December 2011 Revisited

Compared to historical averages, December 2011 in Hood River was pretty much average in temperature, but pretty much below average in rain, snow, and wind. However, on the bright side (literally), it was sunnier than average.

My station's average temperature of 35.3° was a little cooler than the long term December average of 35.7°, and a little warmer than the more recent (2001-2010) average of 35.1°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 35.0°.

At the risk of saying "my station" a bit too often, the maximum December temperature (at my station) was 56°, and the minimum was 21°. Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 57° and 21°. The high heat index for the month was 56°, and the low wind chill was 19°.

This year, December was notable for having way more daytime and nighttime clear skies than average, even with inversion conditions that should have dictated more clouds. Solar radiation averaged a blazing 98 Ly/day, compared to an average December solar radiation of 70 Ly/day. The maximum solar radiation, 178, occurred on the 2nd. The minimum, 12, occurred on the 28th.

Official precipitation totaled 4.05" at HOXO, and 4.08" at my station, compared to an average of 5.85". The high rain day was 1.40" on the 28th, as the only extended rain event in December rolled through from Christmas through the end of the month.

December disappointed those of us who wanted some snowfall. No White Christmas, not even close. We managed to squeeze 1.0" of the white stuff out of the sky on Dec 14, and that measurement was probably overly optimistic. Average snowfall for December in Hood River is 8.6".

The 24 hour average wind speed at my somewhat sheltered weather station was 1.2 mph, compared to an average December wind speed of 1.9 mph. The peak wind gust was 31 mph on the 3rd. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were undoubtedly higher.

Barometric pressure peaked at a head-imploding 30.82" on Dec 1st, as a deep inversion started the month off. Low barometric was 29.65" on the 30th.

There were no local weather records set in December.

These monthly summaries use data from my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. To view my weather station's data for December 2011, click here.

For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at MCAREC, and HOXO, the automated station located right next to MCAREC.

Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping. In this case, slipping from 2011 into 2012.