Weather Whys; December Tendencies

This is weather-wise. According to the ads on television, sleigh bells and sparkling snow-covered fields characterize the month of December. And it's true the northern hemisphere's winter storm mechanism has really begun cranking by the middle of the month. Low pressure systems called Alberta Clippers skirt the northern tier states and often dive down into the great plains, bringing snow and ice to many areas. Behind the Clippers, polar highs also sweep down from the north, producing bone-chilling temperatures and high winds as far south as Texas. Those so-called blue northers can produce daytime highs in the teens and 20s and nighttime lows in the single digits. When combined with winds of 20 or 30 miles per hour, that can be a very dangerous situation. So it's not surprising that many major snowstorms and blizzards have been reported in December. For instance, New England suffered through the triple December storms in 1839.

That's when three major winter storms struck about a week apart, bringing heavy snow to inland areas and high winds to the coast. And other forms of dangerous weather have wrought havoc in this month as well. December tornadoes have devastated areas of Illinois, Louisiana, and Mississippi to name just a few. December of 1925 even saw a late season hurricane off the Georgia coast. California, the temperate weather capital of the United States, hasn't been completely spared either. As the result of a powerful Pacific storm, New Year's Eve of 1933 saw well over seven inches of rain fall on Los Angeles within a 24-hour period. And the previous year, a December storm left nearly an inch of snow on San Francisco. For weather-wise, I'm Drew Barlow.