December 2023

[Monmouth_County_Jacpot]

Just now, psv88 said:

More fog!!!!!

Could be worse. Could have snow cover with fog… just sayin

[SI Mailman]

drove through that fog a couple of hours ago and it was thicc

[Snowlover11]

foggy as all hell outside

[North and West]

drove through that fog a couple of hours ago and it was thicc

.

[bluewave]

NYC just experienced the 3 warmest consecutive winter months on record with all 3 months above 41.0°. This lead to the lowest calendar year snowfall at only 2.3”. It was warmer and less snowy than the Richmond, VA averages.
 

Jan 23…43.5°

Feb 23….41.1°

Dec 23...44.2°

AVG……42.9°

 

Dec 01…44.1°

Jan 02…39.9°

Feb 02….40.6°

AVG…….41.5°
 

Jan 98…40.0°

Feb 98….40.6°

Dec 98….43.1°

AVG………41.2°
 

Time Series Summary for NY CITY CENTRAL PARK, NY - Jan through Dec
Click column heading to sort ascending, click again to sort descending.

Rank	Year	Total Snowfall	Missing Count
1	2023	2.3	6
2	1913	3.4	0
3	1973	5.6	0
4	1901	6.5	2
5	1998	7.5	0
6	1953	7.6	0
7	1931	8.0	0
8	1951	8.8	0
9	2012	9.6	0
10	1997	9.9	0

https://www.weather.gov/media/akq/climateRECORDS/RIC_Climate_Records.pdf

Richmond, VA….Jan…38.3°…Feb…41.0°….Dec…41.8°…snowfall….8.8”

[coastalplainsnowman]

32 minutes ago, bluewave said:

NYC just experienced the 3 warmest consecutive winter months on record with all 3 months above 41.0°. This lead to the lowest calendar year snowfall at only 2.3”. This was warmer and less snowy than the Richmond, VA averages.
 

Jan 23…43.5°

Feb 23….41.1°

Dec 23...44.2°

AVG……42.9°

 

Dec 01…44.1°

Jan 02…39.9°

Feb 02….40.6°

AVG…….41.5°
 

Jan 98…40.0°

Feb 98….40.6°

Dec 98….43.1°

AVG………41.2°
 

Time Series Summary for NY CITY CENTRAL PARK, NY - Jan through Dec
Click column heading to sort ascending, click again to sort descending.

Rank	Year	Total Snowfall	Missing Count
1	2023	2.3	6
2	1913	3.4	0
3	1973	5.6	0
4	1901	6.5	2
5	1998	7.5	0
6	1953	7.6	0
7	1931	8.0	0
8	1951	8.8	0
9	2012	9.6	0
10	1997	9.9	0

https://www.weather.gov/media/akq/climateRECORDS/RIC_Climate_Records.pdf

Richmond, VA….Jan…38.3°…Feb…41.0°….Dec…41.8°…snowfall….8.8”

Thanks for this - just to clarify - warmer than Richmond was for the same time periods, or warmer than Richmond's likewise historical averages?

[bluewave]

50 minutes ago, coastalplainsnowman said:

Thanks for this - just to clarify - warmer than Richmond was for the same time periods, or warmer than Richmond's likewise historical averages?

Warmer than Richmond for the 91-20 climate normals.

[SACRUS]

 

45 off a low of 42.  Morning fog, clouds and 1 - 1.5 inches of rain on tap.

 

[SACRUS]

String of cloudy days since Dec 23 looks to break with a sunny Saturday Dec 30.

[SACRUS]

Records:

Highs:

EWR: 63 (1949)
NYC:  63 (1949)
LGA:  63 (1949)


Lows:

EWR: 3 (1948)
NYC:  6 (1872)
LGA:  9 (1989)


Historical:

 

1869 - A post Christmas storm in New York and Vermont produced record storm totals of 30 inches at Burlington, VT, and 39 inches at Montpelier VT. A public emergency was declared in Vermont. (David Ludlum)

1892 - An Atlantic coast storm produced a record 18.6 inches of snow at Norfolk, VA, including 17.7 inches in 24 hours. The storm also produced 9.5 inches of snow at Raleigh NC, and brought snow to northern Florida for the first time in 35 years. (26th- 28th) (The Weather Channel)

1982 - The worst Louisiana rainstorm in more than 100 years came to an end. More than 18 inches fell at Vinton, LA, during the three day storm. Flooding was widespread, and property damage was estimated at 100 to 200 million dollars. President Reagan visited the state and declared ten parishes in northeastern Lousiana disaster areas. (The Weather Channel)

1987 - A winter storm produced snow and high winds in Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska. Denver CO experienced its worst snowstorm since December 1983 as high winds gusting to 46 mph created near blizzard conditions, whipping the fifteen inch snow into drifts five 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 19 inches at La Grange WY, and 22 inches at Elsmere NE. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)

 

1987: Today marks the end of the infamous 2-day ice storm which began as freezing rain and sleet before sunrise on Christmas Day in Oklahoma. This ice storm left parts of Oklahoma without power for over a week. Sleet prevailed across the western and northern parts of Oklahoma City, while freezing rain devastated southern and eastern parts of the metro area. Despite heavy sleet and ice accumulations of up to 2 inches, total snowfall was only a trace.

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 destroyed five chicken homes killing thousands of chickens. Strong thunderstorm winds gusted to 80 mph at Rolling Fork MS. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

1989 - Half a dozen cities in the northeastern U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date, including Elkins, WV, with a reading of 13 degrees below zero. Watertown NY was the cold spot in the nation with a morning low of 37 degrees below zero. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)

2004 - A major storm system affected parts of the western United States during December 27-29, bringing a variety of weather conditions to the region. Heavy rainfall broke daily precipitation records at some locations in California. Very heavy snow fell across the Sierra Nevada Mountains, with some areas receiving several feet of accumulation. Winds with this weather system gusted over 65 mph at some coastal and mountain locations in California.

[psv88]

Record number of consecutive foggy days in these parts? @donsutherland1

@bluewave

[SACRUS]

[Stormlover74]

7 minutes ago, psv88 said:

Record number of consecutive foggy days in these parts? @donsutherland1

@bluewave

When the cold air retreated in Dec 89 I remember a stretch of days like this. Mild rainy foggy 

[LibertyBell]

8 hours ago, Snowlover11 said:

foggy as all hell outside

The weather is awful, we have fungus, mold, moss (my garage roof and my neighbor's roof and the house after that are turning green!), etc, growing everywhere and it's destroying my nose lol.  Anything but rain, I dont care what the temperatures suck all the humidity and moisture into space I don't want it here.

[LibertyBell]

10 hours ago, Monmouth_County_Jacpot said:

Could be worse. Could have snow cover with fog… just sayin

No it really cant get any worse, we need weather modification  asap, I would be fine with a device that sucked moisture into space and prevented systems from getting stuck in place.

[donsutherland1]

47 minutes ago, psv88 said:

Record number of consecutive foggy days in these parts? @donsutherland1

@bluewave

Although I am not aware of records being kept on fog specifically, the record stretch of days for visibility falling below 1 mile at Islip is 9 days: June 20-28, 1973.

[LibertyBell]

1 minute ago, donsutherland1 said:

Although I am not aware of records being kept on fog specifically, the record stretch of days for visibility falling below 1 mile at Islip is 9 days: June 20-28, 1973.

I'm seriously thinking of bleaching my garage roof and everywhere else this ugly moss/mold/fungus growth is occurring.  If you have any 2 week period of sunny weather coming, send it here, otherwise please invent a weather modification device to make it happen, Don.

[gravitylover]

Yeah LB this is just ugly. Everything is wet all the time and everything is soft and mushy all the time but on the upside my herbs are still growing so I still have fresh rosemary and oregano. 

[North and West]

When the cold air retreated in Dec 89 I remember a stretch of days like this. Mild rainy foggy 

Me too! I remember it on New Year’s Eve and then a Sunday morning a week or two later that felt like April. 🫠


.

[North and West]

Although I am not aware of records being kept on fog specifically, the record stretch of days for visibility falling below 1 mile at Islip is 9 days: June 20-28, 1973.

You either have an amazing database or amazing mind! These stats are great.




.

[donsutherland1]

53 minutes ago, North and West said:

You either have an amazing database or amazing mind! These stats are great.




.

I pulled the data and then checked for consecutive days.

[LibertyBell]

2 hours ago, gravitylover said:

Yeah LB this is just ugly. Everything is wet all the time and everything is soft and mushy all the time but on the upside my herbs are still growing so I still have fresh rosemary and oregano. 

I'm pretty sure I am having really bad allergic attacks from the mold, mildew, whatever is roaming around in the air.  And I'm not the only one, I called some friends and my sister and 3 out of 4 of them have been having bad headaches the last few days.

[LibertyBell]

1 hour ago, North and West said:

Me too! I remember it on New Year’s Eve and then a Sunday morning a week or two later that felt like April.


.

and that season started off so cold we thought it would be a historic winter

[Roger Smith]

Considering it will be warmest year on record, it was not due to record highs as much as a near-total absence of cold days. Like 1998, another top ten year for average NYC temperatures, max was only 93F. One has to go all the way down to t46 warmest 2007 (92F) to find any year in list of warm years to find a lower annual max, and indeed, 24 of the 25 coldest years also had an annual max higher than (21) or equal to (3) 2023. Besides 2007, the only other years with a lower annual max are (in order of their annual average) t65 warmest 2004 (91), 68  warmest 2014 (92) ... (median is 78) ... t75 coldest 1960 (91) and 2009 (92), t47 coldest 1927 (92), t37 coldest 1902 (90), t34 coldest 1877 (92), t30 coldest 1889 (91), t28 coldest 1907 (92), t26 coldest 1884 (91) and t11 coldest 1871 (92). (there were eight additional years and 2007, tied at 93F with 2023 (1874 1875 1882 1909 1958 1992 1998 2000 2007). So 2023 was tied 13th lowest annual maximum. (bluewave would say t4th).

December (likely 2nd or 3rd warmest) is similar in that quite a few past Decembers (at least forty) had higher maximum readings than the 62F observed in 2023. It has been a steady moderate warmth that has pushed 2023 into the top ranks. 

 

 

[LibertyBell]

9 minutes ago, Roger Smith said:

Considering it will be warmest year on record, it was not due to record highs as much as a near-total absence of cold days. Like 1998, another top ten year for average NYC temperatures, max was only 93F. One has to go all the way down to t46 warmest 2007 (92F) to find any year in list of warm years to find a lower annual max, and indeed, 24 of the 25 coldest years also had an annual max higher than (21) or equal to (3) 2023. Besides 2007, the only other years with a lower annual max are (in order of their annual average) t65 warmest 2004 (91), 68  warmest 2014 (92) ... (median is 78) ... t75 coldest 1960 (91) and 2009 (92), t47 coldest 1927 (92), t37 coldest 1902 (90), t34 coldest 1877 (92), t30 coldest 1889 (91), t28 coldest 1907 (92), t26 coldest 1884 (91) and t11 coldest 1871 (92). (there were over a dozen additional years tied at 93F with 2023). So 2023 was tied 13t lowest annual maximum. (bluewave would say t4).

December (likely 2nd or 3rd warmest) is similar in that quite a few past Decembers (at least forty) had higher maximum readings than the 62F observed in 2023. It has been a steady moderate warmth that has pushed 2023 into the top ranks. 

 

 

and warmer mins, like our summers now

no wonder I have all these allergies

 

[SACRUS]

That record warm Dec 2015 was followed by a brief chill Jan 3 - 6 before moderating again ahead of the Jan 22-24th blizzardg

[SACRUS]

27 minutes ago, LibertyBell said:

and warmer mins, like our summers now

no wonder I have all these allergies

 

Mold spores must be exceptionally high and coming into forced air heat wouldnt help much. It does look to dry out Dec 30 into the new year with some sunshine.

[Allsnow]

Korh is +6.7 for December wow 

[gravitylover]

2 hours ago, LibertyBell said:

I'm pretty sure I am having really bad allergic attacks from the mold, mildew, whatever is roaming around in the air.  And I'm not the only one, I called some friends and my sister and 3 out of 4 of them have been having bad headaches the last few days.

We run a dehumidifier in the basement all the time, upstairs bathroom and kitchen when necessary. We have forced air heat so most winters we run a humidifier at night. 

[donsutherland1]

Overnight, temperatures will hold steady or slowly rise reaching the lower 50s in many parts of the region. Tomorrow and Friday will be very mild days. The unseasonably mild weather will likely continue through the remainder of December.

Light rain will become steadier and heavier tonight. The rain will continue through much of tomorrow before tapering off to showers tomorrow night. Additional showers are possible on Friday. A general 1.00"-2.00" rainfall with some locally higher amounts in excess of 3.00" is likely across the region.

Somewhat colder air should begin moving into the region to close December. The first week of January will likely feature somewhat below normal temperatures. However, severe cold appears unlikely. Initially, the arrival of a colder regime could coincide with a drier one, so snowfall prospects will remain limited. The second week of January could offer better opportunities for snowfall, as the retreat of cold air could occur as the pattern becomes wetter.

There remains some uncertainty concerning the magnitude and duration of the colder period that could develop. At this time, it appears more likely than not that it will be seasonably cold or somewhat colder than normal with a duration of 1-2 weeks.

The ENSO Region 1+2 anomaly was +1.6°C and the Region 3.4 anomaly was +2.0°C for the week centered around December 20. For the past six weeks, the ENSO Region 1+2 anomaly has averaged +1.75°C and the ENSO Region 3.4 anomaly has averaged +1.98°C. A basinwide El Niño event is ongoing. El Niño conditions may strengthen somewhat further this month.  

The SOI was +0.67 on December 26.

The preliminary Arctic Oscillation (AO) was -0.717 today. Strong blocking in the final week of November, as occurred this year, has often been followed by frequent blocking in December and January. Atlantic blocking is continuing to redevelop.

On December 25 the MJO was in Phase 1 at an amplitude of 1.774 (RMM). The December 24-adjusted amplitude was 1.451 (RMM).

Based on sensitivity analysis applied to the latest guidance, there is an implied near 100% probability that New York City will have a warmer than normal December (1991-2020 normal). December will likely finish with a mean temperature near 44.4° (5.3° above normal). That would make December 2023 the 2nd warmest December on record. With 2023 virtually certain to be among the 10 warmest Decembers on record, 60% of New York City's 10 warmest Decembers have occurred since 2000, including 40% since 2010, and all have occurred since 1980. Records go back to 1869.