Virginia:

Arlington - " TEMPERATURES IN WASHINGTON THIS DECEMBER WERE WELL ABOVE NORMAL. THE MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 45.3 DEGREES WAS ALMOST SIX DEGREES ABOVE THE 1981-2010 NORMAL...AND WAS CLOSER TO THE CLIMATOLOGICAL NORMAL FOR MARCH THAN DECEMBER. THE MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS THE 6TH WARMEST ON RECORD FOR DECEMBER AND THE WARMEST SINCE 2001. THE WARMEST DECEMBERS ON RECORD WERE 1889 AND 1984...WHEN MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURES WERE BOTH 45.6 DEGREES. THE MONTHLY MINIMUM TEMPERATURE WAS 38.4 DEGREES...WHICH WAS THE WARMEST ON RECORD FOR DECEMBER. THE PREVIOUS WARMEST MONTHLY MINIMUM TEMPERATURE ON RECORD FOR DECEMBER WAS 38.0 DEGREES IN 1982. THE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE REACHED OR DROPPED BELOW 32 DEGREES ON ONLY FIVE CALENDAR DAYS THIS MONTH...WHICH IS THE LEAST NUMBER OF SUCH DAYS FOR DECEMBER ON RECORD. THE PREVIOUS LOWEST NUMBER OF DAYS OF BELOW-FREEZING MINIMUM TEMPERATURES IN DECEMBER WAS SEVEN IN 1972... 1974...1984...2007 AND 2011. TWO DAILY TEMPERATURE RECORDS WERE SET OR TIED IN DECEMBER. ON THE 3RD...A HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 71 DEGREES BROKE THE PREVIOUS DAILY RECORD OF 70 DEGREES IN 1950. ON THE 17TH...A MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 48 DEGREES TIED THE DAILY HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE RECORD THAT WAS SET IN 1984. THE LAST TIME THE TEMPERATURE REACHED 70 DEGREES OR HIGHER IN DECEMBER WAS IN 2008. PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH WAS NEAR NORMAL. NEARLY HALF OF THE MONTHLY PRECIPITATION FELL ON THE 26TH...WHEN A DAILY RECORD RAINFALL OF 1.42 INCHES WAS SET...BREAKING THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 1.31 INCHES SET IN 1943. SNOW WAS OBSERVED ON THREE DAYS THIS DECEMBER...BUT ONLY THE 26TH HAD MEASURABLE SNOWFALL /0.2 INCH/. " - [ + - ] - Notes from NWS Sterling, VA

Bridgewater - Clayton adds: " During the last week of the month, we had 3 "mini-snowfalls" with a total of 5 inches. The temperature for the year was above normal. The precipitation was 1 inch below normal. There were 27 thunderstorms. Snowfall was much below normal. " - [ + - ]

Chantilly - Russ adds these notes: " December was warm with average precipitation. The mean monthly temperature was 42.7 deg (+6.1 deg). The mean high temperature was 51.0° (+5.0 deg) and the mean low temperature was much above normal at 34.4 deg (+7.3 deg). This was our fourth warmest December on record. A record high low temperature was tied on the 16th (43.5 deg). Precipitation was close to average at 2.91" (-0.05"). A daily record 1.30" of rain fell on the 26th. We received snow flurries on Christmas Eve day, snow on the 26th (0.9") which turned to a wintry mix (IP, FrzRn 0.2"), and snow on the 29th (0.25"). Snowfall was 2.4" below normal. Dense fog was observed on the 1st, 2nd, 9th, 10th, 16-18th, 24th, and 25th. *Please note, anemometer is currently partially obstructed from the North and East " - [ + - ]

Dulles - from NWS Sterling (KLWX): " TEMPERATURES AT DULLES WERE WELL ABOVE NORMAL THIS DECEMBER. THE MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 41.9 DEGREES WAS OVER FIVE DEGREES ABOVE THE 1981-2010 NORMAL...AND WAS TIED WITH DECEMBER 2006 FOR THE 4TH WARMEST DECEMBER ON RECORD. THE MONTHLY MINIMUM TEMPERATURE WAS 33.4 DEGREES...THE SECOND WARMEST FOR DECEMBER. ONLY 1982 WAS WARMER WITH A MONTHLY MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 33.7 DEGREES. NO DAILY TEMPERATURE RECORDS WERE SET AT DULLES IN DECEMBER. THE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE REACHED 71 DEGREES ON THE 4TH. THE LAST TIME THE TEMPERATURE REACHED 70 DEGREES OR HIGHER IN DECEMBER WAS 2006. PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH WAS NEAR NORMAL. HALF OF THE MONTHLY PRECIPITATION FELL ON THE 26TH WHEN A DAILY RECORD RAINFALL OF 1.41 INCHES WAS SET...BREAKING THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 1.00 INCH IN 1969. MEASURABLE SNOWFALL WAS OBSERVED ON THREE DAYS THIS DECEMBER...0.2 INCH ON THE 24TH...1.1 INCH ON THE 26TH AND 0.9 INCH ON THE 29TH. THE SNOWFALL ON THE 29TH WAS THE MOST ON RECORD FOR THAT CALENDAR DAY...BREAKING THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 0.3 INCH IN 1993. " - [ + - ]

Glen Allen - Lowell adds these additional notes: " December was very warm as was December 2011 as the monthly mean temperature was 46.0 °, a +6.1 ° departure from the four year Glen Allen average. It is also interesting that December’s mean temperature was 0.5 ° warmer than November's. December had its first 75 ° day on the records at Glen Allen on December 4th and had 3 days of >= 70 ° and 11 days of >=60 °. A new record maximum dew point temperature for December of 66.3 ° occurred on the 10th. On only 13 days did the minimum reach freezing or below which was a new record for December. The lowest temperature was 22 ° occurring on the 31st; only in 2011 was this higher with a 25 ° minimum. The lowest barometric pressure of the month was 29.32 inches recorded on the 21st; the highest was 30.43 inches on December 13th. December didn’t even have a trace of snow and only a slight trace of sleet mixed with rain on the 29th at 3:35 AM. The precipitation total was near average but there was a new maximum record of 14 days with measurable precipitation in December. This was also the cloudiest December with the highest average relative humidity on record for December at Glen Allen. The 35 mph maximum wind gust on the 10th was also a new record for December at Glen Allen. (Records since 2008)

For the year 2012, click the image below to enlarge Lowell's graphic data summary.
To read Lowell's narrative summary for the year, click here.

" - [ + - ]

Herndon - Randy sends these notes: " December was well above normal for temperature and slightly above for precipitation. The temperatures ranged between a high of 73 and a low of 23. We averaged 4.7 degrees above normal for the month. The low of 23 and the average low of 34.5 were the warmest for Dec in my 20 years of record keeping at this site. On the precipitation side, the month was 0.25” above normal with 3.53” measured. Most of the month’s rain came on the 26th when we received 1.81”. We finished the year with 37.32”, which is 8.64” below normal for the year. We did have our first snow of the year and measured 1.3” for the month with 1.0” coming on the 26th. We had snow on the day before Christmas and the day after Christmas; but did not have a White Christmas day. " - [ + + ]

Portsmouth - " December 2012 was the 6th Warmest December in the database to 1976. December 2012 tied with December 1977 for the 9th Wettest December IN THE DATABASE T0 1976. December's average temperature (48.8°) was 4.5° ABOVE NORMAL. An interesting fact: December's average temperature was warmer than the average temperature for November 2012. Precipitation was ABOVE NORMAL by 0.94" or 129% of normal relative to normal Decembers for the period from 1976 to 2011. Frontal passages occurred on the 5th, 7th (WARMFROPA), 11th, 18th, 21st, 25th, 26th, and 29th. Frost was recorded on the 1st, 6th, 7th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 20th, 23rd, 28th, 30th, 31st (heavy). STATION RECORDS: 16th - TEMPERATURE TIED Maximum Minimum 49° [previous 1984]; 17th - TEMPERATURE Maximum Minimum 56° [previous 51° 1992]; 21st - WIND GUST 39mph [previous 35mph 1988]; 26th - RAINFALL 2.16" [previous 1.06" 2007] - [ + + ]

Richmond - from Lowell Koontz in nearby Glen Allen: " The mean temperature for the Richmond International Airport was 46.6 ° which made December the 6th warmest in the past 115 years and the 8th warmest in the past 132 years. The lowest maximum temperature of 45 ° for December occurred on the 28th, which was the warmest December low maximum temperature on record; the previous record was 44 ° recorded in 2011. Richmond’s December minimum temperature was 22 °. Only in 7 years of the past 115 years has this been higher. Richmond’s lowest daily mean temperature for December was 34.5 °, which was the 2nd highest recorded in the past 115 years; only 2011 was higher with 36.5 °. December didn’t even have a trace of snow and this has happened only 13 times before 2012. The 30-year average snowfall for December is 2.1 inches. The 2.83 inches of precipitation for December was -0.43 inch departure and the 61st driest December of the past 115 years. The total precipitation for the year is 36.52 inches, which was a -7.08 inch deficit for 2012. " - [ + - ]

North Carolina:

Fayetteville - from NWS Raleigh RAH: " THE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE DECEMBER 10 AT FAYETTEVILLE REGIONAL AIRPORT WAS 63 DEGREES. THIS BREAKS THE PREVIOUS HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 60 DEGREES SET IN 2008. " - [ + + ]

Greensboro - from NWS Raleigh RAH: " THE HIGH TEMPERATURE DECEMBER 3 AT PIEDMONT TRIAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WAS 73 DEGREES. THIS BREAKS THE PREVIOUS RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 72 SET IN 1970. THE DECEMBER MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS ABOVE NORMAL AT PIEDMONT TRIAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. THIS ENDS FOUR CONSECUTIVE MONTHS OF BELOW NORMAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. THE LAST TIME FOUR CONSECUTIVE MONTHS OF BELOW NORMAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURES OCCURRED FOR THIS LOCATION WAS NOVEMBER 2002 TO FEBRUARY 2003. " - [ + - ]

Raleigh - from NWS Raleigh RAH: " THE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE DECEMBER 10 AT RALEIGH-DURHAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WAS 63 DEGREES. THIS BREAKS THE PREVIOUS HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 61 DEGREES SET IN 2008. THE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE DECEMBER 17 AT RALEIGH-DURHAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WAS 55 DEGREES. THIS BREAKS THE PREVIOUS HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 54 DEGREES SET IN 1937. THE DECEMBER MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE AT RALEIGH-DURHAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WAS ABOVE NORMAL. THIS ENDS FOUR CONSECUTIVE MONTHS OF BELOW NORMAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. THE LAST TIME THERE WERE FOUR CONSECUTIVE MONTHS OF BELOW NORMAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AT THIS LOCATION WAS APRIL 2003 TO JULY 2003. " - [ + - ]

Raleigh - Bob adds: " THE AVERAGE DAILY TEMPERATURE DURING DECEMBER WAS 3.2 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. THIS IS THE FIRST MONTH WITH ABOVE NORMAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURES SINCE JULY 2012. PRECIPITATION WAS ALSO ABOVE NORMAL BY 0.22" AND 2012 ENDED UP 2.27" ABOVE NORMAL. THERE WAS NO WINTRY OR SEVERE WEATHER DURING DECEMBER. " - [ + - ]

North Whiteville - Christopher sends this note: " I will be back up and running reliably in the near future. I had to send the sensor suite and console back to Davis Instruments for repair! The unit has been returned and data will be presented again beginning January 2013. "

Nearby Locations:

TRI-CITIES - from NWS Raleigh RAH: " Tri-Cities received 4.00 inches of precipitation in December, which was 0.63 inches above normal. It ranked as the 24th wettest December on record. Measurable precipitation occurred on 14 days, and just 5 of those days had more than one-quarter of an inch of precipitation. The heaviest precipitation fell on the 10th when 0.96 inches of precipitation was reported. The wettest December of the 74 years of observations taken at Tri-Cities was in 1961, when 6.75 inches of precipitation was recorded. Tri-Cities received an annual total of 46.05 inches of precipitation in 2012, which was 5.04 inches above normal. It ranked as the 17th wettest year on record. The wettest year was in 2003, when 65.64 inches of precipitation was recorded. The monthly-averaged temperature at Tri-Cities in December was 42.7 degrees, which was 4.9 above normal. It ranked as the 14th warmest December on record. The warmest December at Tri-Cities was in 1971, when the average temperature was 47.5 degrees. The annually averaged temperature at Tri-Cities in 2012 was 58.3 degrees, which was 2.6 degrees above normal. It tied with 1990 as the warmest year on record. " - [ + + ]