Tuesday, December 24, 2013

How does this December cold stack up against previous years in the Twin Cities?

The month of December has felt like a one, two punch of cold and snow or snow and cold.  High temperatures have been running below average for a good portion of the month in the Twin Cities.  But how cold has it really been in December compared to other years?

month_hilo_plot_dec2013

Oddly enough, while it seems we have been shivering all month long, we have not seen anything in the way of record breaking temperatures.  Not even flirting with such extremes on either the high or low end of the spectrum.  Here are the daily high/low temperature records for December in the Twin Cities:

dec_records_msp

As of December 23rd, the average monthly temperature in the Twin Cities is 12.8 degrees.  That does not even crack the top 15 list for coldest Decembers on record.  Thirty years ago saw the coldest December in the metro  with an average temperature of just 3.7 degrees.  During that period, the Cities experienced ten consecutive days of temperatures 10 to 29 degrees below zero.  Now that’s cold!  Like they say, character-building weather.

coldest_dec_MSP

So while it may seem extremely cold, according to the statistics, it has been a typical December.  One could argue we are just not use to it.  Like everyone else however, I am anxiously awaiting warmer weather!

RS