WEATHER HISTORY FOR 21ST - 31ST
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.
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December 21st:

1836
A spectacular cold front passed through Illinois. Although no reliable temperature records are available, estimates from eyewitness reports indicated that temperatures fell from the 40's to zero degrees almost instantly. The water in ponds and streams was pushed into waves by 70 mph winds and then frozen in place. Small animals were frozen in their tracks. Two men near the town of Rushville froze to death. A man riding horseback from Chatham to Springfield started the trip in rain; by the time he arrived, his coat was frozen solid, and he was frozen onto the saddle. This was the beginning of what was referred to as the "Winter of Starving Time" in Illinois.

1866
Lakota Sioux Indians took advantage of a unique super bright full moon on the night of the winter solstice to ambush soldiers in the Wyoming Territory. Since it occurred during a point when the moon's orbit is closer to earth than at perigee, the moon appeared 14% larger than it does at apogee. Also, the earth being closer to the sun than in summer made the moon brighter than usual. The combination of snow cover and the extreme brightness allowed the Indian attack to have disastrous consequences for the soldiers. A similar astronomical event would not occur again until 1999.

1892
On this date through the 24th, Portland, OR was buried under a record 27.5 inches of snow.

1929
On this date through the 22nd, an exceptional storm produced snow from the Middle Rio Grande Valley of Texas to southern Arkansas. The storm produced 26 inches of snow at Hillsboro, TX, 18 inches at El Dorado, AR, and 14 inches at Bossier, LA.

1939
0.1 inches of snow fell at Billings, MT. This was the first measurable snow of the season, the latest first measurable snow on record.

1964
A great warm surge from the Pacific Ocean across Oregon and northern California brought torrential rains on a deep snow cover resulting in record floods.

1967
Temperatures soared to record highs around 60 degrees across Lower Michigan on the winter solstice. A sharp cold front came through in the evening and was followed by 2 to 4 inches of snow on the following day.

Four tornadoes swept across Grant, Blackford, Wells, and Adams counties in Indiana, reaching F3 intensity in Grant and Blackford Counties. A tornado causing F4 damage killed 3 people and injured 52 others in Iron County, Missouri.

1968

A record breaking snowstorm pounded portions of South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa through the 22nd. Heavy snows were accompanied by winds gusting over 50 mph producing widespread blowing snow. Drifts up to 10 feet deep across the area stopped traffic. Amounts piled up to 18 inches in southeast South Dakota, over 12 inches in southwest Minnesota, and 6 to 15 inches in northwest Iowa.

The 24-hour total from this date through the 22nd of 16.6 inches at Sioux Falls, SD set the December one day snow total record. December snow total records were set at over 40 locations in Minnesota, thanks in part to this storm.

A very cold air mass settled over the West, setting numerous low temperature records. It was 2° at Idyllwild, CA, their lowest temperature on record for December, and the second all-time lowest temperature on record.

Locations reporting daily record lows for the date included: Ely, NV: -13°, Big Bear Lake, CA: -4°, Reno, NV: -3°, Victorville, CA: 12° (followed by a record low maximum of 33°), Las Vegas, NV: 20°, Stockton, CA: 22°, Riverside, CA: 23° (followed by a record low maximum of 43°), Sacramento, CA: 25°, Santa Maria, CA: 27°-Tied, Palm Springs, CA: 28°, Yuma, AZ: 28°, Borrego Springs, CA: 29° (followed by a record low maximum of 50°), Eureka, CA: 29°, San Francisco Airport, CA: 29°, Long Beach, CA: 31°, Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 32°, Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 33° and San Diego, CA: 37°-Tied.

1977
Huge waves driven by hurricane-force winds surged across Flat Rock, Pouch Cove and Quidi Vidi Village in southeastern Newfoundland Canada, destroying shanties and wharves.

1983
An extremely bitter cold arctic air mass prevailed from the Midwest to the West Coast bringing numerous record low temperatures for the date including:  Butte, MT: -43°, White Sulphur Springs, MT: -40°, Casper, WY: -37°, Livingston, MT: -33°, Valentine, NE: -32°, Boulder, MT: -31°, Townsend, MT: -31°, North Platte, NE: -29°, Helena, MT: -28°, Cheyenne, WY: -28°, Scottsbluff, NE: -27°, Huron, SD: -27°, Sheridan, WY: -27°, Billings, MT: -25°, Kalispell, MT: -25°, Rapid City, SD: -25°, Pocatello, ID: -23°, Grand Island, NE: -23°, Missoula, MT: -21°, Denver, CO: -21° (followed by a December record low maximum of -8°), Goodland, KS: -17°, Clayton, NM: -14°, Pendleton, OR: -13°, Kansas City, MO: -10°, Spokane, WA: -10°, Boise, ID: -8°, Lewiston, ID: -8°, Wichita, KS: -8°, Buffalo, NY: -8°, Topeka, KS: -6°, Yakima, WA: -6°, Amarillo, TX: -4°, Oklahoma City, OK: -2°, Tulsa, OK: 0°, Lubbock, TX: 2°, Olympia, WA: 2°, Wichita Falls, TX: 4°, Abilene, TX: 8°, Dallas, TX: 9°, Dallas (DFW), TX: 10°, San Angelo, TX: 10°, Midland-Odessa, TX: 12°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 13°, Astoria, OR: 15°, Portland, OR: 16°, Seattle, WA: 16°, Waco, TX: 16°-Tied and Quillayute, WA: 18°.

1987
High winds continued along the eastern slopes of the Rockies. During the morning hours winds gusted to 97 mph near Boulder, CO and reached 64 mph at Cheyenne, WY.  

A 4 day siege of heavy rain began in the south central U.S., as Little Rock, AR experienced their wettest December day on record with 5.01 inches of rain. Flooding throughout the south central U.S. claimed four lives and caused millions of dollars in property damage. Total rainfall exceeded 12 inches in the Memphis, TN area.

1988
A storm in the northwestern U.S. produced 22 inches of snow at Idaho City, ID over two days, and up to 2 feet of snow at Happy Camp, CA. Ski resorts in Idaho reported 3 to 6 feet of snow on the ground.

A southwesterly flow ahead of a cold front brought mild conditions to the East Coast with a few locations reporting record high temperatures for the date including: Charleston, SC: 78°, Wallops Island, VA: 64°, Syracuse, NY: 58°and Binghamton, NY: 52°.

1989
A strong upper level low combined with a deep upper level trough prevailed from the Rockies to the East Coast that brought dangerous, bitter cold arctic air. Many cities coast to coast reported record low temperatures for the date. Havre, MT not only set a record low but was the cold spot in the nation with a low of -44° and the temperature remained close to -40° through the daylight hours. Dickinson, ND reported a morning low of -33° and a wind chill reading of -86°. The high for the date of -16° at Sioux Falls, SD was a December record for that location. It is one of the coldest December days in history across Lower Michigan. The high temperature at Muskegon and Grand Rapids was only 5°, the lowest maximum temperature ever recorded in the month of December at both sites.

Locations reporting daily record low temperatures for the date included: Valentine, MT: -42°, Chester, MT: -42°, Chinook, MT: -40°, Williston, ND: -37°, Grass Range, MT: -37°, Lewistown, MT: -35°, Valentine, NE: -35°, Sheridan, WY: -35°, Fort Assiniboine, MT: -35°, Scottsbluff, NE: -31°, North Platte, NE: -29°: Tied, Duluth, MN: -28°, Billings, MT: -26°, Rapid City, SD: -25°-Tied, Norfolk, NE: -24°, Sioux City, IA: -22°, Ste. St. Marie, MI: -22°, Omaha, NE: -22°, Marquette, MI: -21°, Dubuque, IA: -21°, Indianapolis, IN: -21°, Green Bay, WI: -20°, Lincoln, NE: -19°, Des Moines, IA: -18°, Concordia, KS: -18°, Kansas City, MO: -18°, Peoria, IL: -18°-Tied, Fort Wayne, IN: -17°, Goodland, KS: -17°-Tied, Topeka, KS: -16° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Columbia, MO: -15°, Dayton, OH: -15°, Milwaukee, WI: -15°, Chicago, IL: -14°, Cincinnati, OH: -14°, Evansville, IN: -13° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), St. Louis, MO: -12°, Mansfield, OH: -12°, Alpena, MI: -11°, Columbus, OH: -10°, Houghton Lake, MI: -10°-Tied, Lexington, KY: -10°, Toledo, OH: -10°, Louisville, KY: -9°, Grand Rapids, MI: -8°, Akron, OH: -8°: Tied, Paducah, KY: -7°, Springfield, MO: -7°, Pittsburgh, PA: -6°, Jackson, KY: -4° (broke previous record by 15 degrees), Nashville, TN: -2°, Tulsa, OK: 0°-Tied, Memphis, TN: 3°, Fort Smith, AR: 4°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 4°, Wallops Island, VA: 4° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Little Rock, AR: 6°, Huntsville, AL: 7°, Tupelo, MS: 7°, Midland-Odessa, TX: 8°, Quillayute, WA: 10°, Islip, NY: 13°, Chattanooga, TN: 14°-Tied, Del Rio, TX: 21° and Redding, CA: 27°.

1990
A complex frontal system brought wintry precipitation to much of the central states to the Great Lakes. Des Moines, IA, reported freezing drizzle with a temperature of -2°.  McAlester, OK, reported a thunderstorm with sleet and a half inch hail while at 13°; as a result of a shallow, bitterly cold air mass overrun by warm air.

Behind the front, a deep upper level low and trough brought brutally cold arctic air from the Rockies to the West Coast. Fresno, CA reported snow flurries for the third day in a row. Casper, WY set their all-time record low for December with -41°.

Locations reporting daily record lows for the date included: Wisdom, MT: -49°, West Yellowstone, MT: -46°, Lincoln Ranger Station, MT: -42°, Stanford, MT: -40°, Conrad, MT: -37°, Great Falls, MT: -35°, Lander, WY: -35°, Choteau, MT: -34°, Cut Bank, MT: -33°, Helena, MT: -32°, Winnemucca, NV: -31° (broke previous record by 21 degrees), Miles City, MT: -30°, Virginia City, MT: -30°, Valier, MT: -30°, Ennis, MT: -28°, Cheyenne, WY: -28°-Tied, Ely, NV: -26° (broke previous record by 13 degrees), Billings, MT: -26°-Tied, Pocatello, ID: -25°, Missoula, MT: -25°, Kalispell, MT: -25°; Tied, Elko, NV: -24°, Burns, OR: -24° (broke previous record by 14 degrees), Colorado Springs, CO: -23°, Boise, ID: -23° (broke previous record by 15 degrees), Denver, CO: -21°-Tied, Pueblo, CO: -19°, Pendleton, OR: -16°, Clayton, NM: -14°-Tied, Grand Junction, CO: -10°, Salt Lake City, UT: -9°, Yakima, WA: -9°, Reno, NV: -8°, Bishop, CA: -4°, Medford, OR: -4° (broke previous record by 15 degrees), Olympia, WA: 0°, Astoria, OR: 6°, Eugene, OR: 6°, Salem, OR: 8° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Portland, OR: 12°, Seattle, WA: 12°, Redding, CA: 17° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Las Vegas, NV: 20°-Tied, Stockton, CA: 21°, Sacramento, CA: 22°, Eureka, CA: 23° and San Francisco Airport, CA: 28°.

Ahead of the front several locations from the Ohio Valley and East Coast reported record high temperatures for the date including: Tampa, FL: 85°, Tallahassee, FL: 80°-Tied, Charleston, WV: 74°, Cape Hatteras, NC: 73°-Tied, Huntington, WV: 72°-Tied, Jackson, KY: 71°, Elkins, WV: 69°-Tied, Boston, MA: 62°, Islip, NY: 55° and Binghamton, NY: 52°-Tied.

1994
Winds gusting between 40 and 50 mph caused damage to an overhang on a bank building in downtown West Palm Beach, FL. The high winds damaged several boats in Martin County, and injured two sailors after their sail boats capsized offshore Palm Beach County and northeast Dade County. Beach sand was washed onto Highway A1A in Ft. Lauderdale. Trees and power lines were toppled by the high winds. Rainfall amounts up to 6.5 inches in 12 hours caused some flooding of poorly drained roadways.

1996
60 inches of snow fell in 24 hours at Truckee and Echo Summit, CA as a strong western storm came onshore. These totals were very close to the 24 hour snowfall record for the state of California, which was 67 inches set at Echo Summit on 1/4-5/1982.

A storm that started on this day and ended the next day spread rainfall totals of two inches in the coastal areas and two to five inches in the inland valleys and foothills of southern California. Storm winds were measured at 40 to 50 mph.

Two major snowstorms dumped 49 inches at Victoria, British Columbia Canada during the last week of the month. However, Christmas Day was green. The 24-hour snowfall on the 29th of 25 inches completely shut down the city for several days.

2005
A powerful storm in the east Pacific generated large surf with sets of 20 feet along much of the California coast. Broken surfboards, rescues, and beach erosion resulted. All piers were shut down and many were overtopped by the surf. Sea water flooded a parking lot in Carlsbad and floated several cars. Boardwalk damage occurred in Dana Point. Tow-in surfing occurred only 1.5 miles off Seal Beach.

An upper level and surface ridge across the Great Basin brought record highs to parts of the West including: Borrego Springs, CA: 81°, San Diego, CA: 80°-Tied, Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 79°-Tied, Idyllwild, CA: 74°, Palomar Mountain, CA: 72°, Big Bear Lake, CA: 67°, Ely, NV: 59°-Tied and Quillayute, WA: 54°-Tied.

2006
Fog that brought visibility to as low as 377 feet caused the cancellation of hundreds of flights at London, England's Heathrow Airport for a fourth successive day disrupting the plans of holiday travelers. Visibilities down to half a mile are generally considered disruptive for flights.

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December 22nd:

Snow blindness is a temporary loss of sight caused by bright sunlight reflecting off of a snow surface. The blindness usually lasts from several days to a week. Sometimes people afflicted with snow blindness will have trouble distinguishing between colors and may see everything as being colored red. Usually snow blindness will improve if a person rests their eyes and stays indoors. Sunglasses or goggles are usually sufficient to prevent the affliction.

1839
The second of three December storms hit the northeastern U.S. The storm produced 25 inches of snow at Gettysburg, PA, and gales in New England, but only produced light snow along the coast.

1961
Holiday travel was paralyzed over extreme northeastern Kansas, and adjacent parts of Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska.  Kansas City, MO reported 16.6 inches. The storm produced drifts up to 10 feet high. 

1983
A dome of upper level low pressure from the northern Plains into southern Canada combined with a deep trough pushed a cold front down to Tampico, Mexico bringing many record low temperatures for a large part of the country. 

The mercury plunged to -51°at Wisdom, MT. Wind chill readings were as low as -100° over a large part of North Dakota. The high temperature at Minneapolis, MN struggled to reach -12°, a record for the date.

Many locations from the West Coast to the Ohio Valley reported record low temperatures for the date including: West Yellowstone, MT: -43°, Williston, ND: -38°, Valentine, NE: -37°, Virginia City, MT: -35°, North Platte, NE: -34°, Casper, WY: -33°, Lander, WY: -31°, Bismarck, ND: -30°, Sheridan, WY: -29°, Helena, MT: -28°, Missoula, MT: -27°, Lincoln, NE: -27° (broke previous record by 14 degrees), Sioux Falls, SD: -26°, Rapid City, SD: -25°, Pocatello, ID: -25°, Kalispell, MT: -25°, St. Cloud, MN: -24°, Omaha, NE: -24°, Shelby, MT: -24°, La Crosse, WI: -23°, Waterloo, IA: -23°, Duluth, MN: -22°, Grand Island, NE: -22°, Norfolk, NE: -22°, Cheyenne, WY: -21°, Kansas City, MO: -21°, Billings, MT: -20°, Minneapolis, MN: -20°, Dubuque, IA: -19°, Sioux City, IA: -18°, Rockford, IL: -18°, Springfield, IL: -18°, Madison, WI: -17°, Colorado Springs, CO: -17°, Des Moines, IA: -17°, Goodland, KS: -17°, Topeka, KS: -17°, Green Bay, WI: -16°, Concordia, KS: -16°, Spokane, WA: -15°, Pendleton, OR: -15°, Boise, ID: -15°, Burns, OR: -13°, Lewiston, ID: -13° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), South Bend, IN: -13°, Marquette, MI: -12°, Columbia, MO: -12°, Clayton, NM: -12°, Yakima, WA: -10°, Wichita, KS: -9°, Springfield, MO: -8°, Amarillo, TX: -7°, Toledo, OH: -6°, Fort Wayne, IN: -6°-Tied, St. Louis, MO: -5°, Detroit, MI: -4°, Olympia, WA: -3°, Oklahoma City, OK: -3°, Tulsa, OK: -2°, Wichita Falls, TX: 1°, Lubbock, TX: 1°, Abilene, TX: 2°, Fort Smith, AR: 2°, San Angelo, TX: 5°, Dallas (DFW), TX: 5°, Dallas (Love Field), TX: 5°, Midland-Odessa, TX: 8°, Roswell, NM: 9°, Quillayute, WA: 11°, Austin, TX: 12°, Salem, OR: 12°, Little Rock, AR: 12°, Seattle, WA: 14°, Portland, OR: 14°, Astoria, OR: 15°, Shreveport, LA: 15°, Austin (Bergstrom), TX: 16°, San Antonio, TX: 17°, Del Rio, TX: 19°, Victoria, TX: 20°, Houston, TX: 20° and Galveston, TX: 24°.

1987
The first day of winter was a relatively tranquil one for much of the nation, but brought a winter storm in the Central Rockies. The storm produced 40 inches of snow at the top of the Pomerelle Ski Resort, south of Burley, ID, their heaviest snow on record.

1988
Strong winds prevailed in the foothills of Wyoming and Colorado. Winds gusted to 123 mph southwest of Fort Collins, CO, and reached 141 mph at the summit of Mount Evans.

An ice storm paralyzed parts of Upper Michigan during the day. The freezing rain left roads around Marquette, MI blocked by cars and semi- trucks.

1989
A 1052 millibar (31.07 inHg) area of arctic high pressure built down across the Plains pushing a cold front into Mexico and bringing many record low temperatures across much of the country from the Rockies eastward.  A total of 137 cities across the central and eastern U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date.  

Morning lows of -27°at Goodland, KS established their all-time record. They also broke their previous daily record by 10 degreesand Kansas City, MO tied their all-time record low with -23°.

Locations reporting December record lows included: Valentine, NE and Fort Wayne, IN set their all-time December record lows with -39° and -18°respectively.

Scottsbluff, NE set their coldest December temperature, and their 2nd coldest temperature ever recorded, with a bitterly cold low of -42°. Scottsbluff also set their lowest daily high temperature on record with a high of only -13°.

Unofficial morning lows included -60°at Rochford, SD and -50°at Recluse, WY.  Locations reporting daily record low temperatures for the date included: Busby, MT: -52°, Chinook, MT: -50°, Broadus & Hardin, MT: -47°, Hysham, MT: -46°, Havre, MT: -45°, Valentine, MT: -45°, Forsyth, MT: -44°, Fort Assiniboine, MT: -44°, Grass Range, MT: -37°, Roundup, MT: -36°, Stanford, MT: -36°, Sheridan, WY: -35°, North Platte, NE: -34°-Tied, Columbus, MT: -32°, Bismarck, ND: -32°, Joliet, MT: -31°, Norfolk, NE: -30°, Rapid City, SD: -29°, Cheyenne, WY: -28°, Huron, SD: -28°-Tied, Concordia, KS: -26° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Billings, MT: -26°, Grand Island, NE: -26°, Sioux Falls, SD: -26°-Tied, Omaha, NE: -25°, Livingston, MT: -25°, Sioux City, IA: -24°, Indianapolis, IN: -23° (broke previous record by 14 degrees), Peoria, IL: -23° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Topeka, KS: -22°, Duluth, MN: -22°-Tied, Dodge City, KS: -21°, Des Moines, IA: -20°, Columbia, MO: -20°, Dayton, OH: -20° (broke previous record by 13 degrees), Cincinnati, OH: -20° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Elkins, WV: -19°, Rockford, IL: -19°, Toledo, OH: -19° (broke previous record by 13 degrees), Denver, CO: -18°, Fort Wayne, IN: -18° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Springfield, IL: -18°-Tied, Columbus, OH: -17° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Mansfield, OH: -17°, Wichita, KS: -16°, St. Louis, MO: -16° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Akron, OH: -16°, Evansville, IN: -15° (broke previous record by 13 degrees), Louisville, KY: -15°, Springfield, MO: -15°, Cleveland, OH: -15°, Pueblo, CO: -15°-Tied, Beckley, WV: -13°, Jackson, KY: -13°, Syracuse, NY: -13°, South Bend, IN: -13°-Tied, Pittsburgh, PA: -12° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Youngstown, OH: -12°, Huntington, WV: -11°, Lexington, KY: -11°, Grand Rapids, MI: -11°, Charleston, WV: -10°, Nashville, TN: -10° (broke previous record by 15 degrees), Paducah, KY: -10°, Detroit, MI: -9°, Amarillo, TX: -8°, Flint, MI: -7°-Tied, Tulsa, OK: -6°, Wichita Falls, TX: -4°, Memphis, TN: -4° (broke previous record by 16 degrees), Oklahoma City, OK: -4°, Binghamton, NY: -4°, Huntsville, AL: -3° (broke previous record by 14 degrees), Lubbock, TX: -2°, Abilene, TX: -2°, Oak Ridge, TN: -2°, Tupelo, MS: -1°, Avoca, PA: -1°-Tied, Roanoke, VA: 0°, Bristol, TN: 1°, Fort Smith, AR: 1°, San Angelo, TX: 2°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 2°, Knoxville, TN: 2°, Little Rock, AR: 2° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Dallas (DFW), TX: 3°, Lynchburg, VA: 4°, Baltimore, MD: 4°-Tied, Midland-Odessa, TX: 4°, Chattanooga, TN: 4°, Birmingham, AL: 4°, Asheville, NC: 4°-Tied, Wilmington, DE: 5°, Dallas (Love Field), TX: 5°-Tied, Philadelphia, PA: 6°, Bridgeport, CT: 6°, Wallops Island, VA: 7°, Jackson, MS: 7°, Greensboro, NC: 7°, Newark, NJ: 7°, Meridian, MS: 8°, Roswell, NM: 8°, New York (LaGuardia), NY: 8°, Islip, NY: 9°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 9°, Shreveport, LA: 10°, Montgomery, AL: 11°, Atlanta, GA: 11°-Tied, Norfolk, VA: 12°, Austin, TX: 12°-Tied, Houston, TX: 13°, San Antonio, TX: 13°, Mobile, AL: 13°, Baton Rouge, LA: 13°, New Orleans, LA: 15°, Victoria, TX: 16°, Del Rio, TX: 16°, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 16°, Lake Charles, LA: 16° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Austin (Bergstrom), TX: 16°-Tied, Pensacola, FL: 18°, Galveston, TX: 19°, Charleston, SC: 19°, Corpus Christi, TX: 20°, Cape Hatteras, NC: 22° and Brownsville, TX: 23°.

A rapid temperature rise brought by chinook winds spiked the temperature at Cut Bank, MT by 74 degrees. After a shivering morning low of -34° the afternoon high is a relatively balmy 40°.

1990
A deep upper level trough combined with arctic high pressure brought record cold from the Northern Plains to the West Coast. Wind chills in parts of North Dakota dropped as low as -80°.

Locations reporting all-time record lows included: Worland, WY: -50°, Spring Valley State Park in Lincoln County, Nevada: -38°, Winnemucca, NV: -37° (broke previous daily record by 25 degrees), Denver, CO: -25°-Tied, Sacramento, CA: 18° and Bishop, CA: -8°-Tied.

Cheyenne, WY and Dodge City, KS equaled December record lows with -28°and -21°respectively.

Locations reporting daily record lows included: Wisdom, MT: -52°, Lincoln Ranger Station, MT: -48°, Butte, MT: -44°, Chester, MT: -44°, Boulder, MT: -42°, Conrad, MT: -40°, Townsend, MT: -37°, White Sulphur Springs, MT: -37°, Helena, MT: -35°, Lander, WY: -35°, Miles City, MT: -34°, Elko, NV: -33°, Cut Bank, MT: -32°, Lewistown, MT: -32°, Ely, NV: -29° (broke previous record by 14 degrees), Valier, MT: -29°, Aberdeen, SD: -28°, Burns, OR: -28° (broke previous record by 15 degrees), Missoula, MT: -28°, Cheyenne, WY: -28°-Tied, Billings, MT: -26°-Tied, Boise, ID: -25° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Pocatello, ID: -25°-Tied, Kalispell, MT: -25°-Tied, Colorado Springs, CO: -24°, Pueblo, CO: -23°, Grand Junction, CO: -16°, Reno, NV: -13° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Clayton, NM: -12°-Tied, Salt Lake City, UT: -10°, Bishop, CA: -8°, Medford, OR: 0° (broke previous record by 16 degrees), Eugene, OR: 4°, Salem, OR: 7°, Las Vegas, NV: 12°, Portland, OR: 13°, Stockton, CA: 17°, Sacramento, CA: 18°, Fresno, CA: 19°, Bakersfield, CA: 20°, Redding, CA: 20°, Santa Maria, CA: 21°, Eureka, CA: 22°, San Francisco Airport, CA: 27°, Long Beach, CA: 28° and Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 35°-Tied.

1993
5 inches of snow fell in just 20 minutes at Turin, NY. The town would be buried under 45 inches of snow during the lake effect snow event. Boonville, NY recorded 31 inches over a two day period.

1996
A major Pacific storm lashed the western U.S. over a three day period, producing tremendous snowfalls in the Sierra-Nevada Mountains. The Boreal Ski Area in Nevada was buried under 102 inches of new snow. 100 inches was recorded at the Alpine Ski Area in California, Truckee, California checked in with 72 inches, and 20 inches was measured at Reno, Nevada on the lee side of the mountains. The Kirkwood Ski Resort in California recorded 96 inches of snow in just 36 hours.

2001
Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC dropped to 29 degrees for a morning low for their first freezing temperature of the season. This set a new record for its latest first freezing temperature breaking the previous record of 12/14/1980. This also was the first time the location had not recorded a freezing temperature during the autumn season.

2002
Heavy rains produced flash flooding at Teresopolis, Brazil about 56 miles north of Rio de Janeiro. A resulting mudslide was responsible for 9 deaths and 50 injuries.

2003
As much as a foot of snow accumulated across the Yorkshire Moors in England.

2004
Tremendous snows occurred in the Ohio Valley. The following cities set new records for their greatest snowstorm ever: Evansville, Indiana 22.3 inches, Dayton, Ohio 16.4 inches and Paducah, Kentucky 14.2 inches.  Other big snowfall totals were 31 inches at Liberty, Indiana, 28 inches at Buena Vista, Indiana, 24 inches at Greenville, Ohio, and 23 inches at Mansfield, Ohio.

2005
A fast moving snowstorm across the Midwest and Ohio Valley becomes the most significant snowstorm on record for southern sections of Illinois. Snowfall records are set at Carmi: 18 inches, McLeansboro: 14 inches and Carbondale: 12 inches.

A freak winter lightning strike splintered a tree and knocked out power to 1,800 customers in Saanich, Greater Victoria British Columbia Canada.  

2008
Hurricane-strength winds from a major winter storm lashed the Maritimes leaves about 30,000 homes and businesses without electricity in Nova Scotia, as well as some 8,000 power customers in New Brunswick and hundreds of others on Prince Edward Island without power. The winter storm generated a 100 mph wind gust at Cape Breton and high storm surge along Newfoundland's south coast.

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December 23rd:

1775
The "snow campaign" in the Carolinas and Georgia was marked by a 24 inch snowfall at the American camp at Reedy River, North Carolina.

1811
A major storm off of Long Island, NY wrecked several ships, killing entire crews. Onshore, a foot of snow fell accompanied by gale force winds and temperatures near 0°.

1884
The overnight low temperature at Regina, Saskatchewan Canada plummeted to -55°, the coldest December night on record.

1924
A windstorm at Sydney, Australia whipped winds to 70 mph disrupting traffic.

1955
The barometric pressure dipped to 981 millibars or 28.97 inHg at Boise, ID, an all-time record for that location.

1968
The second blizzard within a week hit northeast Nebraska beginning on the 21st through this date. Heavy snowfall of 9 to 15 inches piled up across many areas. High winds whipped the snow into huge drifts stranding thousands of motorists. Three separate cases occurred of pedestrians leaving their vehicles only to be found frozen later. Additional death and injuries indirectly related to the storm were also prevalent.

1971
An exceptionally tight pressure gradient brought strong northeasterly winds to Florida. Sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts over 40 mph prevailed through the state for periods longer than 24 hours. The highest gust reported was 58 mph at Kennedy Space Center. The area hardest hit was along the lower east coast where 1 to 3 inches of rain added to the problems. Power and telephone lines were toppled throughout the state, limbs were broken from trees and fruit drop was noted in the citrus belt. Beach erosion in the Vero Beach area caused damage to two buildings. The strong winds blew sand into homes along the east coast beaches, and many windows facing the wind were broken. The heavy rain damaged South Dade County tomato fields and the strong winds scarred the fruit. Waves along the lower east coast reached 15 feet and several boats were destroyed and many others grounded. Three people drowned when their boats capsized, and a 16 year old boy drowned when he was washed into the sea while photographing breakers. On Florida's West Coast, officials reported that a 43-foot sailboat lost its rigging 50 miles west of Tampa and was drifting.

1982
On this date through the 25th, a major winter storm struck Colorado producing heavy snow and blizzard conditions. A record 2 feet of snow was reported at the former Stapleton Airport in Denver, which was shut down for 33 hours. Up to 44 inches of snow fell in the foothills surrounding Denver. The storm hurt the ski industry as skiers were unable to make it out of Denver to the slopes, and the closed airport became a campground for vacationers.

1983
A deep upper level trough around two upper level lows over central and eastern Canada continued to bring brutally dangerous cold to most of the country. The temperature plunged to -50°at Williston, ND to equal their all-time record. Minneapolis, MN reported an afternoon high of -17°. Strong northerly winds that evening produced wind chill readings of -100°across North Dakota. 

Cheyenne, WY recorded their 4th consecutive day in which the temperature remained below zero while Chadron and Scottsbluff, NE were in their 7th consecutive day. Lows across the plains were generally from -20°to -30°for the 4th consecutive day.

From this date through the 25th, temperatures in Columbia, MO remained below zero for 45 consecutive hours.

From the 22nd through the 26th, Springfield, IL saw temperatures of zero or colder for 101.5 hours. The cold spell contributed to an average temperature for the month of only 16.1 degrees, a December record.

The barometric pressure at Wichita Falls, TX rose to 31.13 inHg, which was the second highest known pressure reading ever recorded in the state of Texas.

Missoula, MTtied their December record low with -30°. This broke their previous daily record by 10 degrees.

Other daily record lows for the date included: Wisdom, MT: -55°, Butte, MT: -52°, West Yellowstone, MT: -45°, Bozeman Airport, MT: -43°, Lincoln Ranger Station, MT: -43°, Havre, MT: -41°(broke previous record by 12 degrees), Bismarck, ND: -40°, Boulder, MT: -39°, Glasgow, MT: -37°, Lewistown, MT: -37°, Lander, WY: -37°(broke previous record by 16 degrees), Chinook, MT: -36°, Virginia City, MT: -35°, Valentine, NE: -34°, Aberdeen, SD: -34°, Cut Bank, MT: -34°, Miles City, MT: -33°, Shelby, MT: -33°, Townsend, MT: -33°, Helena, MT: -32°, Livingston, MT: -32°, White Sulphur Springs, MT: -32°, Fargo, ND: -31°, Fort Assinniboine, MT: -31°, Del Bonita, MT: -31°, Great Falls, MT: -30°, St. Cloud, MN: -30°, Conrad, MT: -30°, Rochester, MN: -29°, Huron, SD: -28°, Sheridan, WY: -28°, Rapid City, SD: -27°, Chester, MT: -27°, Kalispell, MT: -26°, Valier, MT: -26°, Sioux Falls, SD: -25°, Grass Range, MT: -24°, Scottsbluff, NE: -24°, Cheyenne, WY: -24°, Pocatello, ID: -23°, Green Bay, WI: -23°, Choteau, MT: -22°, Dubuque, IA: -22°, Sioux City, IA: -21°, Chicago, IL: -21°, Rockford, IL: -21°, Madison, WI: -21°, Billings, MT: -20°, Omaha, NE: -20°, Des Moines, IA: -19°, Burns, OR: -19°, Pendleton, OR: -19°(broke previous record by 13 degrees), Spokane, WA: -18°, Boise, ID: -18°, North Platte, NE: -18°, Peoria, IL: -17°, Lewiston, ID: -16°, Grand Island, NE: -15°, Norfolk, NE: -15°, Colorado Springs, CO: -13°, Yakima, WA: -13°, Springfield, IL: -13°, Evansville, IN: -13°, Marquette, MI: -13°, Lincoln, NE: -13°, Denver, CO: -10°, Detroit, MI: -9°, Kansas City, MO: -9°, Columbia, MO: -8°, Clayton, NM: -7°, Olympia, WA: -7°, Concordia, KS: -6°, Topeka, KS: -6°, Wichita, KS: -6°, St. Louis, MO: -5°, Amarillo, TX: -1°, Oklahoma City, OK: 1°, Lubbock, TX: 3°, Wichita Falls, TX: 6°, Abilene, TX: 8°, Midland-Odessa, TX: 9°, Seattle, WA: 9°(broke previous record by 10 degrees), San Angelo, TX: 10°, Salem, OR: 11°, Jackson, KY: 12°, Portland, OR: 12°, Astoria, OR: 13°, Quillayute, WA: 13°, Austin, TX: 15°, San Antonio, TX: 16°, Austin (Bergstrom), TX: 17°and Victoria, TX: 22°-Tied.

1987
A winter storm brought heavy snow to the Central Rockies, and also spread a blanket of snow across the Mid-Missouri Valley in time for Christmas. Snow and high winds created near blizzard conditions in Wyoming. Snowfall totals in Wyoming ranged up to 25 inches at Casper, with 4 feet of snow reported at the Hogadon Ski Resort on Casper Mountain. The Wolf Creek Ski Resort in Colorado received 26 inches of snow. Totals across the Plains ranged up to 16 inches at Alpena, SD with 14 inches at Harrison, NE.  Strong winds ushered unseasonably cold air into the southwestern U.S. Canyon winds gusting to 100 mph created ground blizzards in parts of Utah.

1989
A massive arctic high pressure area of 1061 millibars set historic record low temperature readings from the Canadian border to central Texas and Florida.  Many cities in the upper Midwest saw low temperatures below -20°.  A total of 122 cities across the central and eastern U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date.  Locations setting all-time record lows included: Topeka, KS: -26°(broke previous daily record by 20 degrees), San Angelo, TX: -4°(broke previous daily record by 14 degrees), Victoria, TX: 9°-Tied (broke previous daily record by 13 degrees), Del Rio, TX: 10° (broke previous daily record by 12 degrees), Lake Charles, LA: 11° (broke previous daily record by 10 degrees) and New Orleans, LA: 11° (broke previous daily record by 14 degrees).  Yankton, SD was the cold spot in the nation with a morning low of -31°.  

Locations reporting all-time December record lows included: Norfolk, NE: -26°(broke previous record by 11 degrees), Moline, IL: -24°, Kansas City, MO: -23°(broke previous daily record by 14 degrees), Des Moines, IA: -22°, Springfield, IL: -21°, Beckley, WV: -18°(broke previous record by 22 degrees), Springfield, MO: -16°(broke previous daily record by 11 degrees), Lincoln, NE: -13°, (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Abilene, TX: -7°(broke previous daily record by 15 degrees), Wichita Falls, TX: -7°(broke previous daily record by 13 degrees), Fort Smith, AR: -5°, Tupelo, MS: -3° (broke previous daily record by 17 degrees), Dallas (DFW), TX: -1° (broke previous daily record by 11 degrees), Midland-Odessa, TX: -1°, Dallas, TX: 1°, Birmingham, AL: 1°-Tied (broke previous daily record by 16 degrees), Little Rock, AR: 1°-Tied, Meridian, MS: 2°, Huntsville, AL: -3°-Tied (broke previous daily record by 16 degrees), Jackson, MS: 4°, Austin, TX: 4°(broke previous daily record by 11 degrees), Shreveport, LA: 5°, Austin (Bergstrom), TX: 6°(broke previous daily record by 11 degrees), San Antonio, TX: 6°(broke previous daily record by 10 degrees), Houston, TX: 7°(broke previous daily record by 15 degrees), Baton Rouge, LA: 8° (broke previous daily record by 14 degrees), Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 12°, Corpus Christi, TX: 13° (broke previous daily record by 14 degrees), Galveston, TX: 14°-Tied and Brownsville, TX: 16° (broke previous daily record by 14 degrees).

Locations reporting daily record lows: Casper, WY: -39°, Waterloo, IA: -25°, Sioux City, IA: -24°, North Platte, NE: -24°, Elkins, WV: -24°(broke previous record by 24 degrees), Dubuque, IA: -23°, Peoria, IL: -22°, Columbia, MO: -19°(broke previous record by 11 degrees), Concordia, KS: -17°(broke previous record by 11 degrees), Alpena, MI: -17°(broke previous record by 10 degrees), Grand Island, NE: -17°, Indianapolis, IN: -15°, Wichita, KS: -15°, St. Louis, MO: -15°(broke previous record by 10 degrees), Dodge City, KS: -14°(broke previous record by 10 degrees), Columbus, OH: -14°(broke previous record by 13 degrees), Toledo, OH: -14°, Clayton, NM: -13°, Huntington, WV: -13°(broke previous record by 18 degrees), Flint, MI: -12°, Cincinnati, OH: -12°(broke previous record by 10 degrees), Charleston, WV: -12°(broke previous record by 15 degrees), Lexington, KY: -11°, Grand Rapids, MI: -11°, Jackson, KY: -10°(broke previous record by 22 degrees), Mansfield, OH: -9°-Tied, Louisville, KY: -8°, Paducah, KY: -8°, Oklahoma City, OK: -8°, Tulsa, OK: -8°, Nashville, TN: -8°(broke previous record by 17 degrees), Binghamton, NY: -6°, Mt. Pocono, PA: -6°, Hartford, CT: -5°, Muskegon, MI: -5°, Bristol, TN: -4° (broke previous record by 17 degrees), Waco, TX: -4°, Amarillo, TX: -3°, Worcester, MA: -2°, Roanoke, VA: -2°, Oak Ridge, TN: -1° (broke previous record by 15 degrees), Lubbock, TX: -1°, Milton, MA: -1°-Tied, Knoxville, TN: 0° (broke previous record by 14 degrees), Asheville, NC: 1°, Atlantic City, NJ: 1°, Reading, PA: 2°, Providence, RI: 2°-Tied, Georgetown, DE: 3°, Wilmington, DE: 4°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 4°, Trenton, NJ: 4°, Bridgeport, CT: 5°, Chattanooga, TN: 5° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Washington, D.C.: 7°, Newark, NJ: 7°, New York (LaGuardia), NY: 7°, Philadelphia, PA: 7°, Salisbury, MD: 7°, Atlanta, GA: 8°, Charlotte, NC: 8°, Islip, NY: 8°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 8°, Wallops Island, VA: 8°, Montgomery, AL: 9°, Mobile, AL: 9° (broke previous record by 14 degrees), Richmond, VA: 9°-Tied, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 10°, Raleigh, NC: 10°-Tied, Pensacola, FL: 13°, Athens, GA: 13°, Columbus, GA: 14°, Macon, GA: 15°, Wilmington, NC: 15°, Columbia, SC: 16°, Augusta, GA: 17°, Charleston, SC: 17°, Savannah, GA: 18°, Gainesville, FL: 22°, Daytona Beach, FL: 23°, Cape Hatteras, NC: 23°, Jacksonville, FL: 24°, Orlando, FL: 24° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Tampa, FL: 28°, Vero Beach, FL: 28°, West Palm Beach, FL: 32° and Miami, FL: 37°.

A storm system moving across the Florida peninsula and along the Southern Atlantic Coast produced high winds and record snows along the Carolina coast.  Snowfall totals of 15 inches at Wilmington, NC and 13.3 inches at Cape Hatteras, NC were all-time records for those locations.  Gale force winds, gusting to 60 mph, produced waves 34 feet high off the coast of North Carolina, and whipped the heavy snow into drifts up to 8 feet high.  Two inches fell at Savannah, GA; one of only three times that snowfall in the city required a ruler for measurement.  Charleston, SC picked up 3.9 inches.  The storm resulted in the first white Christmas on record from northeastern Florida to North Carolina.  Snow fell in Tampa and Daytona Beach as Florida experienced its most widespread snowstorm in history and their first white Christmas in history as airports and interstates were shut down.  Snow and sleet fell as far south as a Sarasota to Melbourne. 

Many traffic accidents and several fatalities occurred on ice-covered roads in North

Florida. At least six people died of hypothermia and another four in space-heater related fires. Extensive crop damage including a loss of about 30% of the $l.4 billion citrus crop occurred leaving tens of thousands of migrant farm workers unemployed. Winter vegetables, berries, nursery ornamentals and fish suffered heavy losses. Power blackouts hit hundreds of thousands of residents at various times during the holiday weekend.

Behind the arctic surge, some locations went through a dramatic warm-up. 

Cheyenne, WYsaw a 2 day temperature change of 75 degrees, from a low of -28°on the 22nd to a high of 47°on this date.  Scottsbluff, NE recorded an impressive 84 degree temperature change, warming from -42°on the 22nd to 42°above on this date.

After setting a record low temperature of -29° the day before, Rapid City, SD saw the mercury climb to 49° on this date.

1990
A deep upper level trough brought dangerous record lows from the Plains to the West Coast. Pocatello, ID set their December record low with -29°while Flagstaff, AZ tied their all-time December record low with -23°. That broke their previous record by 11 degrees.

Other locations reporting daily record lows included: Ely, NV: -30°, Huron, SD: -30°, Alamosa, CO: -29°, Ely, NV: -28°, Winnemucca, NV: -28° (broke previous record by 14 degrees), Sioux Falls, SD: -28°, Scottsbluff, NE: -27°, Pueblo, CO: -25°, Boise, ID: -18°-Tied, Colorado Springs, CO: -17°, Denver, CO: -17°, Grand Junction, CO: -17°, Salt Lake City, UT: -11°(broke previous record by 10 degrees), Winslow, AZ: -11°-Tied, Good land, KS: -9°, Reno, NV: -9°, Albuquerque, NM: -7°, Amarillo, TX: -6°, Bishop, CA: -5°, Medford, OR: 7°, Las Vegas, NV: 11° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Salem, OR: 11°, Fresno, CA: 18°, Redding, CA: 20°, Sacramento, CA: 20°, Stockton, CA: 20°, Santa Maria, CA: 22°, Phoenix, AZ: 26°, Eureka, CA: 27°, San Francisco Airport, CA: 28°, Long Beach, CA: 30°, Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 34°, Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 35° and San Diego, CA: 36°.

1991
Recent heavy rains in Austin, TX set a new yearly rainfall record. 51.64 inches had fallen to this date. The old record was 51.30 inches set in 1957. The monthly rainfall record for December already had been far exceeded. The rainfall total for the month to this point was 13.59 inches. The old December record was 5.91 inches set in 1944.

1994
On this date through the 24th, an intense ocean storm, known as an intense hybrid nor'easter lashed New England with high winds and heavy rains on this day and continued into the 24th. The storm had its origins in the western Gulf of Mexico two days before and had the characteristics of a tropical cyclone, even as it reached 40 degrees north latitude. It dumbelled around a regular developing baroclinic low on the coast of the Carolinas, and had an extremely tight pressure pattern, with a central pressure of 969 millibars as it approached New England. High pressure to the north only enhanced the pressure gradient, and resulted in winds exceeding hurricane force over coastal areas. A wind gust of 88 mph was recorded at Walpole, MA. Sustained winds of 63 mph with a gust to 84 mph were record on Nantucket Island. Falmouth, MA recorded a 78 mph wind gust and a 74 mph gust was reported at Ashaway, RI. Plymouth, MA was deluged with 4.85 inches of rain and Gloucester, MA checked in with 4.72 inches.

1997
A surprise heavy snowstorm struck eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire.  Dracut, MA was buried under 23.5 inches of snow. 22 inches was recorded at Pepperell, MA, 21 inches was measured at Ayer, MA including 8 inches in one hour, and Nashua, MH checked in with 20.5 inches.

1998
A major ice storm from Texas to Virginia caused major havoc with holiday transportation and widespread power outages.

2001
La Crosse, WI had their first measurable snow of the season with 0.6 inches. This is the latest date for the first measurable snowfall of a season.

2005
Late afternoon lighting strikes knocked out power to 1,800 customers in Saanich, just north of Victoria British Columbia Canada. The bolts knocked out traffic signals at a dozen major intersections during the afternoon rush hour. One bolt shorted out the transformer at the WalMart store, causing an evacuation.

2007
A potent winter storm brought accumulations of a foot or more to some locations across the Upper Mississippi River Valley, along with strong winds and white out conditions. After starting out as some drizzle or light rain, the precipitation changed over to snow on the 22nd, and then continued to fall through the better part of this date. Snowfall rates Saturday night of an inch per hour were common at times. In addition to the snow, the winds started to increase Saturday night, becoming very blustery on Sunday. Northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts of 40 to 45 mph led to blowing and drifting of the falling, and fallen snow. "White-out" conditions developed in many areas as a result, with snow drifts of several feet also being reported. Travel was impossible in some areas.

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December 24th:

1796
A famous cold day was felt at Cairo, IL where the temperature fell to -8 and in Kentucky where the mercury fell to -13. The Ohio and Mississippi Rivers were frozen.

1836
An intense cold wave drove the temperature down nearly 40 degrees in 10 hours at Fort Snelling, MN to -28° by Christmas morning, one degree shy of 1822's record.

1868
A severe freeze occurred at Jacksonville, FL when the temperature dropped to 20°.

1872
Extreme cold gripped the Upper Midwest. Downtown Chicago, IL reported an all-time record low of -23°, which stood until 12/24/1983 and Minneapolis, MN plunged to -38°.  The afternoon high at Minneapolis struggled to make it to -17°.

1879
It was a frigid Christmas Eve at Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada as the temperature fell to -54°.

1927
A Christmas Eve Blizzard buried Findon, West Sussex, United Kingdom driven by gale force winds.  The deep and drifting snow cut off the town. 100 men were employed to remove the great snowfall from roads.

1955
It felt anything like the eve of Christmas and within the first few days of winter as much of the southern Plains, deep south to the Tennessee Valley reported record highs. Records for the month of December included: Waco, TX: 91°, Abilene, TX: 89°,  Dallas (Love Field), TX: 89°(broke previous daily record by 13 degrees), Dodge City, KS: 86°(broke previous daily record by 20 degrees),  Oklahoma City, OK: 86°(broke previous daily record by 17 degrees), Wichita, KS: 83° (broke previous record by 20 degrees), Tulsa, OK: 80°-Tied (broke previous record by 13 degrees), Little Rock, AR: 80°-Tied, 

Daily records for the date included: Del Rio, TX: 89°, Dallas (DFW), TX: 88°, San Angelo, TX: 87°, Wichita Falls, TX: 87°, Austin, TX: 82°, Midland-Odessa, TX: 82°, Houston, TX: 82°-Tied, Amarillo, TX: 81° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Lubbock, TX: 80°, Jackson, MS: 80°, Fort Smith, AR: 80°, Austin (Bergstrom), TX: 80°-Tied, New Orleans, LA: 79°, Roswell, NM: 78°, Meridian, MS: 78°, Tupelo, MS: 78°, Montgomery, AL: 78°, Clayton, NM: 77°, Goodland, KS: 77° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Pueblo, CO: 76°, Memphis, TN: 76°, Birmingham, AL: 74°, Springfield, MO: 74°, Huntsville, AL: 73°, El Paso, TX: 72°, Chattanooga, TN: 72°, Atlanta, GA: 71°-Tied, Colorado Springs, CO: 70°, Denver, CO: 70°, Oak Ridge, TN: 70°, Huntington, WV: 70°-Tied, Bristol, TN: 69°, Columbia, MO: 69°, Beckley, WV: 67°, Kansas City, MO: 66°, Scottsbluff, NE: 65°, Grand Junction, CO: 64° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Cheyenne, WY: 60°, Alamosa, CO: 58° and Casper, WY: 52°. 

1962
A band of precipitation over northern Scotland turned to snow, giving Glasgow, Scotland its first white Christmas in 24 years.

1963
The temperature fell to -13° at Memphis, TN, setting the all-time record low temperature for the city. This came only two days after Memphis had received its third heaviest snowfall on record with 14.3 inches.

1972
Queensland in Australia recorded one of its hottest days on record when the high temperature at Birdsville reached 118.4°.

1982
The "Blizzard of '82" blasted eastern Colorado with 18 to 34 inches of snow. Akron was buried under 28 inches of snow. Denver recorded 23.6 inches of snow in 24 hours to set a new all-time 24 hour snowfall record. Winds gusting to 60 mph whipped the snow into 4 to 8 foot drifts. All highways leading out of Denver were closed and Stapleton International Airport was closed for 33 consecutive hours as visibilities fell to a quarter of a mile or less for 17 consecutive hours. Laramie, WY picked up 18.2 inches of snow.

During an unseasonal period of severe weather, thunderstorms over Oregon County, Missouri produced an F4 tornado. The tornado kept up F4 intensity for 43 miles before dropping to F2 intensity and continuing its progress for an additional 33 miles. During its 35 minute life span the twister killed one person, injured 8 others and did over $10 million dollars in damage.

An F2 tornado touched down in Christian County, Missouri and cut a 300 yard wide 16 mile long path of damage. One person was injured and $5 million dollars of damage was reported.

1983
It was the coldest Christmas Eve on modern record in the United States. Arctic air covered almost 90% of the country with temperatures well below freezing and, in many areas of the north, well below zero. On Christmas day 125 record lows were set in 24 different states. Chicago, IL recorded its' coldest temperature ever with a reading of -25°.  Miles City, MT established a new U.S. record high barometric pressure of 31.42 inHg or 1063.9 millibars. Sioux Falls, SD led the nation with record cold as the city stayed below zero for 8 consecutive days. Oklahoma City, OK set their highest barometric pressure reading with 31.14 inHg.

Miles City, MT set their all-time record low and coldest high temperature with -38° and -25° respectively. Sheridan, WY also recorded their all-time coldest temperature of -37°. 

Locations reporting their lowest December temperature: Alma, WI: -32°, Billings, MT: -32° (broke previous record by 18 degrees), Waukon, IA: -27°, Dubuque, IA: -25°, Chicago, IL: -25°, Rockford, IL: -24° and Youngstown, OH: -12°-Tied (broke previous daily record by 12 degrees).

Locations reporting daily record low temperatures for the date included: Chester, MT: -52°, Wisdom, MT: -52°, Havre, MT: -50°, West Yellowstone, MT: -48°, Bozeman, MT: -46°, Chinook, MT: -46°, Conrad, MT: -46°, White Sulphur Springs, MT: -46°, Fort Assinniboine, MT: -44°, Lincoln Ranger Station, MT: -44°, Shelby, MT: -43°, Great Falls, MT: -42° (broke previous record by 18 degrees), Lewistown, MT: -42°, Livingston, MT: -41°, Cut Bank, MT: -40°, Butte, MT: -40°, Boulder, MT: -40°, Grass Range, MT: -39°, Del Bonita, MT: -38°, Virginia City, MT: -38°, Glasgow, MT: -37°, Helena, MT: -37°, Townsend, MT: -37°, Choteau, MT: -35°, Valier, MT: -35°, Casper, WY: -33° (broke previous record by 20 degrees), Kalispell, MT: -30° (broke previous record by 13 degrees), Ennis, MT: -30°, Timber Lake, SD: -28°, Watertown, SD: -28°, St. Cloud, MN: -28°, Mobridge, SD: -26°, Wheaton, SD: -26°, Waterloo, IA: -26°, Rochester, MN: -26°, Rapid City, SD: -26°, Sisseton, SD: -25°, Valentine, NE: -25°, Cheyenne, WY: -25°, Aberdeen, SD: -23°, Sioux Falls, SD: -23°, Green Bay, WI: -21°, Scottsbluff, NE: -21°, Des Moines, IA: -19°, Moline, IL: -19° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Grand Island, NE: -19°, Omaha, NE: -19°, Sioux City, IA: -18°, Peoria, IL: -18°, Lincoln, NE: -18°, Indianapolis, IN: -17°, Kansas City, MO: -17° (broke previous record by 14 degrees), Springfield, IL: -16°, Fort Wayne, IN: -16°, Columbia, MO: -16° (broke previous record by 14 degrees), South Bend, IN: -15° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Akron, OH: -15°, Dayton, OH: -15°, Toledo, OH: -15°, Topeka, KS: -14°, Mansfield, OH: -14°, Lewiston, ID: -13°, Concordia, KS: -13°, St. Louis, MO: -12°, Cincinnati, OH: -12°, Columbus, OH: -12°, Marquette, MI: -11°, Pittsburgh, PA: -11°, Beckley, WV: -11°, Lexington, KY: -10°, Jackson, KY: -10°, Wichita, KS: -10°, Springfield, MO: -10°, Cleveland, OH: -10°, Elkins, WV: -10°, Detroit, MI: -9°, Pocatello, ID: -8°, Louisville, KY: -8°, Huntington, WV: -7° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Paducah, KY: -6°, Charleston, WV: -6°, Wilmington, DE: -5°, Asheville, NC: -5°, Nashville, TN: -4°, Erie, PA: -3°, Bristol, TN: -3°, Amarillo, TX: -3°, Tulsa, OK: -2°, Knoxville, TN: -2°, Oak Ridge, TN: -2°, Atlantic City, NJ: -1°, Allentown, PA: -1°, Harrisburg, PA: -1°, Trenton, NJ: -1°, Fort Smith, AR: 0°, Oklahoma City, OK: 0°, Lubbock, TX: 0°, Roanoke, VA: 0°, Yakima, WA: 0°, Lynchburg, VA: 1°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 1°, Huntsville, AL: 2°, Chattanooga, TN: 2° (Broke previous record by 10 degrees), Atlanta, GA: 3°, Newark, NJ: 3°, Philadelphia, PA: 3°, Birmingham, AL: 4°, Baltimore, MD: 4°, Tupelo, MS: 4°, Greensboro, NC: 4°, New York (LaGuardia Airport), NY: 4°, Abilene, TX: 4°, Washington, D.C.: 5°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 5° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Dallas, TX: 5°, Charlotte, NC: 6° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Raleigh, NC: 6°, New York (Central Park, NY), NY: 6°, Midland-Odessa, TX: 6°, San Angelo, TX: 6°, Wichita Falls, TX: 6°, Richmond, VA: 6°, Athens, GA: 7°, Dallas (DFW), TX: 7°, Bridgeport, CT: 8°, Shreveport, LA: 8°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 8°, Jackson, MS: 9°, Wallops Island, VA: 9°, Montgomery, AL: 10°, Macon, GA: 10°, Meridian, MS: 10°, Norfolk, VA: 10°, Augusta, GA: 11°, Columbus, GA: 11°, Wilmington, NC: 11° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Columbia, SC: 12°, Austin, TX: 12°, Waco, TX: 12°, Mobile, AL: 13°, Baton Rouge, LA: 13°, Cape Hatteras, NC: 13° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Houston, TX: 14°, Olympia, WA: 14°, Pensacola, FL: 15°, Portland, OR: 15°, Del Rio, TX: 15°, San Antonio, TX: 15°, Savannah, GA: 16°, Austin (Bergstrom), TX: 16°, Lake Charles, LA: 17°, New Orleans, LA: 17°, Galveston, TX: 17°, Victoria, TX: 17°, Astoria, OR: 18°, Jacksonville, FL: 18°, Charleston, SC: 18°, Quillayute, WA: 18°, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 19°, Tallahassee, FL: 20°, Corpus Christi, TX: 20°, Brownsville, TX: 24°, Daytona, Beach, FL: 30°-Tied and Orlando, FL: 35°.

If the brutal dangerous cold wasn’t enough, 1983 the Northern Plains was in the grip of a ferocious ground blizzard. Over the stretch beginning on the 18th through the 25th temperatures were rarely above zero across the area and strong winds made conditions especially dangerous. The worst conditions occurred from the 23rd through the 25th as light snow and loose surface snow combined with strong northwesterly winds to produce whiteout conditions for extended periods of time.

The ground blizzard paralyzed most areas, completely blocking most roads with drifts 4 to 5 feet high. One drift in southwest Minnesota climbed to 15 feet deep and took five hours to clear with a large snowplow. With sub-zero temperatures and winds gusting up to 60 mph, at times, wind chills were from -60°to -100°. The intense and long- lived cold spell burst gas lines, caused propane gas to solidify, and froze water pipes and tanks.

The last of five consecutive days that the temperature remained below zero occurred on this day for Chadron, Alliance and Scottsbluff, NE. Cheyenne, WY warmed above zero in the late evening on this day due to Chinook winds, and ended their longest recorded streak of below zero temperatures at 120 hours.

1986
A severe ice storm hit the Ottawa Valley in Ontario and southwestern Quebec Canada on Christmas Eve, forcing many residents to barbecue their holiday turkey as power was lost for 25% of the residents. 1.18 inches of freezing rain accumulated in about 14 hours.

1987
A 4-day siege of heavy rain began in the south central U.S. Flooding claimed 4 lives and caused millions of dollars property damage. Western Tennessee was drenched with up to 14 inches of rain in two days. Total rainfall exceeded 12 inches around Memphis TN, and the heavy rain and subsequent flooding added insult to injury to victims of the West Memphis tornado on the 14th of the month. Little Rock, AR experienced their wettest December day on record with 5.01 inches of rain. West Little Rock, AR reported 10.20 inches of rain in 24 hours.

1988
Early morning thunderstorms developing along a cold front spawned a powerful F4 tornado at Franklin, TN which killed one person, injured 7 others, and caused $8 million dollars damage.  

Another in a series of winter storms in the western U.S. produced 20 inches of snow at Blue Canyon, CA in 24 hours. Bishop, CA received 14 inches of snow in just 6 hours, and Redding, CA, which averages 3 inches of snow per year, was blanketed with 10 inches.

1989
Many cities in the south central and eastern U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date. The high of just 45° at Miami, FL was an all-time record for that location. This smashed their previous record for the date by 20 degrees.

Vero Beach, FL set their all-time record December low with 23° while Key West, FL tied their December record low with 44°.

Locations reporting daily record lows included: Elkins, WV: -22° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Concord, NH: -20°, Mt. Pocono, PA: -20°, Burlington, VT: -18°, Caribou, ME: -18°-Tied, Albany, NY: -15°, Syracuse, NY: -14°, Portland, ME: -13°, Binghamton, NY: -11°, Lexington, KY: -10°-Tied, Evansville, IN: -9°, Hartford, CT: -9°, Avoca, PA: -9°, Huntington, WV: -9°, Williamsport, PA: -9°-Tied, Allentown, PA: -5°, Bristol, TN: -3°-Tied, Reading, PA: -1°, Roanoke, VA: 0°-Tied, Huntsville, AL: 1°, Tupelo, MS: 3°, Birmingham, AL: 4°-Tied, Bridgeport, CT: 6°, Jackson, MS: 6°, Meridian, MS: 6°, Montgomery, AL: 7°, Shreveport, LA: 8°-Tied, Mobile, AL: 9°, Columbus, GA: 9, Georgetown, DE: 9, Baton Rouge, LA: 10, Macon, GA: 10-Tied, Pensacola, FL: 11°, Houston, TX: 11°, Lake Charles, LA: 12°, Islip, NY: 12°, Tallahassee, FL: 13°, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 13°, Austin (Bergstrom), TX: 14°, New Orleans, LA: 15°, Corpus Christi, TX: 15°, Gainesville, FL: 16°, Charleston, SC: 16°, Victoria, TX: 16°, Savannah, GA: 16°-Tied, Brownsville, TX: 18°, Daytona, Beach, FL: 20° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Orlando, FL: 22° (broke previous record by 13 degrees), Tampa, FL: 24°, Ft. Myers, FL: 27°, West Palm Beach, FL: 28° and Miami, FL: 31°.

Record low temperatures in the southeast were the result of a heavy Christmas Eve to Christmas day snowstorm that dumped up to 20 inches of snow in Eastern North Carolina giving many locations their first white Christmas ever. Cape Hatteras, NC was in the second day of their greatest snowstorm on record with 13.3 inches. This storm was one of those coastal lows that actually had an "eye" show in IR satellite imagery like tropical hurricanes. Temperatures were in the teens on the coast but just 50 miles off shore were they in the middle 50s.

1990
A deep upper level trough continued to bring dangerous record lows from the Rockies to the West Coast. Many locations reported record low temperatures for the date including:  

Cache Valley, UT: -44°, Roosevelt, UT: -34°, Alamosa, CO: -33°, Milford, UT: -33°, Winnemucca, NV: -27°-Tied, Ely, NV: -22°, Pocatello, ID: -21° (broke previous record by 13 degrees), Boise, ID: -20° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Pueblo, CO: -17°, Burns, OR: -17°, Reno, NV: -11° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Albuquerque, NM: -2°, Yakima, WA: -1°, Bishop, CA: 3°, Medford, OR: 10°, Salem, OR: 10°, Olympia, WA: 11°, Las Vegas, NV: 14°, Portland, OR: 15°-Tied, Sacramento, CA: 19°, Stockton, CA: 19°, Fresno, CA: 20°, Santa Maria, CA: 23°-Tied, Eureka, CA: 27°, Redding, CA: 27°, San Francisco Airport, CA: 29° and Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 35°-Tied.

1993
Light snow at Sioux Falls, SD pushed the melted precipitation for the year for the city to 36.03 inches. This set a new all-time record for yearly precipitation for the location.

1996
Southerly flow out ahead of a cold front brought a few record high temperatures to parts of the Northeast. Central Park in New York City soared to 63°, tying the record high temperature for the date.  Other record highs included: Boston, MA: 61°, Hartford, CT: 59°-Tied, Milton, MA: 58° and Worcester, MA: 57°-Tied.

2001
Buffalo, NY had gone through the entire month of November without any snow, the very first time in history that had occurred. But the city would make up for it on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as 25.2 inches of snow fell in just 24 hours, the 3rd highest 24 hour snowfall for the city. The new record would fall just two days later when 29.6 inches of snow fell between 7pm on the 26th and 7pm on the 27th.  82.3 inches of snow fell during a 5-day period, almost as much as the city normally receives in an entire winter season.

2004
The residents ofVictoria, TX awoke to their first white Christmas in 86 years when south Texas received a rare blanket of snow that reached 13 inches.

Several locations from the upper Midwest to the Ohio Valley reported record low temperatures for the date including: International Falls, MN: -35°, Valentine, MT: -25°, Marquette, MI: -18°, Alpena, MI: -12°-Tied, Evansville, IN: -10° and Paducah, KY: -6°-Tied.

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December 25th:

1776
A heavy snowstorm began to lash the East Coast from North Carolina to New York. The storm dumped about 2 feet of snow from Central Virginia to Central Maryland in a 24-hour period. This storm is well known because it was the storm General George Washington had to cross the Delaware River en route to Trenton, NJ to attack the Hessian forces. In northeast New Jersey much less snow fell due to a change over to sleet and freezing rain. At the time of the crossing of the Delaware River the snow was in the process of changing over to sleet.

1836
The United Kingdom's heaviest Christmas snowstorm on record left drifts more than 23 feet high in some places and many were killed.

1891
A period of very cold weather started on the 23rd and ended on the 30th in southern California. San Diego pools had ice a half inch thick on the surface and ice one inch thick formed on oranges on trees in Mission Valley.

1909
A major severe snowstorm affected areas from the Mid-Atlantic to New England. Snow totals averaged 20 inches across eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware with 21 inches at Philadelphia, PA. 8.5 inches fell, the most ever to fall on Christmas Day. Winds gusted as high as 72 mph. Widespread damage to power poles with downed lines was reported into New England. 20 people died in New York City, NY and Massachusetts.  . 

1914
The biggest snowstorm in December for Oklahoma City, Oklahoma came to an end as 9 inches of snow was recorded.

1921
A succession of heavy storms from the 17th to the 27th produced a total of 29.38 inches at Mt. Wilson, CA (only 1.48 inches had fallen there since 5/23). From the 24th to the 26th, 6.76 inches fell at Los Angeles, CA. Widespread flooding resulted. Flooded areas along the Santa Ana and San Gabriel Rivers were easily seen from atop Mt. Wilson from the coast to 20 to 30 miles inland.

1927
On this date through the 26th, the worst Christmas blizzard in a century buried the United Kingdom. While most of the country experienced snow, the south suffered from the brunt of the storm with drifts up to 15 feet. Many roads were blocked with stranded vehicles.

1966
Residents from North Carolina to New England enjoyed a white Christmas in the wake of a major snowstorm. Even coastal Virginia was white. Beginning the previous day ending on this date, Philadelphia, PA reported 12.7 inches of snow.

1969
A major snowstorm struck the Mid-Atlantic into the northeast. Montpelier, VT recorded 39 inches of snow. 29.8 inches of snow fell in Burlington, VT, which was a single storm record for the state. Across the mid-Atlantic, Roanoke, VA reported 14.6 inches, Dulles Airport northwest of Washington, D.C. had 6 inches and National Airport reported 4.3 inches.

1974
Cyclone Tracy slammed into Darwin on Australia’s north coast killing 71 people. Despite the cyclone being very compact, wind speeds reached 135 mph at the airport in Darwin before the instrument blew away.  Gusts were estimated as high as 185 mph. 70% of the buildings in Darwin and 80% of the homes were completely destroyed. Roughly 40% of the cities residents were left homeless. Damaged totaled just over $1 billion 1974 U.S. Dollars. 

1980
The northeastern U.S. reported their coldest Christmas on record courtesy of a strong upper level trough. The temperature at Boston, MA plunged from 34° to -7° as the sharp cold front swept southeastward. Temperatures during the day in parts of New England hovered in the -20° range all day long. It was a cold Christmas with a low temperature of -38° at Old Forge, NY and -1° at New York City.

Locations reporting all-time December record lows included: Binghamton, NY: -18° (broke previous daily record by 10 degrees), Buffalo, NY: -10° and New York (LaGuardia), NY: -1°.

Locations that reported daily record lows for the date from the Plains to the East Coast included: Ste. St. Marie, MI: -25°, Burlington, VT: -25°, Syracuse, NY: -22° (broke previous record by 19 degrees), Portland, ME: -16°, Hartford, CT: -13°, Williamsport, PA: -13°, Rochester, NY: -12°, Toledo, OH: -12°, Milton MA: -11°, Worcester, MA: -11°, Providence, RI: -10°, Detroit, MI: -8°-Tied, Flint, MI: -7°-Tied, Avoca, PA: -7°-Tied, Elkins, WV: -7°-Tied, Columbus, OH: -5°, Dayton, OH: -5°, Bridgeport, CT: -4°, Youngstown, OH: -4°, Atlantic City, NJ: -2°, New York (Central Park), NY: -1°, Allentown, PA: -1°, Newark, NJ: 0° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Erie, PA: 1°, Harrisburg, PA: 1°, Philadelphia, PA: 1°, Wilmington, DE: 2°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 3°, Charleston, WV: 4°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 5°, Roanoke, VA: 7°, Wallops Island, VA: 10°, Norfolk, VA: 16°-Tied and Dallas (DFW), TX: 17°-Tied.

A ridge of high pressure across the Great Basin produced an offshore flow across the West bringing record high temperatures for the data including: Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 85°, Santa Maria, CA: 85°, Riverside, CA: 83°, Phoenix, AZ: 78°, Idyllwild, CA: 72°, Eureka, CA: 68°, Flagstaff, AZ: 67°, Big Bear Lake, CA: 66°, Bishop, CA: 66°-Tied, Portland, OR: 64°, Astoria, OR: 63°, Salem, OR: 62°, Eugene, OR: 62°-Tied, Olympia, WA: 61°, Pendleton, OR: 61°, Seattle, WA: 60°, Medford, OR: 60°-Tied, Lewiston, ID: 59°-Tied, Casper, WY: 56°, Quillayute, WA: 55° and Spokane, WA: 53°.

1982

High pressure off the Carolina Coast brought a southerly flow of warm air ahead of a cold front from Texas to the Ohio Valley and the East Coast. Many locations reported record high temperatures for the date including: Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 80°, Tallahassee, FL: 80°-Tied, Lake Charles, LA: 79°, Macon, GA: 78°, Montgomery, AL: 78°, Athens, GA: 77°-Tied, Charleston, WV: 76°, Huntington, WV: 76°, Columbus, GA: 76°, Knoxville, TN: 76°, Jackson, KY: 76°, Bristol, TN: 74°, Oak Ridge, TN: 74°, Birmingham, AL: 73°, Galveston, TX: 73°-Tied, Lynchburg, VA: 72°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 71°, Wilmington, DE: 70°, Atlantic City, NJ: 70°, Lexington, KY: 70°, Paducah, KY: 69°, Elkins, WV: 68°, Evansville, IN: 68°, Roanoke, VA: 68°-Tied, Beckley, WV: 66°, Cleveland, OH: 66°, Youngstown, OH: 66°, Alpena, MI: 65° (broke previous record by 17 degrees), Flint, MI: 65°, Grand Rapids, MI: 65°, Lansing, MI: 65°, South Bend, IN: 65°, Buffalo, NY: 64°, Akron, OH: 64°, Detroit, MI: 64°, Fort Wayne, IN: 64° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Chicago, IL: 64°, New York (Central Park), NY: 64°-Tied, Toledo, OH: 63°, Mansfield, OH: 62°, Springfield, IL: 62°, Muskegon, MI: 61° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Milwaukee, WI: 61°, Houghton Lake, MI: 59° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Rochester, NY: 58°, Rockford, IL: 58°, Madison, WI: 56° and Ste. St. Marie, MI: 47°-Tied.

1983
It was the coldest Christmas Day of modern record for the central and eastern U.S. Many cities reported record low temperatures for the date, including records for the month of December. Snow covered the ground from the Pacific Northwest through much of the Great Plains Region to the Northern Appalachians.

Across the northern Plains, Winds of 20 to 30 mph, with occasionally higher gusts, combined with very light falling snow and loose surface snow to cause near-blizzard conditions and dangerously low wind chills in most of South Dakota, as well as in southwest and west central Minnesota, from the early evening of the 23rd into Christmas morning. Visibilities were frequently near zero and 4 to 5 foot drifts closed the vast majority of roads, making travel impossible. Hundreds of motorists became stranded during the evenings of the 23rd and 24th. In Minnesota, many holiday travelers heading west from Minneapolis and St. Paul drove to central Minnesota before conditions became too severe to continue. Winds and severe cold in the western part of Minnesota caused several power outages as well as the loss of livestock.
Across South Dakota, at least 70 vehicles were stalled at one point over a 14-mile stretch of Interstate 90 between Kennebec and Reliance. The Pierre Airport was closed twice on the 23rd as visibility was reduced to zero. Most flights were canceled at Sioux Falls Airport, stranding numerous holiday travelers. Sub-zero temperatures, combined with gusts of over 60 mph, produced wind chill indices from -60° to -100°. Several cases of frostbite were reported, propane gas solidified, fuel jelled, and water pipes and tanks froze as a result of the extreme cold. Electrical outages of 12 hours were experienced from power lines snapping as a result of the cold and winds.

When Sioux Falls, SD fell below zero on the morning of the 16th it would be a while before we climbed above that mark again. Sioux Falls did see temperatures above zero until the afternoon on this date. During that 9 day stretch Sioux Falls had eight consecutive days (17th through the 24th) with low temperatures colder than -20°. In one three day stretch from the 22nd through the 24th, the high temperatures were never warmer than -10°.

Across the state of Florida, the unusual cold weather caused broken irrigation and water

pipes. Low temperatures were in the teens in north Florida and in the 20s central and south central Florida. Inadequate heating units and residents’ carelessness with heating units caused many fires. Citrus and vegetable crops and plants were damaged and/or destroyed. Ornamental plants were damaged. Several roads in north Florida were damaged. Six people died of exposure, three in Miami, two in Jacksonville and one in Tampa. Crop damage totaled over half a billion dollars.

Record lows were set from parts of the Rockies to the East Coast. 

The following locations set record lows for the month of December: Youngstown, OH: -12°-Tied, Pittsburgh, PA: -12°-Tied, Asheville NC: -7°, Oak Ridge, TN: 7° (broke previous daily record by 14 degrees), Wilmington, DE: -7°-Tied, Knoxville, TN: -6° (broke previous daily record by 12 degrees), Lynchburg, VA: -4°-Tied, Chattanooga, TN: -2°-Tied (broke previous daily record by 17 degrees), Mobile, AL: 5°-Tied, Jacksonville, FL: 11°, Pensacola, FL: 11°-Tied and Galveston, TX: 14° (broke previous daily record by 14 degrees).

Locations setting daily record lows included: Sheridan, WY: -32°, Great Falls, MT: -29° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Helena, MT: -26°, Timber Lake, SD: -22°, Valentine, NE: -22°, Billings, MT: -21°, Kalispell, MT: -21°, Rapid City, SD: -21°, Columbia, MO: -19 (broke previous record by 15 degrees), Kennebec, SD: -18, Waterloo, IA: -18°, Chicago, IL: -17°, Omaha, NE: -17°, Elkins, WV: -17° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Pierre, SD: -16°, Kansas City, MO: -16° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Lincoln, NE: -16°, Norfolk, NE: -16°-Tied, Grand Island, NE: -16°-Tied, Colorado Springs, CO: -15° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Dubuque, IA: -15°, Rockford, IL: -15°, Indianapolis, IN: -15° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Madison, WI: -15°, Beckley, WV: -15° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Peoria, IL: -14°, Springfield, IL: -14°, Akron, OH: -14°, Sioux City, IA: -13°, Marquette, MI: -13°, St. Louis, MO: -13° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Dayton, OH: -13°, Toledo, OH: -13°, Jackson, KY: -12°, Cincinnati, OH: -12°, Columbus, OH: -12°, Mansfield, OH: -12°, Milwaukee, WI: -12°, Fort Wayne, IN: -11°, Topeka, KS: -11°, Denver, CO: -10°, Pueblo, CO: -10°, Detroit, MI: -10°, Springfield, MO: -10°, Cleveland, OH: -10°, Charleston, WV: -10° (broke previous record by 14 degrees), Lexington, KY: -9°, Huntington, WV: -9°, Concordia, KS: -8°, Evansville, IN: -7°, Louisville, KY: -7°, Wichita, KS: -6°, Bristol, TN: -6°, Paducah, KY: -5°, Nashville, TN: -5° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Roanoke, VA: -4° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Grand Rapids, MI: -3°, Erie, PA: -3°, Harrisburg, PA: -3°, Tulsa, OK: -2°, Allentown, PA: -2°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: -2°, Atlantic City, NJ: -2°-Tied, Huntsville, AL: -1°, Fort Smith, AR: -1°, Oklahoma City, OK: -1°, Little Rock, AR: 0°, Atlanta, GA: 0° (broke previous record by 16 degrees), Baltimore, MD: 0°, Tupelo, MS: 0°, Memphis, TN: 0°, Greensboro, NC: 1°, Philadelphia, PA: 1°-Tied, Birmingham, AL: 2°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 2°, Amarillo, TX: 2°, Washington, D.C.: 3°, Athens, GA: 3° (broke previous record by 15 degrees), Richmond, VA: 3°-Tied, Muskegon, MI: 4°, Charlotte, NC: 4° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Raleigh, NC: 4°, Dallas, TX: 5° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), San Angelo, TX: 5°, Wichita Falls, TX: 5°, Augusta, GA: 6° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Shreveport, LA: 6°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 6°, Abilene, TX: 6°, Dallas (DFW), TX: 9° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Macon, GA: 7° (broke previous record by 13 degrees), Jackson, MS: 7°, Columbia, SC: 7° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Midland-Odessa, TX: 7°, Waco, TX: 7° (broke previous record by 13 degrees), Norfolk, VA: 7°, Meridian, MS: 8°, Mobile, AL: 8°, Columbus, GA: 8° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Wilmington, NC: 9°, Wallops Island, VA: 9°, Savannah, GA: 10° (broke previous record by 12 degrees),  Austin, TX: 10° (broke previous record by 14 degrees), Baton Rouge, LA: 11°, Charleston, SC: 11°, Austin (Bergstrom), TX: 11°, Houston, TX: 11°, San Antonio, TX: 11°, Cape Hatteras, NC: 12°, Lake Charles, LA: 13°, Del Rio, TX: 13°, Tallahassee, FL: 14°, New Orleans, LA: 14° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Corpus Christi, TX: 14°, Victoria, TX: 14°, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 15° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Daytona Beach, FL: 20°, Tampa, FL: 20° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Brownsville, TX: 20°, Orlando, FL: 21°, Vero Beach, FL: 29° and Key West, FL: 47°-Tied.

1987
On this date through the 27th, freezing rain was reported from northwest Texas to southwestern Missouri, with an inch of ice reported at Harrison, AR. Little Rock recorded its wettest Christmas on record as 10.2 inches of rain fell in just 24 hours.

The storm coated a swath of Oklahoma from near Duncan through Norman to Tulsa with up to 2 inches of ice. Many areas were without power for more than a week.

Residents of Tucson, AZ awoke to a white Christmas for the first time in 47 years, as a winter storm blanketed the area with up to 4 inches of snow.  

In California, a cold snap descended on the region. It was 9° at Mt. Laguna and 22° in Valley Center on this day. Extensive damage to avocado and citrus crops resulted.

A few locations reported record lows including: Scottsbluff, NE: -14°, Fresno, CA: 20°and Santa Maria, CA: 23°.

Unseasonably mild weather prevailed in the southern U.S. Several cities reported record high temperatures for the date. For the second day in a row McAllen, TX was the hot spot in the nation with an afternoon high of 91°.

Locations reporting record highs for the date included: Daytona Beach, FL: 82°, Montgomery, AL: 81°, Meridian, MS: 80°, Augusta, GA: 79°, New Orleans, LA: 79°-Tied, Tupelo, MS: 78°, Mobile, AL: 77°-Tied, Birmingham, AL: 74°, Huntsville, AL: 73° and Atlanta, GA: 72°-Tied.

1988
A massive winter storm made for a white Christmas in the western U.S. Las Vegas, NV reported snow on the ground for the first time on record. Periods of snow over a 5-day period left several feet of new snow on the ground of ski areas in Colorado, with 68 inches reported at Wolf Creek Pass.

A week of subfreezing temperatures hit Southern California starting the 24th ending on the 30th. Five people died as a result of the cold.

Ahead of a cold front it was a warm Christmas across most of Florida. Ft.Myers and Daytona Beach tied their record highs for the date with 86°and 82°respectively.

1989
An unusual white Christmas occurred across parts of Florida. 1 to 3 inches of snow fell in the Florida Panhandle, with Tallahassee, FL picking up a trace of snow, the first time that had ever occurred on Christmas Day. Northeast Florida experienced their first White Christmas ever. Many fatal traffic accidents occurred on icy roads as snow removal equipment is non-existent. Airports and interstates were closed having to wait for Mother Nature to provide the melting. Snow and sleet fell as far south as Sarasota and Melbourne, FL.

It was also a record cold Christmas Day for parts of the southeastern U.S. Morning lows of -5°at Jacksonville, NC and 0°at Wilmington, NC established all-time records for those locations. Dulles Airport at Sterling, VA set a December record low with -4°while Miami and Miami Beach, FL equaled December records with lows of 30°and 33°. 

Locations reporting daily record lows included: Islip, NY: 12°, Gainesville, FL: 19°-Tied, Vero Beach, FL: 26°, Fort Myers, FL: 28°, West Palm Beach, FL: 28°, Redding, CA: 29°and Key West, FL: 46°.

Out west, Borrego Springs, CA set a record high with 81°.

A 2-inch snow cover made 1989 the first year ever in Washington D.C. with snow for both Christmas & Thanksgiving.

Erie, PA set their December snowfall record as the monthly total mounted to 60.3 inches.

1996
Record cold occurred in the upper Midwest and Rockies courtesy of An upper level trough across the northern states brought record low temperatures for the date including: International Falls, MN: -37°, Glasgow, MT: -36°, Williston, ND: -32°, Aberdeen, SD: -25° and St. Cloud, MN: -25°-Tied.

Missoula, MT received 14.6 inches of snow, the second highest one-day snowfall in the area in 60 years. The snowfall was memorable as it broke the record for the most snow ever in any December with a week to go.  

A Christmas Day tropical storm left over 100 people dead in Eastern Malaysia, with 3,000 people left homeless. The storm was one of the worst in history in the state of Sabah on the South China Sea. About 500 homes in 9 villages were swept away. 40 people were killed in Papua, New Guinea when a small mountainside village was swept away by a mudslide without warning.

1997
The temperature in Edmonton, Alberta Canada rose to 44° by noon local time, leaving area residents with their first brown Christmas in 100 years.

Across the U.S., Eureka, CA tied their record low with 30° while Vero Beach, FL tied their record high for the date with 85°.

2001
Buffalo, NY was buried under 25.2 inches of snow in 24 the city's third greatest 24 hour snowfall on record. This record was exceeded only two days later.

2002
More than two feet of snow fell in parts of New York, as a powerful storm moved out of the Plains then reformed off the New Jersey coast as a Nor'easter. The Mohawk Valley of New York was blanketed with over three feet of snow, which came down at an incredible rate of 5 inches per hour at times, creating "white-out" conditions. More than 100 miles of the New York State Thruway was shut down because plows couldn't keep up with the storm. Parts of three interstates in Pennsylvania were also closed, when up to 20 inches of snow came down. It was the first snowy Christmas Day in Albany, NY since 1985 as they picked up 19.2 inches. Cleveland, OH also broke their 1944 Christmas record of 5.8 inches, as more than 10 inches accumulated. Other snowfall totals included: Cherry Valley, NY: 39 inches, Cedarville, NY: 34 inches, Woodstock, VT: 27 inches, Westbrook, ME: 22 inches, Albany, NY: 21 inches, Tobyhanna, PA: 21 inches and Middlefield, MA with 18 inches.

With maximum sustained winds 180 mph, Tropical Cyclone Zoe slammed the island nation of Tuvalu in the South Pacific Ocean, striking the Temotu Province, with widespread damage reported on the islands of Tikopia, Anuta and Fataka.  The storm then moved on to the southeastern Solomon Islands from the 28th -30th.

2003
Flash floods generated a mudslide that swept down Waterman Canyon in San Bernardino, CA. The flood sent boulders, trees and 12-foot waves of mud crashing into a Greek Orthodox Church, killing 30 people. 15 people died in mudslides and debris flows in areas burned by wildfires during the previous October: 13 in a church camp in Waterman Canyon north of San Bernardino and two in a campground in Devore.

Rainfall totals included: 8.58 inches at Lytle Creek, 5.79 inches at Devore, 5.59 inches at Santiago Peak, 5.40 inches at Forest Falls, and 3.94 inches at Volcano Mountain. Up to 2.5 inches fell at lower elevations.

Las Vegas, NV reported a thunderstorm; one of only four times this has happened since 1950.

No white Christmas in Nova Scotia as temperatures across the province rose well in to the 50s. Greenwood lead the daily record highs with 59°.

2004
A historic snowfall occurred over South Texas starting on Christmas Eve and ending during the morning on Christmas Day. Some snowfall amounts included 13 inches at Brazoria, 12.5 inches at Victoria, 12 inches at Goliad, 10 inches at Beeville, 8 inches at Port Lavaca, 4 inches at Galveston, 3.5 inches at McAllen and 2.5 inches on South Padre Island. Corpus Christi recorded 4.4 inches of snow for it greatest single storm snowfall ever. Brownsville had 1.5 inches to set a record for its greatest December snowfall and first measurable snowfall since 1895. Temperatures rebounded to the 70s and low 80s in time for New Years.

Residents in New Orleans, LA were astonished to see snow falling steadily, the first Christmas snow in half a century and the first snowfall in 15 years. The city’s transit system halted all buses, trains and streetcars due to the sleet and icy streets.

A few locations from the Ohio Valley to the Great Lakes reported record low temperatures for the date including: Marquette, MI: -24° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Fort Wayne, IN: -15°, Mansfield, OH: -15°, Paducah, KY: -8° and Evansville, IN: -7°.

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December 26th:

You have probably heard the saying, "it's too cold to snow", but is there any truth to the statement? Actually, it's not true but, as temperatures fall, so does the amount of moisture that the air can hold. So, typically, cold air has much less moisture in it than warm air. But, it doesn't become too cold to snow.

At very cold temperatures snow tends to be much lighter and contains less water. For instance, at 32 degrees 10 inches of snow generally equals around 1 inch of liquid water equivalent. At extremely cold temperatures it may take 50 inches of snow to equal 1 inch of water. The south polar cap is extremely cold and it snows there. The polar caps may only receive 10 to 20 inches of snow a year...it just never melts.

1776

George Washington crossed the ice clogged Delaware River as he marched on to Trenton, NJ in the midst of snow and sleet thus surprising and capturing many of the British garrison.

1778

The Hessian Storm dumped 18 inches of snow from parts of Pennsylvania to New England.  Snow drifts were reported as high as 16 feet in Rhode Island. More than 50 people froze to death in the subzero weather that followed the snow. The storm was named for 9 German mercenaries who froze to death at their posts in Newport, RI. Many ships were wrecked in the terrible gales that accompanied the storm, including the General Arnold, an American ship that sunk off Plymouth, MA. The storm was named for troops occupying Rhode Island during the Revolutionary War.

1909
Philadelphia, PA had their biggest snowstorm up to that time with 21 inches falling. 12.5 inches fell on this day to establish a daily record. The Delaware state record was set when 24 inches fell. This was a severe coastal storm New England with record high tides.

1924
Snow fell for the first time since 1916 in Baghdad, Iraq and the temperature dropped to a low of 8°.

1927
The United Kingdom’s worst Christmas blizzard in 100 years started on Christmas Day ending on this date. Southern England was worst hit and snow drifted up to 15 feet in places.

1933
A winter storm affected areas from the Mid Atlantic into New York. New York City picked up 10 inches while Gratersford, and Lakeville, PA received 9 inches and Baltimore, MD set a daily snowfall record with 4.4 inches. At least 50 people died and several hundred injued.

1938
Edmonton, Alberta Canada established a new record low temperature for the date of -55°.

1947
New York City had one of their biggest snowstorms on record with 25.8 inches at the Battery and 26.4 inches at Central Park in 24 hours. 32 inches fell in the suburbs. White Plains, NY had 6 inches of snow in one hour with 19 inches over a 6 hour period. Long Branch, NJ reported 29.7 inches in 24 hours a state record up to that time. Traffic was completely halted and the snow removal cost was $8 million dollars. 27 people lost their lives in the storm; including 23 in New Jersey.

Out west a few locations enjoyed record high temperatures for the date including: Santa Ana, CA: 86°, Escondido, CA: 83°, Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 82°-Tied, Eureka, CA: 70°, Las Vegas, NV: 68°, Great Falls, MT: 58° and Glasgow, MT: 57°.

1980
Upper level high pressure off the southern California coast combined with surface high pressure across the Great Basin provided a warm off shore flow to most of the West. As a result many locations enjoyed record highs. Yakima, WA tied their December record high with 67°.

Locations reporting daily record high temperatures for the date included: Riverside, CA: 87°, Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 86°, Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 85°, Santa Maria, CA: 84°, Borrego Springs, CA: 82°, Yuma, AZ: 80°, Phoenix, AZ: 78°-Tied, Eureka, CA: 75°, Idyllwild, CA: 73°, Las Vegas, NV: 73°, Bishop, CA: 68°, Sheridan, WY: 67°, Pendleton, OR: 67°, Scottsbluff, NE: 66°, Goodland, KS: 65°, Astoria, OR: 64°, Portland, OR: 63°, Flagstaff, AZ: 63°, Billings, MT: 62°, Lewiston, ID: 62°, Olympia, WA: 62°, Seattle, WA: 62°, Helena, MT: 61°, Great Falls, MT: 60°, Medford, OR: 60°, Salem, OR: 60°, Cheyenne, WY: 59°, Lander, WY: 57°, Pocatello, ID: 57°, Havre, MT: 56°, Quillayute, WA: 56°, Spokane, WA: 56°, Ely, NV: 56°-Tied, Missoula, MT: 55°, Casper, WY: 53° and Kalispell, MT: 51°.

1983
Arctic high pressure settled across the south bringing record cold. Miami, FL established a December record with a morning low of 33°. Just 3 days earlier, and again 3 days later, record warm temperatures were reported in Florida, with daytime highs in the 80s.

Savannah, GA tied their December record low with 9° and Daytona Beach, FL set a new December record low with 19°.

Locations from the Plains to the East Coast that reported daily record low temperatures for the date included: Concord, NH: -19°, Chicago, IL: -11°, Springfield, IL: -10°, South Bend, IN: -10°, Akron, OH: -10°, Detroit, MI: -8°, Cleveland, OH: -8°, Fort Wayne, IN: -6°, Binghamton, NY: -6°, Dayton, OH: -6°, Youngstown, OH: -6°, Erie, PA: -6°, Pittsburgh, PA: -6°, Indianapolis, IN: -5°, Columbus, OH: -5°, Buffalo, NY: -3°, Cincinnati, OH: -3°, Wilmington, DE: -2°, Avoca, PA: -2°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: -1°, Jackson, KY: 0°, Asheville, NC: 0°, Harrisburg, PA: 0°, Bristol, TN: 0°, Knoxville, TN: 1, Oak Ridge, TN: 1 (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Lynchburg, VA: 1°, Charleston, WV: 1°, Baltimore, MD: 2°, Chattanooga, TN: 2°, Nashville, TN: 2°, Huntington, WV: 2°, Philadelphia, PA: 3°, Huntsville, AL: 4°, Paducah, KY: 4°, Louisville, KY: 4°-Tied, Birmingham, AL: 5°, Little Rock, AR: 5°, Atlanta, GA: 5°, Tupelo, MS: 5°, Greensboro, NC: 5°, Raleigh, NC: 5°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 5°, Charlotte, NC: 6°, Columbia, SC: 6°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 6°, Montgomery, AL: 8° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Norfolk, VA: 8°, Wallops Island, VA: 8°-Tied, Athens, GA: 9°, Augusta, GA: 9°, Macon, GA: 9° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Jackson, MS: 9°, Memphis, TN: 9°, Columbus, GA: 10° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Meridian, MS: 10°, Wilmington, NC: 10°, Charleston, SC: 11°, Jacksonville, FL: 13°, Wichita Falls, TX: 13°, Mobile, AL: 14° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Tallahassee, FL: 14°, Shreveport, LA: 14°, Austin, TX: 14°-Tied, Pensacola, FL: 15° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Baton Rouge, LA: 15°, Cape Hatteras, NC: 15°, San Antonio, TX: 15°, Abilene, TN: 16°, Dallas (DFW), TX: 16°, San Angelo, TX: 16°, Dallas, TX: 17°, Waco, TX: 17°, New Orleans, LA: 18°, Austin (Bergstrom), TX: 18°, Houston, TX: 18°, Victoria, TX: 18°, Tampa, FL: 19° (broke previous record by 15 degrees), Orlando, FL: 20°, Lake Charles, LA: 21°, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 21°, Del Rio, TX: 21°, Portland, OR: 22°-Tied, Quillayute, WA: 23°-Tied, Vero Beach, FL: 24°, Corpus Christi, TX: 26°, Brownsville, TX: 28°, Fort Myers, FL: 29°, West Palm Beach, FL: 30°-Tied and Key West, FL: 45°.

1985
Arctic high pressure along the northern Gulf Coast brought record cold mostly to parts of the east coast including Florida. Record low temperatures included: Burns, OR: -12°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 5°, Meridian, MS: 10°-Tied, Islip, NY: 12°, Tallahassee, FL: 13°, Gainesville, FL: 19°, Ocala, FL: 19° and Avon Park, FL: 23°.

1987
A snowstorm gave parts of the Colorado Rockies their worst storm in 4 years. Storm totals ranged from 12 to 18 inches on the east side of Metro Denver, CO, 1 to 2 feet in Boulder County and 2 to 3 feet across the western and southern parts of Metro Denver.  The greatest total reported was 42 inches at Intercanyon in the Foothills southwest of Denver.  Stapleton Airport in Denver reported 14.9 inches. Winds increased the next day behind the storm to 40 mph creating near blizzard conditions and forcing the closure of the airport in Denver for about 8 hours. Drifts were reported up to 5 feet high.  All highways leading out of Denver were closed on the 27th. 

As the storm moved in to the Plains, on this date through the 27th, freezing rain plagued parts of the south central U.S., from northwest Texas to southwestern Missouri.  Southwestern Missouri turned into a huge skating rink as roads became sheets of ice.  Half of Springfield, MO was left without electricity for 24 hours. Snow, sleet and ice covered the northwest two thirds of Oklahoma. 75,000 homes were left without electricity as ice accumulated 1 to 2 inches in a 40-mile band from Duncan to Norman to Tulsa to Miami. 25,000 of those homes were still without power a week later. The storm claimed the 7 lives.

Behind the storm, upper level low pressure and a trough brought record cold to parts of the west including:  Big Bear Lake, CA: -1°, Roswell, NM: 4°-Tied, Julian, CA: 15°, Mt. Laguna, CA: 15°, Campo, CA: 16°, Fresno, CA: 21°, Poway, CA: 22°, El Cajon, CA: 26°, Escondido, CA: 27°, Palm Springs, CA: 28°, Borrego Springs, CA: 28°, Del Mar, CA: 30°, Long Beach, CA: 32°, Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 34°and Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 35°.  Extensive damage to avocado and citrus crops resulted.

1988
Low pressure produced heavy snow from North Dakota to western sections of the Great Lakes Region, with up to 14 inches reported in the Chicago, IL area.  

Moderate to heavy snow fell across western and northern South Dakota, as well as across most of Minnesota, from the evening of the 25th through the morning of the 27th. Much of the northern one-half to two-thirds of Minnesota and the western and northern sections of South Dakota were blanketed with 6 to12 inches of new snow. Numerous accidents and minor injuries were indirectly related to the snowy conditions. Several snowfall amounts in South Dakota included 12 inches at Timber Lake; 10 to 12 inches at Seneca and Hoven; 11 inches at Aberdeen; 8 inches at Pierre, Eureka and Blunt; 7 inches at Chelsea, Redfield, Cottonwood, and Rapid City; and 6 inches at Ferney, Huron, and Eden. In Minnesota, 8 inches fell in Browns Valley, 6 inches fell at Wheaton, and 5 inches accumulated at Artichoke Lake. In Illinois, snow totals included 14 inches in Kankakee, and 9.5 inches in Rockford.

Behind the storm several locations from the northern Plains to the West Coast reported record low temperatures for the date including: Cold arctic air hovered over the Plateau Region. Temperatures in the Big Smokey Valley, NV: -31°, Ely, NV: -19°, Burns, OR: -15°, Rapid City, SD: -10°, Yakima, WA: -5°, Reno, NV: -1°, Idyllwild, CA: 12°and Eureka, CA: 30°.

1989
Strong northerly winds behind an arctic cold front produced snow squalls in the Great Lakes Region and dangerous wind chill temperatures in the northeastern U.S. Wind chill readings as low as -40°were reported across parts of New York State. Alpena, MI set a record low with -11°.

1993
Sault Ste Marie, MI plunged to -31° to set a new record low for the month of December.  Bitterly cold air was prevalent across the north central U.S. Tower, MN was the cold spot, with a reading of -50°.

1996
A severe snow and ice storm hit the Pacific Northwest. Trees and power lines fell under the weight of the ice. Over 160,000 residents of Portland, OR were without power at the height of the storm, including the airport, clogged with holiday travelers. Many flights were cancelled in Seattle, WA due to a thick coating of ice on the planes. The precipitation started as snow in Seattle and up to 7 inches fell before it changed over to freezing rain. A moist Pacific flow from the southwest flowing over a shallow layer of cold air being brought in by north winds at the surface resulted snow and freezing rain.

A moist Pacific Storm dumped heavy snow overnight on the Sierra Nevada mountains west of the Owens Valley.
Arctic high pressure brought record cold from parts of the upper Midwest to the northern Rockies. Record low temperatures for the date included: St. Cloud, MN: -34°, Sheridan, WY: -29°(broke previous record by 18 degrees), , Minneapolis, MN: -27°, Great Falls, MT: -27°, Helena, MT: -27°, Kennebec, SD: -26°, Timber Lake, SD: -25°, Valentine, NE: -25°(broke previous record by 12 degrees), Rapid City, SD: -23° (broke previous record by 13 degrees), Pierre, SD: -22°, Billings, MT: -20° and Green Bay, WI: -19°-Tied.

Cold temperatures gripped Italy, with ice on the famous canals of Venice and freezing temperatures in Rome. A week of snow and cold weather across Central and Eastern Europe left 29 people dead.

1999
The tropical location of Phnom Penh, Cambodia reported their lowest temperature in 65 years as they dropped to 60°. Their normal high is in the mid to upper 70.s

2001
The official snow total for the 5-day, lake-effect storm, which struck the Buffalo, NY area beginning Christmas Eve, was officially reported as 81.5 inches. At least 4 deaths were reported and the total cost for clean up was over $10 million dollars.

A foot of lake effect snow piled up at Grand Rapids, MI on this date as a week-long snow blitz dropped about 4 feet of snow

2003
Heavy, wet snow commenced on Christmas Day and continued in to this date from parts of the higher elevations of California to Montana. Agnew Pass, CA received 39 inches of snow and Lodgepole, CA received 24 inches of snow. Liquid water equivalent precipitation totals for this event included 7.30 inches at Lodgepole, 5.20 inches at Giant Forest and 3.60 inches at Yosemite Valley. Across parts of Montana, from this date through the 28th, snowfall totals included: Lame Deer: 24 inches, Pryor 18 inches, Judith Gap 15 inches, Roundup 14 inches, Red Lodge 12 inches and Billings: 11 inches.  Drifts up to 5 feet were recorded.

2007
After snowstorms hit the Golan Heights, the Galilee and Hebron in Israel on the 26th, the following morning snow fell across the Negev desert and the central hills and Jerusalem. Hundreds of Beduins were injured when several tents collapsed near the Lehavim Junction due to the stormy weather.

Perth, the capital of Western Australia, experienced their hottest Christmas Eve and Christmas Day on record, but it was not until this date that Perth experienced its hottest December day when the temperature reached 111.6°.

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December 27th:
1869

A post Christmas storm in New York and Vermont produced record snow totals of 30 inches at Burlington, VT, and 39 inches at Montpelier, VT. A public emergency was declared in Vermont.

1892
18.6 inches of snow fell during a winter storm at Norfolk, VA, establishing a single storm record for that location, 17.7 inches in 24 hours. Raleigh, NC picked up nearly 10 inches of snow. Snow was reported in northern Florida for the first time in 35 years.

1933
A cold arctic air mass brought record cold from the Midwest to parts of the East.  Locations that reported record low temperatures included: Rochester, MN: -30°, Waterloo, IA: -28°, Mobridge, SD: -19°, Dubuque, IA: -18°, Rockford, IL: -16°, Ste. St. Marie, MI: -15°-Tied, Mansfield, OH: -8°-Tied, Youngstown, OH: 0°, Akron, OH: -2° and Newark, NJ: 5°.

1948
In northern Canada, the town of Resolute in the Nunavut Provence recorded their coldest December day as the temperature plunged to -50°.

1950
Arctic high pressure built down across the Midwest bringing record cold to the southern Plains and parts of the East Coast. Locations reporting their coldest December temperatures on record included: Decorah, IA: -36°, Sparta, WI: -35°, Fayette, IA: -34°, Austin, MN: -33°, Trempealeau, WI: -33°, Elkader, IA: -31°, Osage, IA: -30°, Oelwein, IA: -28°, Guttenberg, IA: -27°, Lynxville, WI: -26°, Prairie du Chien, WI: -26° and Genoa, WI: -25°.

Locations that reported daily record low temperatures for the date included: Rochester, MN: -31°, Dubuque, IA: -21°, Caribou, ME: -20°, Rockford, IL: -19°, Columbus, OH: -14°, Williamsport, PA: -11°, Chicago, IL: -10°-Tied, Akron, OH: -9°, Syracuse, NY: -8°, Youngstown, OH: -4°, Dayton, OH: -4°-Tied, Allentown, PA: -1°-Tied, Bridgeport, CT: 2°, Wilmington, DE: 6°, New York (LaGuardia), NY: 10°, Paducah, KY: 12°, Wichita Falls, TX: 15° and San Angelo, TX: 18°.

1980
Upper level high pressure across the southwest combined with surface high pressure across the Great Basin brought record high temperatures from parts of the northern & central Plains to the West Coast. Scottsbluff, NErecorded their warmest December day on record with 77°. Helena, MT tied their December record high with 64°.

Locations reporting daily record highs for the date included: Palm Springs, CA: 85°, Borrego Springs, CA: 85°, Yuma, AZ: 84°, Phoenix, AZ: 82°, El Paso, TX: 76°, Denver, CO: 75°, Pueblo, CO: 75°, Goodland, KS: 74°, North Platte, NE: 71°, Dodge City, KS: 71°, Las Vegas, NV: 70°, Idyllwild, CA: 70°, Victorville, CA: 70°, Billings, MT: 68°, Palomar Mountain, CA: 67°, Winnemucca, NV: 67°, Flagstaff, AZ: 67°, Cheyenne, WY: 66°, Sheridan, WY: 66°, Colorado Springs, CO: 65°, Reno, NV: 65°, Albuquerque, NM: 65°-Tied, Great Falls, MT: 63°, Pendleton, OR: 63°-Tied, Yakima, WA: 62°, Casper, WY: 61°, Portland, OR: 61°, Salem, OR: 61°, Havre, MT: 60°, Medford, OR: 60°, Rapid City, SD: 59°, Pocatello, ID: 59° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Timber Lake, SD: 58°, Alamosa, CO: 58°, Olympia, WA: 58°, Astoria, OR: 58°-Tied, Missoula, MT: 56°, Spokane, WA: 55°, Pierre, SD: 54°, Glasgow, MT: 54°, Kalispell, MT: 53°, Quillayute, WA: 53° and Bismarck, ND: 48°-Tied.

1982
A blizzard paralyzed parts of the Northern Plains. The southeast corner of South Dakota accumulated up to 18 inches of snow with winds gusting over 50 mph. The highest snow total occurred at Irene where 18 inches was measured. The storm resulted in hazardous travel conditions and in these conditions a 14 car pile occurred just east of Sioux Falls.

Snowfall amounts across southwest Minnesota were generally over 8 inches. The storm began as a hard freezing rain across northwest Iowa before it changed to snow. Sioux City piled up 10 inches in the ensuing blizzard. Winds gusted to 70 mph drifting snow to 6 to 10 feet deep in southwest Minnesota and snapping ice coated power lines and poles in Iowa. Some rural areas in northwest Iowa were left without power for up to three days.

More than 18 inches of rain fell during a 3-day rainstorm at Vinton, LA. The storm was reported to be the worst in Louisiana in 100 years. Widespread flooding caused as much as $200 million in damage. President Reagan visited the state and declared 10 parishes in northeastern Louisiana disaster areas.

1983
The brutally cold arctic air mass that gripped most of the country finally moved off the Carolina Coast. There were a few record lows for the date including: Concord, NH: -8°, Atlantic City, NJ: 6°, Wallops Island, VA: 18°-Tied, Cape Hatteras, NC: 20°, Charleston, SC: 22°, Vero Beach, FL: 25°, Tampa, FL: 29°, Orlando, FL: 31° and Victoria, TX: 31°-Tied.

Also, a much less pronounced trough dug in across the northern Rockies to Washington State bringing a few record lows: Kalispell, MT: -20° and Spokane, WA: -4°.

1985
Cold high pressure across the Pacific Northwest and across the Southeast brought cold temperatures including all of Florida. Key West, FL tied a December record low with 44°.

Locations reporting daily record low temperatures for the date included: Burns, OR: -11°, Boise, ID: -7°, Salem, OR: 17°, Columbus, GA: 23°, Daytona Beach, FL: 23°, Astoria, OR: 23°, Tampa, FL: 28°, Orlando, FL: 29° and Fort Myers, FL: 34°-Tied.

1987
A winter storm produced snow and high winds in Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska. Denver, CO experienced its worst snowstorm in four years as high winds gusting to 46 mph created near blizzard conditions, whipping the 15 inch snow into drifts 5 feet high, and closing Stapleton Airport. Snowfall totals in the foothills southwest of Denver ranged up to 42 inches at Intercanyon. Blizzard conditions raged across southeastern Wyoming through the day, stranding 300 holiday travelers in the tiny town of Chugwater. Heavier snowfall totals included 22 inches at Elsmere, NE and 19 inches at La Grange, WY, 7.9 inches at Scottsbluff, NE and 7.2 inches at Cheyenne, WY..

Across Minnesota, freezing rain began during the morning before changing to heavy snow, which extended into the next day. The heaviest snowfall was across the high terrain of southwest Minnesota. In southern and eastern South Dakota, 6 to 12 inches of snow fell. Strong northwest winds of 20 to 40 mph hampered travel and snow removal. Snow drifts up to 6 feet deep were common. Across many areas of southern Minnesota, visibilities were reduced to zero due to blowing snow. Snowfall amounts in South Dakota included 12 inches in DeSmet; 10 inches in Wessington Springs and Madison; 9 inches in Huron; 8 inches in Pierre, Brookings, Mission and McCook County; 7 inches in Sioux Falls, Kadoka, Pine Ridge, and Martin. 8 inches also fell in Watertown and Highmore, with 7 inches at Bryant and 6 inches in Clear Lake.

Behind the storm an upper level trough brought record cold from parts of the southern Plains to southern California. Locations reporting record low temperatures for the date included: Roswell, NM: -3°, Clayton, NM: 1°-Tied, El Paso, TX: 14°, San Angelo, TX: 18°-Tied, Palm Springs, CA: 28°, Long Beach, CA: 34°, San Diego, CA: 37° and Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 38°.

1988
Severe thunderstorms developing along a cold front in the south central U.S. spawned a dozen tornadoes in Mississippi between early afternoon and sunrise the following day. A tornado at Harperville, MS destroyed five chicken homes killing thousands of chickens. Strong thunderstorm winds gusted to 80 mph at Rolling Fork, MS.

Behind the front an upper level trough brought cold temperatures from the Rockies to the West Coast. Bishop, CA tied their all-time record low with -8°.

Locations reporting daily record low temperatures for the date included: Ely, NV: -22°, Burns, OR: -13°, Reno, NV: -4°, Big Bear Lake, CA: -2°, Salt Lake City, UT: 0°, Victorville, CA: 12°, Idyllwild, CA: 12°, Palomar Mountain, CA: 18°, Las Vegas, NV: 19°-Tied, Redding, CA: 23°, Borrego Springs, CA: 28° and Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 37°.

1989
A deep upper level trough brought record cold to parts of the East. Many cities in the northeastern U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date including: Elkins, WV: -13°, Syracuse, NY: -11°, Rapid City, SD: -10°, Binghamton, NY: -6°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 1°, Islip, NY: 8°, Philadelphia, PA: 8°-Tied, New York (LaGuardia), NY: 9°, Wallops Island, VA: 14° and Jackson, KY: 17°.Watertown, NYwas the cold spot in the nation with a morning low of -37°.

1996
Dense fog developed across West and Southwest Florida during the predawn hours through late morning. Visibilities dropped to near zero at a few locations but consistently were reported at an eighth of a mile through mid morning. Patchy dense fog lingered along coastal waterways and bays of West Central Florida through late morning. At 11:20 am ET, motorists heading northbound on the Pinellas County side of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge descended from the center span in sunshine and unlimited visibility into a patch of dense fog near sea-level. A chain reaction of accidents occurred on the northbound lane followed by a similar chain reaction of accidents by rubberneckers in the southbound lane. In total, 54 vehicles were involved in the fog-related accident. Of the 54 vehicles, 38 were automobiles, 11 were pick-up trucks, and 5 were semi-tractor trailer trucks. One person was killed and 30 people were injured. 

1998
Damaging downslope winds formed in and near the Colorado Foothills. Peak wind gusts ranged from 70 to over 110 mph. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down.  Some top peak gusts were 114 mph at Wondervu, 92 mph at Golden Gate Canyon, 88 mph at Coal Creek Canyon, and 79 mph near Conifer.

An unusual summer storm, packing winds of cyclone magnitude, struck the 115 sailboats of the famed Sydney to Hobart yacht race in Australia. Six sailors died and 55 had to be rescued in a heroic air and sea effort that included a night helicopter to pull people out of the water. Storm warnings had been issued for the race participants, but traditional pressure caused officials to allow the race to begin on time. Families of the victims blamed the Meteorologists and race officials for not intervening.

On this date through the 27th, severe gales lashed the United Kingdom. Worst affected was southern Scotland, northern England, the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland. Winds gusted to 109 mph at Malin Head in northwestern Eire, 106 mph at Belmullet also in northwestern Eire), 103 mph at Prestwick, southwestern Scotland and 100 mph at Capel Curig, north Wales.

2000
Amarillo, TX was buried under 20 inches of snow in a 2-day snowstorm.

2001
As yachts in the Sydney to Hobart Race left the Sydney Harbor, the beautiful skyline was filled with heavy smoke from the bushfires ringing the city. But worse conditions were ahead for the fleet as they sailed in the Bass Strait off of the coast of Australia. An extremely violent waterspout slammed into the fleet of yachts, knocking the favored Swedish maxi-racing yacht Nicorette on her side and driving 10 other boats out of the race.

Typhoon Vamei formed in the South China Sea, about 100 miles north of the Equator. Vamei is the first recorded tropical cyclone to develop within 1.5 degrees of latitude (or about 104 miles) of the equator.

2002
An extended warm spell ended in Reykjavik, Iceland with the month's first frost. The first 25 days averaged 9 degrees above normal.

2004
A major nor'easter buried the area of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island Canada with as much as 21.3 inches of snow. The misery was compounded by winds gusting to 74 mph causing white-out conditions and road closures.

Dubai, United Arab Emiratesrecorded an unusual half inch of rain in a 3-day period where rain rarely falls. Local police reported 500 traffic accidents in 24 hours, including one fatality.

2006
Strong storm winds hit the southern California coast. Gusts hit 54 mph at La Jolla, 52 mph at Torrey Pines and San Clemente Island, 51 mph at Pt. Loma, 49 mph at Huntington Beach, 46 mph at North Island and 40 mph at San Diego-Lindbergh Field. Numerous trees were downed, damaging several vehicles. The strong winds generated large surf.  Highest sets were 10 to 16 feet. Surf was reported at 10 to12 feet with a three second period at Newport Beach.

2008
A strong cold front pushed into an unseasonably warm air mass over central Illinois, causing severe thunderstorms with widespread wind damage. In Springfield, part of the roof was blown off a school, and 3 large barns and the grandstand were damaged at the state fairgrounds. In addition, heavy rain fell on partially frozen ground to cause flooding in a few areas.
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December 28th:

1839
The third of a series of storms to hit the Northeast in two weeks dumped 24 inches of additional snow on Hartford, CT and Worcester, MA. The barometer read 28.77 inches at Boston, MA and whole gales swept the coastline causing many wrecks. 

1879
As many as three waterspouts struck the Tay Bridge over the Firth of Forth at Tayside, England as a train from Edinburgh to Dundee was crossing. The train fell into the Tay Estuary as the bridge collapsed, killing as many as 90 people.

1894
Record low temperatures were reported from parts of the Rockies to Florida including:

Ste. St. Marie, MI: -19°, Lander, WY: -17°, Pueblo, CO: -13°, Dodge City, KS: -11°, Wichita, KS: -10°, Oklahoma City, OK: -1°, Amarillo, TX: 0°, Springfield, MO: 2°, Lexington, KY: 2°, Fort Smith, AR: 3°, Nashville, TN: 3°, Memphis, TN: 5°, Knoxville, TN: 6°, Abilene, TX: 6°, Atlanta, GA: 9°, Little Rock, AR: 10°, Lewiston, ID: 10°, Charlotte, NC: 14°, Augusta, GA: 15°, Houston, TX: 15°, Columbia, SC: 19°, Montgomery, AL: 19°, Tallahassee, FL: 20°, San Antonio, TX: 20°, Savannah, GA: 21°, Baton Rouge, LA: 21°, Galveston, TX: 21°, Pensacola, FL: 24°-Tied, Corpus Christi, TX: 26° and Brownsville, TX: 27°.

Vegetable and pineapple crops were killed and citrus was frozen in northern and central Florida.

1919
The S.S. War Hermit observed a waterspout south of Cape Comorin, India forming under a cumulonimbus cloud. At cloud base, the spout was measured at 4,600 feet tall, one of the highest waterspouts on record. The spout lasted 13 minutes.

1924
Severe cold gripped areas from the Plains to the Ohio Valley. The state of Iowa experienced their coldest December morning on record. Morning low temperatures averaged -25°for the 104 weather stations across the state. A few locations set December low temperature records including: December: Peoria, IL: -24°, South Bend, IN: -18° and Lubbock, TX: -2°-Tied.

Locations reporting daily record low temperatures included: Fargo, ND: -30°, Williston, ND: -30°, Aberdeen, SD: -24°, Sioux Falls, SD: -23°, Norfolk, NE: -23°, Waterloo, IA: -22°, Rockford, IL: -21°, Madison, WI: -21°, Des Moines, IA: -21°, Moline, IL: -20°, Green Bay, WI: -20°, Sioux City, IA: -20°-Tied, Dubuque, IA: -19°, Houghton Lake, MI: -18°, Grand Island, NE: -18°, Fort Wayne, IN: -17°, Springfield, IL: -14°, Omaha, NE: -14°-Tied, Indianapolis, IN: -13°, Chicago, IL: -13°, Columbia, MO: -12°, Kansas City, MO: -10°, Evansville, IN: -10°, Flint, MI: -10°, Goodland, KS: -10°, Alpena, MI: -9°, Topeka, KS: -9°, St. Louis, MO: -8°, Dayton, OH: -6°, Toledo, OH: -6°, Springfield, MO: -5°, Akron, OH: -5°, Detroit, MI: -4°, Louisville, KY: -3°, Cincinnati, OH: -3°, Columbus, OH: -2°, Grand Rapids, MI: -2°, Clayton, NM: -1°, Oklahoma City, OK: -1°-Tied, Tulsa, OK: 0°, Amarillo, TX: 0°, Roswell, NM: 1°-Tied, Wichita Falls, TX: 5°, Little Rock, AR: 9°, Dallas (DFW), TX: 11°, Dallas, TX: 13°, Huntsville, AL: 16°, Waco, TX: 18° and Austin, TX: 22°.

1942
Ice covered trees, telephone wires, and railway tracks "as thick as a person's wrist." in Eastern Ontario, Canada. 
In Ottawa, 50,000 people had to walk to work for five days after the storm.

1954
A big snowstorm that began on the 26th came to an end over southeastern Kansas and southwestern Missouri. 
Fort Scott, KS was buried under 26 inches of snow. 
This amount of snow melted down to 3.05 inches of water, a remarkable precipitation total for this area for the wintertime.

1955
Anchorage, AKwas buried under 17.7 inches of snow in 24 hours ending on the 29th, a record for that location.

1958
Albuquerque, NMreceived 14.2 inches of snow through the 29th to establish a 24 hour record.

1980
A ridge of high pressure brought record high temperatures from parts of the Plains to the West Coast. It was 87° at Borrego Springs, CA, tying their highest temperature on record for December. Locations reporting record high temperatures for the date included: Yuma, AZ: 81°-Tied, El Paso, TX: 76°, Victorville, CA: 76°, Roswell, NM: 76°, Las Vegas, NV: 73°, Bishop, CA: 71°, Big Bear Lake, CA: 67°, Pueblo, CO: 67°, Albuquerque, NM: 66°, Flagstaff, AZ: 61°, Astoria, OR: 60°, Elko, NV: 58°, Olympia, WA: 56°, Mobridge, SD: 52°, Alamosa, CO: 51° and Kalispell, MT: 49°.

1982
Upper level high pressure off the Florida coast produced a south to southwesterly flow of warm air bringing record high temperatures from the Midwest to the East Coast including: 
Savannah, GA: 80°, Columbia, SC: 77°-Tied, Pittsburgh, PA: 71°, Cape Hatteras, NC: 71°, Erie, PA: 70°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 70°, Jackson, KY: 69°, Youngstown, OH: 69°, 
Rochester, NY: 68°, Newark, NJ: 68°, Bristol, TN: 68°, Louisville, KY: 68°, Cleveland, OH: 68°, Buffalo, NY: 67°, Wilmington, DE: 67°, Akron, OH: 66°, Chattanooga, TN: 66°-Tied, 
Harrisburg, PA: 65°, Philadelphia, PA: 65°, Cincinnati, OH: 65°, Chicago, IL: 65°, New York (LaGuardia), NY: 64°, Oak Ridge, TN: 64°, Columbus, OH: 64°, South Bend, IN: 64°, 
Allentown, PA: 63°, Boston, MA: 63°, Concord, NH: 62°, Williamsport, PA: 62°, New York (Central Park), NY: 62°, Mansfield, OH: 62°, Fort Wayne, IN: 62°, Dayton, OH: 62°-Tied, 
Albany, NY: 61°, Avoca, PA: 61°, Toledo, OH: 61°, Grand Rapids, MI: 61°, Lansing, MI: 61°, Muskegon, MI: 61°, Milton, MA: 60°, Providence, RI: 60°, Binghamton, NY: 60°, 
Rockford, IL: 60°, Detroit, MI: 60°, Flint, MI: 60°, Syracuse, NY: 59°, Burlington, VT: 57°, Alpena, MI: 56°, Milwaukee, WI: 54°, Houghton Lake, MI: 52°, Madison, WI: 52°, 
Dubuque, IA: 50° and Ste. St. Marie, MI: 45°.

1984
An upper level ridge of high pressure extending from north of the Bahamas to the Central Gulf of Mexico brought unseasonably warm temperatures from the Midwest to the East Coast. A few locations set December record high temperatures including: Springfield, IL: 74° (broke previous daily record by 14 degrees), Des Moines, IA: 69°-Tied and Guttenberg, IA: 65°.

Locations reporting record high temperatures for the date including: Tampa, FL: 83°, Montgomery, AL: 82°, Augusta, GA: 80°, Columbus, GA: 80°, Columbia, SC: 79°, Baton Rouge, LA: 79°, Houston, TX: 79°, Richmond, VA: 77°, Shreveport, LA: 77°-Tied, Austin (Bergstrom), TX: 77°-Tied, Lynchburg, VA: 76°, Norfolk, VA: 76°, Birmingham, AL: 76°, Roanoke, VA: 75°, Macon, GA: 75°-Tied, Atlanta, GA: 74°, Little Rock, AR: 74°-Tied, Memphis, TN: 74°-Tied, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 73°, Greensboro, NC: 73°, Topeka, KS: 73°, Wallops Island, VA: 72°, Chattanooga, TN: 72°, Asheville, NC: 71°, Jackson, KY: 71°, Columbia, MO: 71°, Oak Ridge, TN: 70°, Peoria, IL: 70°, Bristol, TN: 69°, Paducah, KY: 69°, Kansas City, MO: 69°, Chicago, IL: 69°, Champaign, IL: 68°, Columbus, OH: 68°, Lexington, KY: 67°, Cincinnati, OH: 67°, Moline, IL: 67° (broke previous record by 13 degrees), Rockford, IL: 66°, South Bend, IN: 66°, Lincoln, NE: 66°, Mansfield, OH: 65°, Fort Wayne, IN: 65°, Indianapolis, IN: 65°, Grand Rapids, MI: 65°, Omaha, NE: 65°, Syracuse, NY: 64°, Dayton, OH: 64°, Toledo, OH: 64°, Detroit, MI: 64°, Flint, MI: 63°, Lansing, MI: 62°, Madison, WI: 62° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Milwaukee, WI: 62°, Waterloo, IA: 62°, La Crosse WI: 60° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Dubuque, IA: 63° (broke previous record by 13 degrees), Houghton Lake, MI: 57°, Alpena, MI: 56°-Tied, Green Bay, WI: 52° and Rochester, MN: 51°.

While areas from the Mississippi River Valley east was experiencing record highs, a mix of rain and snow occurred in the California desert community of Borrego Springs.

1987
A winter storm produced heavy snow in the Upper Mississippi Valley and the Upper Great Lakes Region. Up to 20 inches of snow buried southern Minnesota and 20 to 40 mph northwesterly winds produced snow drifts 6 feet high, and reduced visibilities to near zero at times in blowing snow. There were 1,000 traffic accidents in Michigan during the storm, resulting in 35 injuries. Snowfall totals included: Waukon, IA: 13 inches, Platteville, WI: 12.8 inches, Dorchester, IA: 12 inches, Osage, IA: 12 inches, Decorah, IA: 11.5 inches, Austin, MN: 11 inches, Gays Mills, WI: 9 inches, Prairie du Chien, WI: 9 inches, Lancaster, WI: 8 inches, Cresco, IA: 8 inches, Oelwein, IA: 8 inches, Grand Meadow, MN: 8 inches, Charles City, IA: 7 inches, New Hampton, IA: 7 inches, Spring Grove, MN: 7 inches, Elkader, IA: 6 inches, Fayette, IA: 6 inches, Lansing, IA: 6 inches and Harmony, MN: 6 inches.

A few locations across southern California reported record low temperatures for the date including: Palm Springs, CA: 28°, Borrego Springs, CA: 29° and San Diego, CA: 37°.

1988
Strong winds behind a cold front claimed three lives in eastern Pennsylvania, and injured a dozen others in eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Maryland. Winds gusted to 87 mph at Hammonton, NJ, 77 mph at BWI Airport in Baltimore, MD, 69 mph at Wilmington, DE and at Dulles Airport reported a gust of 56 mph and National Airport in Washington, D.C. a gust of 54 mph.

1989
Squalls continued to bring snow to the Great Lakes Region, with heavy snow reported near Lake Superior and Lake Ontario. Syracuse, NY received 8.5 inches of snow to break its 1969 record for the snowiest December on record. 52.6 inches of snow had fallen up to this date beating the old record by a tenth of an inch.

1995
During the latter part of the month, Miami, FL failed to exceed 65° for eight consecutive days from the 21st through the 28th, an all-time record for the city.

1996
Travelers were stranded, and nearly 300,000 homes and businesses were without power in Oregon and Washington after a major snow and ice storm hit the Pacific Northwest starting the day after Christmas.
 Some sections of western Washington received 15 inches of snow. In Oregon, more than two inches of freezing rain fell atop 8 inches of snow in the Columbia River Gorge. 
Three deaths were blamed on the storm, and 15 people in the Seattle area were hospitalized with carbon monoxide poisoning after gas escaped from a barbecue used to heat their mobile home, which had no electric power.  
Two feet of snow closed the 2 main routes across the Cascades in Washington State: I-90 across Snoqualmie Pass and US 2 across Stevens Pass.

1999
Boston, MA recorded its 288th consecutive day without measurable snow, which is the longest period of time that the city has gone without snow.

A ridge of high pressure brought record high temperatures from parts of the Midwest to the West including: Galveston, TX: 72°, Dodge City, KS: 70°, Redding, CA: 69°-Tied, Pueblo, CO: 68°, Goodland, KS: 67°-Tied, North Platte, NE: 65°, Stockton, CA: 65°, Scottsbluff, NE: 63°, Grand Island, NE: 62°, Rapid City, SD: 62°, Colorado Springs, CO: 62°, Valentine, NE: 61°-Tied, Kennebec, SD: 60°, Pierre, SD: 60°, Great Falls, MT: 58°, Glasgow, MT: 55°, Timber Lake, SD: 54°, Bismarck, ND: 52°, Sioux Falls, SD: 49°, Wheaton, SD: 48° and St. Cloud, MN: 41°.

2000
Northwest winds of 35 to 50 mph, gusting to around 65 mph, occurred across central and north central South Dakota in the morning. The high winds resulted in blizzard conditions at some locations just east of the Missouri River. Further east, in northeast South Dakota, northwest winds of 30 to 50 mph combined with newly fallen snow to generate blizzard conditions from the morning into the early afternoon hours. Travel was very difficult in many places and many motorists found themselves in ditches. There were also several non-injury accidents.

Arctic air and deep snow cover combine to produce record low temperatures across Lower Michigan. Record lows included:  Lansing, MI: -18°, Flint, MI: -11°, Grand Rapids, MI: -9° and Muskegon, MI: -5°.

2001
The greatest lake effect snowstorm to hit Buffalo, NY continued. Another 35.4 inches of snow fell in 24 hours, the city's second greatest 24 hour snowfall ever. 
Since the 24th, an incredible 82.3 inches had fallen. This brought their December snowfall to 83.5 inches, their snowiest month on record. 
At one point, 44 inches of snow was measured on the ground to set a new record for the location as well.

2002
Ground fog caused a 73 car pileup on the Sam Houston Tollway in Houston, TX. The early morning collision resulted in 23 injuries, but fortunately no fatalities. The patchy fog reduced visibilities along the toll road to zero. The chain reaction collision continued for 5 minutes as unwitting drivers drove into the fog bank and crashed into other cars. A fire started about 12 minutes later and engulfed several cars. It was reported to be the worst traffic accident in Houston’s history.

2004
An upper level low combined with a surface cold front brought heavy rainfall to southern California. Los Angeles, CA received 5.55 inches of rain, the most on record for any December day and the 3rd wettest day since records began in 1877.

A total of 2.10 inches of rain was officially recorded through the 29th making this the second highest 24 hour rainfall total recorded at Las Vegas, NV and set a monthly record for December.

On this date through the 29th, snow fell on the United Arab Emirates for the first time ever recorded, leaving a white blanket over the Al-Jees Mountains of Ras al-Khaimah.  Temperatures there dropped to as low as 23°.

2006
While the metro Denver, CO area was still digging out from the heavy snowfall/blizzard on the 20th and 21st, 
another major winter storm buried the city and eastern Foothills with 12 to 30 inches across the Foothills and 6 to 18 inches across Denver. 
Interstate 70 with other roads and highways were closed from Denver to the Kansas State line. 
Strong winds up to 40 mph piled the snow in to drifts 4 to 14 feet high. Denver reported heavy snow for 29 hours.
4 to 12 inches occurred further north across parts of Montana and Wyoming. 
The total cost of snow removal just at Denver International Airport from this and the previous storm was in the tens of millions of dollars. United Airlines
Reported a revenue loss of over $25 million dollars from the previous two storms and Frontier Airlines reported an estimated loss of $12.1 million dollars.   

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December 29th:

1830
A very heavy snowstorm ushered in the "winter of the deep snow". The storm produced 36 inches at Kansas City, MO and 30 inches of snow at Peoria, IL. Cold and snow continued until the middle of February causing great suffering among pioneers.

1876
As the Pacific Express passenger train steamed into Ashtabula, OH during a major snowstorm, the bridge over the frozen Ashtabula River gave way, plunging one of the locomotives and several cars into the chasm. Residents of the small town rushed to the rescue, but 92 people died in the disaster. Many of the deaths resulted from the blaze that started in the wreckage from the fires that heated the train cars. It was determined that faulty construction led to the collapse of the bridge.

1894
Enterprising developers named the town of Frostproof, FL in 1886. On this date, the town's warm reputation was dealt a serious blow as a severe freeze hit Florida destroying citrus and causing considerable damage to trees. Additional freezes led the town to change its name, but it would be changed back in 1906. That freeze, accompanied by another one the following February, destroyed approximately 98% of the citrus trees in the Florida Peninsula. A few locations set all-time December record lows including: Fort Myers, FL: 24°, West Palm Beach, FL: 24° and Key West, FL: 44°-Tied.

Locations reporting daily record lows for the date included: Lexington, KY: -6°, Dayton, OH: -4°, Charlotte, NC: 2°, Atlanta, GA: 4°, Lynchburg, VA: 7°, Augusta, GA: 9°, Columbia, SC: 9°, Fort Smith, AR: 10°, Raleigh, NC: 10°, Tallahassee, FL: 12°, Savannah, GA: 12°, Norfolk, VA: 13°, Jacksonville, FL: 14°, Pensacola, FL: 14°, Baton Rouge, LA: 14°, Houston, TX: 15°, Mobile, AL: 16°-Tied, Tampa, FL: 19° and Corpus Christi, TX: 27°.

1917
Brutal record cold dominated from the Plains to the East Coast. Locations that reported all-time December record lows included: Washta, IA: -40°, Huron, SD: -33° (broke previous daily record by 10 degrees), Sioux Falls, SD: -31°, Sioux City, IA: -28° and Philadelphia, PA: -1°.

Locations reporting daily record lows included: Bismarck, ND: -37°, International Falls, MN: -36°, Aberdeen, SD: -35°, Aberdeen, SD: -35°, Grand Forks, ND: -35°, Wheaton, SD: -33°, Watertown, D: -32°, Kennebec, SD: -31°, Duluth, MN: -30°, St. Cloud, MN: -27°, Norfolk, NE: -27°, Minneapolis, MN: -24°, Burlington, VT: -23°, Ste. St. Marie, MI: -20°, Omaha, NE: -20°, Waterloo, IA: -18°, Lincoln, NE: -18°, Elkins, WV: -18°, Des Moines, IA: -17°-Tied, Syracuse, NY: -16°, Grand Island, NE: -14°, Green Bay, WI: -14°, Dubuque, IA: -13°, Peoria, IL: -13°, Peoria, IL: -13°, Portland, ME: -12°, Rockford, IL: -11°, Boston, MA: -11°, Hartford, CT: -10°, Milton, MA: -10°, Avoca, PA: -10°(broke previous record by 10 degrees), Concordia, KS: -9°, Topeka, KS: -9°, Kansas City, MO: -9°, Columbia, MO: -8°, Providence, RI: -8°, New York (Central Park), NY: -6°, Rochester, NY: -5°, Wichita, KS: -4°, Springfield, MO: -3°, Harrisburg, PA: -2°, Williamsport, PA: 0°, Washington, D.C.: 2°, Wilmington, DE: 2°, Baltimore, MD: 2°, Beckley, WV: 2°, Asheville, NC: 3°, Tulsa, OK: 3°, Lynchburg, VA: 4°, Richmond, VA: 5°, Abilene, TX: 8°, Charleston, WV: 8°, Raleigh, NC: 10°-Tied, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 11°, Norfolk, VA: 11°, Wilmington, NC: 12°, Birmingham, AL: 13°, Dallas (DFW), TX: 13°, Dallas, TX: 14°, Meridian, MS: 16°, Jackson, MS: 19°, Waco, TX: 19°, Austin, TX: 20°, San Antonio, TX: 22°-Tied, Del Rio, TX: 23°and Victoria, TX: 25°.

1919
The American Meteorological Society was founded in St. Louis, MO.

1933
Ontario Canada's coldest day on record occurred as 14 reporting sites recorded their coldest-ever temperature, including Algonquin Park at -49° and Ottawa -38°.

Locations in the U.S. that reported all-time December record lows included: Burlington, VT: -29°-Tied, Alpena, MI: -27°, Milton, MA: -19°, Boston, MA: -17° and Worcester, MA: -17°.

Locations reporting daily record lows included: Houghton Lake, MI: -25°, Ste. St. Marie, MI: -24°, Syracuse, NY: -24°, Concord, NH: -21°, Portland, ME: -18°, Albany, NY: -18°, Hartford, CT: -11°, Providence, RI: -10°, Avoca, PA: -10°-Tied, Buffalo, NY: -7°, Rochester, NY: -7°, Williamsport, PA: -4°, Newark, NJ: -2°, Allentown, PA: -1° and Wilmington, DE: 2°-Tied.

1954
Fort Scott, KS was buried under 26 inches of snow in 24 hours to establish a state record.   

A few locations across the West reported record low temperatures for the date including: Palm Springs, CA: 24°, Riverside, CA: 26°, Phoenix, AZ: 27°, Yuma, AZ: 28° and Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 37°.

1962
On this date through the 30th a blizzard over southwestern England and South Wales formed snowdrifts 20 feet deep. Roads and railways were blocked, cutting off some villages for several days.

1963
The high temperature was 88° in San Diego, the highest temperature on record for December. A few other locations reporting daily record highs included: Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 85°, Long Beach, CA: 85° and Palomar Mountain, SD: 68°.

1964
Coffs Harbour, New South Wales in Australia recorded wind speeds of 130 mph during a severe non-tropical storm.

1972
A late season severe weather outbreak brought tornadoes, hail, and damaging winds to central and north-central Oklahoma. A tornado in McClain County damaged a farm, destroyed a garage, and blew away a boat near Purcell. Farther north, in the Perry area, hail larger than baseballs damaged homes, businesses, and automobiles. As the storms moved east into the Stillwater area, they produced 70 to 90 mph winds, which damaged 10 trailer homes. Fortunately, no one was hurt or killed by the widespread severe weather.

On the backside of the storm, heavy snow and high winds buffeted portions of eastern Nebraska through the 30th. Snowfall accumulated to depths of around a foot in this area coupled with winds of 30 to 50 mph. Norfolk clocked winds to 67 mph. Obviously, travel and normal activities were halted during this storm due to the poor visibilities and very high drifts.

1980
Upper level high pressure along the California coast combined with a ridge of surface high pressure across the Great Basin brought record high temperatures to several locations from the Rockies to the West Coast including: Palm Springs, CA: 90°, Escondido, CA: 90°, Santa Ana, CA: 89°, Long Beach, CA: 87°, Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 87°, Phoenix, AZ: 85°, Borrego Springs, CA: 84°, Yuma, AZ: 82°, Las Vegas, NV: 73°, Scottsbluff, NE: 61°, Billings, MT: 59°, Quillayute, WA: 54°, Casper, WY: 51° and Alamosa, CO: 51°-Tied.

1984
100 cities in the central and eastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date courtesy of an unseasonable ridge of high pressure extending from off the southeast coast to the Gulf Mexico.

Locations that set all-time December records included: Baltimore, MD: 77°-Tied, Harrisburg, PA: 75° (broke previous daily record by 15 degrees), Allentown, PA: 72°-Tied (broke previous record by 10 degrees) and Binghamton, NY: 65°-Tied (broke previous daily record by 10 degrees).

Locations reporting daily record highs included: Orlando, FL: 84°-Tied, Tampa, FL: 83°, Jacksonville, FL: 81°, Savannah, GA: 81°, Houston, TX: 81°, Augusta, GA: 80°, Macon, GA: 80°, Shreveport, LA: 80°, Wilmington, NC: 80°, Tallahassee, FL: 80°-Tied, Athens, GA: 79°, Columbus, GA: 79°, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 79°, Baton Rouge, LA: 79°, Jackson, MS: 79°, Charleston, SC: 79°, Little Rock, AR: 78°, Lake Charles, LA: 78°, Columbia, SC: 78°, Lynchburg, VA: 78°(broke previous record by 13 degrees), Richmond, VA: 78°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 78°(broke previous record by 11 degrees), Fort Smith, AR: 77°, Raleigh, NC: 76°, Norfolk, VA: 76°, Roanoke, VA: 76°(broke previous record by 11 degrees), Birmingham, AL: 75°, Washington, D.C.: 75°, Atlantic City, NJ: 75°(broke previous record by 13 degrees), Charleston, WV: 75°, Hartford, CT: 74°(broke previous record by 15 degrees), Wilmington, DE: 74°, Asheville, NC: 74°, Charlotte, NC: 74°, Greensboro, NC: 74°, Huntington, WV: 74°, Boston, MA: 73°(broke previous record by 10 degrees), Tupelo, MS: 73°, Atlanta, GA: 72°, Jackson, KY: 72°, Milton, MA: 72°(broke previous record by 12 degrees), Philadelphia, PA: 72°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 72°, Wallops Island, VA: 72°, Paducah, KY: 71°, Cape Hatteras, NC: 71°, Newark, NJ: 71°, Albany, NY: 71°(broke previous record by 11 degrees), Tulsa, OK: 71°-Tied, Evansville, IN: 70°, Worcester, MA: 70°, St. Louis, MO: 70°, New York (Central Park), NY: 70°, Providence, RI: 70°(broke previous record by 10 degrees), Elkins, WV: 70°, Louisville, KY: 69°, Beckley, WV: 69°, Chattanooga, TN: 69°-Tied, Oak Ridge, TN: 69°-Tied, Topeka, KS: 68°, Lexington, KY: 68°, New York (LaGuardia), NY: 68°, Columbia, MO: 67°, Avoca, PA: 67°, Williamsport, PA: 67°(broke previous record by 13 degrees), Wichita, KS: 66°, Moline, IL: 65°, Rockford, IL: 65°(broke previous record by 18 degrees), Peoria, IL: 65°(broke previous record by 11 degrees), Springfield, IL: 65°, Grand Rapids, MI: 65°(broke previous record by 15 degrees), Concord, NH: 65°, Islip, NY: 65°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 65°, Syracuse, NY: 65°, Chicago, IL: 63°, Fort Wayne, IN: 63°, South Bend, IN: 63°, Flint, MI: 63°(broke previous record by 15 degrees), Rochester, NY: 63°, Akron, OH: 63°, Dayton, OH: 62°, Mansfield, OH: 62°, Youngstown, OH: 62°, Milwaukee, WI: 62°, Lansing, MI: 62°-Tied, Buffalo, NY: 61°, Bridgeport, CT: 58°, Burlington, VT: 58°, Alpena, MI: 57°(broke previous record by 11 degrees), Portland, ME: 56°, Houghton Lake, MI: 55°, Muskegon, MI: 54°, Madison, WI: 54°, Dubuque, IA: 52°, Green Bay, WI: 50°and Ste. St. Marie, MI: 39°.

1987
A storm off the Mid-Atlantic Coast produced heavy snow in the Appalachians and the northeastern U.S. Snow and high winds created blizzard conditions in southeastern Massachusetts. Cape Cod received 13 inches of snow, and snow drifts 3 feet deep were reported around Chatham, MA. Strong winds produced wind chill readings as cold as -60°in southwestern New England.   

Across the western U.S., a Pacific coast storm produced heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada Range of California, with 37.5 inches at Lodgepole, 34 inches at Grant Grove and 24 inches at Mammoth Mountain.

A few locations also reported record low temperatures for the date including: Bridgeport, CT: 13°, Islip, NY: 14°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 15°, New York (LaGuardia), NY: 16°and Borrego Springs, CA: 31°.
 

1988
A cold front brought rain and snow to the northwestern U.S. The rainfall total of 2.70 inches at Astoria, OR was a record for the date. High winds along the eastern slopes of the Northern Rockies gusted to 81 mph at Livingston, MT.

1989
Snow and ice prevailed from the southwestern U.S. to the Great Lakes Region. Flagstaff, AZ received 9 inches of snow in just 6 hours. Bitter cold weather continued over Maine. Portland, ME reported a record 22 straight days with highs 32°or colder.

1990
A strong Arctic cold front moved across Oklahoma on the morning of the 29th. As the front moved through, it caused a 50 degree temperature drop in some places during the day. At the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Norman, the temperature dropped from 57 degrees to 27 degrees in 30 minutes. The cold air also left an accumulation of ice and sleet between one and two inches deep, which blanketed the southwest through northeast parts of the state, causing several hundred traffic accidents. Six people were killed and six others injured, all due to traffic accidents caused by the icy roads. Air travel was also severely restricted, as about 2,000 travelers were temporarily stranded at Will Rogers World Airport when a major airline canceled all flights.

1991
Terrace, British Columbia Canada recorded its 58th consecutive day of precipitation. The streak began on November 2nd.

1992
Big time snows occurred across the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. 30 inches of snow fell at Daggett Pass, CA in just 24 hours. The snow depth at the Sierra Ski Ranch accumulated to 118 inches.

On this date through the 31st, former Tropical Cyclone Fergus, moved over the North Island of New Zealand bringing torrential rains, widespread flooding and landslides exposing northern districts. The highest measured rainfall occurred in the Thames-Coromandel district with 16.7 inches.

1996
27 inches of snow was on the ground at Yakima, WA to set a new record for greatest snowfall depth ever on the ground at that location.

1999
An upper level ridge extending from the Gulf Coast to the West Coast brought record high temperatures for the date including: Austin (Bergstrom), TX: 80°, Dodge City, KS: 73°-Tied, Pueblo, CO: 71°, Topeka, KS: 70°, Grand Island, NE: 68°, Concordia, KS: 66°, North Platte, NE: 66°, Goodland, KS: 65°, Colorado Springs, CO: 64°, Lincoln, NE: 64°, Valentine, NE: 63°, Norfolk, NE: 62°, Sioux City, IA: 61°, Billings, MT: 61°, Omaha, NE: 61°, Aberdeen, SD: 59°, Sisseton, SD: 59°, Aberdeen, SD: 59° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Huron, SD: 59°, Wheaton, SD: 58°, Des Moines, IA: 58°, Sioux Falls, SD: 56°, Mobridge, SD: 55°, Bismarck, ND: 55°, Timber Lake, SD: 53°, Watertown, SD: 53°, Minneapolis, MN: 53°, La Crosse, WI: 53°, St. Cloud, MN: 52° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Fargo, ND: 52°, Williston, ND: 50°, Grand Forks, ND: 49°, Duluth, MN: 46°, Rochester, MN: 46° and International Falls, MN: 36°-Tied.

2002
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had never won a game when the temperature at kickoff was less than 40°. They were 0-21 going into their game against the Chicago Bears. The Bucs prevailed, 15-0, to win the number two seed in the NFC. The Bucs would go on to defeat the 49ers and then the Atlanta Falcons for the right to play in Super Bowl XXXVII.

2004
The world's highest barometric pressure (adjusted to sea level) was recorded at Tonsontsengel, Mongolia at 32.25 inHg or 1092 millibars.

2006
A major winter storm crippled much of southwest Kansas through the 31st. Widespread total precipitation from this storm ranged from 2 to 4 inches of rain and freezing rain and there was even an area from Garden City to Dighton that had up to 6 inches. This is incredible for any time of the year, let alone for December. Significant, widespread damage to trees and especially utility lines, poles, and towers resulted from one half to two and a half inches of ice accumulation. An area from Sublette to Garden City, north through Dighton had the most severe damage. Over 60,000 people were without electricity at one time or another from the nearly 10,000 power poles that were taken down from the weight of the ice. Some of these structures were high transmission towers. In addition to the ice accumulation, large snow amounts were reported in the western part of the area, especially near the Colorado State Line. A location 15 miles west of Johnson had 32 inches of snow. 

Albuquerque, NM broke their all-time 24-hour snowfall record with 10.5 inches. The accumulation lifted their monthly total to 14.8 inches, breaking their all-time monthly snowfall record as well. The record would be short-lived as another 15.6 inches of snow would fall on the 31st.

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December 30th:

1880
The temperature at Charlotte, NC plunged to an all-time record low of -5°, a record that was equaled on 1/21/1985. Washington D.C. only managed an afternoon high of 9°. That was only one of five days in history that the high temperature did not make it to 10°. 

Helena, MT and Philadelphia, PA set their all-time record low with -40° and -5° respectively.

Locations that reported daily record lows included: Havre, MT: -36°, Cheyenne, WY: -18°, Columbus, OH: -12°, Erie, PA: -11°, Cleveland, OH: -10°, Lansing, MI: -10°, Detroit, MI: -10°, Buffalo, NY: -9°, Pittsburgh, PA: -9°, Indianapolis, IN: -8°, Dodge City, KS: -8°, Rochester, NY: -8°, Toledo, OH: -8°, Milwaukee, WI: -7°, Washington, D.C.: -7°, New York (Central Park), NY: -6°, St. Louis, MO: -5°, Cincinnati, OH: -5°, Knoxville, TN: -5°, Louisville, KY: -3°, Baltimore, MD -3°, Atlanta, GA: 1°, Nashville, TN: 4°, Norfolk, VA: 6°, Augusta, GA: 7°, Montgomery, AL: 8°, El Paso, TX: 9°, Wilmington, NC: 10°, Little Rock, AR: 11°, Mobile, AL: 14°, Savannah, GA: 15°, Pensacola, FL: 17°, Brownsville, TX: 18°, Jacksonville, FL: 19° and Galveston, TX: 20°.

1898
Beginning on the 29th and continuing through this date, a very strong cold front blasted through Oklahoma and north Texas. The temperature at Oklahoma City fell from 68° at 5:50pm on the 29th, to 17° at 10am on this date. The temperature dropped 51° in only 16 hours. The temperature continued to drop to 8 degrees at 9am on the 31st.

Locations that reported record low temperatures for the date included: International Falls, MN: -39°, Grand Forks, ND: -31°, St. Cloud, MN: -23°, Lander, WY: -23°, Minneapolis, MN: -19° and Austin, TX: 22°.

1915
Flagstaff, AZ recorded 31 inches of snow for its greatest one day snowfall total on record.

1917
A major cold wave known as the "Great World War I Cold Wave" affected the East. The mercury plunged to -13° at New York (Central Park), NY and -14° at Boston, MA; followed by their coldest high temperature on record of 2°. The temperature would drop below zero for five nights in a row at Boston. In Vermont, Berlin dropped to -44° and St. Johnsbury fell to -43°. Tennessee recorded its coldest temperature ever with a reading of -32° at Mountain City. West Virginia also set their all-time coldest with a reading of -37° at Lewisburg. Locations reporting all-time record lows included: Elkins, WV: -28°, Charleston, WV: -17° (broke previous daily record by 22 degrees) and Roanoke, VA: -12°.

Locations reporting all-time December record lows included: Beckley, WV: -20°, Hartford, CT: -18°, Huntington, WV: -14°-Tied (broke previous daily record by 14 degrees), Avoca, PA: -13°, Providence, RI: -12°, Wilmington, DE: -7°-Tied, Lynchburg, VA: -4°-Tied, Richmond, VA: -2°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 3° and Norfolk, VA: 5°.

Locations that reported daily record lows included: Aberdeen, SD: -34°, Sioux Falls, SD: -29°, Burlington, VT: -25°, Portland, ME: -21°, Syracuse, NY: -20°, Waterloo, IA: -18°, Aberdeen, SD: -17°, Milton, MA: -17°, Worcester, MA: -14°, Dayton, OH: -13°, Mansfield, OH: -12°, Williamsport, PA: -12°, Alpena, MI: -11°, Cincinnati, OH: -8°, Rochester, NY: -8°-Tied, Akron, OH: -6°, Asheville, NC: -4°, Harrisburg, PA: -3°, Evansville, IN: -1°, Raleigh, NC: 0°, Nashville, TN: 2°, Springfield, MO: 3°, Huntsville, AL: 5°, Tulsa, OK: 5°, Wilmington, NC: 6°, Birmingham, AL: 8°, Little Rock, AR: 8°, Columbia, SC: 8°, Athens, GA: 9°, Jackson, MS: 10°, Meridian, MS: 11°, Dallas, TX: 13°, Baton Rouge, LA: 14°, Dallas (DFW), TX: 14°, Savannah, GA: 15°-Tied, Austin, TX: 16°, Waco, TX: 17°, San Antonio, TX: 19°, Victoria, TX: 20°, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 21°, Del Rio, TX: 22°, Houston, TX: 22° and Corpus Christi, TX: 24°.

1933
The temperature dropped to -50°at Bloomfield, VT establishing the coldest reading in modern history for New England. Pittsburgh, NH dropped to -44°. 

Locations reporting all-time December record lows included: Burlington, VT: -29°-Tied, Boston, MA: -15° and Newark, NJ: -8°.

Locations reporting daily record lows included: Concord, NH: -21°, Albany, NY: -21°, Milton, MA: -18°, Worcester, MA: -15° and Allentown, PA: -2°.

A major storm hit Southern California starting on this day and ending on 1/1/1934. 7.36 inches fell in 24 hours at Los Angeles, a 24 hour record for the city with 8.26 inches total. Storm totals in the southern slopes of mountains topped 12 inches with the heaviest at Azusa with 16.29 inches. 45 people died across Southern California in floods. Walls of water and debris up to 10 feet high were noted in some canyon areas.

1955
The 47 inches of snow on the ground at Anchorage, AK established a new snow cover record for the location.

1962
On this date through the 31st, one of the worst blizzards this century occurred in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Parts of Maine received most of the snow with dangerous wind chills the primary effect for New Hampshire and Vermont. Snowfall totals in Maine included 46 inches at Ripogenus Dam and 40 inches fell in just 24 hours at Orono. Drifts reached 20 feet deep at Bangor.  

1968
Washington State recorded its coldest temperature ever when the towns of Mazuma and Winsthrop both dropped to -48°.

Locations reporting all-time December record lows included: Kalispell, MT: -35° (broke previous daily record by 18 degrees), Spokane, WA: -25° and Seattle, WA: 6°.

Locations reporting daily record lows included: Williston, ND: -35°, Great Falls, MT: -30°, Casper, WY: -28°, Sheridan, WY: -28°, Missoula, MT: -27°, Billings, MT: -24°, Lewiston, ID: -22°, Valentine, NE: -22°, Scottsbluff, NE: -21°, Rapid City, SD: -21°, North Platte, NE: -18°, Norfolk, NE: -17°, Dubuque, IA: -16°, Sioux City, IA: -16°, Des Moines, IA: -15°, Grand Island, NE: -14°, Lincoln, NE: -13°, Omaha, NE: -13°, Pendleton, OR: -12°, Pocatello, ID: -11°, Alpena, MI: -11°-Tied, Goodland, KS: -10°, Yakima, WA: -10° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Concordia, KS: -9°, Wichita, KS: -4°, Clayton, NM: 3°, Olympia, WA: 6°, Portland, OR: 8°, Salem, OR: 9°, Quillayute, WA: 13°, Eugene, OR: 14° and Astoria, OR: 19°.

1976
Many locations from the Midwest to the Northeast reported record cold courtesy of a strong upper level low parked over the Great Lakes. Record lows for the date included:

Fargo, ND: -29°-Tied, St. Cloud, MN: -26°, Houghton Lake, MI: -21°, Waterloo, IA: -19°, Green Bay, WI: -18°, Lansing, MI: -17°, La Crosse, WI: -17°, Omaha, NE: -15°, Lincoln, NE: -13°-Tied, Grand Rapids, MI: -11°, Muskegon, MI: -11°, Fort Wayne, IN: -10°, Flint, MI: -10°, Columbia, MO: -7°, Topeka, KS: -6°, Kansas City, MO: -6°, Binghamton, NY: -4°, Youngstown, OH: -3°, Springfield, MO: -1°, Paducah, KY: 7°, Oklahoma City, OK: 7°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 10°, Fort Smith: 11°, Wichita Falls, TX: 11°, Oak Ridge, TN: 13° and Wallops Island, VA: 17°.

1980
Strong upper level high pressure across the Southwest brought record high temperatures from the Rockies to the West Coast including: Santa Ana, CA: 90°, Los Angeles (LAX), CA: 90°, Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 89°, Long Beach, CA: 89°, San Diego, CA: 87°, Palm Springs, CA: 87°, San Diego, CA: 87°, Borrego Springs, CA: 86°, Escondido, CA: 86°, Riverside, CA: 83°, Santa Maria, CA: 83°, Pueblo, CO: 79°, Victorville, CA: 76°, Colorado Springs, CO: 71°, Denver, CO: 71°, Idyllwild, CA: 70°, Las Vegas, NV: 70°, Eugene, OR: 66°, Salem, OR: 66°, Lander, WY: 64°, Billings, MT: 63°, Portland, OR: 60°, Astoria, OR: 60°-Tied, Ely, NV: 59°, Winnemucca, NV: 58°-Tied, Casper, WY: 56°, Havre, MT: 54°-Tied and Pocatello,. ID: 47°.

1983
Record cold affected areas from the southern Plains to the Ohio Valley courtesy of an upper level trough. Baton Rouge, LA recorded its coldest week on record and was the coldest December on record at Corpus Christi, TX. Some areas broke their old temperature records by as much as 12 degrees.

Locations that reported record low temperatures included: Springfield, IL: -15°, Indianapolis, IN: -14°, Toledo, OH: -12°, Fort Wayne, IN: -11°, Topeka, KS: -11°, Wichita, KS: -10°, Springfield, MO: -10°, Kansas City, MO: -8°, Cincinnati, OH: -8°-Tied, Columbia, MO: -7°-Tied, Evansville, IN: -5°, Youngstown, OH: -5°, Paducah, KY: -3° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Jackson, KY: 0°, Nashville, TN: 1°, Fort Smith: 2°, Tulsa, OK: 2°, Little Rock, AR: 3°, Oklahoma City, OK: 3°, San Angelo, TX: 4° (broke previous record by 15 degrees), Wichita Falls, TX: 4°, Oak Ridge, TN: 6°, Bristol, TN: 6°-Tied, Tupelo, MS:: 7° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Dallas (DFW), TX: 7°, Chattanooga, TN: 8°, Dallas, TX: 9°, San Antonio, TX: 9°, Waco, TX: 9°, Shreveport, LA: 10° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Abilene, TX: 10°, Midland-Odessa, TX: 12°, Del Rio, TX: 15°, Victoria, TX: 15°, Austin, TX: 16°-Tied, Macon, GA: 17°, Corpus Christi, TX: 18°, Austin (Bergstrom), TX: 19°, Houston, TX: 19°, New Orleans, LA: 20° and Lake Charles, LA: 21°.

1987
A storm in the western U.S. produced heavy snow in Utah, with 28 inches reported in the Mount Holly and Elk Meadows area. Strong winds prevailed ahead of a cold front in the central U.S. Winds gusted to 46 mph at Dodge City, KS, and reached 80 mph at Ruidoso, NM. Strong northerly winds, ushering arctic cold into the north central U.S., created blizzard conditions in western Minnesota and central and eastern South Dakota.

1988
Unseasonably cold weather prevailed in the southwestern U.S. A week of subfreezing temperatures in southern California claimed the lives of 5 people. Redding, CA was blanketed with 4 inches of snow. Locations reporting record lows included: Bishop, CA: 3°, Las Vegas, NV: 23°-Tied, Long Beach, CA: 36° and Downtown Los Angeles, CA: 39°-Tied.

1989
Extreme cold occurred across northern Maine. Milo, ME was the cold spot in the nation with a morning low of -38°, and the low of -31°at Caribou ME was a December record for that location. Marquette, MI also set a record low with -10°.

Freezing rain spread across much of Lower Michigan, knocking out electrical power to 1.9 million customers in southeastern Lower Michigan.

1990
A strong upper level trough dug in from the West Coast to the Plains bringing record low temperatures for the date including:International Falls, MN: -39°-Tied, Bismarck, ND: -37°, Timber Lake, SD: -32°, Mobridge, SD: -31°, Pierre, SD: -31°, Kennebec, SD: -30°, Valentine, NE: -30°, Rapid City, SD: -30°, Sheridan, WY: -30°, Watertown, SD: -29°, Huron, SD: -29°, Sisseton, SD: -26°, Wheaton, SD: -25°, Elko, NV: -25°, Scottsbluff, NE: -23°, Ely, NV: -19°, North Platte, NE: -18°-Tied, Pocatello, ID: -17°, Winnemucca, NV: -17°, Pueblo, CO: -13°, Goodland, KS: -13°, Colorado Springs, CO: -10°, Marquette, MI: -10°-Tied, Boise, ID: -9°, Salt Lake City, UT: -9° (broke previous record by 11 degrees), Clayton, NM: -4°, Amarillo, TX: -1°, Bishop, CA: 2°, Oklahoma City, OK: 3°-Tied, Lubbock, TX: 7°, Las Vegas, NV: 15°, Redding, CA: 18°, Astoria, OR: 19°-Tied, Sacramento, CA: 20°, Stockton, CA: 22° and San Francisco Airport, CA: 33°-Tied.

1993
A year-end storm blanketed the Halifax-Dartmouth area in Nova Scotia Canada with 17 inches of snow. Winds in excess of 60 mph created blizzard conditions. 

The period of 12/28/1992 through 1/15/1993 holds the record for the most consecutive days of snowfall for the Sioux City airport in Iowa. On all these days, at least a trace of snow fell.

1995
The United Kingdom recorded their coldest December night on record when the temperature dropped to -17° at Altnaharra, Highland in Scotland.

2000
A winter storm affected the Mid-Atlantic States into the Northeast. New York City, NY picked up 12 inches of snow as the first major East Coast storm of the winter struck on a weekend, turning the Big Apple into a winter wonderland. Theatres and businesses were still open as preparations for the big New Year's Eve celebration were underway. All three major New York airports were closed and hundreds of flights cancelled.

Snowfall rates were around 4 inches per hour at times in Sussex County, New Jersey, where as much as 25 inches of snow was reported. While snowfall totals were less further south and west, major cities such as Philadelphia, Atlantic City, and Allentown still received in excess of 6 inches of snow.

The large amount of snow was a result of Low Pressure which developed off of the Virginia coast. The storm rapidly intensified as it moved along the Mid-Atlantic coast, passing east of Atlantic City during the afternoon, and across Long Island and into southern New England during the evening and nighttime hours.

2003
For the first time in 5 years, parts of Las Vegas, NV received 1 to 4 inches of snow on cars, roads, sidewalks and trees, while snow flurries fell downtown on the Strip with a temperature of 33°. This snow deposited 0.16 inches of liquid equivalent. The average December rainfall for Las Vegas is just 0.25 inches.

2005
In the record breaking hurricane season of 2005, Tropical Storm Zeta developed well out over the Atlantic with no threat to land. Zeta peaked on 1/3/2006 with 65 mph winds before weakening and dissipating on 1/6/2006.

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December 31st:

1863
The famous "New Year's Blizzard" swept across the Midwest. Temperatures dropped during the daytime from -8° to -24° in parts of Iowa.

1880
Record cold prevailed from the Plains to the East Coast. Washington, D.C. and El Paso, TX set December record lows with -13° and -5° respectively.

Locations reporting daily record lows included: Boston, MA: -4°, Buffalo, NY: -4°, Cleveland, OH: -4°, Erie, PA: -4°, Pittsburgh, PA: -4°, New York (Central Park), NY: -3°, Columbus, OH: -3°, Detroit, MI: -2°, Baltimore, MD: -1°, Knoxville, TN: -1°, Philadelphia, PA: 0°, Charlotte, NC: 0°, Atlanta, GA: 4°, Norfolk, VA: 12°, Montgomery, AL: 14°, Wilmington, NC: 16°, Mobile, AL: 20°, Brownsville, TX: 21°, Pensacola, FL: 22° and Galveston, TX: 25°.

1882
A storm at San Francisco, CA dumped 3 inches of snow on the city; their second biggest snowfall on record.   

1890
No sunshine was reported at Westminster, London England during the entire month.

1900
Only 27 hours of sunshine were observed at Fresno, CA during December 1900. This is just 9 percent of the total possible sunshine available for the month, making it not only the least sunniest December ever, but the least sunniest month ever here.

1910
The year ended on a frigid note at Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories in Canada as the temperature fell to -79°.

1917
The temperature at Lewisburg, WV plunged to -37°to set a state record. Huntington, WV tied their all-time December record low with -14°.

Locations that reported record lows for the date included: Burlington, VT: -19°, Hartford, CT: -15°, Portland, ME: -15°, Syracuse, NY: -14°, Worcester, MA: -13°, Milton, MA: -12°(broke previous record by 11 degrees), Boston, MA: -8°, Williamsport, PA: -8°, New York (Central Park), NY: -7°, Avoca, PA: -7°, Providence, RI: -7°, Charleston, WV: -7°, Rochester, NY: -5°, Wilmington, DE: -4°, Harrisburg, PA: 0°, Roanoke, VA: 3°, Raleigh, NC: 5°, Wilmington, NC: 6° (broke previous record by 10 degrees), Athens, GA: 9°, Norfolk, VA: 9°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 11°, Columbia, SC: 12°, Augusta, GA: 14°, Savannah, GA: 17°, Baton Rouge, LA: 17°, Gainesville, FL: 18°, Jacksonville, FL: 19°, Waco, TX: 19°, Victoria, TX: 25°, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 29°, Fort Myers, FL: 31°-Tied, Miami, FL: 34° and Key West, FL: 47°.

1918
It was 22° at Santa Ana, CA their lowest temperature on record. This also occurred the next two days on 1/1 and 1/2/1919, and on 1/6/1950. It was 24° at Escondido, CA their lowest temperature on record for December, and the second lowest temperature on record (lowest was 22° on 1/22/1937).

Other locations reporting daily record low temperatures for the date included: Glasgow, MT: -36°, Grand Forks, ND: -30°, Williston, ND: -30°, Winnemucca, NV: -9°, Clayton, NM: -3°, Amarillo, TX: -2°, Roswell, NM: 4°, Victorville, CA: 9°, Medford, OR: 12°, Yuima, AZ: 27°, Santa Maria, CA: 27°, Eureka, CA: 28° and San Diego, CA: 35°.

1929
Greenland Ranch, in Death Valley, CA, went the entire year without measurable precipitation.

1933
7.36 inches of rain fell in 24 hours at Los Angeles, CA producing the worst flooding in the city and Orange County's history. 44 people perished.

1941
Snow which began on New Year's Eve became a major blizzard on New Year's Day, burying Des Moines, IA under 19.8 inches of snow in 24 hours, an all-time record for that location.

This day ended the wettest year ever recorded in Las Vegas and the only year in which more than 10 inches of rain fell. A total of 10.72 inches of rain was recorded.

1947
A late afternoon tornado touched down 10 miles north of Shreveport, LA, and dissipated south of El Dorado, AR. The F4 tornado, as much as 400 yards in width, killed 18 people. It damaged or destroyed two thirds of the structures at Cotton Valley, LA.

1951
A ridge of high pressure across the southern states brought record winter heat. Locations that reported record high temperatures for December included: Fort Smith, AR: 82°, Little Rock, AR: 80°-Tied and Paducah, KY: 77°-Tied.

Locations that reported daily record highs for the date included: Abilene, TX: 85°, Dallas (DFW), TX: 85°, Wichita Falls, TX: 85°, San Angelo TX: 84°, Austin, TX: 83°, Dallas, TX: 83°, Waco, TX: 83°, Key West, FL: 83°, Austin (Bergstrom), TX: 82°, Corpus Christi, TX: 82°, Del Rio, TX: 81°, Shreveport, LA: 81°, Montgomery, AL: 81°, Houston, TX: 80°, Jackson, MS: 80°, Tupelo, MS: 80°, Meridian, MS: 79°, Oklahoma City, OK: 79°, Charleston, WV: 79°, Memphis, TN: 79°, Birmingham, AL: 79°, Tulsa, OK: 78°, Huntington, WV: 77°, Mobile, AL: 77°, Springfield, MO: 76°, Nashville, TN: 76°, Huntsville, AL: 76°, Evansville, IN: 75°, Midland-Odessa, TX: 75°-Tied, Bristol, TN: 74°, St. Louis, MO: 74°-Tied, Columbia, MO: 72°, Lexington, KY: 72°, Beckley, WV: 71°, Chattanooga, TN: 71°, Wichita, KS: 70°, Knoxville, TN: 70°-Tied, Elkins, WV: 69°, Columbus, OH: 68°, Oak Ridge, TN: 68°,  Indianapolis, IN: 68°-Tied, Dodge City, KS: 67°, Dayton, OH: 67°, Kansas City, MO: 66°, Springfield, IL: 63°, Fort Wayne, IN: 61°and Mansfield, OH: 61°.

1962
Maine's worst blizzard on record was coming to an end. The storm produced 46 inches of snow at Ripogenus Dam. 40 inches fell in just 24 hours at Orono, ME. Winds to gale force drifted the snow to heights of 20 feet around Bangor, ME. Wind chills reached extremely dangerous levels. Meanwhile, Georgia and South Carolina were suffering through a disastrous ice storm. More than $7 million dollars in damage resulted.

1963
University of Alabama Head Football Coach "Bear" Bryant said that the only thing that could have messed up his team's chances in the Sugar Bowl against Ole Miss in New Orleans, LA was a freak snow. Well, much to his chagrin, 4.5 inches of snow fell the night before the big game. Alabama won the game 12-7.

Elsewhere in the south, Meridian, MSreceived 15 inches of snow and 10.5 inches blanketed Bay St Louis, MS. Freezing temperatures then prevailed for New Year's Day.

1967
The fabled Ice Bowl NFL Playoff game was held in -13° temperatures at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI after a record morning low of -19°. Bart Starr carried the ball into the end zone in the final seconds to pull out a victory for the Packers.  

Bismarck, ND and Aberdeen, SD set December record lows with -43° and -39° respectively.

Locations that reported daily record lows included: International Falls, MN: -39°, Watertown, SD: -33°, Fargo, ND: -32°, Grand Forks, ND: -32°, Williston, ND: -31°, Timber Lake, SD: -30°, Valentine, NE: -27°, Kennebec, SD: -27°, Mobridge, SD: -27°, Sisseton, SD: -27°, Wheaton, SD: -27°, North Platte, NE: -25°, Sheridan, WY: -25°, Pierre, SD: -24°, Huron, SD: -23°, Norfolk, NE: -22°, Minneapolis, MN: -22°-Tied, Sioux Falls, SD: -20°, Rapid City, SD: -19°, Dubuque, IA: -18°, Moline, IL: -17°, Grand Island, NE: -17°, Waterloo, IA: -16°-Tied, Peoria, IL: -14°, Houghton Lake, MI: -12°, Grand Rapids, MI: -11°-Tied, Chicago, IL: -10°, Marquette, MI: -10°, Springfield, IL: -9°, Fort Wayne, IN: -9°, Indianapolis, IN: -9°, Detroit, MI: -5°, St. Louis, MO: -5°, Evansville, IN: 0° and Paducah, KY: 4°.

1968
The sea-level corrected atmospheric pressure rose to a new world's record at that time of 1083.8 millibars or 32.01 inHg at 1200z at Agata, Siberia Russia. At the time, Agata Lake (66° 53' N, 93° 28' E) recorded a temperature at -51°. This record was broken in 2004.

1972
A winter system from the 29th through the 31st brought precipitation beginning as rain in South Dakota and snow in Minnesota during the early morning hours of the 29th. A period of freezing rain occurred across South Dakota before the precipitation there changed to all snow, while in west central Minnesota, snow in the morning changed to a period of freezing rain and sleet in the afternoon. Damages from the 40-mile wide ice storm from the Wheaton-Morris-Appleton area east-northeast through St. Cloud and Pine City, MN were some of the largest known to date across the area. Thousands of farms and homes across the ice storm strip were without power and telephone service as the result of thousands of broken lines and/or broken poles. Many were without utilities from one to three days, and a few without utilities for nearly a week. Utility damages were estimated to be $1.5 million dollars. In South Dakota, snowfall of 2 to 6 inches was common. Strong winds of over 40 mph accompanied the snow, causing drifting and blowing snow and occasionally reducing visibility to zero. Some of the roads were blocked. The most severe conditions occurred on the 30th when the highway department advised no traveling.

1975
An unusually large tornado struck a mobile home park 7 miles southwest of Ocala, FL destroying 20 mobile homes and heavily damaging 50 more. One person died three

weeks after the tornado, and of the 26 injuries, eight required extended hospitalization. Witnesses reported ping pong ball size hail before the tornado.

1976
Record cold prevailed from the Plains to the Great Lakes. Muskegon, MI set their December record low with -15°.

Locations that reported daily record lows included: St. Cloud, MN: -34°, Waterloo, IA: -23°, La Crosse, WI: -20°, Houghton Lake, MI: -18°, Dubuque, IA: -18°-Tied, Madison, WI: -16°, Lansing, MI: -15°, Fort Wayne, IN: -14°, Grand Rapids, MI: -14°, Columbia, MO: -12°, Kansas City, MO: -11°, Cleveland, OH: -11°, Topeka, KS: -10°, St. Louis, MO: -10°, Mansfield, OH: -10°, Toledo, OH: -9°, Indianapolis, IN: -9°-Tied, Akron, OH: -7°, Springfield, MO: -6°, Dayton, OH: -6°, Youngstown, OH: -6°, Columbus, OH: -5°, Detroit, MI: -5°-Tied, Evansville, IN: -3°, Cincinnati, OH: -2°, Paducah, KY: -1°, Fort Smith, AR: 6°-Tied, Huntsville, AL: 9°, Memphis, TN: 9°, Wichita Falls, TX: 9°, Little Rock, AR: 10°, Tupelo, MS: 11°, Oak Ridge, TN: 11°, Bristol, TN: 12°, Dallas, TX: 12°, Dallas (DFW), TX: 13°, Birmingham, AL: 14°, New York (Kennedy Airport), NY: 14°, Chattanooga, TN: 14°, Midland-Odessa, TX: 14°, Waco, TX: 14°, Meridian, MS: 20°, Austin, TX: 20° and Victoria, TX: 25°-Tied.

1983
The month went down as the coldest ever recorded in some southern cities, including Little Rock, AR and San Antonio, TX. On Christmas day alone during this month, record low temperatures were set in about 125 cities across the country.

Locations that reported record low temperatures for the date included: Flint, MI: -11°, Elkins, WV: -5°, Jackson, KY: 4°, Bristol, TN: 5°, Oak Ridge, TN: 5°, Lynchburg, VA: 5°, Asheville, NC: 6°, Little Rock, AR: 7°, Birmingham, AL: 9°, Tupelo, MS: 9°, Huntsville, AL: 9°-Tied, Jackson, MS: 10°, Chattanooga, TN: 10°, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 11°-Tied, Shreveport, LA: 12°, Meridian, MS: 13°, San Antonio, TX: 13° (broke previous record by 12 degrees), Mobile, AL: 14°, Macon, GA: 14°, Baton Rouge, LA: 14°, Augusta, GA: 14°-Tied, Wallops Island, VA: 15°, Pensacola, FL: 17°, Columbus, GA: 18°, Austin (Bergstrom), TX: 18°, Houston, TX: 18°, Lake Charles, LA: 19°, Austin, TX: 19°, Victoria, TX: 20°, Tallahassee, FL: 20°-Tied, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: 21°, Charleston, SC: 21°-Tied, Del Rio, TX: 22°, New Orleans, LA: 23°, Corpus Christi, TX: 28°-Tied and Orlando, FL: 36°-Tied

1987
Torrential rains caused extensive flash flooding over eastern sections of the island of Oahu in Hawaii, resulting in many rock and mudslides. Rainfall totals ranged up to 22.89 inches in a 24 hour period, and property damage was estimated at $35 million dollars. 2,800 people were evacuated and fortunately there were no deaths or injuries.

Strong winds continued to usher arctic cold into the north central U.S. The temperature at Alexandria, MN remained below zero through the day, and Jamestown, ND reported a wind chill reading of -58°. Gales lashed the Great Lakes, with wind gusts to 54 mph reported at Lansing, MI. 

1988
Warm and wet weather prevailed in the southeastern U.S. A few cities across Alabama and Florida reported record high temperatures for the date including: Fort Myers, FL: 86°, Gainesville, FL: 82°, Daytona Beach, FL: 82°-Tied, Jacksonville, FL: 82°-Tied and Mobile, AL: 78°.

Meanwhile, thunderstorms produced locally heavy rains from the Lower Mississippi Valley to the Southern Atlantic Coast.

1989
The year and decade ended on a soggy note in the eastern U.S. Rains from thunderstorms pushed precipitation totals for the year to 88.32 inches at Baton Rouge, LA and to 75.37 inches at Huntsville, AL, establishing all-time records for those two locations.  

Dry weather continued in California. Sacramento and San Francisco finished the month without any rain or snow, and Santa Maria reported their driest year on record with just 3.30 inches.

Northway, AKreported the highest pressure ever recorded in the Unites States of 31.85 inches or 1079 millibars.

This December will go down as one of the coldest if not the coldest month since records were kept for much of the eastern U.S. The average temperature at Rochester, NY for the month was 17.1°. Bridgeport, CT averaged 23.3°, Boston, MA averaged 21.7° for the month, Brownsville, TX averaged 51.8°, and Lexington, KY averaged 23.0°. These were only a few locations where records were broken.

While Caribou, ME set a record low with -21°, Vero Beach and Gainesville, FL set record highs for the date with 83° and 82° respectively.

1990
1,133 tornadoes touched down in the U.S. during the past year to set a new all-time yearly record for number of tornadoes at that time.

Several locations from the southern Plains to the West Coast reported record low temperatures for the date including: Salt Lake City, UT: -7°, Bishop, CA: 5°, Wichita Falls, TX: 7°, Dallas (DFW), TX: 13°-Tied, Redding, CA: 18°, Las Vegas, NV: 18°, Sacramento, CA: 24° and Borrego Springs, CA: 29°.

Meanwhile a few locations in Florida reported record highs for the date including: Daytona Beach: 88°, Fort Myers: 87°, Orlando: 84° and Tampa, FL: 83°-Tied.

1991
This year was by far the wettest year on record for Shreveport, LA. 81.99 inches of rain was recorded at the National Weather Service Office at the Regional Airport. The old record was 67.23 inches set in 1957.

Valdez, AK recorded 137.1 inches of snow for the month. This set a new all-time record for snowfall in December. The old record was 123.3 inches set back in 1989. Also, the 137.1 inches was 72.9 inches above normal.

1992
Wenatchee, WA received 6 inches of snow to bring the snow depth to 26 inches, to set a record for the location. The previous record was 24 inches on 2/11/1969.

At that time, 1992 set a new record for the number of tornadoes for any year with 1,297.

1994
A late afternoon tornado touched down 10 miles north of Shreveport, LA, and dissipated south of El Dorado, AR. The tornado, as much as 400 yards in width, killed 18 persons. It damaged or destroyed two thirds of the structures at Cotton Valley, LA.

1996
Storms that battered the Pacific Northwest between Christmas and New Years boosted Eureka, CA, to its wettest December on record, with 21.26 inches of rainfall. Portland, OR, wound up its second wettest year on record with 63.56 inches. The record was 67.24 inches in 1871. Many other reporting stations in the Pacific Northwest also recorded their wettest years on record.

Fog caused a 70 car pileup on I-10 between New Orleans and Slidell, LA. One person was killed and 30 others were injured.

1998
The Blue Hill Observatory in Milton, MA recorded 71.00 inches of rain for the year.  This set a new record for yearly rainfall, breaking the previous record set only two years prior in 1996.

1999
This year marked the first year since record keeping began in 1872 that Cheyenne, WY did not record a temperature reading at or below 0°. The lowest temperature recorded was 1° on 11/24.

Boston, MA officially recorded no snow for the month of December, the first time this has ever occurred. Both Concord, NH and Portland, ME recorded only a trace of snow for the month, unprecedented since records began.

2000
New Orleans, LA finished its driest year since 1899 with only 38.88 inches of rain

Marquette, MI recorded 89.5 inches of snow for the month. This established an all-time December record for the city.

Moline, IL had its coldest and snowiest December ever. The average temperature was a bitter 13.1° and the total snowfall was 32 inches. The 32 inches of snow was also a record for its most snowfall in any month. Dubuque, IA also had it snowiest month on record recording 37.6 inches.

Louisville and Paducah, KY had its coldest December on record. Louisville had an average temperature of 25.1° and Paducah an average of 25.9°.

South Bend, IN had its snowiest and coldest December on record with a total snowfall of 44.6 inches and an average temperature of 17.1°.

Downtown Los Angeles, CA concluded it first rainless November- December ever dating back to 1877.

2001
Grand Rapids, MI was buried under 51.7 inches of snow over a 9-day period ending on this date, their greatest amount of snow for such a short period of time.

Firefighters battled brush fires around Sydney, Australia as high winds and hot temperatures once again fanned the flames that had been burning since Christmas Day. The Black Christmas fires burned over 625,000 acres, destroyed over 150 homes and killed thousands of sheep. The wildfires, mostly the work of arsonists, were the worst in Australia since 1994. New Years Eve celebrations in the smoke shrouded city of Sydney were still held.

In the waning hours of the year Vava and Niuatoputapu, Tonga in the South Pacific were hit by Tropical Storm Waka cutting communication lines for several hours. Buildings, trees, and crops sustained damage but no injuries were reported.

2002
Denver, CO recorded its driest year on record with only 7.48 inches of precipitation.  Yuma, AZ also recorded its driest year on record with a meager 0.03 of an inch.  Goodland, KS and Des Moines, IA had their driest months ever with zero and a trace of precipitation falling, respectively.

A mountain wave generated an 84 mph wind gust at Inyokern, CA causing a tree to fall over killing one person.

2003
The Tri-Cities Regional Airport in eastern Tennessee had its wettest year by far with 65.65 inches. The old record was 54.50 inches set in 1950.

2004
1,819 tornadoes occurred in the U.S. This was, by far the most ever recorded in a year since reliable records began.

Louisville, KY concluded its wettest year on record with 65.52 inches. The old record was 63.76 inches set in 1996.

2005
Developing a day earlier, Tropical Storm Zeta, the final storm in the record breaking 2005 Atlantic Hurricane season was churning in the central Atlantic. The cyclone would peak on January 3, 2006 with sustained winds of 65 mph before gradually weakening and dissipating on January 6th, 2006.

2008
This was one of the snowiest months on record in southwest Lower Michigan. Some of the impressive monthly snow totals are: 88.7 inches at Hart, 68.6 inches at Muskegon and 54.6 inches at Grand Rapids. 2008 was also the snowiest calendar year on record at Hart, with over 200 inches and at Grand Rapids with 140.7 inches for the year.

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