December featured brief but historically snowy, cold weather across the South. First, as much as 30 inches of snow blanketed the lower Ohio Valley on December 22-23. Then, deep south Texas's first measurable snowfall in more than a century coincided with its first "White Christmas" in recorded history. Farther north and west, however, warmer- and drier-than-normal weather prevailed in most areas from the High Plains to the Mississippi River. Somewhat wetter conditions were observed in the Great Lakes and Northeastern states, although much of the rain and snow fell early in the month. Toward the end of December, stormy weather returned to California, the Great Basin, and the Southwest, following a nearly month-long respite. The Western precipitation caused local flooding and mudslides but padded high-elevation snow packs and further eased long-term drought. In contrast, snow packs remained mostly below normal for December across the northern Rockies and northern Intermountain West.
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