1984: Snow fell over the western third of South Dakota on the 23rd, with amounts ranging from 2-16 inches. The northwest received the most snow, with amounts generally 4-8 inches, though Buffalo (Harding County) reported 16 inches, and Custer (Custer County) 11 inches. Several accidents were reported as a result. The heaviest snow reported in the current Aberdeen forecast area was 3 inches at Eagle Butte.
1987: Five to sixteen inches of snow fell in 24 hours in east central and southeast South Dakota from the morning of the 23rd through the morning of the 24th. Some of the larger amounts measured were 9 inches at Huron, 10 inches at Mitchell, Platte and Brookings, twelve inches at Chamberlain, and sixteen inches at Alpena. Heavy snow also fell in southwestern Minnesota, with Big Stone and Traverse Counties in the west central portion of the state missing out on the heaviest snow. Considerable blowing and drifting snow hampered removal, particularly in South Dakota, due to reduced visibilities. Snowfall amounts also included three inches at Castlewood, five inches at Clear Lake, and six inches at Bryant.
1996: Blizzard conditions developed across northeast South Dakota and west central Minnesota in the late afternoon of the 23rd and continued into the late evening. Visibilities were frequently below one quarter of a mile. Two to six inches of new snowfall combined with the already significant snow cover and north winds of 20 to 40 mph to cause widespread blizzard conditions and heavy drifting on area roads. Travel was significantly impacted if not impossible, and one fatality resulted from a head-on collision. Some snowfall amounts in Minnesota included 5 inches at Artichoke Lake and 6 inches at Wheaton and Browns Valley. In South Dakota, 7 inches fell at Britton, Webster, and Clear Lake, with 6 inches at Sisseton and 5 inches at Summit.
1884: At Regina, Saskatchewan the overnight temperature plummeted to -55F, the coldest December night on record there.
1983: Butte, MT fell to their all-time low temperature of -52 degrees (tying the record first set February 9, 1933).
1989: An epic cold wave was responsible for 122 record low temperatures across the central and eastern United States, including the coldest temperatures ever seen in southeast Texas in December: College Station 2 (also their coldest all-time), Houston 7 (#3 all-time), and Galveston 14 (#5 all-time). December 1989 ended up being the coldest month ever recorded at all three of those locations. Topeka, KS plunged to their all-time record low of -26 and Charleston, SC reached their all-time record low of 21. Also, a massive winter storm gave people along the east coast stretching from northern Florida to North Carolina a rare white Christmas. A foot and a half of snow fell near Wilmington, NC.