Historical Weather Events

HISTORICAL WEATHER EVENTS -- 11 December

From the files of the Aviation Weather Center, Kansas City, MO and Intellicast

...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 9^th to the 15^th 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)
...1944...Toronto, Ontario received a record one-day snowfall of 19 inches. (National Weather Service files)
...1985...Phoenix, AZ had its first measurable snow (0.1 inch) since 2 February 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 visibility 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 temperature 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 visibility 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 in the 20^th century hit New York City and New England in a 2-day span (11^th-12^th). 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 gusts to 93 mph. Wildwood Crest, NJ reported winds to 90 mph and New Holland, PA measured 82-mph gusts. La Guardia Airport in New York City 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 that 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)
...2010...A blizzard hit much of southern Minnesota. Minneapolis received a December record 16.3 inches of snow in one calendar day and much of the metro area saw between 15 and 20 inches of snow. (National Weather Service - Twin Cities)