NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

DECEMBER 2018

2-8: At times, snow squalls affected areas downwind of the Great Lakes. One exception to the tranquil weather was a heavy-rainfall event from December 1-3 across the lower Southeast. During the second half of the week, a slow-moving storm arrived in
southern California and traversed the nation’s southern tier. Heavy rain triggered flash flooding in southern California and temporarily slowed fieldwork in the Desert Southwest. Toward week’s end, heavy rain (locally 4 inches or more) developed in
the western Gulf Coast region and spread eastward, curtailing summer crop harvesting and winter wheat planting. A band of heavy snow developed from the southern High Plains to the southern Appalachians, causing travel and electrical disruptions. By
December 9, storm-total snowfall reached 1 to 2 feet in an area centered across southwestern Virginia and northwestern North Carolina. The severe weather outbreak of December 1-2, which included two EF-3 tornadoes, shifted from the Midwest into the
Southeast. The first EF-3 tornado cut a 12.7-mile path through Christian County, IL, just after 5 pm CST on December 1. The other EF-3 twister sliced 7.5 miles across Camden County, GA, with a docked Coast Guard vessel at the Naval Submarine Base Kings
Bay reporting a peak gust to 144 mph during the afternoon of December 2. Elsewhere in Georgia, daily-record rainfall totals for December 2 included 2.92 inches in Savannah and 2.05 inches in Saint Simons Island. December 1-3 rainfall at Saint Simons
Island totaled 4.78 inches. Farther north, squalls downwind of Lake Superior led to daily-record precipitation and snowfall amounts (1.62 and 14.2 inches, respectively) in Marquette, MI, for December 2. Meanwhile, a storm system affecting the
Intermountain West produced daily-record snowfall amounts for the 2nd in locations such as Salt Lake City, UT (5.9 inches), and Boise, ID (3.4 inches). Later, the same system produced a daily record snowfall (0.9 inch on December 4) in Evansville, IN,
and 4.8 inches of snow (not a record for December 5) in Atlantic City, NJ. By December 6, a new storm arrived in southern California, where daily-record rainfall totals reached 3.24 inches at Santa Ana’s John Wayne Airport; 1.97 inches in Oceanside; 1.
91 inches in downtown Los Angeles; and 1.46 inches in Lancaster. Farther east, heavy rain erupted in the western Gulf Coast region, where record-breaking rainfall amounts for December 7 topped the 4-inch mark in Texas locations such as Lufkin (4.83
inches) and College Station (4.01 inches). Elsewhere on the 7th, daily-record amounts included 3.58 inches in Victoria, TX; 2.95 inches in Shreveport, LA; and 2.60 inches in El Dorado, AR. Another daily record, 2.02 inches, was set in El Dorado on
December 8. Daily rainfall records were also set on the 8th in Monroe, LA (4.01 inches); Mobile, AL (3.46 inches); and Vicksburg, MS (2.37 inches). Meanwhile in Texas, snowfall on December 8 totaled 10.0 inches in Lubbock and 3.0 inches in Abilene. It
was Lubbock’s greatest single-day snowfall since December 27, 2015, when 11.0 inches fell. More details on the storm, which produced heavy snow in the Southeast on December 9, will appear next week.

9-15: An early-season winter storm delivered heavy snow to a broad area, including the southern Mid-Atlantic region, starting on December 9. Late in the week, heavy rain returned across the South, East, and lower Midwest, with rainfall totaling 2 to 4
inches in many locations. Several communities, stretching from the Ohio Valley into the Mid-Atlantic States, have already set annual precipitation marks, breaking records that in many cases had been set in 1889, 2003, or 2011. The late-week rain,
falling on already saturated soils, triggered minor to moderate flooding in portions of the middle and southern Atlantic States.
Downslope (chinook) winds contributed to warmth on Montana’s high plains, where Cut Bank reported gusts to 50 mph or higher each day from December 9-15. Cut Bank’s wind gusts peaked at 61 and 68 mph, respectively, on December 9 and 13. Periodic
high winds also affected the Pacific Northwest. In southwestern Virginia, December 9-10 snowfall totaled 15.2 inches in Danville and Roanoke. For Danville, it was the second-greatest December event total behind 22.5 inches on December 17-18, 1930. It
was Roanoke’s highest single storm total in December since December 18-19, 2009, when 17.8 inches fell. Elsewhere, all of the storm’s snow fell on December 9 (and resulted in daily-record totals) in locations such as Beckley, WV (13.5 inches), and
Richmond, VA (11.5 inches). In North Carolina, December 9-10 snowfall reached 12.8 inches in Greensboro and 8.9 inches in Raleigh Durham. Asheville, NC, received 11.4 inches of snow from December 8-10, while Greenville-Spartanburg, SC, collected
4.3 inches. On the North Carolina coast, Cape Hatteras collected a daily-record rainfall of 4.02 inches on December 9. Meanwhile in western Washington, Quillayute’s weekly rainfall totaled 10.92 inches. The bulk of Quillayute’s rain, 8.46 inches,
fell from December 11-13. Farther east, heavy rain erupted across the mid-South on December 13-14, totaling 5.77 inches in Little Rock, AR. Daily-record rainfall totals for December 14 included 3.12 inches in Gainesville, FL; 2.95 inches in Charleston,
SC; 1.65 inches in Evansville, IN; and 1.46 inches in Cape Girardeau, MO. The following day, record-setting rainfall totals for December 15 reached 2.55 inches in Washington, DC, and 2.24 inches in Baltimore, MD. In Kentucky, rainfall on December 15
pushed Frankfort’s year-to-date precipitation total to 65.99 inches. Previously, Frankfort’s annual record of 65.58 inches had been set in 2011. Similarly, year-to-date precipitation in Washington, DC, climbed to 63.62 inches, surpassing the 1889
annual mark of 61.33 inches.

16-22: Roadways were still snowy and slick a day after a winter storm closed interstates, highways and spawned treacherous travel conditions that turned deadly in three states.
At least four deaths are linked to the powerful snowstorm that caused numerous crashes across the Plains and Upper Midwest this week. On Friday, the storm brought trouble to New England states. Jaxon Buerge, 16, was a passenger in an SUV that was rear
ended by a semi-trailer. The teen was rushed to an area hospital, where he later died. Three other family members riding in the SUV, including a 9-year-old boy, sustained serious injuries, WIBW reports. In Minnesota, a woman was killed Thursday in a
crash involving a small bus and an SUV near Big Lake, the AP reports. Marilyn Balogi, 47, of Zimmerman, was killed in the crash. Seven others were also injured in the crash, the Associated Press reports.
Also in Minnesota, a pedestrian was struck and killed Thursday by a pickup truck with a plow blade in Crow Wing County. Michael Donnay, 51, was pronounced dead at the scene about 8:30 p.m. local time, the AP reports. The driver of a pickup truck was
killed Thursday when he collided with another vehicle on a snow-covered highway in Dunn County, North Dakota. Jared Maturin, 37, of Jeanerette, Louisiana, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver and three passengers in the other vehicle were not
hurt. After four tractor-trailers jackknifed on Friday morning, Interstate 89 North was closed between Concord and Hopkinton, New Hampshire, WHDH reported. State police also reported a jackknifed tractor-trailer in Milford and other vehicles sliding on
Route 101. Slick roads caused several crashes and spinouts in the Worcester, Massachusetts area on Friday morning. Jay Senior of Early’s Towing told WHDH the company responded to about two dozen accidents.
Multiple rounds of severe weather slammed Florida on Thursday, triggering at least four tornadoes that caused damage and brought down trees. Friday morning, wind gusts 60 mph and stronger hindered travel across a key bridge in the Tampa area. The Florida
Highway Patrol closed the Sunshine Skyway Bridge Friday morning as the area was placed under a high wind advisory, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The bridge was reopened late Friday afternoon, but high-profile vehicles were still banned. At least one
serious injury was blamed on Thursday's storms. Ninety-year-old Marie Weddle was injured when the roof of her Polk County condominium collapsed, striking her on the head, the Associated Press reported. The National Weather Service later confirmed that an
EF0 had touched down at the Lake Wales condominium. It traveled less than a mile and top winds reached 75 mph. A second EF0 touched down just east of Fort Meade. No buildings were damaged in that incident, but trees were downed. In Pasco County, about 80
homes were damaged in a mobile home park Thursday morning by straight-line winds during a strong thunderstorm, CBS12 reported. Five of the damaged homes were deemed unsafe. Pasco County Emergency Management Director Andrew Fossa told WFLA.com that first
responders were "overwhelmed with damage." Resident Loren Lemon told the news station high winds tore the roof off her home. "I would guesstimate that wind was 60 miles an hour at least," she said. "It was blowing down the street."

More than 59,000 customers in Washington were still without power Friday afternoon, a day after a windstorm packing 70 mph wind gusts slammed into the state and British Columbia, Canada, downing trees and power lines and killing one. In British Columbia,
Canada, falling trees killed one person and left an additional quarter-million outages. By Friday afternoon, more than 131,000 customers remained without power in western regions of the province.
At one point Thursday, more than 300,000 customers lost power in western Washington. As the damage became more widespread, numerous roads became impassable and were closed.

Heavy rain and wind caused all the headaches in the Northeast. There have already been more than 1,000 cancellations and 4,100 delays at airports across the U.S., according to Flightaware. Most of those issues were reported in New York metro area
airports. Some roadways across the Northeast experienced flooding issues. Most notably, a stretch of the Bronx River Parkway closed in White Plains, New York, as floodwaters rose, the Journal News reports. But flooding wasn't the only part of the storm
system causing issues across the region. "As can often be the case in the Northeast, wind gusts over 40 mph have been enough to trigger power outages, said Erdman. "Gusts over 50 mph are possible in coastal New England Friday." Some 15,000 people in New
York and New Jersey have lost power so far, according to poweroutage. US.

At least 50 buildings were damaged in the town of Port Orchard, Washington, by an EF2 tornado that struck the town Tuesday afternoon. The National Weather Service confirmed the twister was in progress just before 2 p.m. local time Tuesday. Minutes later,
local news helicopters showed serious damage to several homes in one neighborhood, including one that had its roof ripped off. "There's roofs ripped off of things. There's windows bashed in. There's (power) lines down everywhere. It's just a mess," local
resident Emily Silverman told KOMO-TV.

23-31: A Powerful storms with flooding rains lashed the South on Friday, triggering flash flood emergencies, street flooding and high water rescues. Officials blocked numerous roads, including some major highways in parts of Mississippi and Alabama.
Several motorists who were stalled in deep water were rescued in the Hattiesburg area. At least three people have been killed as a result of the flooding and severe weather. Laila Jiwani, 42, of Texas, was killed Thursday when a tree fell on her while
she was hiking with her husband and three children in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, the Associated Press reported. Her 6-year-old was airlifted to a hospital with a broken leg and superficial head injuries. A woman who was camping
with several others was killed after she fell into a rain-swollen creek near Chattanooga, AP reported. Authorities say they recovered the woman's body Friday morning about three hours after she lost her footing and fell into the water. The severe weather
also led to one death in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, on Thursday. WAFB reported that Roxanne Kliebert, 58, died Wednesday night after a tree fell on her camper when high winds moved through the area.
A snowstorm blasted New Mexico Friday with blizzard conditions that disrupted travel and forced the closure of several major roadways. Albuquerque became ground zero for the storm that has halted air traffic and forced the Albuquerque Police Department
to close its Foothills Substation because of the weather. On Friday, blizzard warnings were issued for Albuquerque through Saturday morning. The National Weather Service office in Albuquerque could not find any blizzard warnings ever issued for the city
of 558,000 in its limited database. Friday morning, Interstate 40 was shut down from Moriarty to Clines Corners, the Albuquerque Journal reports. The closure impacted 24 miles of the roadway.
Numerous flights were delayed or canceled at the Albuquerque International Sunport, according to the airport's website. The storm knocked out power to more than 5,000 customers in the state by Friday afternoon, according to poweroutage.us. Snow will
continue in eastern Arizona, New Mexico, southern Colorado and portions of Texas through Friday and may linger in southern and eastern New Mexico and in the El Paso, Texas, area on Saturday.

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