Warmest and least snowy December on record

 

Happy New Year! With the start of a new year and month comes the end of a December that broke numerous records both with warmth and a lack of snow. Let's start with the temperatures. The average temp during the month of December was 39.5* which was a whopping 10 degrees above average and goes down as the warmest December on record. The warmest temp during December was an impressive 58* but the coldest temp was even more impressive that it only dropped to 18*.

With all the warmth we hardly saw any snow. In Milwaukee we did not get any measurable snow on record with only a trace of snow reported. That's only the third time on record that we didn't get measurable snow during the month of December and the first in 80 years! Only 1943 and 1894 saw a trace of snow as well. 

What we lacked in snowfall we actually made up in rainfall. For the month of December we actually saw above average precipitation with 2.22" of rainfall above the average of 1.88" and the 56th wettest December on record. 

In addition to it being the warmest December on record we also broke records for the most days with a high temperature at/above 40* with 25 days and the most nights above 32* with 20 nights. In addition, every day during the month of December got above 32* which is only the second time in recorded history that we've done that in Milwaukee.

Now we are in the month of January which is typically our coldest and snowiest month on average. The month averages almost 15" of snowfall. The temperatures typically reach their coldest part of the month during the third week of the month but barely change much with average highs in the low 30s throughout the month and lows in the upper teens.

Download the CBS 58 Ready Weather app to track the expected weather throughout January.