December 2000 Snowfall

December 2000 Snowfall Totals

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
430 AM EST MON JAN 1 2001  

...FORT WAYNE SECOND COLDEST AND SIXTH SNOWIEST DECEMBER ON RECORD...

TEMPERATURES...
FOR DECEMBER 2000 THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR FORT WAYNE WAS 17.4 
DEGREES MAKING THIS THE SECOND COLDEST DECEMBER ON RECORD. THE  
AVERAGE DAILY HIGH TEMPERATURE IN DECEMBER 2000 WAS 25.7 DEGREES AND 
THE AVERAGE DAILY LOW TEMPERATURE WAS 9.2 DEGREES. 

SOME NOTEWORTHY COLD DAYS...
22ND...A HIGH OF 1 AND A LOW OF 6 BELOW ZERO. 
25TH...LOW TEMPERATURE ON CHRISTMAS DAY WAS 8 BELOW ZERO...THE       
       COLDEST READING DURING THE MONTH.
20TH THROUGH 26TH...A STRING OF 7 DAYS IN A ROW WITH LOWS BELOW ZERO.

IN A NORMAL DECEMBER...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WOULD BE 28.6 
DEGREES...WITH AN AVERAGE DAILY HIGH OF 35.5 AND AN AVERAGE DAILY 
LOW OF 21.6. 

TOP TEN COLDEST DECEMBERS FOR FORT WAYNE
16.9    1989
17.4    2000
19.3    1963
20.5    1985
20.6    1917
20.7    1958
21.2    1983
21.5    1950
22.0    1944
22.1    1976


SNOWFALL...
FOR DECEMBER 2000 FORT WAYNE RECORDED 17.2 INCHES OF SNOWFALL. THIS 
AMOUNT PLACES DECEMBER 2000 AS THE SIXTH SNOWIEST DECEMBER ON 
RECORD. THIS WAS OVER TWICE THE AVERAGE DECEMBER SNOWFALL OF 7.1 
INCHES. 

THE TOP TEN DECEMBER AND JANUARY RANKINGS ARE SHOWN IN THE TABLE 
BELOW:

DECEMBER               JANUARY
___________________________________________________________________
1 - 1914 : 22.0"       1 - 1982 : 29.5"
2 - 1973 : 20.3"       2 - 1918 : 25.4"
3 - 1977 : 18.4"       3 - 1978 : 25.3"
4 - 1915 : 17.9"       4 - 1915 : 20.2"
5 - 1981 : 17.6"       5 - 1999 : 18.0"
6 - 2000 : 17.2"       6 - 1987 : 17.6"
7 - 1983 : 16.3"       7 - 1985 : 15.3"   
8 - 1944 : 15.5"       8 - 1914 : 15.0"
9 - 1929 : 14.9"       9 - 1996 : 14.7"
10- 1995 : 14.8"       10- 1979 : 14.1"

IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT 4 OUT OF THE LAST 10 SNOWIEST 
DECEMBERS IN FORT WAYNE WENT ON TO BE ONE OF THE TOP 10 SNOWIEST 
JANUARYS AS WELL.

OFFICIAL RECORDS AT FORT WAYNE BEGAN IN 1911. 

MURPHY

South Bend Climate Summary

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
330 AM EST MON JAN 1 2001 

...SOUTH BEND SNOWIEST AND COLDEST DECEMBER ON RECORD...

RECORD SNOWFALL...
FOR DECEMBER 2000 SOUTH BEND RECORDED 44.6 INCHES OF SNOWFALL. THIS 
AMOUNT PLACES DECEMBER 2000 AS THE SNOWIEST DECEMBER ON RECORD SINCE 
SNOWFALL RECORDS BEGAN IN 1949. THIS WAS OVER TWICE THE AVERAGE 
DECEMBER SNOWFALL OF 21.0 INCHES. 

THE TOP TEN DECEMBER AND JANUARY RANKINGS ARE SHOWN IN THE TABLE 
BELOW:

DECEMBER                   JANUARY
___________________________________________________________________ 
1 - 2000 : 44.6"           1 - 1978 : 86.1"
2 - 1962 : 41.9"           2 - 1959 : 45.3" 
3 - 1981 : 41.3"           3 - 1979 : 45.1"
4 - 1985 : 40.4"           4 - 1982 : 41.3"
5 - 1976 : 37.6"           5 - 1977 : 37.2"
6 - 1983 : 35.6"           6 - 2000 : 37.1"
7 - 1977 : 33.6"           7 - 1999 : 37.0"
8 - 1951 : 30.7"           8 - 1997 : 36.4
9 - 1989 : 29.4"           9 - 1987 : 31.4"
10- 1968 : 27.9"          10 - 1976 : 31.2"

IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT 8 OUT OF THE LAST 20 SNOWIEST 
DECEMBERS IN SOUTH BEND WENT ON TO BE ONE OF THE TOP 20 SNOWIEST 
JANUARYS AS WELL. 

RECORD COLD TEMPERATURES...
FOR DECEMBER 2000 THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR SOUTH BEND WAS 17.1 
DEGREES MAKING THIS THE COLDEST DECEMBER ON RECORD SINCE RECORDS 
BEGAN IN 1949. THE AVERAGE DAILY HIGH TEMPERATURE IN DECEMBER 2000 
WAS 25.3 DEGREES AND THE AVERAGE DAILY LOW TEMPERATURE WAS 8.9 
DEGREES. THE COLDEST DAY WAS ON THE 22ND WITH A HIGH OF 2 AND A LOW 
OF 9 BELOW ZERO.

IN A NORMAL DECEMBER...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WOULD BE 28.9 
DEGREES...WITH AN AVERAGE DAILY HIGH OF 35.4 AND AN AVERAGE DAILY 
LOW OF 22.3. 

TOP TEN COLDEST DECEMBERS FOR SOUTH BEND
17.1    2000
17.7    1989
18.4    1983
19.4    1963
20.1    1985
20.6    1958
20.8    1950
21.6    1945
22.8    1976
23.0    1944

MURPHY

December, 2000 had record or near record snowfall amounts across Northern Indiana, Northwest Ohio and Southern Michigan. The heaviest snow fell along the southeast shore of Lake Michigan.

Benton Harbor Michigan reported the highest amount at 88 inches. Other totals of more than 60 inches were reported at Eau Claire (62 inches) and Niles (63 inches), both in extreme Southwest Lower Michigan. Totals in excess of 40 inches fanned south and east of the lake shore into Southern Michigan along the Indiana border and southeast into parts of Northwest Indiana. Snowfall totals generally decreased further south and east of Lake Michigan with only 11 inches being reported at Wauseon in Northwest Ohio and 12 inches at Portland in Northeast Indiana. Most of the this data was provided by our Cooperative weather observers.

These snows were caused by a combination of storm systems that moved across the area from both the Northern and Southern Plains. The systems producing the heaviest precipitation were from the Southern Plains, much of it was rain and freezing rain over southeast parts of the area. These storms moved across the area from December 11^th through the 17^th. Weaker systems came from the Northern Plains later in the month producing generally lesser amounts. However the reason for the heavy snow amounts near Lake Michigan was lake effect snowfall and much of it came from Northern Plains storm systems. As these storms pulled by to our south and east, Arctic air piled in behind them bringing very cold temperatures. December, 2000 had some of the coldest monthly average temperatures on record in Northern Indiana being the coldest on record in South Bend and 2^nd coldest on record at Fort Wayne. This very cold air flowing across the relatively warm lake water produced lake effect snow bands which pummeled areas near the southwest shore of Lake Michigan.

Story written by Greg Lamberty, Service Hydrologist