December 2024 Climate Summaries
(Including Annual ReCap)
Mobile Alabama and Pensacola Florida Area
Joe Maniscalco - Observation Program Leader (OPL)/Meteorologist
POC for Observation, Climate, and COOP
National Weather Service Mobile Alabama
January 14, 2025
December 2024 in Review - December at Mobile and Pensacola opened up with temperatures below normal for the first week and ended the month the exact opposite. For December 1st to the 7th, Mobile's daily highs averaged 5.3° below normal and ended the month warmer on the means averaging 8.3° above normal from the 25th to the 31st. For the same period, Mobile's daily lows averaged 11.3° below normal to start the month and ended the month warmer on the low temperature means averaging 9.7° above normal. For December 1st to the 7th, Pensacola's daily highs averaged 7.0° below normal and ended the month warmer on the means averaging 4.9° above normal from the 25th to the 31st. For the same period, Pensacola's daily lows averaged 9.1° below normal to start the month and ended the month warmer on the low temperature means averaging 8.7° above normal. Between the two periods of extremes, periods of warm and well above normal temperatures were followed by daily temperatures falling to below, and at times much below, normal following the passage of a series of strong cold fronts. Overall, average monthly temperatures were close to December normals by about a half to one degree above normal at both sites. At Mobile, the warmest highs lifted to a range of 78° to 80° on three occasions, with two of these days reaching new record highs. At Pensacola, there were a few days of daily highs reaching well above normal, into the mid to upper 70's, with one of those days matching a record daily high. On Christmas Day, Santa found it on the mild side as his sleigh landed on central Gulf coast rooftops with morning lows in the mid 40's, a few degrees above normal.
Mobile saw a wet December with a surplus in monthly rain as the rain gauge received over nine inches. Over a third of the monthly rain came in one day with the gauge measuring a new one day record rainfall on the 27th at 3.47". At Pensacola though, monthly rainfall was just a hair short of normal. Drought conditions did see it's grip lessen along the Gulf coast by the close of the month.
Mobile Alabama Area [Climate Normal Period 1991-2020, Climate Record Period 1872 to Present]- The average monthly high of 65.8° was 2.3° above normal. The average monthly low was 42.9° or 0.1° below normal. The average monthly temperature of 54.4° was 1.1° above normal. The highest temperature for the month, 80°, occurred on the 17th and was 17° above the normal for the date. This also broke the previous daily high of 78° set on this date back in 2008 and 1971. The next day, another record high was set with the 18th reaching 78° which broke the previous record of 77° set on this date back in 2006 and 1967. The lowest temperature occurred on the 22nd, dipping to 30° and 12° below normal for the day. (Fig. A) shows a graphical representation of how the Mobile area temperatures compared to the monthly normal daily highs and lows, which are shown by the colored dashed lines. Bar graphs reflecting the daily high/low temperature departures from normal are provided in (Figs. B and C). The rain gauge collected 9.26" for the month (Fig. D), or 3.81" above normal. Over a third of the monthly rain came in one day with the gauge measuring a new one day record rainfall on the 27th at 3.47". This smashed the previous record of 2.90" set on this date back in 1942.
December Top Records for the Month During the Period of Record for the Mobile Area:
Click on the Mobile Alabama area climate graphics below to expand:
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Pensacola Florida Area [Climate Normal Period 1991-2020, Climate Record Period 1879 to Present] - The average monthly high of 65.5° was 0.4° above normal. The average monthly low was 46.5° or 0.6° above normal. The average monthly temperature of 56.0° was 0.5° above normal. The highest temperature for the month, 78°, occurred on the 17th and was 13° above the normal for the date. This also tied a record, matching the previous occurrence set on this date back in 2016 and 1971. The lowest temperature occurred on the 22nd, dipping to 33° and 12° below normal for the day. (Fig. F) shows a graphical representation of how the Pensacola area temperatures compared to the seasonal normal daily highs and lows, which are shown by the colored dashed lines. (Figs. G and H) shows the daily high/low temperature departures from normal. The rain gauge collected 5.12" for the month (Fig. I), or 0.28" below normal for the month.
December Top Records for the Month During the Period of Record for the Pensacola Area:
Click on the Pensacola Florida area climate graphics below to expand:
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2024 (A Recap):
Mobile: 12 record daily high temperatures were reached. Of the records, 10 highs were newly set and 2 were tied. October saw the most record highs at 4 days of occurrence. Nighttime lows were record setting when 10 mornings seeing new record high low temperatures reached. Of these records, 7 high lows were newly set and 3 were tied. 2024 stands as the second warmest with a mean average temperature of 70.4°.
The low temperature of 74° on November 7th matched the highest low temperature for the month since records have been kept, matching the other occurrence on November 5th, 2003. For consecutive run days of Lows > 77°, 2024 ranked fifth warmest. The Spring months were fifth warmest and the Fall months stand tall at second warmest. No record lows were reached.
Annual rainfall of 66.10" fell shy of normal by nearly an inch at 0.98". The driest month was October when only 0.52" of rain fell. The wettest month was July at 10.87". Record daily precipitation was reached on 5 occasions.
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Pensacola: Only 2 record daily high temperatures were reached. Of the records, both were tied. Night-time lows were record setting when 10 mornings saw new high low temperatures reached. Of these records it was evenly split, 5 high lows were newly set and 5 were tied. November saw the most record high lows at 5 mornings of occurrence. No record lows were reached.
Annual rainfall of 64.60" fell below normal by well over three inches, at 3.71". The driest month was August when only 0.96" of rain fell. The wettest month was July receiving 8.79". Record daily precipitation was reached on 4 occasions.
A tabular breakout of 2024 records from Mobile and Pensacola are provided below.
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No tropical cyclones directly impacted the local area in 2024. The closest storm to the NWS Mobile forecast area of responsibility was Hurricane Francine which lifted northward over the southeast LA coast in September. The daily temperature and precipitation records, their dates of occurrence and whether they were broken or tied are provided in following images below. A detailed listing of annual, monthly, and seasonal records is also provided.
2024 Temperature/ Precipitation and Records:
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2024 Drought: Due to an extended period of dry weather with rainfall deficiencies ramping as we moved out of the wet summer months, high intensity drought took a foothold over the NWS Mobile/Pensacola forecast area of responsibility by the middle to latter end of August. Drought worsened more markedly in areal land coverage beginning in late October continuing into early December. This drought event did ease some to close out the month of December. Local Drought History: Click=> NWS Mobile/Pensacola Interactive Historical Drought Information, to view additional details on local drought since 2000.
2024 Severe Weather: At present, the official severe storm event database indicates the occurrence of 23 tornadoes impacting the National Weather Service (NWS) Mobile County Warning Area (CWA). Note, there were additional tornadoes that impacted the local area at the end of December with ten yet to be included in the official storm events database. Considering those would take the total to 33 for the year. Of the 33, there were four in which intensity could not be determined.
Here is the break-out of tornadoes from 2024 by EF-Tornado Scale, not including ones of unknown intensity - EF0: 8, EF1: 15, EF2: 6, EF3: 0, EF4: 0, EF5: 0. The numbers of EF0, 1, and 2 tornadoes this year are well above the typical numbers of occurrence for any given year considering tornado climatology dating back to 1950.
Details of tornado surveys are provided in the Past Significant Weather Events link. NCEI's Storm Events Database can be referred to as well.
Additional December 2024 Climatology and Topics
The focus of the heaviest rain in December was along a stripe from coastal Mississippi up along the southern portions of the I-65 corridor where 10 to 15 inches of monthly rain was estimated via radar. This was also supported by the CoCoRaHS volunteer observer network. These amounts were some 5 to 8 inches above normal. Where the heavier rainfall footprint was established saw 150% plus of normal December rainfall. Within this zone, pockets of upwards of 200 to 300% of normal rainfall was realized. Fig. K shows the areal monthly rainfall total, Fig. L shows the areal rainfall departures from normal and Fig. M, the areal percent of normal rainfall.
The latest December 2024 Monthly Climate Summary for Eglin Air Force Base (KVPS) and Duke Field (KEGI) has been provided courtesy of Mr. David Biggar, Staff Meteorologist, 96th Weather Squadron. Provided by permission.
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January 2025 Climatology, Seasonal Climatology and Outlooks:
The latest outlook for January presents a pattern that favors below normal temperatures and equal chances of above or below normal precipitation. Although drought severity has lessened, the seasonal outlook suggests drought could return.
Click on the snap shots below to expand:
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Outlook |
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Additional Climate Links:
The National Weather Service Mobile Alabama's Climate and Past Weather page provides climate data at your fingertips for many observation points in the local forecast area by accessing the NOWData tab as well as many other climate resources. The Climate Prediction Center Link provides short and longer range climatic outlooks and education about the larger scale global circulations that impact temperatures and weather. With the large agriculture and farming presence along the central Gulf coast, the Drought Monitor link provides updates on drought trends and impacts. Another very helpful resource is the Community Collaborative Rain Hail and Snow (CoCoRaHS) network, which is a large group of volunteers working together to measure and map precipitation (rain, hail, and snow). The aim of CoCoRaHS is to provide the highest quality data for natural resource, education and research applications. You can be a part of the CoCoRaHS team by becoming a volunteer rainfall observer.
Questions or Comments:
Contact: Joe Maniscalco - Observation Program Leader WFO Mobile, AL at joe.maniscalco@noaa.gov
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