December 1997 LaVale MD Weather Summary Observer Nate Mullins Special Observations: F=fog T=thunder H=hail DW=damaging wind S=sleet G=glaze Temperature, F Precip Date Max Min Liquid Solid Special Obs 1 42 28 2 38 28 3 50 36 T 4 53 43 .03 5 40 29 .01 6 32 22 T 0.2 7 35 20 T T 8 35 28 9 37 30 .01 10 34 28 .39 0.1 F,S,G 11 34 29 F 12 41 24 T T 13 42 21 14 40 24 15 46 17 16 52 18 17 51 23 18 48 20 19 54 25 20 52 25 21 43 30 22 33 25 .43 0.2 F,S,G 23 44 31 .02 F 24 39 35 .40 F 25 46 33 .03 F 26 43 26 27 34 26 .23 2.0 28 34 18 29 31 16 .49 7.5 30 38 25 .04 1.0 31 28 11 .03 1.0 Tot 40.9 25.6 2.12 12.0 Ext 54 11 0.49 7.5 Date 19 31 29 29 Mean Monthly Temp 33.3 F Fog days 6 Sleet days 2 Glaze days 2 Significant Events 1: Mostly sunny skies with howling winds 25-35 mph and higher gusts. 6: A chilly day with partly cloudy skies and gusty winds. Snow showers this evening brought about 1/4" snow. 7: Another windy day with 25+ mph gusts from the WNW and snow flurries but no measurable accumulation. 10: Light to moderate rain and freezing rain during the morning. Some fairly heavy rain again between 5-6:30pm total .39" fell today with a slight coating of ice plus a bit of sleet. 19: A milder day high 54 F with fair skies. 22: Sleet & freezing rain began about 8:15am. Light rain & freezing rain between 10-12:30pm with temperatures steady around freezing. Afternoon drizzle & fog. Some heavier showers this evening melted the ice total .43" fell. 24: Light rain developed by 3:30pm. Period of heavy rain between 5-6:15pm then drizzle continued through the evening .40" fell. Breezy at times. 27: Light snow through the morning gradually tapered to flurries by mid-afternoon 2.0" snow fell melting to .23" precip. 29: Cold low 16 F this morning with clear skies. Became cloudy by late morning. Heavy snow between 12:20-3pm nearly 4" falling in less than 3 hours. Light to moderate snow continued through midnight bringing the days's snow total to 7.5 inches, the heaviest of 1997. Melted down to .49" liquid precip. 30: Flurries & light snow overnight with little additional accumulation. Mostly cloudy & breezy with temperatures below freezing most of the day. Heavier snow showers this evening dropped an inch of new snow. 31: Cold and blustery with mostly cloudy skies. Heavy snow squall around 9am dropped an inch of snow in only 15 minutes. Temperatures fell to a chilly 11 F by late evening with flurries continuing. Summary: December ended the streak of below-normal temperatures. It was a relatively mild and quiet month with few extremes. The precipitation pattern was dry until a series of minor storms brought periods of rain, ice and snow the final 10 days. Precipitation was below normal but snowfall was above normal, with 7.5" falling from a Nor' Easter on the 29th. Additional notes/records December was the only month in 1997 with no daily temperature records set. 7.5" of snow on the 29th did not set a daily snow record (the record was 10.0" in 1967) but the additional 1.0" on the 30th actually did set a daily snowfall record. 1997 was the 2nd coolest year on record with a mean temperature of 49.2 F, beating out last year's mark of 49.5 F.