Easterwood Field						College Station, Texas
Monthly Summary for December 2004
	TEMPERATURE			PRECIP.		TEMPERATURE
Day	Maximum	Minimum	*Depart.	Total		MEANS			ACTUAL	DEPART.
1	55	31	-12			Maximum			63.4	0.6
2	65	43	-1			Minimum			41.6	0.1
3	57	40	-7	T		Monthly			52.5	0.3
4	65	43	-1			EXTREMES				DATE
5	72	55	9	0.20		Highest			78	12th
6	74	57	10	0.30		Lowest			25	23rd, 25th
7	70	48	4
8	63	48	1	0.03		DEGREE DAYS			TOTAL	DEPART.
9	77	47	9			Heating			392	-19
10	68	47	4			Cooling			6	-8
11	67	41	1
12	78	46	9			PRECIPITATION			AMOUNT	DEPART.
13	62	43	0			Total Monthly			1.07	-2.16
14	52	34	-10			Total for 2003			56.27	16.60
15	55	28	-10	T		Precipitation Days			6	-2
16	52	42	-5	0.13		EXTREMES			AMOUNT	DATE
17	59	38	-3			24-hour Maximum			0.30	6th, 22nd
18	68	35	1
19	64	40	1			Maximum Wind Gust			38 mph	6th
20	71	40	4	T
21	77	50	13			NUMBER OF DAYS			AMOUNT	DEPART.
22	55	33	-7	0.30		TEMPERATURE
23	40	25	-19			Maximum 90 or higher			0	0
24	36	28	-18			Maximum 32 or lower			0	0
25	48	25	-13			Minimum 32 or lower			6	-2
26	61	28	-5
27	64	32	-2			RECORD BOOK FOR DECEMBER
28	71	44	8			Highest Temperature			89°F	1922
29	71	56	14	T		Lowest Temperature			2°F	1989
30	74	61	17			Highest Minimum			74°F	1982
31	76	62	19	0.11		Lowest Maximum			23°F	1990
						Wettest Month			12.66"	1913
	Temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit					Driest Month			0.10"	1950
	Precipitation in inches					Wettest 24 hours			7.50"	1913
	"T" denotes less than or equal to 0.005"					* Departure of the daily mean temperature,
	BOLDFACE indicates extreme values for the month					as calculated from the average of the
	ITALICS indicate a record was set or tied					maximum and minimum temperatures, from
						the 1971-2000 normals.
New Records Set*
DAY	PARAMETER					VALUE		RECORD		YEAR
Near Records*
DAY	PARAMETER					VALUE		RECORD		YEAR
9th	Tied 2nd Highest Maximum Temperature					77°F		79°F		1985
12th	Tied 4th Highest Maximum Temperature					78°F		81°F		1956
21st	Tied 3rd Highest Maximum Temperature					77°F		79°F		1970
24th	3rd Lowest Maximum Temperature					36°F		23°F		1983
25th	Tied 3rd Lowest Minimum Temperature					25°F		11°F		1983
26th	Tied 4th Lowest Minimum Temperature					28°F		12°F		1983
27th	Tied 3rd Lowest Minimum Temperature					32°F		27°F		1983
30th	Tied 4th Highest Minimum Temperature					61°F		68°F		1992
31st	4th Highest Minimum Temperature					62°F		69°F		1951
*NOTE:  All records are based on observations taken at Easterwood Field (1952-present)
Monthly Review
December was a fitting end to an exciting year of weather.  The month began with much cooler than normal
temperatures and little precipitation.  A low pressure system brought some warmer temperatures and moderate
rainfall to the Brazos Valley.  A high pressure settled over the state, and temperatures warmed up quite a bit.  A
cold front hit the area beginning on the 14th, and temperatures dropped 10 degrees in one day.  A little bit of rain
fell with the front, as well.  Temperatures again warmed to the 70s before a large trough hit the state.
Temperatures plummeted as a large arctic air mass settled over Texas.  While many parts of the state received
snow, College Station remained relatively dry over Christmas.  On the 23rd and 25th, the low reached 25° - the
coldest temperature all year in College Station.  Following the cold snap, temperatures warmed back up into the
70s, some 15-20° above normal.  Unlike most of 2004, only 1.07" of rain fell in College Station, 2.16" below the
December normal.  For the entire year, College Station received 56.27" of rain, the 3rd highest total in College
Station history and only 4.77" behind the 1968 record.
January Normals for College Station
			Temperature
Beginning of the month			60 / 39			Monthly precipitation:			3.32"
Middle of the month			60 / 40			Precipitation days:			9
End of the month			62 / 41			days < 32°F			11
Prepared by:		John Nielsen-Gammon  (State Climatologist)
		Michael Hammer (Undergraduate Assistant)
Internet address:		osc@ariel.met.tamu.edu
Web address:		http://www.met.tamu.edu/osc/
OFFICE OF THE TEXAS STATE CLIMATOLOGIST
DEPARTMENT OF ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE STATION, TX 77843-3150