In December of 2000 temperatures were well below normal. For Austin Bergstrom International Airport, December 2000 was the coldest December of record and also the coldest overall month since January 1979. December 2000 was the coldest month since December 1989 for Austin Mabry, Del Rio and San Antonio. For Austin Mabry and Del Rio it was the 10th coldest December of record, and for San Antonio it was the 5th coldest December of record. Rainfall for the month was below normal over the west part of South Central Texas to above normal over the eastern part of the area, due to rains that fell December 25th and 26th. Most days showed temperatures below normal, and the number of warm days was few. Instead of spotty freeze events, so characteristic of November, widespread freezes came in the predawn to mid morning hours of the 7th, 12th, 13th, 17th, 19th, 22nd, 28th, 29th, and 30th. Much colder weather came the afternoon of the 11th, with a winter precipitation event the 12th and morning of the 13th. A dry, cool surge of air swept through the area on the 16th, followed by another dry cold front Monday the 18th. Another surge of cold, dry air quickly followed the night of the 20th and early morning of the 21st, the first day of winter. Cloud cover that moved in the afternoon of the 22nd, continued through the 26th and into part of the 27th. Clouds then cleared out late the 27th to the night of the 27th and early morning of the 28th. Mostly clear days prevailed the 28th to the 30th, then cloudy skies, drizzle and light rain returned the 31st. Since September 1st, 2000, many extremes of weather transpired. A brief summary of the Main Points follows: Record Heat of September 1st to 5th; Cool and dry weather in wake of a strong cold front in late September; Return to summerlike weather October 1st to 5th; Unseasonably Cold and Rainy Period of October 7th to 11th; Heavy Rains and Flooding from October 21st to 24th, with a severe weather event on October 21st and 22nd; Floods of November 1st to 5th, that ended in a severe weather event Sunday November 5th; Severe Weather Event of November 12th, followed immediately by colder temperatures; Spotty Freezes from Cold Outbreaks in November; Cold and Rainy on November 18th; Severe Weather Event on Thanksgiving, November 23rd; Cold and Rainy December 3rd and 4th; Widespread Freezes of December 7th, 12th, 13th, 17th, 19th, 22nd, 28th, 29th and 30th; Cold Winter Precipitation Event of December 12th and 13th; and Cold rains and cloudy days of December 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th and 31st.

On Friday December 1st a cool front moved through Central and South Central Texas bringing cooler weather the night of the 1st and day of the 2nd. Increasing clouds on the 2nd turned to cloudy conditions the night of the 2nd to occasional cold rain and showers on Sunday December 3rd, as a daytime highs all day were in the 30's across the hill country and near 40 across South Central Texas. Clouds lingered the following day on the 4th, with scattered light rain.

On the 5th cloudy skies and below normal temperatures continued. Drier and cool air swept across the area on Wednesday the 6th. A freeze for most of the area followed the night of the 6th and early morning the 7th. Lows fell to 30 at Del Rio, 30 at San Antonio, 30 at New Braunfels, 26 at Austin Bergstrom, 31 at Austin Mabry, 28 at Hondo, 26 at Juction and 29 at Burnet. Sunny weather in the day of the 7th continued in the day on the 8th, as temperatures warmed ahead of another cool front that moved through the area the night of the 8th. On the 9th moist air and warmer air returned as fog formed in the area after sunrise, then rapidly mixed out to a sunny sky in the afternoon. Fog and drizzle returned in the early morning of Sunday December 10th and slowly broke up in the afternoon.

On December 12th and 13th, a freezing precipitation event came to South Central Texas and ended by mid to late morning of December 13th, followed by clearing skies and some sunshine. On December 11th daytime highs rose into the upper 60s to 70s over most of South Central Texas in the early afternoon, before the sharp temperature drop came, of up to 20 degrees in 20 minutes at some locations, when an Arctic Cold Front swept through the area from early afternoon to near sunset. Many locations showed a 25 to 30 degree temperature drop in the 1st hour following the cold front. By sunset, temperatures were in the 30s over the Texas Hill Country to the 40s over South Central Texas. After midnight on the 12th, temperatures had fallen to the 20s over the hill country to the upper 20s, lower 30s and mid 30s across South Central Texas. In the predawn hours to after sunrise on the 12th, widely scattered areas of freezing drizzle and light freezing rain began to form over the hill country and South Central Texas. The freezing rain and drizzle increased during the day, ahead of a strong weather system to the west. As evening and night came, the affects of the upper level weather system increased, as it moved closer to the area and then east of the area. Freezing rain and showers brought more icy conditions to the area the night of the 12th and early morning of the 13th. Although precipitation amounts were light, they were mostly moderate for such cold conditions. From December 12th to 13th precipitation amounts were as follows: Austin/Mabry 0.58 inches; Austin/Bergstrom 0.90 inches; Del Rio 0.01 inches; and San Antonio 0.42 inches. See Photos of Freezing Rain.

The icy glaze cause damage to some power lines and trees. On the morning of the 13th, trees slumped, weighted down by ice, and some trees experienced damage as limbs broke off. Power lines got broken also. By mid to late morning, temperatures began to go back above freezing, melting the ice and glaze. Partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies in the afternoon allowed daytime highs to rise to the 40s and 50s.

On the 16th, a surge of cool dry air swept through the area, leaving cooler temperatures the 17th. On the early morning of the 17th, lows fell to 36 at Del Rio, 29 at San Antonio, 27 at New Braunfels, 22 at Austin Bergstrom, 21 at Georgetown, 28 at Austin Mabry, 27 at Hondo, 25 at Juction and 25 at Burnet. Daytime highs were mostly in the 50s, low 60s in the Del Rio Area, after 60s on Saturday the 16th. On Monday the 18th, another surge of dry cool air swept through the area, keeping temperatures below normal. In wake of this dry cold front, lows early Tuesday morning the 19th fell to 16 at 10 miles west of Hunt, 18 at 9 miles West Southwest of Burnet, 20 1 mile north of Pandale, 21 at 3 miles north northeast of Kerville, 27 at Del Rio, 29 at San Antonio, 31 at New Braunfels, 30 at Austin Bergstrom, 34 at Austin Mabry, 24 at Hondo, 23 at Juction and 31 at Burnet.

After highs in the 60s the 20th, another cold front swept through the area the night of the 20th and early morning of the 21st. This brought cold and breezy weahter to the area on the first day of winter, as highs for the 21st were near 50 across the hill country to the 50s across South Central Texas. Winter 2000-2001 Officially started in the Northern Hemisphere Thursday, December 21st at 737 am CST. Spring 2001 begins at 731 AM CST March 20th, 2001.

On December 22nd the day started with sunny conditons, then became cloudy in the afternoon. Cloudy and cool weather with occasional drizzle, light rain, and areas of fog prevailed the weekend of the 23rd and 24th.

Christmas Day 2000 ended up as a cloudy, cold and damp day with occasional rain, showers and patchy fog. Rain became heavy at times over the eastern part of South Central Texas in the afternoon and evening. Daytime highs were in the 40s over most of the area, with near 50 to lower 50s from San Antonio west to Del Rio, and south to Eagle Pass and Carrizo Springs. Austin received record rainfall for the Calendar Day of December 25th, with 1.10 inches observed at Austin Bergstrom and 1.52 inches at Austin Mabry, both a record for December 25th.

Rain continued on December 26th. In the early morning hours in areas of rain, widely scattered showers and thunderstorms formed over the northern parts of South Central Texas and over the east half of the Hill Country. A few reports of small hail came during the morning hours. As the day continued, rain, along with showers and thunderstorms moved over southern part of South Central Texas in the late morning and early afternoon. On the 27th, the day began cloudy, then clouds began to breakup from the west late December 27th to the night of the 27th and early morning of the 28th. Mostly clear days prevailed the 28th, 29th, and 30th, with freezes in the early morning hours. Even though the days were sunny, afternoon highs were below normal the 28th, mostly below normal the 29th, and well below normal the 30th, in wake of a surge of new cold air from the north. Skies became cloudy again the 31st, as drizzle and light rain formed over the area, making for another damp and cold day.