December 2006: A month of Northern Hemisphere water vapor channel images
An animation of 3-hourly water vapor image composites from AWIPS during the entire month of December 2006 (55-MB QuickTime animation; 1280×1024 screen resolution required) shows the diverse variety of storms that affected the northern hemisphere during that particular month. Strong winter storms left widespread swaths of heavy snow across much of the central US (01, 19-21, 29-31 December), created hurricane-force winds in the Pacific Northwest states (9-10 and 13-14 December), and deposited heavy lake-effect snowfall downwind of the Great Lakes (7-8 December). Outbreaks of severe convection that spawned tornadoes occurred in Pennsylvania (01 December), Florida (25 December), and Texas (29 December); a rare tornado was also reported near London, England (07 December). Super Typhoon Durian (01-05 December) and Typhoon Utor (06-13 December) made landfall in the Philippines and crossed into the South China Sea.