Friday Daily Summary

DATASTREME ATMOSPHERE DAILY SUMMARY

Friday, 19 December 2014

This DataStreme Atmosphere Daily Summary contains Historical Weather Events for this date. Current weather data are available on the homepage as usual. If you are looking for an alternative description of daily weather, you could try:

http://www.weather.com/news (The Weather Channel)
or
http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/discussions/hpcdiscussions.php?disc=pmdspd (The National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center)

In addition, new items will appear in this week's Weekly Weather and Climate News for other weather and climate information from this past week. DataStreme Atmosphere Daily Summaries and Investigation files will return with the Spring 2015 DataStreme Atmosphere course during Preview Week on Monday, 19 January 2015.

Happy Winter Solstice! The winter solstice will occur next Sunday, 21 December 2014 (officially, at 2302 Z, or 6:11 PM EST, 5:02 PM CST, etc.). At that time, the earth's spin axis will be oriented such that the sun appears to be the farthest south in the local sky of most earth-bound observers. While most of us consider this event to be the start of astronomical winter, the British call that day the "Midwinter Day", as the apparent sun will begin its northward climb again. For essentially all locations in the Northern Hemisphere, in two weeks, the night will be the longest and the daylight on the following day will be the shortest of the year. Starting Sunday, the length of darkness will begin to shrink as we head toward the summer solstice on 21 June 2015 at 1638Z.

HISTORICAL WEATHER EVENTS - 19 December

From the files of the Aviation Weather Center, Kansas City, MO and Intellicast

...1777...The Continental Army moved into encampment at Valley Forge amidst stormy winds and piercing cold. A relatively moderate winter followed. (David Ludlum)
...1911...A 24-hour snowfall record occurred in Oklahoma with 22 inches at Beaver. (Intellicast)
...1924...The Riverside Ranger Station in Yellowstone Park, WY reported a low of 59 degrees below zero, a December record for the contiguous U.S. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
...1957...A tornado, 200 yards in width, killed two persons along its 15-mile path from near Waldo to near Buena Vista in southwestern Arkansas. People from one house were carried 250 yards, and cars were said to have been carried 600 yards. (The Weather Channel)
...1967...The second heavy snow in a week brought a total of 86 inches of snow to Flagstaff, AZ with a record snow depth of 83 inches. Many homes, farm buildings and business structures collapsed from the weight of the snow. The snows inflicted great hardship on the Indian reservations. (Intellicast) (David Ludlum)
...1973...A big pre-Christmas snowstorm began over Indiana and continued on the 20^th. Snowfall totals included 18 inches at Covington, 17 at Lafayette and Peru, 14 inches at Fort Wayne and 12.5 at Indianapolis. (Intellicast)
...1987...Thunderstorms produced large hail and damaging winds in eastern Texas and the Lower Mississippi Valley. Thunderstorms produced wind gusts to 90 mph at Venus, TX and Providence, LA. Rain prevailed from the Southern Plains to the Middle Mississippi Valley. Small stream flooding was reported around Columbia, MO. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1988...Low pressure and a trailing cold front in the central U.S. brought snow and high winds to parts of the Rocky Mountain Region. Winds in Colorado gusted to 67 mph at La Junta. Thunderstorms along the same cold front produced wind gusts to 65 mph at Kansas City, MO. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1989...High winds and heavy snow plagued the northern and central Rockies. Snowfall totals in Montana ranged up to 12 inches at Lincoln, and wind gusts in Colorado reached 97 mph at Squaw Mountain. Twelve cities in the north central U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date, including Dickinson, ND with a reading of 26 degrees below zero. Bismarck, ND was the cold spot in the nation with a morning low of 35 degrees below zero. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

20 December

...1836...A famous cold wave occurred in central Illinois. A cold front with 70-mph winds swept through at Noon dropping the temperature from 40 degrees to near zero in a matter of minutes. Many settlers froze to death. Folklore told of chickens frozen in their tracks and men frozen to saddles. Ice in streams reportedly froze to six inches in a few hours. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
...1942...An early cold wave sent the temperature plunging to 3 degrees below zero at Nantucket, MA, and to 11 degrees below zero at Boston, MA. (The Weather Channel)
...1986...An "Alberta Clipper" intensified explosively south of New England, bringing high winds, torrential rains and heavy snows. Up to 4 inches of rain fell in southern areas and winds gusted frequently to 60 and 70 mph. 30 inches of snow fell in southern Vermont, 24 inches on the higher elevations of western Massachusetts and 20 inches in New Hampshire. (Intellicast)
...1987...Heavy snow fell in the northern mountains of Colorado, with 15 inches reported in the Mary Jane ski area. Strong and gusty winds prevailed from the Northern High Plains to the Great Lakes. Winds gusted to 54 mph at Buffalo, NY, and reached 66 mph at Livingston, MT. Rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow fell across New England, with up to seven inches of snow in Maine. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1988...Strong southerly winds ahead of a cold front in the central U.S. gusted to 70 mph at Indianapolis, IN. The high winds toppled a masonry wall killing a construction worker. Low pressure and a trailing cold front brought rain and snow and high winds to the western U.S. Winds gusted to 90 mph at the Callahan Ranch south of Reno, NV. Soda Springs, in the Sierra Nevada Range of California, received 17 inches of snow in less than 24 hours. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
...1989...Brutal northwest winds ushered bitter cold arctic air into the north central U.S. International Falls, MN and Warroad, MN tied for honors as the cold spot in the nation with morning lows of 34 degrees below zero. Minot, ND reported a wind chill reading of 81 degrees below zero. Squalls produced more heavy snow in the Great Lakes Region. Erie, PA received 21 inches of snow, including four inches in one hour, to bring their total snow cover to 39 inches, an all-time record for that location. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
...1990...Snow fell at Santa Maria, CA for the first time since records were kept. (Intellicast)

21 December

...1892...Portland, OR was buried under an all-time record 27.5 inches of snow. (21^st-24^th) (The Weather Channel)
...1929...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. (21^st-22^nd) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
...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. (David Ludlum)
...1987...High winds continued along the eastern slopes of the Rockies. During the morning hours winds gusted to 64 mph at Cheyenne, WY, and reached 97 mph near Boulder, CO. Gale force winds prevailed across the Great Lakes Region. A four-day siege of heavy rains began in the south central U.S. Little Rock had 5.01 inches of rain. Total rainfall exceeded 12 inches in the Memphis, TN area. Widespread flooding claimed four lives and did millions of dollars in property damage. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (Intellicast)
...1988...Seven cities in the eastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date, including Charleston, SC with a reading of 78 degrees. A storm in the northwestern U.S. produced 22 inches of snow at Idaho City, ID in two days, and up to two feet of snow at Happy Camp, CA. Ski resorts in Idaho reported three to six feet of snow on the ground. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1989...Forty cities in the north central U.S., including thirteen in Iowa, reported record low temperatures for the date. Havre, MT and Jordan, MT tied for honors as the cold spot in the nation with morning lows of 43 degrees below zero, and the temperature remained close to 40 degrees below zero through the daylight hours. Dickinson, ND reported a morning low of 33 degrees below zero and a wind-chill reading of 86 degrees below zero. The high for the date of 16 degrees below zero at Sioux Falls, SD was December record for that location. (The National Weather Summary)

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