White Christmas? Record Snowfalls in Northwest, Northeast

Image: Current snow depth as of 7 am EST today from Intellicast/WSI (click to enlarge)

The recent snowstorms have set daily snowfall records at several locations in the Pacific Northwest and New England.

Dec. 22:
Caribou, ME . . . . . . 12.4" (11.6", 1969)
Spokane, WA. . . . . . . 3.8" (2.1", 1952)
Lewiston, ID . . . . . . 2.4" (1.6", 1938)
Boise, ID. . . . . . . . 4.7" (2.4", 1988)
Missoula, MT . . . . . . 3.4" (2.5", 1993)

Dec. 21:
Portland, ME. . . . . . 14.5" (12.4", 1933)
Bangor, ME . . . . . . . 9.7" (7.0", 1995)
Hartford, CT . . . . . . 5.0" (2.6", 1975)
Worcester, MA. . . . . . 8.0" (6.0", 1954)
Burlington, VT . . . . . 9.1" (7.8", 1910)
Albany, NY . . . . . . . 6.6" (5.7", 1887) [Records began 1884]
LaGuardia Airport, NY. . 2.0" (1.7", 1962)
Buffalo, NY. . . . . . . 7.4" (4.0", 1914)
Pendleton, OR. . . . . . 7.4" (3.0", 1938)
Seattle-Tacoma Airpt, WA 3.0" (2.6", 1967)

The Dec. 20-22 storm was one of the top 5 snowstorms since 1940 at Portland, OR Airport:
1. 1950 JANUARY 22.0 INCHES
2. 1968-69 DEC-JAN 14.8 INCHES
3. 1951 MARCH 12.9 INCHES
4. 2008 DECEMBER 12.4 INCHES ******
5. 1980 JANUARY 11.4 INCHES
6. 1995 FEBRUARY 11.0 INCHES
7. 1964 DECEMBER 10.7 INCHES

In downtown Portland, where records date to 1880, this year's storm is not in the top 10:
1. 1893 JAN-FEB 31.8 INCHES
2. 1916 JAN-FEB 27.9 INCHES
3. 1884 DEC 22.3 INCHES
4. 1943 JAN 19.2 INCHES
5. 1919 DEC 17.5 INCHES
6. 1937 JAN-FEB 16.8 INCHES
7. 1980 JAN 16.3 INCHES
8. 1950 JAN 16.1 INCHES
9. 1890 JAN 13.2 INCHES
10. 1956 JAN 13.0 INCHES

DECEMBER 20-22 2008 SNOWSTORM.................10.0 INCHES

For some analysis of why extreme snowfalls, even for an entire season, may not have much significance for climate, see this earlier post regarding last season's records:

Shoveling Out From a Snow Job

New NOAA Noggin Nearly Named? Marine Biologist Lubchenco Rumored For Administrator Post

Update 1 am Friday: An article in Friday's WaPo, headlined Advocates for Action on Global Warming Chosen as Obama's Top Science Advisers, reports

President-elect Barack Obama has selected two of the nation's most prominent scientific advocates for a vigorous response to climate change to serve in his administration's top ranks, according to sources, sending the strongest signal yet that he will reverse Bush administration policies on energy and global warming.

Jane Lubchenco is expected to be announced as the nominee for NOAA Administrator on Saturday, along with Harvard's John Holdren as presidential science adviser.

More on Lubchenco at NYTi's DotEarth:
Sea Champion Picked for Ocean, Air Agency

Original post:
After former NOAA Administrator Lautenbacher has taken the revolving door to a position on the AccuWeather board of directors, ClimateScience Watch has a pointer to an entry on the WaPo's transition blog. The post by Juliet Eilperin reports that "several sources confirmed today that [Jane] Lubchenco had been picked and was headed to Chicago for the upcoming announcement" of her appointment by President-Elect Obama as NOAA Administrator. Oregon State University professor of marine biology Lubchenco is "a conservationist who has devoted much of her career to encouraging scientists to become more engaged in public policy debates [and] is also a vocal proponent of curbing greenhouse gases linked to global warming."

In a sign of how pathetic an oxymoron "government science" has become under the current administration of Know-Nothings, Eilperin's post quotes University of New Hampshire professor of natural resources and the environment Andrew Rosenberg as asking, "When has NOAA been headed by a member of the National Academy and a fellow of the Royal Society?" In fact, Dr. Robert M. White, the first NOAA Administrator, is a PhD meteorologist who had previously headed the old Weather Bureau during probably its most rapid period of technological advancement. He was later president of the National Academy of Engineering from 1983 to 1995 and a member of the French Legion of Honor and the Academies of Engineering in Japan, the UK and Australia.

Inauguration Weather Update: Chances Improve for Mild January

The official January 2009 weather outlook, released today by NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, indicates at least an equal chance of above average temperatures for the entire contiguous 48 states of the U.S. For the Mid Atlantic region, including the Washington, DC, area, chances are 33-40% for above-average temperatures for the month. While it's still too early for a specific January 20 forecast, the likelihood of a mild Inauguration Day has improved.



Except for the immediate Ohio Valley region, where above-average precipitation is forecast, and the extreme Southeast with below-average rainfall expectations, there is an equal chance of above, normal, or below average precipitation for the month in most of the country. The area of equal chances includes the Washington, DC, area.

Images: January 2009 temperature and precipitation forecasts from NOAA, Climate Prediction Center. Click an image to enlarge.

For earlier inauguration weather posts, see the following:

• Inauguration Weather Update: Coat Check Contrarian Indicator
  
• Inauguration Weather Update
  
• Political Climate: Inauguration Weather

Inauguration Weather Update: Coat Check Contrarian Indicator

With a little over a month to go, it's still too early to make a specific weather forecast for the Presidential Inauguration on January 20. In the meantime, however, here's a contrary indicator for cold weather from Monday's WaPo business section:

When a Coat Rack Is a Peacekeeper

Remembering the coat check chaos that erupted at President Reagan's coldest-ever inaugural in 1985, hotels and other venues have stocked up on hundreds of additional coat racks and thousands of coat hangers.

For what it's worth, despite a cold start, December here in the Nation's Capital is now averaging just 1.2° below the long-term "normal" with only a trace of snow so far. Stay tuned for more information as the weather crystal ball becomes less murky.

For inauguration weather background, see these previous posts:

• Inauguration Weather Update
  
• Political Climate: Inauguration Weather

Record Rainfall in DC, Virginia, West Virginia Other Records Also Set From North Carolina to New England

PM Update (3:30): Record from North Carolina (Dec. 10):
Asheville, NC. . . . . . 1.97" (1.28", 1967)

Records from Rhode Island, Connecticut:
Providence, RI . . . . . 2.11" (1.78", 1959)
Hartford Bradley, CT . . 1.72" (1.54", 1967)

AM Update (11:00): More Mid Atlantic and Northeast rainfall records.

Final totals are:
Norfolk, VA. . . . . . . 2.77"
Richmond, VA . . . . . . 2.62"
Wallops Island, VA . . . 4.35"

These are all record-breaking amounts, as noted earlier.

The following daily records were also set:
Blacksburg, VA . . . . . 1.75" (1.50", 1969)
Lynchburg, VA. . . . . . 2.14" (0.98", 2001)
Danville, VA . . . . . . 2.04" (1.77", 1967)
Bluefield, WV. . . . . . 1.53" (0.69", 1960)
Harrisburg, PA . . . . . 2.29" (1.63", 2002)
Atlantic City, NJ. . . . 3.68" (1.58", 2003)
Wilmington, DE . . . . . 2.14" (1.50", 1992)
Philadelphia, PA . . . . 2.72" (2.25", 1992)
Avoca, PA. . . . . . . . 1.49" (1.41", 2003)
Trenton, NJ. . . . . . . 2.05" (1.90", 1992)
Bridgeport, CT . . . . . 1.64" (1.49", 1992)

Original post:
The strong storm which brought record snowfall to the Gulf Coast has set new daily rainfall records for portions of the Mid Atlantic area. The new records for December 11 (old record and year in parentheses) are:

Martinsburg, WV . . . . 1.92" (1.24", 2002)
Washington Dulles . . . 1.34" (1.09", 2002)
Washington National . . 1.66" (1.36", 2002)
Norfolk, VA . . . . . . 1.77" (1.64", 1888)
Wallops Island, VA . . .2.04" (1.70", 2003)
Richmond, VA . . . . . .2.64" (1.85", 1960)

The totals for Norfolk and Wallops Island are only through 4 pm. The Richmond total is unofficial; if it's correct, it appears to break the all-time daily December record going back to 1887. The projected final total of 2.76" at Norfolk would also smash the all-time daily December record since 1871.

November Warmer Than Average in U. S.

NOAA's National Climatic Data Center today released its analysis showing that November 2008 was warmer than the long-term average across the United States. The monthly average of 44.5°F was 2.0°F above the 20th Century average. For the year so far, the January to November average temperature of 54.9°F was 0.3°F above the 20th Century average. Temperature highlights for November from NOAA:

• November temperatures were cooler than average across the Southeast and Central regions, and much warmer than average in the Southwest, Northwest and West regions.
  
• The West region had its fourth warmest November on record. This contrasted with the Southeast, which was much below normal.
  
• Persistent above-average temperatures for the last six months have resulted in a record warm June-November period for the West region. California set a record for its warmest June-November, while both Nevada and Utah had their fifth warmest June-November period.
  
• Based on NOAA's Residential Energy Demand Temperature Index, the contiguous U.S. temperature-related energy demand was 0.6 percent below average in November.

Precipitation averaged 1.93" for the month across the U.S. This was about 10% below the 100-year average. Precipitation highlights:

• The United States measured above-normal precipitation across the northern Great Plains from eastern Montana to western Minnesota. However, November was drier than normal across much of the South and Central regions.
  
• Precipitation across most of the Midwest was only 50-75 percent of normal and some areas from southern Missouri through central Illinois received less than 50 percent of normal precipitation.
  
• The January-November period has been persistently wet across much of the country from the central Plains to the Northeast. The 11-month period was the wettest on record for New Hampshire and Massachusetts, second wettest for Missouri, third wettest for Vermont and Illinois, and fifth wettest for Maine and Iowa.
  
• At the end of November, 22 percent of the contiguous United States was in moderate-to-exceptional drought, about the same as October. Meanwhile, extreme-to-exceptional drought conditions continued in the western Carolinas, northeast Georgia, eastern Tennessee, southern Texas, and Hawaii.
  
• About 26 percent of the contiguous United States was in moderately-to-extremely wet conditions at the end of November, according to the Palmer Index. This was a decrease of about three percent compared to October.

Gulf Coast Snow: Records Set in Texas, Louisiana

For related posts, including the latest record report, see:

• Record Snow
• Winter Weather

Dec. 14 update: Added snowfall map from National Weather Service, New Orleans.



PM Update: Here are more snow totals reported from southeast Texas, the New Orleans region, and parts of Mississippi:

TEXAS:

...BRAZOS...BURLESON...MADISON...HOUSTON COUNTIES...
COLLEGE STATION - 1.5-2 INCH
EASTERWOOD FIELD KCLL - 2.0 INCH
BRENHAM - 3 INCH
MADISONVILLE - 2-3 INCH
HOUSTON COUNTY - 1.0 INCH
CONROE - 1.2 INCH
NAVASOTA - 2.0 - 3.0 INCH

...HARRIS COUNTY...
KINGWOOD - 1.0 INCH
HOUSTON INTERCONTINENTAL - TRACE
CYPRESS - 0.5 INCH
DW HOOKS FIELD - TRACE
SPRING - 1.0 INCH
RICE/WEST U - 0.5 INCH
HOUSTON HOBBY AIRPORT - 0.3 INCH
PASADENA - 2.5 INCH
CHANNELVIEW - 2.5 INCH
LA PORTE - 3.0 INCH
BAYTOWN - 4.0 INCH
HOUSTON (SE) - 0.5 INCH
ELLINGTON FIELD KEFD - 1.0 INCH

...GALVESTON...BRAZORIA COUNTIES...
GALVESTON - 1.0 INCH
CLEAR LAKE - 1.0 INCH
NWS OFFICE - 1.5 INCH
LEAGUE CITY - 1.5 INCH
PEARLAND - 0.5 INCH
SEABROOK - 1.0 INCH
SANTA FE - 2.0 INCH
SWEENY - 0.5 INCH
ANGLETON - 0.5 INCH

...CHAMBERS...LIBERTY...POLK...SAN JACINTO...TRINITY COUNTIES...
TRINITY - 1 INCH
LIVINGSTON - 2.0 INCH
SAN JACINTO COUNTY - 2.5 - 3.0 INCH
MOUNT BELVIEW - 5.0 INCH
LIBERTY - 5.0 INCH
ANAHUAC - 4.0 INCH
WINNIE - 5.0 - 6.0 INCH

MISSISSIPPI:

BOGUE CHITTO...LINCOLN COUNTY... 8 INCHES
HILLSBORO...SCOTT COUNTY... 5 INCHES
COLUMBIA...MARION COUNTY... 5 INCHES
JAYESS...LAWRENCE COUNTY... 5 INCHES
BROOKHAVEN...LINCOLN COUNTY... 5 INCHES
ROOSEVELT STATE PARK... SCOTT COUNTY... 5 INCHES
FLORENCE...RANKIN COUNTY... 5 INCHES
COLLINS...COVINGTON COUNTY... 4.5 INCHES
BRAXTON...SIMPSON COUNTY... 4 INCHES
MIZE...SMITH COUNTY... 4 INCHES
WEST HATTIESBURG...LAMAR COUNTY... 4 INCHES
PRENTISS...JEFFERSON DAVIS COUNTY... 4 INCHES
OMA...LAWRENCE COUNTY... 4 INCHES
JOHNS...RANKIN COUNTY... 3.5 INCHES
3S OF MADDEN...LEAKE COUNTY... 3 INCHES
PUCKETT...RANKIN COUNTY... 3 INCHES
5E OF MCCALL CREEK...LINCOLN COUNTY... 3 INCHES
HAZLEHURST...SIMPSON COUNTY... 3 INCHES
BRANDON...RANKIN COUNTY... 2.5 INCHES
BAY SPRINGS...SMITH COUNTY... 2.5 INCHES
MCCALL CREEK...FRANKLIN COUNTY... 2 INCHES
PURVIS...LAMAR COUNTY... 2 INCHES
SEBASTAPOL...SCOTT COUNTY... 1 INCHES
ROSE HILL...JASPER COUNTY... 1 INCH
ELLISVILLE...JONES COUNTY... 1 INCH
ROXIE...FRANKLIN COUNTY... 1 INCH
FLOWOOD/NWS JACKSON...RANKIN COUNTY... 0.9 INCHES
HATTIESBURG...FORREST COUNTY... 0.8 INCHES

LOUISIANA:

CITY COUNTY/PARISH AMOUNT
AMITE TANGIPAHOA LA 8 INCHES
CROSSROADS PEARL RIVER MS 6 INCHES
MOUNT HERMAN WASHINGTON LA 6 INCHES
ZACHARY EAST BATON ROUGE LA 5.5 INCHES
LIVINGSTON LIVINGSTON LA 5.5 INCHES
BOGALUSA WASHINGTON LA 5 INCHES
SUN ST. TAMMANY LA 5 INCHES
FRANKLINTON WASHINGTON LA 5 INCHES
GREENSBURG ST. HELENA LA 4 INCHES
ENON WASHINGTON LA 4 INCHES
NEW ROADS POINTE COUPEE LA 3 INCHES
BATON ROUGE EAST BATON ROUGE LA 3 INCHES
PORT ALLEN WEST BATON ROUGE LA 2 INCHES
MCCOMB PIKE MS 2 INCHES
NAPOLEONVILLE ASSUMPTION LA 1.5 INCHES
HAHNVILLE ST. CHARLES LA 1.5 INCHES
NEW ORLEANS ORLEANS LA 1 INCH
GRETNA JEFFERSON LA 1 INCH
LAPLACE ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST LA 1 INCH
SLIDELL ST. TAMMANY LA 1 INCH

Portions of the Gulf Coast received an unusual early winter snowfall this morning. The noon radar from The Weather Channel shows the snow retreating into western and central Mississippi, leaving behind 1" of snow on the ground at Baton Rouge. At 7 am this morning, Baton Rouge reported snow with thunder and a temperature of 34°.

All-time record December snow amounts were observed at Beaumont and Port Arthur, Texas, and at Lake Charles, Louisiana. A snow depth of 4" was measured by a TV meteorologist near Beaumont, Texas. As of 10:15 am local time, these snowfall amounts were reported:

TEXAS
-----
LUMBERTON 4.0 INCH
WEST BEAUMONT 4.0 INCH
WOODVILLE 3.0 INCH
BEAUMONT CITY 2.5 INCH
WILDWOOD 2.2 INCH
GROVES 2.0 INCH
SILSBEE 2.0 INCH
SE TX REGIONAL ARPT 1.8 INCH
NEDERLAND 1.0 INCH
ORANGE 1.0 INCH
PORT NECHES 1.0 INCH
JASPER 0.5 INCH

LOUISIANA
---------
EUNICE 3.0 INCH
OAKDALE 3.0 INCH
OPELOUSAS 3.0 INCH
FOREST HILL 2.0 INCH
DE QUINCY 1.5 INCH
VINTON 1.5 INCH
BUNKIE 1.3 INCH
ELMER 1.2 INCH
MOSS BLUFF 1.2 INCH
BELL CITY 1.0 INCH
DERIDDER 1.0 INCH
JENNINGS 1.0 INCH
LAKE ARTHUR 1.0 INCH
SAM HOUSTON JONES SP 1.0 INCH
WOODWORTH 1.0 INCH
SULPHUR 1.0 INCH
LAFAYETTE 1.0 INCH
LAKE CHARLES SALT WB 0.4 INCH
NWS LAKE CHARLES 0.4 INCH
LEESVILLE 0.2 INCH
ALEXANDRIA 911 TRACE

The winter weather forced a postponement of groundbreaking ceremonies for a Naval Meteorology Professional Development Center to be built in Gulfport, Mississippi.

Weather Channel video is here.