Interesting Temperatures So Far

December, 2010, has been anything but typical!! Here are a couple of temperature observations from yesterday and for the month of December, 2010, so far!

First, yesterday. Yesterday was an unusual day in temperature trends – the kind we see from time-to-time but not that often. Here is the graph of my temperature values for the last 24 hours.

As you can see, the temperature has been steadily rising since 9 am on December 15. Actually, the low for the 15th at my location occurred just after midnight and the high for the day came 24-hours later just before midnight. Fascinating to have the diurnal change in temperature so out of sync with what we see on a typical day.

Now, turning to the monthly average temperatures, December, 2010, seems headed for the top ten in coldest Decembers on record.

So far for the first 15 days of December, 2010, the average high has been 47.5 which is well below the monthly average high of 56.0! And the low follows right along with its warmer brother. The average low for the first 15 days stands at 27.4, about 8 degrees below the average low for the month at 35.2.

Where does this put December, 2010, in the list of monthly temperatures? At mid-month, December, 2010, is the 4th coldest month on record for highs in Birmingham. For lows, we are in second place. Holy chill pill, Batman ! !

Will these values change? It is very likely they will. What I’m trying to do is point out the severity of the cold we have been experiencing so far. But there is also some indication that this month is going to be recorded as one of the coldest here in over 100 years. Right below is the 14-day forecast of the NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation). Temperatures tend to be below average when the NAO is negative. The forecast suggests that the NAO will remain negative through the first of 2011, hinting at one of the colder Decembers.

One of the things I love about the weather is how it is never the same! And December, 2010, has already been a wild month!

-Brian-

Category: Alabama's Weather