December 2025 OBS and Discussion

[lee59]

Seeing some real winter weather move into many northern areas so early in the season. Folks in the Chicago area will probably be ice skating this time next week.

[snywx]

26/14 right now. Cold enough!

[donsutherland1]

A colder than normal pattern has now moved into place. A prolonged stretch of below normal temperatures will likely continue into or through the second week of December. December 1-10 will be a solidly colder than normal period. The potential exists for the coldest first days of December since at least 2007 (33.4°, 5th coldest December 1-10 since 2000).

The five coldest December 1-10 periods since 2000 were:

1. 30.6°, 2002
2. 32.2°, 2003
3. 32.4°, 2000
4. 33.1°, 2005
5. 33.4°, 2007

All 5 of these cases had measurable snowfall in Central Park.

A storm will affect the region on tomorrow into Wednesday, bringing 0.50"-1.50" precipitation to the region. Some wet snowflakes are possible in and around New York City early on, but no accumulation is likely. Interior sections have the highest probability of seeing accumulations of snow. Binghamton and portions of northwest New Jersey will likely see 3"-6" of snow with some locally higher amounts. Albany could see 4"-8" of snow.

The coldest air mass so far this season could move into the region late in the week. The temperature will likely tumble into the 20s Thursday night into Friday in New York City.

Another system could bring some light precipitation to the region during the weekend.

The ENSO Region 1+2 anomaly was -0.1°C and the Region 3.4 anomaly was -0.6°C for the week centered around November 26. For the past six weeks, the ENSO Region 1+2 anomaly has averaged -0.18°C and the ENSO Region 3.4 anomaly has averaged -0.67°C. La Niña conditions will likely continue through at least mid-winter.

The SOI was -12.82 today. 

The preliminary Arctic Oscillation (AO) was +0.520 today. 

 

[coastalplainsnowman]

It’s so clear that local news still draws a a lot of eyeballs when they cover winter weather.  Wall to wall coverage.  WeatherTracker engaged!  Can’t blame them.  I’d be lying if I said I don’t still enjoy it. Brings me back to a simpler time when we were all tuned in together.  Having said that, NJ declaring a state of emergency for 5 counties, and the on air folks saying stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary seems over the top.

[steve392]

33 but feels wayyyyyyy colder here in Kearny, nj

[SACRUS]

33/25  clouds - storm today with 0.5 - 0.75 LE / rain.  Colder overall the next 10 days with the coldest days Dec 5, 7-9 of this next stretch with sub freezing days possible throughout the areas.  Next batch of mix/rain with the system this Saturday - otherwise a cold weekend.  Longer range looks to remain overall (bias below normal) slight moderation towards the 12th before next trough and surge of cold air.

 

[SACRUS]

Records:

Highs:

EWR: 66 (1998)
NYC: 66 (1970)
LGA: 66 (1970)
JFK: 62 (1998)


Lows:

EWR: 16 (1946)
NYC: 11 (1875)
LGA: 17 (1976)
JFK: 17 (1989)

Historical:

 

1896 - An early season snow and ice storm struck the southeastern U.S. It produced 11 inches of snow at Charlotte NC, and six inches at Atlanta GA. (David Ludlum)

1925 - A late season hurricane caused extensive damage across the Florida peninsula, then moved off the Georgia coast crossing Cape Hatteras as a tropical storm. The storm produced whole gales along the Middle Atlantic and Southern New England coast. Winds gusted to 60 mph at Block Island RI, and reached 64 mph at Atlantic City NJ. (David Ludlum)

1940: The high temperature of 78 °F at Las Vegas, NV set the all-time warmest temperature in December.  (Ref. Wilson Wx. History)

1942: Boston, Massachusetts recorded its lowest December pressure of 28.49 inches of mercury. (Ref. NOAA Boston Weather Events)

1950 - A late season tornado killed four persons in Madison County and Bond County, east of St Louis MO. Three tornadoes touched down in Illinois that afternoon, compared to just half a dozen tornadoes in the month of December in 115 years of records up until that time. Thunderstorms also produced hail which caused more than four million dollars damage in the St Louis area, it was the most damaging hailstorm of record for Missouri. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
A tornado causing F2 damage moved through Madison and Macoupin counties in Illinois. One person was killed and 3 more were injured in a car that was carried 200 yards near Mt. Olive. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History)
 

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

 

1968: The "Sacramento," a 250-foot fishing barge and former ferry between San Francisco and Oakland, succumb to a winter storm off Redondo Beach.

1970 - A tornado, 400 yards in width, touched down about one mile below the summit of Timpanogos Divide. Trees up to 18 inches in diameter were snapped, and some of the 38 inch snow cover was carried 1000 feet above the ground as the tornado traveled one mile. (The Weather Channel)

1974: Big snows occurred across the lower Great Lakes and Ohio Valley. One of the more remarkable amounts was 19.5 inches at Detroit, MI. (Ref. AccWeather Weather History)

1977: High winds buffeted the Colorado Rockies. Wind gusts were clocked at 104 mph at Nederland, CO, 100 mph at Morrison, CO and 62 mph at Rocky Flats, CO. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History)

1982 - A tornado destroyed a home four miles south of Eastwood MO. The owners were not injured in that tornado, but ironically one was killed Christmas Eve when another tornado hit the replacement mobile home on the same site. (The Weather Channel)
A tremendous rainstorm in central Illinois brought 6.12 inches of rain to Springfield during a 24 hour period through the 3rd. Jacksonville, IL had 4.80 inches and Peoria, IL recorded 2.89 inches during this period. Lake Springfield rose two feet over the old record stage, flooding nearby land. $100,000 dollars damage occurred to the dam at the lake, due to the tremendous flow of water.(Ref. Wilson Wx. History)
The following locations recorded their warmest December temperature on record: Fort Wayne, IN: 71 °F (the only time Fort Wayne ever reached 70° in December), South Bend, IN: 71 °F, Goshen, IN: 69 °F, Elkader, IA: 65 °F, Genoa, WI: 65 °F, Prairie du Chien, WI: 65 °F, Alma, WI: 64 °F, Dodge, WI: 64 °F, Hillsboro, WI: 64 °F, Lynxville, WI: 64 °F, Neillsville, WI: 63 °F, Trempealeau, WI: 63 °F, Viroqua, WI: 63 °F, Caledonia, MN: 62 °F and Theilman, MN: 62 °F. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History)

1985: Richmond, Virginia had its latest freezing day of autumn on this date in 1985 when the temperature fell to 30 °F. The average first freezing day in autumn is October 29th. (1971 to 2000 average)(Ref. Richmond Weather Records KRIC)
The significant snow storm from the previous day continued to effect the region, with snow totals including: Dorchester, IA: 18 inches (their greatest one-day snowfall), Hatfield, WI: 16 inches, Soldiers Grove, WI: 15 inches (their greatest one-day snowfall), Sparta, WI: 15 inches, Viroqua, WI: 15 inches (2.2 inches liquid equivalent, their wettest December day), Waukon, IA: 14 inches (their greatest one-day snowfall), La Crescent, MN: 13 inches, Preston, MN: 12.5 inches, Owen, WI: 11 inches (their greatest one-day snowfall, Dodge, WI: 11 inches, Goodrich, WI: 11 inches, Mather, WI: 10 inches, Fayette, IA: 8.5 inches.
(Ref. Wilson Wx. History)

1987 - A powerful storm over the Gulf of Alaska continued to produced high winds and heavy rain along the northern and central Pacific coast. Winds gusted to 80 mph south of Port Orford OR, Stevens Pass WA was blanketed with sixteen inches of snow, and Blue Canyon CA was soaked with 1.63 inches of rain. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)

1988 - Squalls in the Great Lakes Region produced ten inches of snow at Union City, PA. Gale force winds gusted to 55 mph at Buffalo NY. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

1989 - Squalls produced heavy snow in the Great Lakes Region. Totals in Upper Michigan ranged up to 20 inches at Ironwood. Heavy snow and high winds caused 150 auto accidents in Michigan, resulting in sixteen deaths and 22 injuries. Strong northwesterly winds gusted to 73 mph at Johnstown PA, and Lowville PA received 20 inches of snow in 36 hours. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

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

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

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

[bluewave]

While we couldn’t make any progress with the persistent warm storm track pattern next few days, at least we are finally getting an Arctic outbreak focused right over the Northeast Friday morning.