December 1989 United States cold wave

December 1989 United States
cold wave
Atmospheric pressure map on the morning of December 22, 1989
TypeCold wave
FormedDecember 1989
DissipatedDecember 1989
Areas affectedUnited States

The December 1989 United States cold wave was a series of cold waves into the central and eastern United States from mid-December 1989 through Christmas. On December 21–23, a massive high pressure area pushed many areas into record lows. On the morning of the 22nd, Scottsbluff, Nebraska, experienced −42 °F (−41 °C). The next morning, the front pushed temperatures in Houston down to 7 °F (−14 °C), the 2nd coldest since 1889. On the 24th Miami airport (inland) had a low of 31 °F (−1 °C), and on the 25th, the low was 30 °F (−1 °C), and Key West had its 4th lowest temperature on record with a low of 44 °F (7 °C).[1] The wave extended all the way into Mexico's Lower Rio Grande Valley, resulting in tens of millions of dollars in damage to the agricultural sector.[2] The December cold wave was actually the second of the year, after a February cold wave had extended into Texas.[3]

An area of low pressure moving northeast from Florida interacted with the cold front to create the Christmas Coastal Snowstorm on December 22–24, the largest snowstorm ever in the southeast United States. All-time snow records were broken in Wilmington, North Carolina (15.3 inches (39 cm)), Cape Hatteras (13.3 inches (34 cm)), Charleston, South Carolina (8.0 inches (20 cm)), and Savannah, Georgia (3.6 inches (9.1 cm)). A snowfall of 0.8 inches (2.0 cm) was measured at Jacksonville and a trace of snow was reported in Tallahassee, and snow flurries were seen in the air as far south as Tampa and Sarasota.[4]

  1. ^ "The December 1989 Cold Wave". NOAA. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference montgomery was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Tompkins, Shannon (10 February 2011). "Tompkins: Documenting Texas coast's big chills". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  4. ^ "Christmas Coastal Snowstorm: December 22-24, 1989". NOAA. Retrieved 21 February 2021.