December 2008 Climate Summary

Region Breakdown
While November was warmer than normal across the region, December was below normal for most of the region. The monthly average temperature departures from normal generally ranged from -2°F to -6°F, however several locations exceeded 8˚F below normal. Many stations recorded average temperatures that ranked in the top 10 for coldest Decembers on record. Record setting locations include Grand Forks International Airport, ND, Redfield, SD, Cody Municipal Airport, WY, and Lincoln, NE. With the 4th coldest December on record, Grand Forks International Airport had an average temperature of 5.1˚F. Redfield had an average temperature of 9.8˚F which was the 5th coldest December on record. Cody Municipal Airport recorded its 8th coldest December on record with an average temperature of 18.5˚F and Lincoln recorded its 9th coldest December with an average temperature of 23.0˚F.
Areas that have been experiencing an ongoing drought had little relief this month, however other locations across the region received record snowfall.

Precipitation Summary
Precipitation varied quite a bit across the region this month as there were widespread areas of both above and below normal precipitation. Dry locations which received less than 50% of normal precipitation included much of Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas and pockets of eastern South Dakota and north central North Dakota. The Rawlins Municipal Airport in Wyoming recorded no precipitation and tied the record for driest December (last set in 2001).
Areas that received at least 150% of normal precipitation include North Dakota, South Dakota, the western half of Colorado, the northwestern part of Wyoming, and small pockets of Nebraska. Extreme locations in North Dakota and Colorado received above 400% of normal precipitation.
Many locations in North Dakota broke December snowfall records. Most interestingly, Bismarck not only recorded the record December snowfall, but also the total snowfall for any one month. Bismarck recorded 33.3 inches of snow in December breaking the previous record of 21.7 inches set in 1916. Bismarck December snowfall also set the record snowfall for any month by beating the previous record of 31.1 inches set in March 1975.

Climate Outlook
ENSO conditions remained neutral, however ENSO-neutral or La Niña conditions are equally likely though early 2009. NOAA forecasters are predicting chances of above normal temperatures for much of Kansas, southeast Nebraska, and extreme southern Colorado. Equal chances of above, near, or below normal temperatures are predicted for the remainder of the region. Equal chances of above, near, or below normal precipitation exist for all but a large portion of Kansas where there are chances for above normal precipitation. This outlook is produced by scientists at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center. More information can be found here: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/.

The U.S. Drought Monitor remains largely unchanged since last month. Moderate drought (D1) persists in southwest North Dakota, southwest Wyoming, and southeast Colorado. Forecasts indicate that while the drought in Wyoming may improve, the drought in North Dakota and Colorado is expected to continue. Meanwhile, abnormally dry conditions in southwest Colorado have ceased and now the central portion of the state is experiencing abnormally dry conditions.