December Weather Facts

Day1...

Day2...

1950: A tornado causing F2 damage moved through Madison and Macoupin counties in Illinois. One person was killed and 3 more were injured in a car that was carried 200 yards near Mt. Olive.

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Day3...

1970: The highest temperatures on record at St. Louis (76 degrees) and Quincy (72 degrees) for the month of December were recorded.

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Day4...

2002: The first winter storm of the season dropped from 2 to 5 inches of snow from Central to East Central Missouri. The real accumulating snow did not started around 5 am creating a disastrous morning rush hour in metropolitan areas. A number of areas reported over 100 automobile accidents from 6 to 9 am.

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Day5...

No significant events were recorded

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Day6...

1994: Freezing rain and sleet spread across northern Missouri. By early evening, a layer of ice 1/4 to 1/2 inch was covering most trees, roads, and power lines. As winds increased through out the evening, numerous trees fell and power lines were pulled down causing widespread power outages.

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Day7...

No significant events were recorded.

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Day8...

1991: The highest temperature on record at Columbia for the month of December (76 degrees) was recorded.

1995: Two to five inches of snow fell in advance of an arctic cold front followed by a change to sharply colder temperatures. Rapidly falling temperatures after the snow ended kept roads very slippery and wind chills dipped to the 20 to 35 below zero range.

2007: A slow moving ice storm progressed through the area producing several rounds of precipitation from the 8th to the 11th. Central Missouri saw the brunt of the storm receiving 1/2 to 1 inch of ice and up to 2 inches of sleet. This resulted in many power outages. The St. Louis Metro area saw about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch of ice. More information can be found in our events archives.

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Day9...

1997: An average of 3 to 6 inches of snow fell during the day and early evening. The heaviest snow fell in a band from Montgomery, Pike and Marion counties in Missouri into Adams and Pike counties in Illinois. 1879: A tornado causing F3 damage touched down in Monroe county (MO) and moved through Shelby county (MO). Five farm homes and at least that many barns were destroyed. Some houses were almost leveled to the ground. The tornado caused a total of 5 injuries.

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Day10...

2000: A mixture of freezing rain and sleet left a glaze of ice 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick across northeast Missouri. Some power lines were downed, primarily due to a combination of ice and wind.

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Day11...

1949: A tornado causing F2 damage moved through Marion county (MO). Damage totaled $200,000 in a 20-block area of Hannibal with a few homes completely unroofed. Twelve people were injured along the tornado's path. In central Missouri, one of the worst ice storms of the century struck leaving over 2 inches of ice in some locations.

2010: A strong winter storm progressed through most of the county warning area. The area saw snowfall amounts from 1 to 3 inches with locally higher amounts. This storm also brought gusty winds up to 45 mph decreasing wind chills into the negative teens and producing blowing and drifting snow. More information can be found in our events archives.

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Day12...

No significant events were recorded

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Day13...

2000: The first major snowfall of the season hit virtually all of the eastern half of Missouri. Snowfall from 6 to 12 inches fell across the area. Some schools in rural areas remained closed into the middle part of the next week as the weather stayed very cold and some minor snowfalls kept traveling conditions poor.

2003: A winter storm brought a band of snow to most of the region. The heaviest snow occurred across central and northeast Missouri. Central Missouri saw snowfall totals between 4 and 7 inches. The St. Louis Metro area saw about 2 to 3 inches of snow. Southeast Missouri barely saw a trace. More information can be found in our events archives.

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Day14...

1987: Between the 14th and 15th, 12.7 inches of snow fell at Columbia. This is the 4th greatest 24-hour snowfall total on record for this location, and some of the snow was accompanied by thunder..

2005: The Taum Sauk Dam failed due to overtopping water. More than a billion gallons of water rushed down Proffit Mountain overwhelming the Black River. Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park suffered significant damage as well as surrounding areas. The flow of the water was calculated to be 150,000 cubic feet per second. Luckily, the lower resevoir captured most of the overflow and no fatalities occurred. More information can be found in our events archives.

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Day15...

1948: The highest temperature on record at St. Louis for the month of December (76 degrees) was recorded.

1987: Between the 14th and 15th, 12.7 inches of snow fell at Columbia. This is the 4th greatest 24-hour snowfall total on record for this location, and some of the snow was accompanied by thunder

1989: The 8th lowest wind chill on record for Columbia (-35) was recorded.

1985: the 10th lowest wind chill on record at Quincy (-36) was recorded.

2007: A winter storm produced two distinct waves of winter precipitation across the St. Louis area. The first round generated a wintery mix of rain, freezing rain, sleet, and snow. The second round was more intense producing thundersnow. The St. Louis Metro area received about 8+ inches of snow. That was in the stronger band of snow going from Columbia/Rolla northeast to Springfield, IL. More information can be found in our events archives.

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Day16...

No significant events were recorded

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Day17...

1985: A severe mid-Missouri ice storm knocked out power for up to 26 hours in some locations. Threes and telephone lines were covered with up to an inch of ice.

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Day18...

1957: A tornado outbreak produces 5 separate tornadoes that cause F2 and F3 damage in St. Francois county in Missouri and Randolph and Madison counties in Illinois. The outbreak was responsible for only 2 injuries.

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Day19...

1973: 12.0 inches of snow fell at St. Louis. This is the 6th greatest 24-hour snowfall total on record for this location.

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Day20...

1901: The lowest temperature on record at Columbia for the month of December (-23 degrees) was recorded.

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Day21...

1967: A tornado causing F4 damage killed 3 and injured 52 in Iron county.

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Day22...

1989: The lowest temperature on record at St. Louis for the month of December (-16 degrees) was recorded. The all time lowest temperature on record at Quincy (-22 degrees) was also recorded. 1989: The 3rd lowest wind chill for Columbia (-43) was recorded. In St. Louis the wind chill was recorded as -37 making it the 5th coldest wind chill for that location.

2004: A paralyzing winter storm progressed through southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, and other neighboring states. The counties in our area saw about 1 to 7 inches of snow and snow drifts up to 5 feet deep. Interstate 64 in southwest Indiana was closed for about three days and in Kentucky, about 1,000 people were stranded in their vehicles overnight on Interstate 24. More information can be found in our events archives.

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Day23...

1983: From the 23rd through the 25th, temperatures in Columbia remained below zero for 45 consecutive hours.

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Day24...

1983: The third lowest wind chills for St. Louis (-41) and Quincy (-46) were recorded.

1997: Snowfall of 3 to 6 inches fell across Northeast Missouri on the day before Christmas, much to the delight of area children. Temperatures hovered around the freezing mark helping to keep most area roads in good shape

2002: A Christmas Eve snowstorm hit parts of Southeast Missouri dropping from 7 to 12 inches of snow across the area.

2010: A winter storm moved through the area bringing a wintery mix that quickly transitioned to all snow. This storm also brought two rounds through the region. Snowfall totals ranged from 3 to 6 inches for most of the area. This gave St. Louis its first white Christmas in five years and Columbia its first white Christmas in eight years. More information can be found in our events archives.

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Day25...

1983: The second lowest wind chill for Columbia (-44) was recorded.

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Day26...

No significant events were recorded

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Day27...

2008: Six tornadoes were produced from severe thunderstorms as well as heavy rain across eastern Missouri and west-central Illinois. Two of the six tornadoes were rated EF-1. More information can be found in our events archives.

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Day28...

2012: A winter storm that developed heavy snow progressed across the southern and southeastern portion of the region. There was a thin band dropping 6 to 7 inches of snow. Surrounding areas saw about 3 to 6 inches of snow. The St. Louis Metro area only saw about 0.5 inches of snow and northwest of St. Louis saw no snow. More information can be found in our events archives.

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Day29...

1977: From the 29th through January 23, 1978, there were 26 consecutive days with below freezing temperatures in St. Louis. This is the second longest streak.

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Day30...

No significant events were recorded

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Day31...

2010: A severe linear convective system moved through causing a tornado outbreak with most of the tornadoes in the St. Louis Metro area. The Sunset Hills tornado was the strongest. It was rated as an EF-3. Unfortunately, there was one fatality and a lot of damage to buildings, homes, and a church. There were 9 other tornadoes found ranging from EF-0 to EF-2. Almost all causing some damage to home or other buildings. More information can be found in our events archives.