NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information
The two satellite-derived animations above show the daily snow cover across the Northern Hemisphere (left map) and North America (right map) throughout December 2005. By clicking on the images, the advance of sea-ice across Hudson Bay and parts of the Arctic can be seen through the month as well as several significant snowfall events across the U.S. and Europe.
More information on significant winter weather and other hazards can be found on NCDC's Hazards page.
The map to the left depicts percent of average snowpack in the West and Alaska as of January 1st. The snowpack is less than 50% of average across much of the Southwest causing rising concern over spring water supply, which primarily results from melting snow. Abundant snowfall accumulated in parts of the southern Northwest as Pacific storms impacted the region during December. The storms produced mostly rain near the coast. More information on December severe winter weather can also be found on NCDC's Hazards page. Alaska had below average snowpack, partly as a result of warmer-than-average temperatures across the state during December.