...1880... The temperature at Charlotte NC plunged to an all-time record cold reading of 5 degrees below zero, a record which was equaled on the 21st of January in 1985.

...1915... Flagstaff, Arizona recorded 31 inches of snow on this day for its greatest one day snowfall total on record.

...1917... A great cold wave set many records in the northeastern U.S. The mercury plunged to 13 degrees below zero at New York City, 15 degrees below zero at Boston and 10 degrees below zero at Newport, Rhode Island, the day maximum temperature only got to 5 degrees.  Temperature readings dipped below zero at Boston five nights in a row. Berlin NH hit 44 degrees below zero in the "Great World War I Cold Wave", and Saint Johnsbury VT reached 43 degrees below zero.

...1933... The temperature reached 50 degrees below zero at Bloomfield VT. It was the coldest reading in modern records for New England. The temperature at Pittsburgh NH reached 44 degrees below zero.

...1955... Anchorage AK reported an all-time record snow depth of 47 inches. (30th-1st)

...1962... The wind chill got to 30 degrees below zero at Newport, breaking the record of 12 degrees below zero set in 1956.  One of the worst blizzards this century for the Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine was in progress. Maine received most of the snow with dangerous wind chills the primary effect over the New Hampshire and Vermont. 46 inches of snow fell at Ripogenus Dam, Maine from the 29th to 31st. Drifts reached 20 feet in Bangor, Maine. The severity of this storm was represented by the incredible snowfall rate at Orono, Maine. 40 inches fell in only 24 hours. Temperatures below zero with winds frequently gusting over 60 mph produced extreme wind chills.

...1968... A new record low temperature for the state of Washington was set in two towns on the same date. The temperature dropped to 48 degrees below zero at Mazama and Winthrop.

...1983... Record cold temperatures once again hit the Gulf States where the temperature at Tupelo, Mississippi was 7 degrees. This was the coldest week on record at Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the coldest December on record at Corpus Christi, Texas. Some areas broke their old temperature records by as much as 12 degrees.

...1984... At Newport, Rhode Island the high temperature soared to 60 degrees, breaking the record of 55 degrees set back in 1948.

...1987... A storm in the western U.S. produced heavy snow in Utah, with 28 inches reported in the Mount Holly and Elk Meadows area. Strong winds prevailed ahead of a cold front in the central U.S. Winds gusted to 46 mph at Dodge City KS, and reached 80 mph at Ruidoso NM. Strong northerly winds, ushering arctic cold into the north central U.S., created blizzard conditions in western Minnesota and central and eastern South Dakota.

...1988... Unseasonably cold weather prevailed in the southwestern U.S. A week of subfreezing temperatures in southern California claimed the lives of five people. Redding CA was blanketed with four inches of snow.

...1989... Extreme cold continued across northern Maine. Milo ME was the cold spot in the nation with a morning low of 38 degrees below zero, and the low of 31 degrees below zero at Caribou ME was a December record for that location. Freezing rain spread across much of Lower Michigan, knocking out electrical power to 1.9 million customers in southeastern Lower Michigan.

...1993... A new record high snowfall for the date was established at Newport, Rhode Island when 5.8 inches fell, breaking the record of 4.2 inches set in 1923.

...2008... 8.8 inches of snow at Fargo, North Dakota on this day brought its monthly snowfall total to 33.5 inches -- the city's snowiest month on record.