This Date in Weather History

A coastal storm developed in Gulf States and moved up East Coast on December 24, 1966. A widespread white Christmas resulted for many. Thunder and vivid lightning were reported along with heavy rain and snow from Baltimore north to Rhode Island. JFK Airport closed for 24 hours because of drifting snow. Nantucket Sound saw seas up to 40' - boat trips were cancelled and people were unable to get to Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket for the Christmas Holiday. Philadelphia had more than a foot of snow. Baltimore more than 8 and Atlantic City more than 6", Washington DC had 6.5" the most ever on Christmas Eve. Highpoint State Park, NYC 19", Central Park, NY 7.1", Pittsfield, MA 17" – an all time snow record, 24 hours. In Boston, MA, 67 mph winds blew down Christmas decorations. Storm was of great benefit to holiday skiers; up to 20" of snow fell in the VT and NH mountains.

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Regiments of Patriot soldiers in the fall and early winter of 1775, under Col. Richard Richardson, set out to attack a Loyalist unit that had camped in present-day Greenville County, South Carolina for safety. The Patriots marched through several feet of snow in December to accomplish this. The Loyalists, abiding by the terms of a treaty, had disbanded most of their forces. Col. Richardson refused to abide by the treaty and rounded up their leaders and sent them to Charlestown under arrest. On December 22nd, Col. Richardson detached 1,300 troops to attack the Loyalist camp of Capt. Patrick Cunningham that had stopped to rest on Cherokee lands. Capt. Cunningham warned his men to fend for themselves and they all ran into the woods. He was able to escape on horseback. After Capt. Cunningham had been defeated, Col. Richardson considered the upcountry to be pacified and turned his army homeward. He couldn't stay because winter was coming and his army had no tents, their shoes were worn out, and they were badly clothed. Along the way home, it snowed for thirty hours ending on December 23, 1775, dumping nearly two feet on the weary Patriots, thus ending what became known as The Snow Campaign.

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In mid-December 1989, a severe arctic outbreak of bitter cold plunged out of the Yukon, across the plains of Canada and right into the middle of the United States midsection. The morning of December 22, 1989, brought record cold across a wide area. Notable low temperature records reached down to 23 below in Indianapolis, breaking the old record by 6 degrees, Cincinnati’s temperature dropped to minus 20, breaking the record by 7, it was 12 below in Pittsburgh and 1 below in Tupelo, Mississippi. Kanas City reached down to 23 below the coldest ever there. On the southern fringes of the cold, a storm churned through the Gulf of Mexico bringing snow to the Gulf coast with 2” in Houston and Galveston Texas and an inch in New Orleans. At the same time, as the cold departed the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains warming Chinook winds took over and in Cut Bank, Montana after a morning low temperature of 34 below zero the afternoon temperature topped out at plus 40.

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Thousands of travelers were stranded at airports and shelters on December 21, 2006 after a blizzard paralyzed Colorado and parts of other Western states.  Snowfall measured over 50 inches in the Rocky Mountain foothills, and drifts reached more than five feet on airport runways. Gov. Bill Owens of Colorado declared a state of emergency, calling in National Guard troops to help stranded motorists reach home, a hotel or Red Cross shelters. At Denver International Airport, nearly 5,000 people were stuck overnight, the airport remained closed for 3 days. 30- to 40-mile-per-hour winds with falling snow, prevented cleanup. The snow was accumulating too fast to keep up with it. Cities along Colorado’s Front Range could not plow roads fast enough as the snow kept falling for over 24 hours, leaving 20 to 30 inches in Denver. Light-rail trains and bus service were canceled for days, and it was a week before side streets in Denver were plowed. Mail delivery was canceled and most businesses, including malls, were closed during the busiest shopping time of the year. With cars, trucks and buses abandoned on the roads, the cleanup was hindered. At Denver International Airport, thousands of passengers were bused to hotels and many others slept on the floor.

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On December 20, 1836, what Illinois pioneers called “The Sudden Freeze” occurred. About eight inches of snow fell on Dec. 19, but it got warm enough for the snow to turn to rain the next day, which melted the snow on the ground into slush and water. At 2 p.m. Dec. 20, the sky darkened, and a heavy, black cloud rolled in from the northwest. Early settlers recorded that then a strong, icy-cold wind, estimated to be blowing at 70 mph, swept over the landscape, instantly freezing everything in its path. Jacksonville, Illinois resident John Lathrop described the sudden freeze. “The cold wave struck me, and as I drew my feet up the ice would form on my boots. When I reached the square, the ice bore me up, and when I returned to Mr. Turner’s, a half hour afterwards, I saw his chickens and ducks frozen into the ice.” Some farmers who had walked from their homes to their barns in slush and water made the return trip on ice a few minutes later. Travelers caught out on horseback were frozen to their saddles, and had to be lifted off and carried to a fire to be thawed apart. “Two young men who were traveling for Philadelphia merchants were frozen to death not far from Rushville,” Lathrop recalled. “One of them was found with his back against a tree with his horse’s bridle over his arm and his horse frozen in front of him. The other young man was partly in a kneeling position, with a tinder box in one hand and a flint in the other — with both eyes open, as though attempting to light the tinder in the box — that being the usual mode of lighting a fire before the days of friction matches.” Reports also came from several places of travelers resorting to killing their horses, and, after disemboweling them, crawling into the carcass to escape the bitter cold. No record was left of how far the mercury dropped, but various reports said 6 to 12 inches of ice formed in frozen streams in just a few hours. For decades, survivors reckoned dates of birth, marriages, deaths and other important events from the Deep Snow, or the Sudden Freeze. Survivors prided themselves on having borne nature’s fury, considering themselves true settlers — the ‘Old Settlers’ —and regarding later arrivals as untested upstarts.”

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At least one person thought the 1948 NFL championship game between the host Philadelphia Eagles and the Chicago Cardinals was going to be snowed out. Eagles running back Steve Van Buren looked out his window that morning at a raging blizzard and went back to bed. His coach had to call to tell him the game was on, so he caught three trolleys and walked several blocks in the storm to make the game, which started with 4 inches of accumulation that only got worse. It remains the second-lowest scoring postseason game in NFL history, with the Eagles winning 7-0 on a Van Buren TD run, as neither team could do much in the storm. The grounds crew needed the teams' players to help remove the tarp, and extra officials were used to assist with out-of-bounds calls. It was a big moment in NFL history as it marked the first time that the Championship Game was televised with Harry Wismer and Red Grange calling the action on ABC. However, the start of the game was put in jeopardy due to the heavy snow. There was even talk of postponing the game, but instead, the game started two hours late to allow more fans to attend the game. With four inches already on the ground, the Eagles offered any fan with a shovel a free ticket for helping to ready the field. Once the game began, it was obvious just how difficult it would be to play the game. Slick conditions, poor visibility which at times was less than a foot and accumulating snow made it hard for both teams to move the ball. The passing game was essentially eliminated by the whiteout conditions and blowing snow as the Cardinals and Eagles combined for just 19 yards through the air on five completions. Each team turned the ball over three times, as the game was scoreless through three quarters. One player who was able to put up big numbers as Steve Van Buren who had 98 yards on 26 carries. Late in the third quarter, Ray Mallouf attempting a handoff fumbled the ball setting up the Eagles on the Chicago 17. The Eagles were on the verge of scoring as the fourth quarter began, finally breaking the tie with a five-yard run by Van Buren. It would be the game’s only score as the Eagles won the game 7-0 to claim the NFL Championship. The Eagles would win a second straight championship in 1949, while the Cardinals would not win another playoff game until 1998 after moving through St. Louis and onto Arizona. The 7-0 score would be the lowest scoring NFL playoff game until 1970 when the Dallas Cowboys beat the Detroit Lions 5-0. Van Buren later said, "I was sure the game would be postponed."

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Forays’ of cold air had been frequent across the Plains states in the fall of 2013; snow had accumulated in places across Montana and the Dakotas. But the middle of December brought somewhat milder weather as winds across the region shifted from the north to the southwest and south and air came surging up out of Mexico. The change in the wind brought and marked change in the weather and on December 18, 2013 Record warmth spread across the Plains. Boulder, MT. tied the record of 54 set in 1979. Denver, CO. reached 68, breaking the record of 66. Imperial, NE broke their record of 65 from 1979 by reaching 69. All across the region people welcomed the break in the early season cold that had held sway earlier in the month – it was not to last – just a couple of days later temperatures in parts of the region dipped into the teens and single digits.

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The archives of the National Weather Service report that Wilbur and Orville Wright made four brief flights at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina with their first powered aircraft on December 17, 1903. After having success with their 5-foot biplane kite, the brothers realized the weather conditions in Dayton, OH, where their bicycle workshop was located and where they worked on heavier than air aircraft were not ideal for their flying experiments. They wrote the National Weather Bureau in Washington, D.C. requesting a list of suitable places on the east coast of the United States where winds were constant. The Wright Brothers received the following response from Joseph Dosher, who staffed the Weather Bureau office, and wrote in August of 1900 regarding the suitability of Kitty Hawk. "To Mr. Wilbur Wright, Dayton Ohio Dear Sir, In reply to yours of the 3rd, I will say the beach here is about one mile wide clear of trees or high hills, and islands for nearly sixty miles south. Conditions: the wind blows mostly from the North and Northeast September and October which is nearly straight down this piece of land. Giving you many miles of a steady wind with a free sweep. I am sorry to say that you could not rent a house here. So, you will have to bring tents. You could obtain frame. The only way to reach Kitty Hawk is from Roanoke Island N.C. in a small sail boat. From your letter I believe you would find it here like you wish. Will be pleased at any time to give you any information. Yours very respectfully.” For those of you, like me, who have been to Kitty Hawk this description from 120 years ago of the landscape and weather conditions hold true to this day. On December 17, with the winds were averaging more than 20 mph, Orville took a flight for a total distance of 120 feet. I was the first heavier than air flight that carried a human being. The flight lasted all of the 12 seconds – but Orville Wright flew into history.

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Wednesday, December 16, 1835 was a bitterly cold day, known as ”cold Wednesday”. Hanover, NH only reached a high temperature of -17 degrees. It was -12 degrees at Boston by sunset. But it was in New York City that the cold did it’s most damage. It was so cold that the East River was frozen: Fire fighter couldn’t access the water, The Great NYC Fire of 1835 leveled 17 blocks that night, including most of Wall Street. The fire began on the evening of December 16, 1835, in a five-story warehouse at 25 Merchant Street, now known as Beaver Street at the intersection of Hanover Square and Wall Street. As it spread, gale-forces winds blowing from the northwest toward the East River spread the fire. The conflagration was visible from Philadelphia, approximately 80 miles away. At the time of the fire, major water sources including the East River and the Hudson Rover were frozen in temperatures as low as −17 °F . Firefighters were forced to drill holes through ice to access water, which later re-froze around the hoses and pipes. Attempts were made to deprive the fire of fuel by demolishing surrounding buildings, but at first there was insufficient gunpowder in Manhattan. Finally a detachment of U. S. Marines and sailors arrived at 3 o'clock in the morning, with gunpowder from the Brooklyn Navy Yard and began to blow up buildings in the fire's path. An investigation found that a burst gas pipe, ignited by a coal stove, was the initial source; no blame was assigned.

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Mild weather had persisted in western New York and indeed all across the Great Lakes region well into December in 1945. With the end of World War II, it seemed like the nice autumn weather was allowing people to enjoy peace of mind and carefree mild days for the first time in years. Great Lake water temperatures were also on the warm side when compared against long-term seasonal averages. Then on December 15 time ran out. A bitter blast of artic air – the first of the season arrived and blasted that cold air across the warm lakes setting an intense lake effect snow event. The city of Buffalo, New York got pounded with more than 36” of snow and areas south of the city in what are known as the snowbelts had twice as much snow – some places upwards of 70” of the white stuff. The region had some removal equipment – but heavy snow removal equipment was still sparse as many of the trucks and earthmoving type equipment was in use in the war effort and still had not been returned to many cities.

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