Weather Extremes

For the week of Dec. 16 through 22, there were only 47 weather records tied or broken, compared with 293 last week. Most of the extremes were precipitation (20) and snow (14).

There were nine record highs reported last week. Galveston, Texas, tied a record on Dec. 9 with a high of 76 degrees. The next day, Galveston logged a record 80 degrees, and on the 22nd reported a record-tying 74 degrees. McAllen, Texas, observed the highest temperature with 89 degrees on the 20th.

There were only three record lows last week. In Greer, Ariz., it was a frigid -13 degrees on Dec. 16.

Last week’s precipitation records were scattered over the U.S. On Dec. 20, Mobile, Ala., reported an impressive 2.9 inches of rain. But on the 21st, Savannah, Ga., observed 7.12 inches of rain in a 24-hour period. The heavy rains resulted in widespread flooding. Fresno, Calif., a region that typically receives less than 10 inches of rain per year, reported 1.64 inches on Dec. 18. Coeur d’Alene logged 0.82 inches on the 19th.

Record snows fell across many areas of the Northeast. On Dec. 16, Boston observed 7.6 inches of the white stuff. The old record was 5 inches set in 1896. Worcester, Mass., had 8.4 inches on the same day. On Dec. 20, Concord, N.H., had to dig out of 10.9 inches of record snowfall. On Dec. 18, Chief Joseph Dam in Washington picked up a record 4.4 inches of snow.