Significant Weather Events

December 22-26 & 29-31, 1983 Record Arctic Cold

Above: GOES 5 Visible Satellite Image at 12:00 PM CST December 25, 1983 showing the cold air stratocumulus clouds over the Gulf of Mexico.

A large mid to upper-level longwave trough over North America with large multiple cutoff lows within the trough axis over Canada persisted for most of the second half of December 1983. This allowed for several fridge Arctic airmasses to plunge southward across the Central and Eastern U.S. bringing record December cold to most locations.

The first Arctic airmass began intruding across Central & Southern Louisiana and Southeast Texas on December 22nd, bringing freezing temperatures to most of the area. A secondary larger and more frigid surface high plunged south southeast on December 23rd and brought record cold low temperatures in the single digits to lower teens on Christmas morning. With such a cold airmass moving over the warmer Gulf of Mexico and Western Atlantic waters, cold air stratocumulus clouds prevailed just offshore the coastline over the entire Gulf of Mexico and Western Atlantic, as shown by this GOES 5 Visible Satellite Image at 12:00 PM CST December 25^th.Slowly moderating temperatures occurred on December 26^th occurred with temperatures finally rising above freezing by the end of the day. Most locations across Louisiana north of I-10 and Southeast Texas remained below freezing around 111-115 hours from December 22nd through the 26th, which was a record for this area. Lake Charles and Lafayette Louisiana had 67 and 71 consecutive hours below freezing from the 23^rd through the 26^th, with only a few hours just above freezing from December 22nd through the 23rd.

By December 27th through the 28th, a weak surface low brought warmer temperatures in the 40s to lower 50s and rainfall across the area. No frozen precipitation occurred with the warmer temperatures. Due to the warmer and moist air interacting with the colder Gulf of Mexico shelf waters, dense marine fog began invading the area during the early morning hours of December 27^th and remained across the area through the afternoon of December 28th.

By December 28th, another dip southward within the large mid to upper-level longwave trough over North America allowed for another fridge surface high to plunge south southeast across the area late in the day. Temperatures once again fell below freezing for most of the period from December 29th through the 31st, with only a few hours just above freezing both afternoons. This brought record cold low temperatures in the lower to middle teens the morning of New Year’s Eve across the area. By New Year’s Day, a rapid warmup into the 50s occurred by the afternoon as the cold airmass moderated.

Due to the prolonged duration of temperatures below freezing and record cold temperatures, many frozen pipes burst in homes and businesses, causing severe water shortages across the area. Several fatalities were recorded across Louisiana and Texas, mainly to people with unheated homes.

Satellite Animated Imagery
(NWS LCH YouTube)

GOES 5 Satellite Imagery:

7km Infrared

4km Visible

1km Visible

December 25, 1983 Record Low Temperatures Compiled by: xmACIS2

STATE	LOCATION	STATION TYPE	LOW
LA	ALEXANDRIA	COOP	9
LA	BOYCE 3 WNW	COOP	8
LA	BUNKIE	COOP	10
LA	CROWLEY 2 NE	COOP	12
LA	DE QUINCY	COOP	9
LA	DE RIDDER	COOP	8
LA	ELIZABETH	COOP	9
LA	EUNICE	COOP	11
LA	FRANKLIN 3 NW	COOP	11
LA	GRAND COTEAU	COOP	11
LA	HACKBERRY 8 SSW	COOP	12
LA	JEANERETTE 5 NW	COOP	13
LA	JENNINGS	COOP	11
LA	LAFAYETTE REGIONAL AIRPORT	WBAN	12
LA	LAKE CHARLES REGIONAL AIRPORT	WBAN	13
LA	LEESVILLE	COOP	8
LA	LELAND BOWMAN LOCK	COOP	12
LA	LSU DEAN LEE RESEARCH STATION	COOP	9
LA	MORGAN CITY	COOP	15
LA	NEW IBERIA	COOP	12
LA	OBERLIN FIRE TOWER	COOP	10
LA	ROCKEFELLER WILDLIFE REFUGE	COOP	13
LA	ROSEPINE RESEARCH STATION	COOP	8
LA	WOODWORTH 2 SE	COOP	8
TX	BEAUMONT RESEARCH CENTER	COOP	11
TX	ORANGE	COOP	11
TX	PORT ARTHUR SE TX REGIONAL AIRPORT	WBAN	15
TX	SAM RAYBURN DAM	COOP	8
TX	TOLEDO BEND DAM	COOP	9
TX	TOWN BLUFF DAM	COOP	10

Consecutive hours below freezing
Location	Start Date/Time	End Date/Time	Hours
Fort Polk, LA (KPOE-Army)	12/22 - 5 AM	12/26 - 11 PM	115
Alexandria Esler Field, LA (KESF-WBAN)	12/22 - 9 AM	12/26 - 11 PM	111
Lake Charles Regional Airport, LA (KLCH-NWS)	12/23 - 10 PM	12/26 - 5 PM	67
Lafayette, LA (KLFT-WBAN)	12/23 - 5 PM	12/26 - 4 PM	71
Port Arthur Southeast Texas Regional Airport, TX (KBPT-NWS)	12/22 - 6 AM	12/26 - 9 PM	*111
*Had 1 hour above freezing (33) on 12/23/1983.

Hourly Surface Observations December 22-26, 1983 From National Centers for Environmental Information (NECI), times are in CST * = Incomplete observations due to power and/or equipment failure
Fort Polk, LA (KPOE-Army)	12/22	12/23	12/24		12/25	12/26
Alexandria Esler Field, LA (KESF-WBAN)	12/22	12/23	12/24		12/25	12/26
Lake Charles Regional Airport, LA (KLCH-NWS)	12/22	12/23	12/24		12/25	12/26
Lafayette, LA (KLFT-WBAN)	12/22	12/23	12/24	12/25		12/26
Port Arthur Southeast Texas Regional Airport, TX (KBPT-NWS)	12/22	12/23	12/24	12/25		12/26

December 31, 1983 Record Low Temperatures Compiled by: xmACIS2

STATE	LOCATION	STATION TYPE	LOW
LA	ALEXANDRIA	COOP	13
LA	BOYCE 3 WNW	COOP	13
LA	BUNKIE	COOP	16
LA	CROWLEY 2 NE	COOP	12
LA	DE QUINCY	COOP	13
LA	DE RIDDER	COOP	10
LA	ELIZABETH	COOP	12
LA	EUNICE	COOP	16
LA	FRANKLIN 3 NW	COOP	16
LA	GRAND COTEAU	COOP	14
LA	HACKBERRY 8 SSW	COOP	20
LA	JEANERETTE 5 NW	COOP	18
LA	JENNINGS	COOP	17
LA	KROTZ SPRINGS	COOP	18
LA	LAFAYETTE REGIONAL AIRPORT	WBAN	16
LA	LAKE CHARLES REGIONAL AIRPORT	WBAN	19
LA	LEESVILLE	COOP	10
LA	LELAND BOWMAN LOCK	COOP	17
LA	LSU DEAN LEE RESEARCH STATION	COOP	15
LA	MORGAN CITY	COOP	20
LA	NEW IBERIA	COOP	17
LA	OBERLIN FIRE TOWER	COOP	16
LA	ROCKEFELLER WILDLIFE REFUGE	COOP	18
LA	ROSEPINE RESEARCH STATION	COOP	13
LA	WOODWORTH 2 SE	COOP	11
TX	BEAUMONT RESEARCH CENTER	COOP	15
TX	ORANGE	COOP	15
TX	PORT ARTHUR SE TX REGIONAL AIRPORT	WBAN	21
TX	SAM RAYBURN DAM	COOP	13
TX	TOLEDO BEND DAM	COOP	11
TX	TOWN BLUFF DAM	COOP	12

Hourly Surface Observations December 27, 1983-January 1, 1984 From National Centers for Environmental Information (NECI), times are in CST * = Incomplete observations due to power and/or equipment failure
Fort Polk, LA (KPOE-Army)	12/27	12/28	12/29	12/30		12/31	1/01
Alexandria Esler Field, LA (KESF-WBAN)	12/27	12/28	12/29	12/30		12/31	1/01
Lake Charles Regional Airport, LA (KLCH-NWS)	12/27	12/28	12/29	12/30		12/31	1/01
Lafayette, LA (KLFT-WBAN)	12/27	12/28	12/29	12/30	12/31		1/01
Port Arthur Southeast Texas Regional Airport, TX (KBPT-NWS)	12/27	12/28	12/29	12/30	12/31		1/01

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