MONTHLY WEATHER OBSERVATIONS
WESTMONT (JOHNSTOWN) PA
DECEMBER 2004
OBSERVER STEVE MULLINS

Special Observations:  F=fog, T=thunder, H=hail,
S=sleet, G=glaze, DW=damaging winds
Observation time for this station is midnight.

	Temperature, °F	Precipitation, In.		
			Liquid	Solid	7am
	24-hour		Rain	Snow/	Snow
Date	Max	Min	Equiv	Ice	Depth	Special Obs.

1	48	32	 .80			DW
2	36	29
3	33	26
4	40	24
5	43	34
6	42	35	 .18
7	55	39	 .47
8	48	33	 .02
9	40	32	 .42			F
10	41	37	 .40			F
11	35	28	 .12	   T		F,S
12	30	28	   T	 0.5	 T
13	35	23	 .05	 1.2	 1
14	24	17	 .28	 4.1	 4
15	25	15	   T	 0.2	 4
16	36	14			 3
17	36	22	   T	   T	 2
18	37	21			 2
19	33	1	 .20	 3.0	 2
20	12	-2	   T	   T	 5
21	37	12			 5
22	53	37	 .05		 2	F
23	50	19	 .36	   T	 T	S,H,DW
24	19	14	   T	   T	 T
25	20	5	   T	   T	 T
26	24	15	 .08	 1.5	 T
27	16	10	 .01	 0.5	 2
28	38	9			 2
29	40	35	   T	   T	 1
30	45	35			 T
31	56	39	 .03

AVG/SUM	36.4	23.2	3.47	11.0	 -
EXT	56	-2	0.80	 4.1	 5
Date	31	20	1	  14	21*
*=Also occurred on earlier dates

Miscellaneous Stats:

Mean Monthly Temperature:  29.8 F
Year precipitation to date:  N/A
Season snowfall to date:  11.2"
Number of days with:
	Fog:  4
	Ice Pellets:  2 	
	Glaze:  0	
	Thunder:  0	
	Hail:  1	
	Damaging Winds:  2	

NOTES AND/OR SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:

WINDSWEPT!
1:  Overnight rain heavy at times .80" fell by 7am and 1.00" from this storm.  Mild early with
    a high of 48 F but became cooler and VERY windy.  Temps fell to 39 F by 9:30pm with WNW
    winds sustained 20-30 mph and gusts 40 to 55 mph at times.  Several trees were blown down
    in the neighborhood.  Lots of wind damage and power outages reported throughout the area.
2:  Strong W winds overnight gusting to 40 mph slowly diminished.  Gradual clearing, cool.
3:  Increasing clouds & winds overnight again.  Sustained WNW winds 10-20 mph gusting 30+ mph.
    Chilly/blustery with mostly cloudy skies.
5:  Milder overnight with sustained W winds 20-30 mph gusting over 30 at times.  Temperatures
    slowly dropping with partial clearing.
6:  Fog and drizzle all day.  Light rain during the morning.  A total of .18" fell.
7:  Light to moderate rain all day with rising temperatures to 55 F at 8:30pm.  A total of
    .47" rain fell.  Strong WSW wind gusts increased to over 40 mph by 11pm.
8:  Strong WNW winds overnight and through the day with gusts 35-40 mph.  Overcast through the
    day but became fair by 9:30pm.
9:  A cold light steady rain became a bit heavier during the evening .42" fell.
10: Drizzle & fog overnight and periods of rain throughout the day .40" fell.
11: Some light overnight rain changing to snow showers & flurries during the day and a bit of
    sleet mixed in.  WNW winds gusting to 25 mph.
12: Cold & blustery with flurries & some light snow through the day about 0.5" snow.
13: A little warmer overnight then became cold & blustery with W winds gusting to 35 mph.
    Snow showers and squalls through the afternoon & evening about 1.2" new snow.
14: Overnight snow just short of 4.0" fell by 7am.  Cold and blustery with NW winds gusting
    to 30 mph.  More snow showers this evening total 4.1" snow today (.23" water equivalent).
15: Cold overnight low 15 F with about another 0.2" of snow.  AM flurries gradually becoming
    mostly sunny with diminishing winds.
16: Chilly low of 14 F.  Partly to mostly sunny & warmer with strong SW winds gusting to 40
    mph.
17: W winds continued to gust to 40 mph overnight.  Also a light dusting of snow.  The high
    of 36 F was set at midnight and temperatures dropped through the day.

ARCTIC FRONT
19: Light to moderate snow through the day 2.0" fell by 4pm.  Gusty NW winds 20-30 mph.  Snow
    showers and squalls ended by 8pm then partly cloudy and bitter cold.  Temperatures fell
    from mid 30s overnight to near zero by late evening with frigid wind chills around -20 F.
20: A frigid -2 F overnight with wind chills -10 to -20 F.  Variable clouds with flurries and
    light snow showers through the day.  Blustery & very cold with wind chills below zero.
21: Mostly cloudy with much more moderate temperatues today.  SW winds gusting 25+ mph.
22: Light rain and fog 7-9am .05" fell then partly to mostly sunny and much warmer high 53 F
    with light SW winds.  Virtually all of the snow melted today.

ANOTHER STRONG FRONT
23: Early morning rain .10" by 7am.  Warm with temperatures near 50 F.  Brief cloudburst
    about 10:30am with strong gusty winds 40+ mph and pea-sized hail.  Showers continued
    through 1pm then turned much colder with gusty WNW winds and light snow and sleet showers
    this afternoon and evening .36" precip and a trace of snow/ice.  Some large branches
    snapped in our yard.  Temperatures dropped to 19 F by midnight with wind chills near zero.
24: A cold low of 14 F overnight with a few flurries.  Diminishing NW winds.
25: Dusting of snow overnight and a cold low of 5 F.  Light & variable winds, cold all day.
26: Cloudy and blustery with WNW winds gusting 25-30 mph.  Light snow 5:30pm-midnight 1.5"
    fell by midnight.
27: Light snow and flurries overnight another 0.5" by 7am.  Became mostly sunny by late
    morning but remained cold and blustery with NW winds gusting 20-30 mph.
28: Cold low 9 F and mostly cloudy cold morning.  Strong SW breezes to 20 mph this afternoon
    warmed the temperature to 35 F by 2pm.  High of 38 F today.
29: Overnight light snow and drizzle, trace.  Cloudy day with WSW winds gusting to 30 mph.
30: Cloudy and milder high 45 F.  Light SSW winds.
31: Mild overnight and through the day with mainly cloudy skies and occasional light showers
    only .03" fell.  Gusty WSW winds to 30 mph at times.

SUMMARY:

December brought a mixed bag of weather.  Temperatures were up and down quite a bit with an
overall mild weather pattern mixed with some arctic cold.  It was a windy month with winds
causing damage on a couple of occasions.  Precipitation and snowfall were scattered through
the month with no really high amounts from any one storm.