College Station Monthly Summary: December 2009
The last month of the 2000s was very cold in College Station and in the rest of Texas. An El Nino pattern in the Pacific normally brings colder than normal winter weather to Texas and in December 2009, this certainly was the case! A strong late autumn storm brought a record-breaking insurgence of cold air to Southeast Texas, including College Station, which saw the mercury dip down to 24°F on morning the 5th, shattering the previous record. Although no snow was officially recorded at Easterwood on the 4th, scattered snow showers were in the air. If even a trace of snow had been recorded, the snowfall would have been the earliest ever measured to start out a cold season in College Station. Only 5 out of the 31 days saw above normal temperatures, with the average high temperature for the month nearly 7°F below normal. The warmest stretch of weather was a few days before Christmas with high temperatures peaking in the lower 70s ahead a front that brought a severe weather outbreak to East Texas. Although there were eleven days with more than a trace of precipitation, the total for the month was almost half an inch below the December normal. However, overall wetness during the autumn months of the year helped make up all but less than an inch of the rainfall deficit for 2009, which had been quite large through the summer months.
| |
Daily Temperature |
Daily Precipitation |
Monthly Temperature Summary |
| Day |
Maximum |
Minimum |
*Departure |
Total |
Mean |
Value |
*Departure |
| 1 |
51°F |
46°F |
‑6°F |
1.18" |
Maximum |
56.1°F |
‑6.7°F |
| 2 |
50°F |
42°F |
‑9°F |
|
Minimum |
39.5°F |
‑2.0°F |
| 3 |
52°F |
36°F |
‑11°F |
|
Average |
47.8°F |
‑4.4°F |
| 4 |
42°F |
28°F |
‑20°F |
T |
Degree Days |
Total |
*Departure |
| 5 |
49°F |
24°F |
‑18°F |
|
Heating |
532 |
+119 |
| 6 |
55°F |
36°F |
‑8°F |
0.18" |
Cooling |
4 |
‑10 |
| 7 |
54°F |
50°F |
‑2°F |
0.11" |
Numberof Days: |
Total |
*Departure |
| 8 |
56°F |
48°F |
‑2°F |
T |
Maximum ≥ 90°F |
0 |
0 |
| 9 |
55°F |
34°F |
‑8°F |
|
Maximum ≤ 32°F |
0 |
0 |
| 10 |
48°F |
32°F |
‑13°F |
|
Minimum ≤ 32°F |
9 |
+1 |
| 11 |
50°F |
42°F |
‑7°F |
T |
|
| 12 |
49°F |
44°F |
‑6°F |
0.06" |
Monthly Precipitation Summary |
| 13 |
56°F |
47°F |
0°F |
|
Precipitation |
Value |
*Departure |
| 14 |
63°F |
51°F |
+5°F |
0.03" |
Monthly Total |
2.81" |
‑0.42" |
| 15 |
62°F |
43°F |
+0°F |
T |
Year-to-date Total |
38.87" |
‑0.80" |
| 16 |
58°F |
39°F |
‑4°F |
|
Days ≥ 0.01" |
11 |
+3 |
| 17 |
50°F |
41°F |
‑6°F |
0.22" |
|
| 18 |
65°F |
39°F |
0°F |
|
Monthly Extremes |
| 19 |
60°F |
39°F |
‑2°F |
|
Extreme |
Value |
Date(s) |
| 20 |
60°F |
32°F |
‑5°F |
|
Highest Temperature |
73°F |
22nd, 23rd |
| 21 |
68°F |
38°F |
+2°F |
|
Lowest Temperature |
24°F |
5th |
| 22 |
73°F |
53°F |
+12°F |
T |
Max. 24-hour Precip. |
1.20" |
1st-2nd |
| 23 |
73°F |
65°F |
+18°F |
0.43" |
Maximum Wind Gust |
44 mph |
24th |
| 24 |
67°F |
35°F |
0°F |
0.05" |
|
| 25 |
47°F |
29°F |
‑13°F |
|
Record Book for December |
| 26 |
55°F |
31°F |
‑8°F |
|
Highest Temperature |
89°F |
1922 |
| 27 |
56°F |
31°F |
‑6°F |
|
Lowest Temperature |
2°F |
1989 |
| 28 |
52°F |
30°F |
‑9°F |
|
Highest Minimum |
74°F |
1982 |
| 29 |
44°F |
32°F |
‑12°F |
0.27" |
Lowest Maximum |
23°F |
1990 |
| 30 |
57°F |
42°F |
0°F |
0.26" |
Wettest Month |
12.66" |
1913 |
| 31 |
61°F |
44°F |
+2°F |
0.02" |
Driest Month |
0.00" |
1947 |
| |
Wettest 24 Hours |
7.54" |
1913 |
"T" indicates daily precipitation ≤ 0.005".
BOLDFACE indicates an extreme daily value for the month.
ITALICS indicates a daily record was set or tied.
*Departure from the 1971‑2000 normal. |
*New Records Set
| Day |
Parameter |
Value |
Old Record |
Year |
| No new records were set or tied in December 2009. |
*Near Records Set
| Day |
Parameter |
Value |
Record |
Year |
| 4th |
Tied 2nd lowest maximum temperature |
42°F |
42°F |
1964 |
| 4th |
Tied 3rd lowest minimum temperature |
28°F |
26°F |
2006 |
| 5th |
Tied 2nd lowest minimum temperature |
24°F |
24°F |
2009 |
| 23rd |
Tied 2nd highest minimum temperature |
65°F |
68°F |
1996 |
*NOTE: Records from 1910 through July 1951 are based on observations taken at the Texas Agricultural
Experiment Station main farm located 7 miles SW of College Station. Records from August 1951 through
the present are based on observations taken at Easterwood Field. |
January Normals for College Station
| Beginning of the month: |
62°F/41°F |
Monthly precipitation: |
3.32" |
| Middle of the month: |
61°F/40°F |
Precipitation days: |
9 |
| End of the month: |
63°F/42°F |
Days ≤ 32°F: |
11 |
