ATM OCN (Meteorology) 100 - Lecture 3
Fall 1997
DID YOU KNOW??
This Date in Weather History
11 December
- ...1932...Very cold weather prevailed along the West Coast.
San Francisco received 0.8 inch of snow, and at the airport the
temperature dipped to 20 degrees. At Sacramento, CA, the mercury
dipped to 17 degrees to establish an all-time record low for that
location. Morning lows were below freezing from the 9th to the
15th at Sacramento, and the high on the 11th was just 34 degrees.
The cold wave dealt severe damage to truck crops and orange groves
in the Sacramento Valley. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
- ...1985...Phoenix, AZ had their first measurable snow (0.1
inch) since February 2, 1939. (Intellicast)
- ...1987...Low pressure over southwestern Ontario, Canada,
brought snow and gusty winds to the North Central U.S. Winds gusted
to 62 mph at Riverton, WY. Snow and high winds in eastern North
Dakota reduced visibilities to less than one hundred feet at times.
Warm weather prevailed across the Southern Plains Region. Half
a dozen cities reported record high temperatures for the date,
including Del Rio, TX with a reading of 89 degrees. Laredo, TX
and Kingsville, TX tied for honors as hot spot in the nation with
afternoon highs of 92 degrees. (The National Weather Summary)
- ...1988...Arctic cold invaded the central and eastern U.S.
Sault Ste Marie, MI reported a record low of 14 degrees below
zero, and International Falls, MN was the cold spot in the nation
with a low of 25 degrees below zero. Temperatures remained below
zero all day over parts of eastern Upper Michigan and northern
New England. (The National Weather Summary)
- ...1989...Strong Santa Ana winds developed across southern
California and parts of central California. Winds in Kern County
of central California gusted to 100 mph near Grapevine. The high
winds reduced visibilities to near zero in the desert areas, closing
major interstate highways east of Ontario, CA. (Storm Data) (The
National Weather Summary)
- ...1992...One of the fiercest nor'easters this century hit
New York City and New England in a 2 day span (11th-12th). Powerful
winds exceeding hurricane force in many places, resulting in record
high tides. Major coastal flooding and damage occurred as tides
were pushed 3 to 4 feet above normal. Ambrose Light station just
southeast of New York City recorded sustained winds of 80 mph
and gust to 93 mph. Wildwood Crest, NJ reported winds to 90 mph
and New Holland, PA measured 82 mph gusts. LaGuardia, NY was closed
due to flooding. Flooding at a Con Edison station shut down the
entire subway system for more than 3 hours. In Philadelphia, PA,
high winds broke a church steeple which fell and closed the Ben
Franklin bridge to New Jersey. Heavy snows fell inland with Piney
Dam, MD recording 42 inches, Ogleton, PA measured 36 inches and
Mount Storm, WV recorded 32 inches. In Worcester, MA the 32.1
inches set a new single storm record. Stamford, NY had 37 inches,
Berne, NY 34 inches, Otis, MA 33 inches, Hopkinton, MA 28 inches,
Union, CT 27 inches and Jerimoth, Hill, RI 24 inches. Boston,
MA recorded frequent gusts over 60 mph with a peak gust to 78
mph. The snow was very wet near the coast. Woonsocket, RI recorded
7.14 inches of liquid water content in 20 inches of snow. (Intellicast)
From the files of Weather Facts at
the Aviation Weather Center, Kansas City, MO and the monthly almanac files
from Dr. Dewpoint of Intellicast.
Last revision 11 December 1997
Produced by Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D.
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI 53706
hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu