From the “weather is not climate” department. 815 new snowfall records, 304 low temperature, and 403 lowest max temperature records were set this week.
Here’s a summary:
| Record Events for Sun Dec 6, 2009 through Sat Dec 12, 2009 | |
| Total Records: | 2601 |
| Rainfall: | 992 |
| Snowfall: | 815 |
| High Temperatures: | 36 |
| Low Temperatures: | 304 |
| Lowest Max Temperatures: | 403 |
| Highest Min Temperatures: | 51 |
Data from NOAA via the HW map generator
UPDATE: Puzzled by the single odd record high temperature in West Texas of 80F in Sheffield, TX on Dec 9th, I called the NWS office in Midland/Odessa, TX to ask about it today (Monday). The meteorologist on duty was very helpful. While he first throught it may by a typo, perhaps a 3 that got turned into an 8 on a report, a review of the synoptic conditions that day revealed some very strong southerly winds ahead of the Arctic cold front that day. At a pass in the Pecos, winds were clocked at 112mph. Thus it appears that this station go a brief benefit of some very strong warming southerly wind.
I’ve seen this effect happen before. In fact it can result in a record or near record high temperature being achieved on the same day as a record or near record low temperature if the front is moving fast enough and has a strong temperature gradient.
The record high there does not appear to be in error. – Anthony