HDR1012000170100111961500WEEKLY WEATHER & CROP BULLETIN National Weather Summary Volume 83, No. 2 December 31, 1995 - January 6, 1996 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: A suddenly amplified and energetic weather pattern featured early-w development of record snowfall from the Ohio Valley into the Northeast. Arctic high pressure blanketed New England for much of the week and drove southward through the Plains at week's end. On the last day of 1995, daily-record warmth--including a high of 74 degrees F in Las Vegas, NV--overspread the West, while heavy rain ended a 2-month dry spell in Peninsular Florida. Consecutive daily-rainfall records were established in Daytona Beach, FL, where a 1.98-inch total on Sunday was followed by a 3.19-inch deluge. Meanwhile, a developing storm plunged southeastward, spreading snow into the Rockies and high winds across the Southwest, where wind gusts reached 59 mph in Albuquerque, NM and 53 mph in El Paso, TX. By Tuesday morning, an inch of snow covered El Paso, while 7 inches blanketed Wink, TX. Farther east, heavy snow quickly spread from north-central Texas and eastern Oklahoma to New England, while showers swept across the Southeastern and Gulf Coast States. Storm-total snowfall reached 8 to 10 inches in the Ozark and Ouachita highlands, including 8.3 inches in Springfield, MO. Farther northeast, January 2-3 totals reached 4.1 inches in Evansville, IN, 12.3 inches in Cleveland, OH, and 12.6 inches in Boston, MA. In addition to snowfall, northeasterly winds gusted to 43 mph in Cleveland (on Tuesday) and 40 mph in Boston (on Wednesday), producing blizzard conditions. Rochester, NY received a 24-hour snowfall of 23.0 inches on Wednesday, topping their record of 22.8 inches, set on February 6-7, 1978. Farther south, early-week rainfall surpassed 2 inches in locations such as New Orleans, LA and Chattanooga, TN. In the West Coast States, warmth continued through Tuesday, resulting in more than two dozen daily records. On January 2, Alameda (68 degrees F) notched its third consecutive record, while highs reached 60 degrees F as far north as Walla Walla, WA. Warmth also briefly visited Florida on Tuesday, where highs of 86 degrees F in Miami and 80 degrees F in Tallahassee were among the half-dozen daily records. In contrast, bitterly cold air overspread New England at midweek, producing a daily-record low of -25 degrees F in Caribou, ME. Farther west, approaching Pacific energy fueled winds that gusted to 60 mph in Cheyenne, WY and 38 mph in Salem, OR. On Thursday, a storm again slid southeastward through the Rockies, producing a daily-record precipitation total of 0.27 inches (4.2 inches of snow) in Casper, WY. Farther east, frigid high pressure built across the Northeast, resulting in nearly two dozen daily records. On Saturday, lows fell to -23 degrees F in Burlington, VT and -24 degrees F in Syracuse, NY. A low of -19 degrees F in Albany, NY was their lowest since January 27, 1994. At week's end, an explosive combination and optimum trajectories of upper-level energy, ocean-moisture inflow, and Arctic high pressure resulted in an expansive snow shield in the East. The first of many snowfall records occurred in Greensboro, NC, where the 6.0-inch total on Saturday broke their daily record. (A complete storm summary, including snowfall records in the East and information on freezing temperatures in southern Texas and Peninsular Florida, will appear in next week's summary.)