Weekly Weather
and Crop Bulletin
National Agricultural Statistics Service
USDA
Washington, D.C.
Released December 16, 2008
National Weather Summary December 7 - 13, 2008 Highlights: A sprawling winter storm affected nearly every corner of the nation, but reserved its most significant impacts for the South and East. As much as 4 to 8 inches of rain fell in the Southeast, easing or eradicating drought but halting fieldwork and causing local flooding. In addition, strong thunderstorms swept across the Southeast from December 9-11, while precipitation ended as sleet and snow in the central Gulf Coast States. Meanwhile, precipitation totaled at least 4 inches in several locations from the northern Mid-Atlantic region into southern New England.
Much of the interior Northeast endured a late-week wave of frozen precipitation that caused widespread travel and electrical disruptions. Farther west, early- season snowfall continued to blanket parts of the Midwest, especially from the upper Mississippi Valley into the Great Lakes region. By week's end, however, warmer air temporarily overspread the Corn Belt, halting a 4-week spell of mostly below-normal temperatures. Brief warmth also reached the Plains, where the majority of the wheat crop continued to overwinter well. Weekly temperatures ranged from as much as 10 degrees F below normal in the upper Great Lakes region to at least 10 degrees F above normal at a few locations in the northern Rockies.
Toward week's end, however, a dramatic pattern change suddenly brought cold, stormy weather to the northern Plains and much of the West. Snowfall across the northern Plains and the interior Northwest provided winter wheat with highly beneficial moisture and insulation in advance of an Arctic blast. Early in the week, very cold weather blanketed the Northeast, preceded by some light snow. Bridgeport, CT, received 3.0 inches of snow on December 6- 7. Later, Elkins, WV (-4 degrees F), posted a daily-record low for December 7, followed the next day by a record in Watertown, NY (-16 degrees F). Farther west, snow overspread the nation's northern tier. Daily-record totals for December 8 included 4.4 inches in La Crosse, WI, and 3.6 inches in Huron, SD.
In fact, La Crosse measured 11.9 inches of snow during the first 9 days of December, boosting its snow depth from 4 to 12 inches. The last time La Crosse had at least a foot of snow on the ground so early in the season was 1991, when the depth reached 14 inches on November 24. By December 9, heavy snow reached Michigan, where daily records included 8.4 inches in Houghton Lake and 8.0 inches in Alpena. In contrast, warmth overspread the south-central U.S. in advance of a developing storm. In Texas, Childress (76 degrees F) notched a daily-record high on December 8, followed by records for December 9 in locations such as McAllen (91 degrees F) and San Antonio (85 degrees F). Heavy rain developed across the Mid-South and parts of the Midwest on December 9, when record totals for the date included 4.09 inches in Tupelo, MS; 3.86 inches in Jackson, TN; and 1.47 inches (and 2.6 inches of snow) in Chicago, IL. A day later, record rainfall totals for December 10 topped 2 inches in locations such as Meridian, MS (2.57 inches), and Macon, GA (2.55 inches). On December 11, a final round of heavy rain deposited at least 4 inches at several sites, including Wallops Island, VA (4.56 inches), and Jackson, MS (4.07 inches).
By the night of December 10-11, a few inches of snow dusted parts of eastern Texas. Houston, TX (1.4 inches on December 10), tallied its first measurable snowfall since February 1, 1994, and its first 1-inch snowfall since December 22, 1989. Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX (1.8 inches on December 11), noted its earliest measurable snowfall on record, previously set with a 0.7-inch total on December 22, 1989. However, the band of heaviest Southern snow stretched from eastern Louisiana into south-central Mississippi. Unofficial snowfall totals for December 11 reached 8 inches at both Bogue Chitto, Lincoln County, MS, and Amite, Tangipahoa Parish, LA. Elsewhere in Louisiana, 3.0 inches blanketed in Baton Rouge and 1.0 inch coated New Orleans. By the following day, as much as an inch of freezing rain glazed the interior Northeast.
Closer to the coast, daily-record highs included 67 degrees F (on December 11) in Salisbury, MD, and 64 degrees F (on December 12) in Atlantic City, NJ. In the storm's wake, however, daily- record lows were broken on December 11 in Victoria (27 degrees F) and Corpus Christi, TX (30 degrees F). In Deep South Texas, Harlingen's minimum temperature of 31 degrees F (on December 11) represented its lowest reading since February 12, 2006, when it was also 31 degrees F. Toward week's end, heavy snow arrived across the northern Plains and parts of the West. In North Dakota, December 13-14 snowfall totals reached 13.8 inches in Williston and 12.4 inches in Bismarck.
In Montana, 10.0 inches of snow blanketed Glasgow on December 13, setting a record for any December day (previously, 8.0 inches on December 9, 1906). Glasgow also clocked a northeasterly wind gust to 49 m.p.h. On the night of December 13-14, wind gusts in Nebraska were measured as high as 65 m.p.h. in Gordon and 61 m.p.h. in Broken Bow. By Sunday morning, December 14, daily-record lows were shattered in Montana locations such as Havre (-33 degrees F), Lewistown (-29 degrees F), and Great Falls (-25 degrees F). Farther west, December 12-13 snowfall totals were as high as 2 to 3 feet in the Cascades, with 33.0 inches reported at June Lake, WA, and 29.5 inches noted at Oregon's Crater Lake.
Elsewhere in the Northwest, Pendleton, OR, received 6.5 inches of snow on December 13-14. In Hawaii, heavy rain resulted in drought relief but caused significant flooding, especially on Kauai and Oahu. In fact, December 10-13 totals on Kauai reached 16.18 inches in Kokee, 12.65 inches in Wailua, and 11.35 inches in Lihue. Lihue also netted daily-record totals on December 11 and 13 (4.56 and 4.90 inches, respectively). During the same period on Oahu, Schofield Barracks endured 17.73 inches, while Wheeler Airfield collected 15.42 inches. On Maui, Kahului (3.06 inches) received 40 percent of its year-to-date rainfall on December 11.
Farther north, Alaskan weekly temperatures were mostly within 5 degrees F of normal. At week's end, unusual warmth prevailed across Alaska's North Slope, where Barrow (29 degrees F on December 13) posted a daily-record high. Significant precipitation was mostly confined to southern Alaska, where Valdez received 28.8 inches of snow from December 9- 11. Anchorage also noted snow, with 5.0 inches falling during the same 3-day period.
