Heat and Severe Thunderstorms in the Eastern U.S.

A widespread heat wave will peak over the South and East today, with several dozen temperature records expected along the East Coast. Heat should begin to ease this weekend in the Northeast, while hazardous heat continues over the South. Severe thunderstorms capable of damaging winds are possible across parts of the Appalachians, Mid Atlantic, and Northeast this afternoon and evening. Read More >

December 22-26, 2022 Cold Arctic Outbreak

Above: GOES 16 GeoColor Satellite Image December 23, 2022 showing the cold air stratocumulus clouds over the Gulf.

A large and deepening longwave trough over Central and Eastern North America allowed for a strong Arctic airmass over Alaska and Canada to plunge southward across the Central and Eastern U.S. during December 21-25, 2022. This brought the coldest December temperatures to our region in 33 years, only with the Great Arctic Outbreaks of December 1983 and December 1989 having colder temperatures around the same time of year. The coldest temperatures occurred the morning of December 23rd, with readings ranging from the lower teens across Inland Southeast Texas and Central Louisiana, with mid-teens to near 20 degrees further south. This, coupled with the winds of 20-30 mph, with gusts over 40 mph, made the wind chill temperatures in the single digits, and some locations, negative single digits. Temperatures in the upper teens to lower 20s continued Christmas Eve and Christmas mornings, with moderating temperatures on December 26^th.

Above: Modeled estimated snow depth early on December 23, 2022.

Above: U.S. surface map animation from December 21-26, 2022 showing the progression of the Arctic cold front and surface high pressure.

Satellite Animated Imagery
(NWS LCH YouTube)

GOES 16 Satellite Imagery:

4km GeoColor

1km GeoColor

December 23, 2022 Low Temperatures
STATE	LOCATION	STATION ID	LOW
LA	ABBEVILLE	KIYA	20
LA	ALEXANDRIA POWER PLANT	ALXL1	15
LA	ALEXANDRIA ESLER FIELD	KESF	14
LA	ALEXANDRIA INTL AP	KAEX	15
LA	AMERADA PASS	AMRL1	26
LA	BERWICK	TESL1	23
LA	BOYCE 3 WNW	BYCL1	10
LA	CAMERON	CAPL1	18
LA	CARLYSS	KUXL	18
LA	CHENAULT AIR FIELD	KCWF	18
LA	DE RIDDER	KDRI	13
LA	DE QUINCY	K5R8	15
LA	EUGENE ISLAND, ATCHAFALAYA BAY	EINL1	25
LA	EVANGELINE/GARDNER	GARL1	14
LA	FORT POLK	KPOE	12
LA	FORT POLK PEASON RIDGE RANGE	KAQV	12
LA	FORT POLK FULLERTON LANDING STRIP	KBKB	13
LA	FRANKLIN 3 NW	FRAL1	21
LA	GRAND COTEAU	GRCL1	17
LA	JENNINGS	JNNL1	16
LA	LAFAYETTE 13 SE	CADL1	20
LA	LAFAYETTE REGIONAL AP	KLFT	20
LA	LAKE ARTHUR 7 SW	LWRL1	18
LA	LAKE CHARLES REGIONAL AP	KLCH	16
LA	LEESVILLE	LEEL1	12
LA	LELAND BOWMAN LOCK	VLKL1	21
LA	MOSS BLUFF 2 NNW	MBLL1	14
LA	NEW IBERIA AIRPORT - ACADIANA REGIONAL	KARA	20
LA	OAKDALE	KACP	16
LA	OBERLIN FIRE TOWER	OBEL1	14
LA	OPELOUSAS	KOPL	17
LA	PATTERSON	KPTN	23
LA	SALT POINT	KP92	23
LA	VERNON	VRNL1	13
TX	BEAUMONT	KBMT	16
TX	JASPER	KJAS	12
TX	KIRBYVILLE	KRBT2	14
TX	LUMBERTON	LLBT2	15
TX	MCFADDEN	FADT2	17
TX	ORANGE 9 N	ORET2	16
TX	ORANGE	KORG	19
TX	PORT ARTHUR SE TX REGIONAL AP	KBPT	17
TX	SABINE PASS TEXAS POINT	TXPT2	18
TX	SAM RAYBURN DAM	JSPT2	16
TX	SOUTHERN ROUGH	WRRT2	14
TX	TOWN BLUFF DAM	TBLT2	12
TX	WOODVILLE TEXAS	WVLT2	12

Consecutive hours below freezing
STATE	LOCATION	START TIME	END TIME	HOURS
LA	ABBEVILLE	12/22 - 11 PM	12/24 - 11 AM	36
LA	ALEXANDRIA ESLER FIELD	12/22 - 8 PM	12/24 - 11 AM	40
LA	ALEXANDRIA INTL AP	12/22 - 8 PM	12/24 - 11 AM	40
LA	BERWICK	12/23 - 2 AM	12/24 - 12 PM	34
LA	CAMERON	12/22 - 10 PM	12/24 - 1 PM	39
LA	CARLYSS	12/22 - 9 PM	12/24 - 11 AM	38
LA	CHENAULT	12/22 - 9 PM	12/24 - 11 AM	38
LA	DE RIDDER	12/22 - 7 PM	12/24 - 12 PM	41
LA	DE QUINCY	12/22 - 8 PM	12/24 - 12 PM	40
LA	EUGENE ISLAND	12/23 - 3 AM	12/24 - 12 PM	33
LA	FORT POLK	12/22 - 7 PM	12/24 - 12 PM	41
LA	FORT POLK PEASON RIDGE RANGE	12/22 - 6 PM	12/24 - 12 PM	42
LA	FORT POLK FULLERTON LANDING STRIP	12/22 - 7 PM	12/24 - 12 PM	41
LA	LAFAYETTE REGIONAL AP	12/22 - 11 PM	12/24 - 11 AM	36
LA	LAKE CHARLES REGIONAL AP	12/22 - 9 PM	12/24 - 11 AM	38
LA	MOSS BLUFF 2 NNW	12/22 - 8 PM	12/24 - 12 PM	40
LA	NEW IBERIA - ACADIANA REGIONAL AIRPORT	12/22 - 11 PM	12/24 - 11 AM	36
LA	OAKDALE	12/22 - 8 PM	12/24 - 12 PM	40
LA	OPELOUSAS	12/22 - 9 PM	12/24 - 2 PM	41
LA	PATTERSON	12/23 - 2 AM	12/24 - 12 PM	34
LA	SALT POINT	12/23 - 2 AM	12/24 - 12 PM	34
TX	BEAUMONT	12/22 - 8 PM	12/24 - 11 AM	39
TX	JASPER	12/22 - 6 PM	12/24 - 12 PM	42
TX	ORANGE	12/22 - 8 PM	12/24 - 11 AM	*39
TX	PORT ARTHUR SE TX REGIONAL AP	12/22 - 8 PM	12/24 - 11 AM	*39
TX	SABINE PASS	12/22 - 9 PM	12/24 - 1 PM	40
*Had 1 hour above freezing on 12/23/2022 from 2 PM to 3 PM.

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