ZCZC ARBCLMFNT CXUS53 KDTX 032058 CLIMATOLOGICAL SUMMARY FOR FLINT - DECEMBER 2001 NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI 400 PM EDT THU JAN 3 2002 ...A TALE OF THREE DECEMBERS... ...3RD WARMEST DECEMBER ON RECORD AFTER 2ND COLDEST DECEMBER LAST YEAR... ...WARMEST DAY EVER RECORDED IN DECEMBER IN FLINT... ...UNSEASONABLY WARM WEATHER HITS THE ROAD IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS... ...FIRST THREE WEEKS OF THE MONTH AVERAGES 11 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL... WHILE THIS WINTER'S WEATHER PATTERN IS EXPECTED TO BE DOMINATED BY AN OVERALL NEUTRAL PATTERN (ABSENT LA NINA OR EL NINO)...LATEST INDICATIONS FROM THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER ARE THAT THIS PAST DECEMBER'S CLIMATE PATTERN OVER THE PACIFIC AND THE U.S. ACTUALLY...IN SOME WAYS...RESEMBLED A WEAK LA NINA. THIS WAS A RESULT OF THE EASTERN PACIFIC SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURES AVERAGING A BIT BELOW NORMAL DURING DECEMBER WHILE IN THE STATE OF FLUCTUATION AROUND NORMAL (OR NEUTRAL). DECEMBER OF 1998 WAS THE LAST TIME LA NINA DOMINATED OUR DECEMBER CLIMATE PATTERN AND THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE TWO DECEMBERS DO STAND OUT. LIKE THIS PAST DECEMBER WITH A TEMPERATURE DEPARTURE OF +6.9...DECEMBER OF 1998 WAS ALSO UNUSUALLY MILD WITH THE TEMPERATURE AVERAGING 5.1 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. BOTH DECEMBERS CONTAINED BELOW NORMAL SNOW BUT DECEMBER OF 1998 HAD EVEN LESS WITH JUST 3.4 INCHES /-6.2/ AS COMPARED TO 8.1 /-1.5/ THIS DECEMBER. IN BOTH YEARS...THE DECEMBERS STARTED OUT ACTUALLY WARM WITH RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES. RECORD HIGHS OF 63/66 WERE SET ON DECEMBER 5TH AND 6TH 1998... RESPECTIVELY. THAT RECORD HIGH OF 63 WAS SUPERSEDED BY AN INCREDIBLE 70 DEGREE READING THIS PAST DECEMBER ON THE 5TH. NOT ONLY DID THAT 70 DEGREE READING ESTABLISH A DAILY HIGH TEMPERATURE RECORD...IT ALSO WAS THE WARMEST TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED IN FLINT IN THE MONTH OF DECEMBER AND THEREFORE...SO LATE IN THE YEAR. ON THE FOLLOWING DAY /6TH/... A HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 64 JUST MISSED THE 1998 RECORD /66/ BY TWO DEGREES. THE UNSEASONABLY MILD WEATHER PERSISTED RIGHT THROUGH THE FIRST THREE WEEKS (THROUGH THE 23RD) OF DECEMBER. IN FACT...THROUGH THE 23RD... TEMPERATURES AVERAGED NEARLY 11 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 27.2. THIS DECEMBER'S MONTHLY DEPARTURE OF +6.9 (3RD WARMEST DECEMBER) COMES ON THE HEELS OF NOVEMBER'S +7.2 (2ND WARMEST NOVEMBER). UP IN THE SAGINAW AREA...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 33.7 FOR DECEMBER WAS A HUGE 7 1/2 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL AND THE 4TH WARMEST DECEMBER SINCE 1900. SNOWFALL AT TRI-CITIES AIRPORT FOR DECEMBER WAS...HOWEVER...A RESPECTABLE 9 INCHES. CONTRAST THAT WITH LAST DECEMBER'S (2000) WEATHER AND WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES! DECEMBER OF 2000 WAS THE WORST DECEMBER IN RECORDED HISTORY (SINCE 1942) IN THE FLINT AND (1900) IN THE SAGINAW AREA WHEN COMBINING BOTH SNOW AND COLD. SNOWFALLS OF 2 1/2 TO 3 1/2 FEET WERE COMMONPLACE ALONG WITH TEMPERATURES AVERAGING 16 1/2 TO 17 1/2 DEGREES. A QUICK...MINI-SNOWSTORM DID MANAGE TO SNEAK THROUGH DURING ALL THE MILD WEATHER IN EARLY-MID DECEMBER ON THE 14TH. THE STORM BROUGHT GENERALLY 1 TO 3 1/2 INCHES OF SNOW WITH FLINT RECEIVING 3.1 AND SAGINAW 1.3 INCHES. A SHARP REVERSAL IN THE JET STREAM AFTER THE 23RD DID BRING MUCH COLDER AIR AND EVEN BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES TO THE REGION. A STRONG COLD TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE DEVELOPED OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF THE COUNTRY AND DELIVERED THE POLAR AIR. AFTER THE POLAR BLAST LATE ON THE 23RD UNTIL THE 31ST... TEMPERATURES AVERAGED ABOUT THREE DEGREES BELOW NORMAL AND LIGHT SNOW FELL ON A DAILY BASIS IN TIME FOR THE CHRISTMAS WEEK. GENERALLY AN INCH OR TWO OF SNOW WAS ON THE GROUND FOR CHRISTMAS...PROVIDING A WHITE CHRISTMAS FOR MUCH OF THE REGION. ....................................................................... ...TEMPERATURES... ...PRECIPITATION... AVERAGE MAXIMUM ........... 40.1 MONTHLY TOTAL ............ 1.79 AVERAGE MINIMUM ........... 28.0 DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL.....- .32 AVERAGE MONTHLY ........... 34.1 GREATEST IN 24HRS/DATES... .91 DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL ..... +6.9 ON THE 14-15TH HIGHEST.......70 ON THE 5TH 2001 TOTAL............... 35.88 LOWEST........12 ON THE 30TH DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL.... +5.60 ...HEATING DEGREE DAYS... ...NUMBER OF DAYS WITH... MONTHLY TOTAL.............. 950 0.01 OR MORE PRECIPITATION.. 20 MONTHLY DEPARTURE..........-222 0.10 OR MORE PRECIPITATION.. 4 2000-2001 SEASON SO FAR....2168 0.50 OR MORE PRECIPITATION.. 1 DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL......-413 1.00 OR MORE PRECIPITATION.. 0 ...COOLING DEGREE DAYS... ...SNOWFALL... MONTHLY TOTAL.......... 0 MONTHLY TOTAL.............. 8.1 MONTHLY DEPARTURE...... 0 MONTHLY DEPARTURE...........-1.5 2001 SEASON SO FAR..... 620 2001-2002 SEASON TOTAL...... 8.1 DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL..+137 DEPARTURE FROM AVERAGE......-5.5 (SEASON AVERAGE)............45.1 PEAK GUST - WEST 39 MPH/6TH (LAST OF TWO OCCURRENCES) ..................................................................... DECEMBER 2001 CLIMATOLOGICAL SUMMARY FOR: THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE...WHITE LAKE MI. ...TEMPERATURE DATA... ...PRECIPITATION DATA... AVERAGE MAXIMUM.... 39.3 MONTHLY TOTAL .......... 1.81 AVERAGE MINIMUM.... 27.7 GREATEST IN 24HRS....... 0.43 MONTHLY AVERAGE.... 33.5 ON THE 16-17TH 2001 TOTAL............. 37.01 ...HEATING DEGREE DAYS... ...SNOWFALL DATA... MONTHLY TOTAL............ 968 MONTHLY TOTAL............ 8.1 2001-2002 SEASON TOTAL...2246 2001-2002 SEASON TOTAL... 8.1 ...COOLING DEGREE DAYS... MONTHLY TOTAL........... 0 2001 SEASON............. 547 DEEDLER NNNN