlight. It is suspected that there is actually a change in brain chemistry in response to the reduction in exposure to sunlight.

1699
A severe ice storm hit Boston, MA causing extensive damage to orchards.

1904
Heavy snow occurred in the Mid-Atlantic with 10 inches at Baltimore, MD and 7 inches of snow reported at Washington D.C.

1919
Cheyenne, WY reported the last of five straight days of snow. On this date, they set a daily record with 9.3 inches and 18.6 inches over the five days.

A 28 inch snowfall in 24 hours at Bend, OR set a new 24 hour snowfall record for the state.

Record low temperatures were set from the Plains to the West Coast including: Glasgow, MT: -32°, Waterloo, IA: -29° (broke previous record by 14 degrees), Havre, MT: -28°, Williston, ND: -27°, Bismarck, ND: -26°, Norfolk, NE: -26°, Duluth, MN: -23°, Scottsbluff, NE: -22°, Rochester, MN: -21°, Lander, WY: -21°: Tied, Great Falls, MT: -20°, Valentine, NE: -20°, Lincoln, NE: -20°, Rockford, IL: -20°, North Platte, NE: -19°, Des Moines, IA: -19°, Grand Junction, CO: -18°, Dubuque, IA: -18°, La Crosse, WI: -18°, Omaha, NE: -16°, Sioux City, IA: -16°, Madison, WI: -16°, Green Bay, WI: -15°, Concordia, KS: -14°, Moline, IL: -14°, Goodland, KS: -11°, South Bend, IN: -10°, Topeka, KS: -9°, Milwaukee, WI: -9°, Peoria, IL: -9°, Chicago, IL: -8°, Dodge City, KS: -6°, Grand Island, NE: -6°: Tied, Kansas City, MO: -5°, Wichita, KS: -3°, Clayton, NM: 1°, Oklahoma City, OK: 3°, Tulsa, OK: 3°-Tied, Muskegon, MI: 8°, Seattle, WA: 18°, Waco, TX: 18°, Victoria, TX: 26°, Del Rio, TX: 27°, Houston, TX: 27°, Corpus Christi, TX: 28°, Santa Ana, CA: 30° and Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 30°.

Gainesville, FL set a record high with 83°.

1946
High pressure along the southeast coast brought a south to southwesterly flow of unseasonably warm air to the east. Record high temperatures for the date included: Roanoke, VA: 73°, Newark, NJ: 72°, Harrisburg, PA: 71°, Baltimore, MD: 70°, Allentown, PA: 70°, New York (Central Park), NY: 70°, Lynchburg, VA: 69°-Tied, Atlantic City, NJ: 68°, Philadelphia, PA: 68°, Wilmington, DE: 67°, Hartford, CT: 67°, Avoca, PA: 64°, Worcester, MA: 63°, Albany, NY: 62°, Milton, MA: 62°, Concord, NH: 60° and Burlington, VT: 54°.

1949
The barometric pressure at Las Vegas, NV reached a record low reading of 29.17 inHg or 988 millibars.

1963
A winter storm moved across Oklahoma through the 11th. Freezing rain and sleet glazed highways, along with snow depths reaching two inches on top of the ice. 100 traffic accidents occurred at Oklahoma City alone during the evening rush hour the next day, and more than 14 injuries were reported due to falls on the ice. Ice accumulations on telephone lines knocked out service to parts of northwest Oklahoma.

1965
1.36 inches of rain fell at San Diego in one hour, their greatest one hour rainfall on record.

1967
During the overnight hours, a tornado struck Ft. Walton Beach, FL and Ocean City in Okaloosa County destroying 35 homes and nine businesses. One person was killed and 40 people injured. 33 businesses and 290 homes were damaged. In Walton County a tornado destroyed one home and damaged several others. Shortly after sunrise, a small tornado struck between Caryville and Bonifay, FL destroying two homes.

Other damage consisted mainly of uprooted trees, damaged farm buildings and downed power lines. An hour later, a tornado touched down briefly at Tyndall Air Force Base and again across the Bay in Parker and Callaway. One fatality occurred at Tyndall AFB as did most of the severe damage with 34 injuries. 39 homes at Tyndall were destroyed. A few hours later, a tornado destroyed four farmhouses and several barns in the rural area between Blountstown and Altha, FL.

1971
A strong ridge across the Florida Straits brought unseasonably warm temperatures from the Great Lakes to the Southeast. Charleston, WV tied their record high for December with 80°.

Other daily record highs for the date included: Orlando, FL: 85°, Montgomery, AL: 78°, Pensacola, FL: 78°, Huntington, WV: 76°, Bristol, TN: 76°, Nashville, TN: 74°, Beckley, WV: 73°, Knoxville, TN: 73°, Birmingham, AL: 72°-Tied, Columbus, OH: 72°, Elkins, WV: 72°, Lexington, KY: 72°, Paducah, KY: 72°, Louisville, KY: 71°, Oak Ridge, TN: 71°, Evansville, IN: 70°, Chattanooga, TN: 70°, Cleveland, OH: 69°, Youngstown, OH: 69°, Mansfield, OH: 68° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Akron, OH: 67°, Cincinnati, OH: 67°, Dayton, OH: 67°, Toledo, OH: 67°, Fort Wayne, IN: 66°, Indianapolis, IN: 66°, South Bend, IN: 64°, Detroit, MI: 64°, Flint, MI: 63°, Lansing, MI: 63°, Grand Rapids, MI: 62°, Muskegon, MI: 61°, Alpena, MI: 56° and Houghton Lake, MI: 55°.

1972
A deep upper level trough extending from the Rockies to the West Coast continued to bring brutally record cold. Yosemite, CA reported their earliest sub-zero temperature on record with -1°. Las Vegas, NVrecorded a high temperature of 32°. This was the coldest high temperature ever recorded in December.

Locations setting daily record low temperatures for the date included: Winnemucca, NV: -30° (broke previous record by 19 degrees), Aberdeen, SD: -29°, Pocatello, ID: -28° (broke previous record by 24 degrees), Ely, NV: -28° (broke previous record by 15 degrees), Helena, MT: -27°, Elko, NV: -25°, Fargo, ND: -25°, Lander, WY: -24°, Boise, ID: -23° (broke previous record by 21 degrees), St. Cloud, MN: -23°, Burns, OR: -22°, Cheyenne, WY: -18°, Sheridan, WY: -18°, Denver, CO: -18°, Pueblo, CO: -16°, Moline, IL: -16°, Green Bay, WI: -15°: Tied, Rapid City, SD: -14°, Goodland, KS: -14°, Pendleton, OR: -13°, Salt Lake City, UT: -13°, Reno, NV: -11°, Lewiston, ID: -9°, Spokane, WA: -8°, Eugene, OR: -7° (broke previous record by 13 degrees), Medford, OR: -6° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Yakima, WA: -5° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Salem, OR: -2°, Olympia, WA: -1° (broke previous record by 18 degrees), Idyllwild, CA: 7°, Bishop, CA: 8°, Quillayute, WA: 10°, Astoria, OR: 15°, Portland, OR: 16°, Las Vegas, NV: 20°, Sacramento, CA: 23°, Stockton, CA: 25°, Santa Maria, CA: 25°-Tied, San Francisco Airport, CA: 29° and Long Beach, CA: 36°.

The ridge of upper level high pressure extending from off the southeast coast to the Gulf of Mexico continues to bring record highs to parts of the south to Virginia including: Tampa, FL: 84°-Tied, Macon, GA: 82°, Savannah, GA: 82°, Charleston, SC: 82°, New Orleans, LA: 81°, Montgomery, AL: 81°, Columbia, SC: 81°, Tallahassee, FL: 81°, Mobile, AL: 80°-Tied, Augusta, GA: 79°, Columbus, GA: 79°, Athens, GA: 76°, Raleigh, NC: 76°, Atlanta, GA: 74°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 74°, Birmingham, AL: 73° and Wallops Island, VA: 67°.

1975
A December rainstorm drenched Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada with 3.89 inches of rain, their wettest December day.

1977
The eastern two-thirds of Iowa struggled with blizzards from the 8th ending on this date as 5 to 12 inches of snow fell. Locally heavier amounts fell over the northeast portion of the state. Bitterly cold temperatures of -10 degrees below zero combined with winds of 50 mph to produce wind chills of around -70°. Drifts piled up to 10 feet. The blizzard closed roads, stranded motorists and caused equipment to be brought in from western Iowa to help clear roads. The winds broke power lines shutting off heat and water for some residents.

1985
A cold storm starting on this day and ending the next day brought heavy snow to the central Sierra Nevada Mountains and light snow to lower elevations. 17 inches fell at Mt. Laguna, 15 inches at Julian, 12 inches at Palomar Mountain, and up to 4 inches at Victorville and Warner Springs. Highways and schools were closed in the mountains and in parts of the upper desert. 

Riverside and Borrego Springs, CA set record lows for the date with 32° and 34° respectively.

1987
A cold front brought high winds to the eastern slopes of the Northern and Central Rockies. Winds gusted to 94 mph at Rollinsville, CO with gusts 60 to 75 mph across the Boulder area. In Wyoming, up to a foot of snow blanketed the Teton Village Ski Resort, northwest of Jackson. Strong Chinook winds in the Central Plains, gusting to 61 mph at Scottsbluff NE, warmed temperatures to near 70°.

A few locations in Virginia and New York reported record high temperatures for the date including: Norfolk, VA: 73°, Islip, NY: 58°and New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 58°.

1988
Squalls produced heavy snow in the Lower Great Lakes Region. Totals in northeastern Ohio ranged up to 14 inches at Harpersfield, and totals in western New York State ranged up to 14 inches at Sodus. In the snowbelt of Upper Michigan, the Ontonogon area reported two feet of snow in two days. 

Marquette, MI and Jackson, KY set record lows for the date with -5° and 20° respectively.

1989
Heavy snow fell across the northern and central mountains of Colorado, with 24 inches reported at Steamboat Springs. 6 to 12 inches of snow fell in the Denver and Boulder area delaying flights and snarling traffic. Heavy snow also spread across the Central Plains to the Mississippi Valley. Winner, SD received 11 inches of snow, and more than 10 inches of snow was reported north of Sioux City, IA.

San Angelo, TX set a record high with 83°.

1992
Sending home Federal workers in Washington, D.C. early because of weather can cost as much as $60 million per day. On this date, as a winter storm threatened the nation's capital, volunteer storm spotters were used to identify precipitation falling between Washington and Richmond, VA. The spotters' identification of the type of precipitation as sleet instead of snow allowed forecasters to accurately predict that the precipitation would change to rain, calling off the shutdown and saving taxpayers.

Brownsville, TX tied their record high for the date with 85°.

1995
Intense lake effect snow squalls buried Buffalo, NY under 37.9 inches of snow in 24 hours, the city's greatest 24 hour snowfall and biggest snowstorm ever. Watertown, NY recorded 39 inches of snow in just 12 hours, and had 4 inches of snow an hour for 6 consecutive hours.

The deep upper level trough with Canadian high pressure brought record lows from parts of the Ohio Valley to the Southeast including: Paducah, KY: 2°, Jackson, KY: 3° (broke previous record by 17 degrees), Oak Ridge, TN: 6°, Bristol, TN: 7°, Chattanooga, TN: 11°, Birmingham, AL: 13°, Atlanta, GA: 13°-Tied, Montgomery, AL: 19°, Columbus, GA: 19°, Macon, GA: 20°, Mobile, AL: 22° and Pensacola, FL: 25°.

1997
Santa Ana winds that started on this day and ended on the 12th gusted to 96 mph at Pine Valley, CA and 87 mph at Upland, CA. Two people were killed from flying debris. Property damage occurred at Sun City. Crop damage also occurred. Boats were damaged and sunk at Coronado and Avalon harbors.

West Palm Beach and Tallahassee, FL set record high temperatures for the date with 86° and 83° respectively.

1998
Santa Ana winds started on the 9th and ended on this day across southern California. Gusts reached 101 mph at Modjeska Canyon, 93 mph at Fremont Canyon, 83 mph at Ontario and 52 mph at Santa Ana. Trees and power lines were downed, vehicles overturned, and property damage was done to property.

2000
A mixture of freezing rain and sleet left a glaze of ice a quarter to a half inch thick across northeast Missouri. Some power lines were downed, primarily due to a combination of ice and wind. Further north, the three day winter storm brought 10 to 20 inches of snow from parts of Indiana to southern Wisconsin. Cuba City, WI checked in with 11.2 inches. 

Behind and north of the storm, Great Falls, MT and Marquette, MI set record lows for the date with -22° and -14° respectively.

2002
Greek Television reported that a shower of tiny fish rained down on the village of Korona located in the mountains of northern Greece after a strong thunderstorm. Experts reported that the unexpected bounty was probably caused when a waterspout picked up the small fish from Lake Doirani.

2007
A strong upper level ridge extending from off the southeast coast to the eastern Gulf of Mexico brought unseasonably warm temperatures from the south to Virginia.  The following locations set or tied their all-time December highs: Raleigh, NC: 81°, Charlotte, NC: 80° and Greensboro, NC: 78°-Tied.

Locations reporting daily record highs for the date included: Lake Charles, LA: 82°, Montgomery, AL: 82°, Augusta, GA: 82°, Baton Rouge, LA: 82°-Tied, Meridian, MS: 81°, New Orleans, LA: 81°-Tied, Birmingham, AL: 79°, Athens, GA: 79°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 79°, Richmond, VA: 79°, Wilmington, NC: 78°, Norfolk, VA: 78°, Chattanooga, TN: 77°, Atlanta, GA: 77°, Huntsville, AL: 76°, Tupelo, MS: 75°, Lynchburg, VA: 75°, Asheville, NC: 74°, Oak Ridge, TN: 73°, Roanoke, VA: 73°-Tied and Wallops Island, VA: 69°.

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