Friday, January 8, 2010

Washington DC December Precipitation Update

As noted here at the time, the reported precipitation from National Airport in connection with the record-breaking December snowstorm appeared to be incomplete. The National Weather Service monthly climate summary for December 2009 is now showing a more realistic 1.34" for the 19th, as compared with 0.40" previously reported. This brings the corrected December total to 6.79", which would now be the second wettest December in history. The National Climatic Data Center statewide data (see previous post) show that December was the wettest on record in both Maryland and Virginia.

December 2009 14th Coldest, 11th Wettest in U.S.
Maryland, Virginia Had Wettest December

The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) preliminary analysis for December 2009, posted earlier this afternoon, shows that the third warmest November was followed by the 14th coldest December in the contiguous U.S. The monthly average temperature of 30.2° F was 3.2° F below the long-term average. None of the 9 climate regions had above-average temperatures. Six states had top-ten coldest Decembers:
  • 8th coldest: Nebraska
  • 9th coldest: Texas, Nevada, and Wyoming
  • 10th coldest: Montana and Utah
For the entire year 2009, temperatures averaged 53.1° F, which was 0.3° warmer than the long-term average. This ranks the year as the 35th warmest in records dating back to 1895.

In contrast to temperatures which were below average, precipitation was above average for the month. The national average of 2.88", 0.65" above the 20th Century average, placed the month as the 11th wettest December. The Southeast region had its wettest December ever, including 3 individual states with wettest Decembers. A total of 13 states had top-ten wettest Decembers:
  • Wettest: Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia
  • 2nd wettest: New Jersey
  • 3rd wettest: North Carolina, Alabama, South Dakota
  • 4th wettest: Iowa
  • 5th wettest: Delaware, Louisiana
  • 7th wettest: Minnesota, Florida
Only 4 states had lower than average precipitation: Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

As would be expected for a cold winter month with heavy precipitation, snowfall was widespread during December. The Rutgers Global Snow Lab reported that the satellite-derived average snow cover extent of 4.1 million square km was the largest since satellite observations began in 1966. At the end of the month, slightly over 60% of the area of the contiguous 48 states was covered with snow.

Several major cities, mainly in the Mid Atlantic and Midwest, set records for December snow totals:
December 2009 Monthly Snow Records
City December 2009 Previous Record
Philadelphia, PA 24.1 inches 22.4 inches - 1909
Topeka, KS 19.2 inches 18.8 inches - 1983
Lincoln, NE 24.3 inches 22.3 inches - 1945
Omaha, NE 24.9 inches 19.9 inches - 1969
Oklahoma City, OK 14.0 inches 9.0 inches - 1914
Beckley, WV 37.8 inches 26.5 inches - 1993
Washington, D.C. 16.6 inches 16.2 inches - 1962
Balitmore, MD 23.2 inches 20.4 inches - 1966
Sioux City, IA 34.0 inches 22.6 inches - 2008
Jackson, KY 17.6 inches 11.5 inches - 1993
Des Moines, IA 28.2 inches 26.9 inches - 2000
Images (click to enlarge): U.S. December average temperature since 1895, statewide temperature and precipitation ranks for December 2009, daily U.S. percentage snow cover, December 31 snow cover; all from National Climatic Data Center/NOAA

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Florida Freeze Feeds Futures Frenzy
Orange Juice Prices Increase on Record Cold

For other record temperature posts, see:
Record Heat
Record Cold


The cold Arctic outbreak dominating much of the U.S. has driven up orange juice prices as freezing temperatures in Florida have threatened the crop near harvest time. Prices surged on Monday by 10 cents (7.8%) to reach the daily trading limit. The Wall Street Journal reported late this afternoon, however,
Despite moving sharply higher in early trading after gaining 12% over the previous two sessions, orange juice futures finished marginally lower Wednesday. Market participants took heart in the fact that crop damage overnight appeared to be minimal, as temperatures in the heart of the citrus belt remained just above critical levels. Citrus fruit sustains damage when readings dip below 28 F for three or more hours.
Several daily temperature records have been broken or tied across the state. For Wednesday, January 6:
A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 35 DEGREES WAS SET AT NAPLES TODAY.   
THIS TIES THE OLD RECORD OF 35 SET IN 1999.

A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 34 DEGREES WAS SET AT WEST PALM BEACH
TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 37 SET IN 1967.

A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 40 DEGREES WAS TIED AT MIAMI TODAY. THIS
TIES THE OLD RECORD OF 40 SET IN 1919.

A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 28 DEGREES WAS SET AT
LAKELAND THIS MORNING. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD
OF 35 SET BACK IN 1985 AND 1980.

A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 34 DEGREES WAS SET AT FORT MYERS TODAY.
THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 36 SET IN 1956.

A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 27 DEGREES WAS SET AT TAMPA TODAY.
THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 30 SET IN 1999.

A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 28 DEGREES WAS SET AT VERO BEACH TODAY.
THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 32 SET IN 1999.

ALSO...A RECORD COOL MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 55 DEGREES WAS SET AT
[VERO BEACH] TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 62 SET IN 1969.

A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 28 DEGREES WAS SET AT DAYTONA BEACH
THIS MORNING. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 30 SET IN 1999.

A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 31 DEGREES WAS SET AT ORLANDO TODAY.
THIS TIES THE OLD RECORD OF 31 SET IN 1999.

ALSO...A RECORD COOL MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 50 DEGREES WAS SET AT
ORLANDO TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 57 SET IN 1980.

A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 27 DEGREES WAS SET AT MELBOURNE THIS
MORNING. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 31 SET IN 1999.

ALSO...A RECORD COOL MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 52 DEGREES WAS SET
AT MELBOURNE TODAY...JANUARY 6 2010. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF
57 SET IN 1980.

THE MORNING LOW TODAY WAS 21 DEGREES AT THE JACKSONVILLE INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT. THIS TIES THE OLD RECORD OF 21 DEGREES SET IN 1884.

A RECORD FOR THE DAILY LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE IN KEY WEST WILL BE LIKELY TODAY
AS THE TEMPERATURE STRUGGLES TO HOVER AROUND 55 DEGREES
For Tuesday, January 5:
THE HIGH TEMPERATURE AT NAPLES ONLY REACHED 55 DEGREES TODAY. THIS   
BREAKS THE RECORD FOR THE COOLEST MAXIMUM TEMP OF 56 DEGREES SET
BACK IN 2002.

A RECORD COOL MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 50 DEGREES WAS SET AT MELBOURNE
YESTERDAY...JANUARY [5]. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 51 SET IN
1981.

A RECORD COOL MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 52 DEGREES WAS SET AT VERO
BEACH YESTERDAY JANUARY 5. THIS TIES THE OLD RECORD OF 52 SET IN
1999.

THE HIGH TEMPERATURE YESTERDAY OF 47 DEGREES [AT ORLANDO] WAS A RECORD COOL
MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE FOR JANUARY 5 2010. THE OLD RECORD OF 48 WAS SET
IN 1999.

A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 26 DEGREES WAS SET AT APALACHICOLA TODAY.
THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 27 SET IN 2002.
For Monday, January 4:
A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 26 DEGREES WAS SET AT BRUNSWICK [GA] TODAY.   
THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 27 SET IN 1979.

A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 26 DEGREES WAS SET AT APALACHICOLA
YESTERDAY. THIS TIES THE OLD RECORD OF 26 SET IN 2002.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Burlington's Blizzard Bullseye:
New All-Time Snowfall Record

The heavy snowstorm which affected northern New England over the weekend put Burlington, VT directly in the bullseye. The National Weather Service reported on Monday that the storm total of 33.1" at Burlington International Airport set a new all-time snowfall record for a single storm. The old record was 29.8" in December 1969.

Other storm totals around the northeastern New York/Vermont region are listed below.

A daily snowfall record was also set at Caribou, ME for January 2 (8.5" vs. 5.8" in 1972).

The top 5 Burlington snowfalls are now:
1. 33.1 INCHES ON JANUARY 2-3, 2010   
2. 29.8 INCHES ON DECEMBER 25-28, 1969
3. 25.7 INCHES ON FEBRUARY 14-15, 2007
4. 24.7 INCHES ON JANUARY 13-14, 1934
5. 22.9 INCHES ON MARCH 5-6, 2001

********************STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL********************

LOCATION STORM TOTAL TIME/DATE COMMENTS
SNOWFALL OF
(INCHES) MEASUREMENT


NEW YORK

...CLINTON COUNTY...
PERU 4.1 ESE 9.2 800 AM 1/4 COCORAHS
PLATTSBURGH 7.0 1200 AM 1/4

...FRANKLIN COUNTY...
MALONE 9.0 700 AM 1/4 COOP

...ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY...
POTSDAM 7.5 622 PM 1/3

VERMONT

...ADDISON COUNTY...
MONKTON 24.5 900 AM 1/4 SPOTTER
LINCOLN 2.2 NW 14.0 800 AM 1/4 COCORAHS
SALISBURY 2 N 12.4 500 PM 1/3

...CALEDONIA COUNTY...
WALDEN 20.0 632 PM 1/3
SUTTON 10.5 700 AM 1/4 COOP
SUTTON 2 NE 9.4 700 AM 1/4 COOP
NORTH WALDEN 7.8 700 AM 1/4 COOP
STANNARD 6.2 530 PM 1/3
SAINT JOHNSBURY 5.4 400 PM 1/3

...CHITTENDEN COUNTY...
SOUTH BURLINGTON 33.1 1200 AM 1/4
ESSEX JUNCTION 30.0 427 PM 1/3
MILTON 25.0 600 PM 1/3 NWS EMPLOYEE
CHARLOTTE 24.0 400 PM 1/3 SPOTTER
NORTH UNDERHILL 21.9 900 AM 1/4 NWS EMPLOYEE
NASHVILLE 1 E 21.6 718 PM 1/3

...FRANKLIN COUNTY...
SWANTON 7.8 745 PM 1/3

...LAMOILLE COUNTY...
JEFFERSONVILLE 21.5 800 AM 1/4 SPOTTER
CAMBRIDGE 16.0 1028 AM 1/4 PUBLIC
MOUNT MANSFIELD 11.0 430 PM 1/3
EDEN 2 S 8.0 700 AM 1/4 COOP
STOWE 4.2 624 PM 1/3

...ORANGE COUNTY...
CORINTH 6.0 705 AM 1/4 COOP

...ORLEANS COUNTY...
BARTON 3.0 ENE 13.8 800 AM 1/4 COCORAHS
DERBY CENTER 1.8 NW 12.0 800 AM 1/4 COCORAHS
WESTFIELD 0.7 WNW 9.5 800 AM 1/4 COCORAHS
IRASBURG 3.2 701 AM 1/4 COOP

...RUTLAND COUNTY...
DANBY 13.5 607 AM 1/4
SUDBURY 13.0 730 PM 1/3
CLARENDON 12.0 900 AM 1/4 RUTLAND AIRPORT
PITTSFORD 11.5 1120 PM 1/3 SPOTTER
POULTNEY 9.0 100 PM 1/3 SPOTTER
RUTLAND 7.8 703 AM 1/4 COOP

...WASHINGTON COUNTY...
WATERBURY 4.6 NNE 5.8 800 AM 1/4 COCORAHS
WAITSFIELD 2 W 5.0 900 AM 1/4 COOP
PLAINFIELD 3.3 704 AM 1/4 COOP
WORCESTER 2 W 3.3 705 AM 1/4 COOP
EAST CALAIS 3.0 1230 PM 1/3 SPOTTER
NORTHFIELD 3.0 704 AM 1/4 COOP
MARSHFIELD 4.5 SW 2.7 800 AM 1/4 COCORAHS
EAST CALAIS 1.5 SW 2.4 800 AM 1/4 COCORAHS

...WINDSOR COUNTY...
WOODSTOCK 1.3 706 AM 1/4 COOP
ROCHESTER 1.0 706 AM 1/4 COOP
Image (click to enlarge): Total snowfall from 7 am Saturday, Jan. 2, through 7 am Monday, Jan. 4, 2010 from National Weather Service

Seasonal Outlook

Latest seasonal forecast: Click here.


Latest 3-month temperature outlook from Climate Prediction Center/NWS/NOAA.