Is severe weather common in December?

 

Severe weather reports, 12/28/2024 (Source: NOAA)

Severe weather in December is relatively rare in the United States. The month of December averages the fewest number of tornadoes of any month, with 28. Despite this, there have been a few noteworthy December severe weather outbreaks. Severe weather refers to a thunderstorm that contains any of the following: wind gusts of at least 58 mph, hail 1”/+ in diameter, or a tornado.

2024: There was a four-day severe weather outbreak with a total of 141 tornadoes between December 26 – December 29, 2024 in parts of the Deep South and southeastern United States. The most active day was December 28 with 109 tornadoes from Texas to Georgia. Fortunately, no fatalities were reported. 

2021: Over 100 confirmed tornadoes occurred during a two-day severe weather outbreak on December 10-11. This was the deadliest December tornado outbreak on record in the United States with 89 fatalities confirmed by NOAA across the Midwest and Tennessee Valley.

2018: More than three dozen tornadoes developed and caused extensive damage on December 1.  According to the NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center, the strongest was an EF-3 tornado with winds of 155 mph in Christian County, IL. Fortunately, there weren’t any reported fatalities during this rare December tornado outbreak but some injuries were reported. This was the largest December tornado outbreak in Illinois state history.

2015: Nearly 100 tornadoes were reported in the United States, primarily from the Ohio Valley to the Deep South, between December 23 and December 28. The busiest severe weather day was December 23 when a total of 38 tornadoes occurred. These tornadoes led to four fatalities and 10 injuries. Contributing to this severe weather was that December 2015 was the warmest December on record in many eastern cities, including Washington, D.C.

Severe weather and tornadoes, in particular, are rare in the DMV (D.C., Maryland and Virginia) during December. The last one occurred on December 1, 2010, when a short-lived EF-0 tornado touched down in Charles County, Maryland. That was the third and final day of a severe weather outbreak that extended from the Deep South to the Mid-Atlantic. A total of 37 tornadoes developed, but no fatalities were reported. 

DC’s cold start to December

 

A seasonal view in Washington, D.C.

This December has gotten off to the coldest start in the nation’s capital in 20 years. Although no record lows have been set, the first 12 days have been colder than average. That’s led to DC’s monthly average temperature (combining daily highs and lows) to be more than eight degrees below average so far this month.

While DC has experienced several colder than average December’s since 2005, this month has become the first since then that the initial 12 days were colder than average. The first 15 days of December 2005 were all colder than average in the nation’s capital. This month could eclipse that mark with below average temperatures on track to continue into next week.  

Besides being colder than average, there’s something else that December 2009, December 2010 and December 2017 all have in common in the nation’s capital. Each of those months were also snowier than average. In fact, December 2009 was DC’s snowiest on record.

A total of 1.1” of snow has already fallen this month and that’s near the monthly average of 1.7”. Some light snow is on tap late tonight and tomorrow morning that could add to that total. It will also coincide with another push of arctic air with some of the coldest weather for tomorrow and Monday since last winter. 

Only one December day has seen record cold in the nation’s capital over the last 35 years (a record low-high of 22° on December 24, 2022). However, bitterly cold December days have been more frequent in the nation’s capital. For example, Christmas Eve 2022 had a high/low of only 22°/9°. That was also the last time Washingtonians experienced December temperatures in the single digits.

According to the National Weather Service, the last time the nation’s capital experienced consecutive December days with high temperatures at or below freezing was on December 28 – 29, 2017 (25°, 32°). The last time high temperatures in Washington, D.C. remained under 30° during the first half of December was December 14, 2010 (28°). The last time the nation’s capital experienced consecutive December days with high temperatures at or below freezing during the first half of December was on December 13 – 14, 2005 (32°, 26°). 

Longtime residents may recall that temperatures remained at or below freezing on five consecutive days in the nation’s capital from December 26 – 30, 1993, and on four consecutive days from December 10 – 13, 1995. Aside from being unusual, the cold start to this December has felt particularly cold since so many recent December’s have been warmer than average. 

No strong correlation exists, however, between periods of cold and snowy December weather and the winter season as a whole in the D.C. metropolitan area. 

Weather Quiz

 

A frigid day in the nation's capital (Photo Credit: Robin Beal)

True or False.

Washington, D.C. hasn’t had a daily high temperature at or below freezing during the first half of December since 2017.