December's second long and record-shattering mild spell, which peaked during Christmas Week, helped numerous cities shatter their record warmest December.
More than 2,000 record daily highs and more than 2,000 record-warm daily lows were tied or broken during the final nine days of 2015, beginning Dec. 23. Despite being just a few days past the winter solstice, dozens of all-time December record highs were set, and more than 200 record-warm lows for any December day were also tied or broken.
Coupled with another prominent warm spell prior to Christmas week, hundreds of cities from the Plains to the East Coast shattered their warmest December on record.
Examining stations with at least 60 years of data, senior digital meteorologist Nick Wiltgen found about 850 sites in the running for their warmest December on record, in data through December 30, the most recent data available at the time of this story.
Map from @SERCC is truly incredible. All the "1s" are locations setting a record warm December. Many others top 3.
This graphic above, courtesy of the Southeast
Regional Climate Center, depicts where December's warmth ranked in the
historical record, as of December 30, the latest data available at the
time of this article. Maroon-colored "1" boxes denote locations most
likely to have set a record warm December in 2015."In
some Eastern states nearly every location with complete data had a
record warm December in 2015," said Wiltgen in an internal email."A very, very conservative estimate would be that more than 20 percent of all locations in the country will have a record-warm December, but it's probably more than that."
How bizarre was December's warmth? Consider the following:
- New
York's Central Park failed to dip to the freezing mark the entire
month. Weather Underground's Bob Henson says they've gotten down to 32
degrees or colder at least six times every December since records began
in 1871. Their average daily low is 32 degrees or colder the last 18
days of the month.
- Only March 2012 was a more anomalous
month for temperatures in both Evansville, Indiana, and Paducah,
Kentucky. According to the National Weather Service, Paducah's December
2015's mean temperature was an incredible 11.4 degrees above average,
second only to March 2012's 12.3 degree temperature anomaly.
- Melbourne, Florida's December was not only a record for that month (mean temperature of 73.7 degrees), but was also warmer than any March on record (72.7 degrees in 1948), according to National Hurricane Center specialist Eric Blake and NWS-Melbourne.
By comparison, only 259 daily record lows and 360 additional record cool highs were set in the same time frame.
Most of the record daily highs came in two waves; the more recent, from Dec. 23-30, has so far established 2,424 daily record highs, or about 14 percent of all high temperature reports received. The previous wave of record highs was Dec. 8-15, coincidentally also bringing 2,286 daily record highs, about 9 percent of the possible total.
These numbers will continue to grow as more data arrive at NCEI and staff there are able to review them after the holidays.
Record Temperature Tracker
Record Highs Set Since Dec. 21
Friday (Jan. 1): Only a small handful of records were threatened on New Year's Day, as the unseasonable warmth had pushed further south, only covering a portion of the Florida peninsula. Nonetheless, Key West set a record high of 84 degrees, marking the fourth consecutive day with a record high either being tied for broken. Further north, Melbourne tied their record high for the day by also reaching 84 degrees.Thursday (Dec. 31): Savannah, Georgia, tied its daily record high of 80. More importantly, it marked the seventh day of 80-degree heat this month, breaking the December record of six days set in 1931 and 2013. Amazingly, all seven 80-degree days came on or after Christmas Eve.
Key West set a record high temperature for New Year's Eve by reaching 84 degrees. Tampa had an eighth consecutive day of record heat with a record-tying high of 83. Several other Florida cities tied their daily record highs, and Vero Beach broke its record by a degree, reaching 84.
These cities had more days with highs at or above 80ºF than any other December on record, according to data from NOAA.Wednesday (Dec. 30): Tampa, Florida, tied a daily record high (84 degrees), the seventh straight day tying or breaking a daily record. During this streak, they have tied the all-time December record (86 degrees) two straight days (December 25 and 26). Other daily record highs tied or set include Naples, Florida (88 degrees); Orlando (87 degrees); Daytona Beach, Florida (85 degrees); Miami and Jacksonville, Florida (both 84 degrees); Key West, Florida (83 degrees); Savannah, Georgia (83 degrees); Tallahassee, Florida (80 degrees); and downtown Charleston, South Carolina (78 degrees).
The low of 63 at Raleigh-Durham was not only a record-warm low for the date, but marked the seventh day of lows in the 60s there this month. The previous record for any December was only two days of lows in the 60s set in 1912 and tied in 1991, 2011 and 2013.
Tuesday (Dec. 29): New daily record highs were established at Melbourne, Florida (87 degrees); Orlando and Daytona Beach, Florida (both 85 degrees); Key West, Florida (84 degrees); Jacksonville, Florida (83 degrees); Florence, South Carolina (82 degrees); New Bern, North Carolina (80 degrees); Norfolk, Virginia (79 degrees); St. Simons Island, Georgia (79 degrees); Fayetteville, North Carolina (79 degrees); Hatteras, North Carolina (76 degrees).
In addition, Fort Lauderdale's Hollywood Airport tied an all-time warmest December daily low temperature of 78 degrees, set during three straight days Christmas week (Dec. 23-25).
Monday (Dec. 28): Daily record highs were reported at Miami (84 degrees); Savannah, Georgia (82 degrees); Columbia, South Carolina (80 degrees), Jackson, Mississippi (77 degrees), Knoxville, Tennessee (76 degrees); Tupelo, Mississippi (73 degrees); Kingsport, Tennessee (73 degrees); and Louisville, Kentucky (68 degrees).
Key West, Florida, recorded its warmest low temperature for the entire month of December, only dipping to 79 degrees.
Sunday (Dec. 27): Daily record highs were established at Savannah, Georgia (80 degrees); Wilmington, North Carolina (79 degrees); Nashville and Chattanooga, Tennessee (76 degrees); Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina (76 degrees); Atlanta (75 degrees), Cape Hatteras, North Carolina (74 degrees); Morgantown, West Virginia (72 degrees); Philadelphia (65 degrees); Providence, Rhode Island (61 degrees); and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (59 degrees).
Saturday (Dec. 26): Daily record highs were set at Fort Myers, Florida (87 degrees); New Orleans (83 degrees); Greenville, Mississippi (81 degrees); El Dorado, Arkansas (80 degrees); Houston (80 degrees); Memphis (80 degrees); Atlanta (77 degrees); Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (76 degrees); Bowling Green, Kentucky (73 degrees); Huntsville, Alabama (72 degrees); and Bluefield, West Virginia (64 degrees).
Some
locations with long periods of weather records broke their Christmas
Day record highs by enormous margins. Using a crude formula multiplying
the period of record (in years) by the difference between the new
Christmas Day record high and the previous one (in degrees), we found
these eight Christmas Day record highs to be the most extreme of the
hundreds set in the U.S. on Dec. 25, 2015.Christmas Day (Dec. 25): Portland, Maine, hit 62 degrees, marking the first time any site in the entire state of Maine has recorded a temperature at or above 60 on Christmas Day.
While Portland may not ultimately be the site that cinches the new record for Maine, it was among several communities that held the previous state record of 57. Portland hit 57 on Christmas Day in 1888, but several other locations hit the 57-degree mark just last Christmas in 2014.
Naples, Florida, hit 89 to not only break its Christmas record but also tie its all-time December record high.
Statistically, based on the length of weather records and the margin by which the Christmas Day record was broken, the most significant daily high temperature record set this Christmas Day was at Woodstock, Vermont, where a high of 68 shattered by a 16-degree margin the previous Christmas record of 52 set in 1900. According to NOAA, the Woodstock cooperative observation site has 122 years of weather records, and has recorded a high temperature on Christmas Day on 106 of those years.
North Conway, New Hampshire, broke its Christmas Day record by 20 degrees (66 this year vs. 46 in 1994), but it only has 41 years of weather records.
It was the warmest Christmas Day on record in New York City, though not many creatures may have been stirring when the new record of 66 degrees was established just 31 minutes after midnight. This followed a record-shattering Christmas Eve that brought the city's warmest daily low temperature ever recorded in the month of December; the low of 63 for Dec. 24 was also warmer than lows on 30 of the 145 Independence Days (July 4) on record in the Big Apple since 1871.
Other new Christmas Day record highs included Harlingen, Texas (88 degrees); Fort Myers, Florida (87 degrees); Tampa and Orlando (both 86 degrees); Houston (83 degrees); New Orleans (82 degrees), Savannah, Georgia (82 degrees); Jacksonville, Florida (82 degrees); Fayetteville, North Carolina (81 degrees); Augusta, Georgia (81 degrees); Tallahassee, Florida (81 degrees); and North Charleston, South Carolina (80 degrees).
Among cities topping out in the 70s, new Christmas Day records were established at Norfolk, Virginia (79 degrees); Mobile, Alabama (79 degrees), Richmond, Virginia (75 degrees); Atlanta (75 degrees); and Atlantic City International Airport in Pomona, New Jersey (71 degrees).
Highs in the 60s were good enough for new Christmas Day records at New York City (66 degrees); Providence, Rhode Island (64 degrees); and Concord, New Hampshire (62 degrees). Philadelphia tied its Christmas Day record high of 68.
In addition to all the record highs set, a few locations broke records for the warmest low temperature for the entire month of December on Christmas Day. This includes Key West (79 degrees); Elizabeth City, North Carolina (68 degrees); and Salisbury, Maryland (65 degrees). West Palm Beach, Florida (78 degrees) and Fort Lauderdale, Florida (78 degrees) tied their records for warmest low temperatures for the month.
These
cities had more days with highs at or above 70ºF than any other
December on record, according to data from NOAA. Several other cities
not shown here also set records in this category, including Huntsville, Alabama; Greensboro, North Carolina; Columbia, South Carolina; and Richmond, Virginia.Christmas Eve (Dec. 24): Albany, New York, soared to 72 degrees to set an all-time high for all of meteorological winter, which runs from the start of December through the end of February. It beat the winter record of 71 last set Jan. 6, 2007, and the December record of 71 set Dec. 29, 1984.
Burlington, Vermont set a new all-time record high for December (68 degrees); this also beat the daily record high temperature by an astonishing 17 degrees. Norfolk, Virginia, also set a new all-time December record with a high of 82.
Daily record highs included Columbia, South Carolina (74 degrees); New York City (72 degrees); Philadelphia (71 degrees); Boston (69 degrees); Hartford, Connecticut (69 degrees); Providence, Rhode Island (69 degrees); Syracuse, New York (68 degrees); and Worcester, Massachusetts (65 degrees).
Records for the warmest low temperature in the month of December were set at New York City (63 degrees), Philadelphia (62 degrees) and Washington, D.C. (60 at Reagan National Airport), among others.
Wednesday (Dec. 23): Daily record highs were established at Buffalo, New York (65 degrees); Cleveland (65 degrees); Pittsburgh (64 degrees); Muskegon, Michigan (62 degrees); Moline, Illinois (60 degrees); Traverse City, Michigan (60 degrees); Detroit (59 degrees); and Milwaukee (58 degrees).
Tuesday (Dec. 22): Daily record highs were broken at Del Rio, Texas (80 degrees) and Nashville (70 degrees). Potosi, Missouri (65 degrees, 122 years of records) and Rantoul, Illinois (61 degrees, 118 years of records) each broke their old records by 4 degrees.
Monday (Dec. 21): A small number of record highs were set nationally, including St. Louis (67 degrees tied); West Plains, Missouri (69 degrees); Springfield, Illinois (64 degrees); Peoria, Illinois (60 degrees tied); Naples, Florida (87 degrees tied).
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