August 2011 was our hottest August on record. We also set a record for the most days of 90 or higher (30), and had our second longest streak of consecutive 90+ days.
December 2011 was warm and dry. No freezes occurred during the month. That is a bit unusual, but not rare. A coming arctic cold wave assures we will have freezes during the first week of January. The lack of freezes has allowed a lot of gnats to survive, which is annoying.
December had an average temperature of 58.7, which is 4.6 degrees above normal. Rainfall was 1.32", exactly half of the average monthly total of 2.64". Warm and dry. Again. Almost all the rain fell on December 12th.
January is normally our coldest month, with an average temperature of 51.4 degrees according to the 1981-2010 normals. January also averages a little wetter than December, with a monthly total of 3.20". I hope we are above average this month. That may not mean much--both 2010 and 2011 saw rainfall near or above normal in January, before the rest of the year became crackingly dry.
The latest monthly normals for 1981-2010 vs 1971-2000 show January having 0.48" less rain and being 0.3 degrees colder.
The technical weather discussion from the Jacksonville weather office can be read here.
St. Simons Island's official weather observations for the past 72 hours can be viewed here.
Some records I keep for extremes in our area (since November 22, 2003)
Record high....... June 14, 2010...................................98.4
Highest low........July 9, 2005......................................80.4
Lowest high.......January 9, 2010.................................35.4
Lowest low.........December 14, 2010...........................21.7
Highest waves (buoy 41008).....February 27, 2005........13.8 feet
Lowest waves...(same buoy)....many dates..................0.7 feet
Highest pressure......January 3, 2008..........................30.75" / 1041.2 mb
Lowest pressure.......March 2, 2010............................29.43" / 996.8 mb
Highest wind..............May 21, 2008............................47 mph sustained, gust 66 mph
Heaviest rain..............October 4, 2005........................6.78"
................................October 5, 2005........................7.94" {Tropical storm Tammy}
Altamaha River
Highest stage / greatest flow.........April 11, 2009.....................14.58 feet / 96,500 cfs
Lowest state / lowest flow.............September 18, 2011............0.87 feet / 1,170 cfs
Tidal departure
April 15, 2007......................-3.50 feet
August 22, 2008..................+4.01 feet {Tropical storm Fay}
Date..............actual..............normal................departure.............notes
JANUARY WEATHER DIARY
Jan 1...........52.9 / 70.2.......43.6 / 60.4...........+9.5
Jan 2...........40.1 / 62.2.......43.6 / 60.4............-0.8
Jan 3...........28.4 / 41.7.......43.6 / 60.4...........-16.9
Jan 4...........25.2 / 51.3.......43.6 / 60.3...........-13.7
Jan 5...........36.9 / 62.8.......43.5 / 60.3...........-2.0
Jan 6...........41.7 / 65.8.......43.4 / 60.3..........+1.9
Jan 7...........46.8 / 68.9.......43.4 / 60.3..........+6.0
Jan 8...........50.0 / 71.1.......43.3 / 60.1..........+8.8
Jan 9...........52.3 / 70.2.......43.2 / 60.2..........+9.5
Jan 10.........50.5 / 68.0.......43.3 / 60.3..........+7.5
Jan 11.........53.4 / 64.9.......43.3 / 60.3..........+7.3.........0.46" rain.....29.67" (1004.7 mb)
Jan 12.........46.8 / 68.7.......43.2 / 60.3..........+6.0
Jan 13.........36.3 / 59.2.......43.0 / 60.2...........-3.8
Jan 14.........31.3 / 52.7.......42.9 / 60.2...........-9.5
Jan 15.........37.8 / 59.7.......42.7 / 60.2...........-2.7........30.50" / 1032.8 mb
Jan 16.........40.8 / 62.6.......42.6 / 60.1..........+0.3........30.55" / 1034.5 mb
Jan 17.........47.7 / 70.3.......42.6 / 60.1..........+7.6
Jan 18.........45.5 / 64.0.......42.5 / 60.1..........+3.4........0.03" rain....coldest daily average temp for year
Jan 19.........35.4 / 57.4.......42.5 / 60.1...........-4.9.......coldest daily average temp for year
Jan 20.........43.3 / 70.7.......42.6 / 60.3..........+5.5
Jan 21.........55.2 / 71.2.......42.7 / 60.2........+11.2
Jan 22.........55.0 / 63.5.......42.6 / 60.1..........+7.9
Jan 23.........54.9 / 68.7.......42.6 / 60.1........+10.4
Jan 24.........58.6 / 71.1.......42.7 / 60.2........+13.4
Jan 25.........57.7 / 70.0.......42.7 / 60.3........+12.3
Jan 26.........58.6 / 72.3.......42.7 / 60.2........+14.0
Jan 27.........49.5 / 69.3.......42.7 / 60.2.........+7.9........0.04" rain
Jan 28.........43.5 / 67.1.......42.7 / 60.3.........+3.8
Jan 29.........41.2 / 59.7.......42.8 / 60.4..........-1.1
Jan 30.........35.1 / 62.6.......42.9 / 60.5..........-2.8
Jan 31.........40.6 / 67.5.......43.0 / 60.6.........+2.2
Highs for 2012
40s..........1
50s..........4
60s..........13
70s..........13
Lows for 2012
20s..........1
30s..........6
40s..........12
50s..........11
60s..........1
Freezes: 2
On January 24 St. Simons Island tied their record warmest low temperature of 59 degrees. The record was originally set in 2002.
8 day model forecast graphic:
