PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 718 AM EST MON JAN 01 2001 ...DECEMBER WAS ONE OF THE COLDEST ON RECORD... DECEMBER 2000 WAS THE SECOND COLDEST DECEMBER FOR CHARLOTTE SINCE CLIMATOLOGICAL RECORD KEEPING BEGAN IN 1878. THE COLDEST DECEMBER ON RECORD OCCURRED IN 1917 WITH AN AVERAGE OF 33.4 DEGREES. THE COMBINED AVERAGE OF HIGH AND LOW TEMPERATURES FOR DECEMBER GAVE AN AVERAGE OF 35.2 DEGREES. THE THIRD COLDEST OCCURRED IN 1963 WITH AN AVERAGE OF 35.6 DEGREES. DECEMBER 2000 WAS THE SECOND COLDEST SINCE RECORD KEEPING BEGAN AT THE ASHEVILLE REGIONAL AIRPORT IN 1962. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 32.5 DEGREES. THE COLDEST DECEMBER WAS IN 1989 WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 31.6 DEGREES. DECEMBER 2000 WAS THE COLDEST SINCE 1963 AT THE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 35.8 DEGREES. THIS COMPARES WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 36.4 DEGREES IN DECEMBER 1963. THE COLDEST DECEMBER ON RECORD WITHIN THE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG METROPOLITAN AREA OCCURRED IN 1917 WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 33.2 DEGREES. $$ OUTLAW ABUS34 KCHS 031304 PNSCHS AMZ330-335-350-352-354-374-GAZ087-088-099>101-114>119-137>141- SCZ040-042>045-047>050-031804- PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...RETRANSMISSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC 805 AM EST WED JAN 3 2001 ...DECEMBER 2000 SETS COLD MONTHLY RECORDS IN CHARLESTON AND SAVANNAH... DECEMBER 2000 WILL GO DOWN IN THE RECORD BOOKS AS THE COLDEST DECEMBER ON RECORD FOR BOTH CHARLESTON AND SAVANNAH. AT THE CHARLESTON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE WAS 42.6 DEGREES...WHICH WAS 8.6 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. THIS SETS A RECORD FOR THE COLDEST DECEMBER ON RECORD AT THE AIRPORT. THE PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 43.2 DEGREES...SET IN THE COLD MONTH OF DECEMBER 1989. THIS AVERAGE TEMPERATURE ALSO TIES FEBRUARY 1985 FOR THE SIXTH COLDEST MONTH ON RECORD. THE COLDEST MONTH RECORDED AT THE CHARLESTON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WAS JANUARY 1977 AT 38.7 DEGREES. RECORDS BEGAN AT THE CHARLESTON AIRPORT IN 1930. THERE WERE 18 DAYS WHEN THE LOW TEMPERATURE IN CHARLESTON EQUALED OR FELL BELOW THE FREEZING MARK. ALSO...THERE WERE 12 DAYS THAT DID NOT SEE THE HIGH TEMPERATURE REACH 50 DEGREES. EVEN WITH ONLY THREE RECORD COLD TEMPERATURES SET IN DECEMBER...IT WAS CONSISTENTLY COLD WHICH HELPED TO ESTABLISH THE RECORD COLD MONTH. BOTH THE AVERAGE HIGH AND LOW TEMPERATURES RAN 8 TO 9 DEGREES BELOW THE NORMALS. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR DECEMBER 2000 AT THE SAVANNAH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WAS 43.7 DEGREES...OR 8 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. THIS AVERAGE TIES THE RECORD FOR THE COLDEST DECEMBER IN SAVANNAH WITH 1963 AND 1989. THESE THREE DECEMBERS TIE FOR THE SEVENTH COLDEST MONTH ON RECORD IN SAVANNAH. THE COLDEST MONTH IN SAVANNAH WAS 39.9 DEGREES SET IN JANUARY 1977. ALSO OF NOTE...THERE WERE 20 DAYS THAT THE LOW TEMPERATURE FELL TO 32 DEGREES AND BELOW...WITH ONLY ONE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE RECORD SET...21 DEGREES ON DECEMBER 5...THE PREVIOUS 25 SET IN 1969. THE AVERAGE HIGH AND LOW TEMPERATURES RAN BETWEEN 7 1/2 AND 8 1/2 DEGREES BELOW THE NORMALS. $$ VALLIER-TALBOT ABUS34 KCAE 010719 PNSCAE PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC220 AM EST MON JAN 1 2001 THE YEAR 2000 ENDED IN AUGUSTA ON A COLD NOTE WITH THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR DECEMBER ONLY 38.5 DEGREES OR 7.5 DEGREES COLDER THAN NORMAL. THIS MAKES DECEMBER 2000 THE COLDEST DECEMBER IN AUGUSTA SINCE 1961. DRY CONDITIONS CONTINUED DURING THE MONTH AS WELL WITH ONLY 1.40 INCHES OF PRECIPTATION RECORDED DURING DECEMBER. THIS MAKES DECEMBER 2000 THE 9TH DRIEST DECEMBER SINCE 1961. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR WAS 37.81 INCHES...6.85 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. THE YEAR 2000 WAS THE 2ND CONSECUTIVE YEAR OF BELOW NORMAL RAINFALL IN AUGUSTA AND MAKES 2000 THE 3RD DRIEST YEAR SINCE 1948. ABUS34 KCAE 010701 PNSCAE PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 200 AM EST MON JAN 1 2001 THE YEAR 2000 ENDED IN COLUMBIA ON A COLD NOTE WITH THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR DECEMBER ONLY 38.4 DEGREES OR 8.9 DEGREES COLDER THAN NORMAL. THIS MAKES DECEMBER 2000 THE SECOND COLDEST DECEMBER SINCE 1915. THE COLDEST DECEMBER WAS IN 1917 WHEN THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS ONLY 37.9 DEGREES. DRY CONDITIONS CONTINUED DURING THE MONTH AS WELL WITH ONLY 0.97 INCHES OF PRECIPTATION RECORDED DURING DECEMBER. THIS MAKES DECEMBER 2000 THE 8TH DRIEST DECEMBER SINCE 1915. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR WAS 36.39 INCHES...13.52 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. THE YEAR 2000 WAS THE 5TH CONSECUTIVE YEAR OF BELOW NORMAL RAINFALL IN COLUMBIA AND MAKES 2000 THE 5TH DRIEST YEAR SINCE 1948. THE YEAR 2000 ALSO BROUGHT SNOW TO COLUMBIA WITH 4.3 INCHES FALLING ON JANUARY 24TH AND 25TH. THIS WAS THE 13TH HEAVIEST SNOWFALL IN COLUMBIA SINCE 1889. A TRACE OF SNOW ALSO FELL IN DECEMBER ON THE 3RD...17TH...19TH...AND 28TH. NWS CENTRAL REGION REPORT: Record snowfall was measured across the nation's mid section from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the Ozarks of Missouri. Some of the records are truly astonishing. Here is a partial list of new record snowfalls for the month of December. City December 2000 Snowfall (in.) Old Record (in.) Des Moines, Iowa 26.9 23.9 Waterloo, Iowa 34.0 24.3 Rochester, Minnesota 35.3* 30.6 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 49.5 30.7 Madison, Wisconsin 35.0 32.8 Green Bay, Wisconsin 28.9 27.7 Marquette, Michigan 89.5* 82.6 Grand Rapids, Michigan 59.2* 54.0 Flint, Michigan 35.3 24.9 Saginaw, Michigan 40.3 36.7 South Bend, Indiana 44.6 41.9 Springfield, Missouri 18.0 16.7 Quad Cities 32.0 22.0 (Davenport, Iowa/Moline, Illinois) * Indicates snowiest month on record (i.e., not just a December record). As should be expected, record snow cover will produce record or near record cold. Several of the cities reporting record December snows also recorded the coldest December on record. Record-cold Decembers were experienced in South Bend, Indiana, Flint and Saginaw Michigan, the Quad Cities, and Louisville, Kentucky.