A Look Back to the December Climate Report

news image
Special Stories
22 Jan 2020 6:00 AM
The stats are in for 2019, but let's also take a look back to last month. Here's the December 2019 Climate Highlights from NOAA NCEI:

TEMPERATURE

  • December was a relatively warm month across most of the Lower 48. Much-above-average temperatures were observed from the South to the central Plains and into the Great Lakes as well as across much of the Tennessee Valley and Florida. Nine states throughout the South and Southeast ranked in the top ten percent of the 125-year record. No state had a December average temperature which ranked below-average.
  • For December, the average contiguous U.S. temperature was 36.5°F, 3.8°F above the 20th century average. This ranked as the sixth warmest December in the 125-year period of record and was the warmest such month since the record warm December of 2015.  Warm records in December outpaced cold records by a six-to-one margin. There were 4,098 warm daily high (1,890) and low (2,208) temperature records tied or broken during December. There were approximately 643 daily cold high (399) and low (244) temperature records set during the month.

PRECIPITATION

  • The December precipitation total for the contiguous U.S. was 2.53 inches, 0.18 inch above average, and ranked in the middle third of the 125-year period of record.
  • Above-average precipitation occurred across parts of the West, central and northern Plains, Great Lakes and from the Southeast into parts of New England. Minnesota ranked fourth wettest for December. Below-average precipitation fell across portions of the Northwest, South and Mississippi Valley. Louisiana ranked eighth driest for the month.
  • According to the December 31 U.S. Drought Monitor report, approximately 11 percent of the contiguous U.S. was in drought, which is similar to the extent of drought noted at the beginning of December. By the end of 2019, drought was entrenched across the Southwest, Texas, the Pacific Northwest and across portions of the Alaskan Panhandle, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
 
All Weather News
More
Top Weather Events of 2025

Top Weather Events of 2025

As 2025 wraps up, we're taking a look back at

30 Dec 2026 9:00 AM
Tornadoes Confirmed In Illinois From Sunday

Tornadoes Confirmed In Illinois From Sunday

TAZEWELL COUNTY, IL - On December 28th, a st

30 Dec 2026 2:45 AM
More Rounds of Snow For The Northeast

More Rounds of Snow For The Northeast

WHAT TO EXPECTAs we are coming off the heels

30 Dec 2026 2:40 AM
Weather for the Ball Drop: What to Expect as 2026 Begins

Weather for the Ball Drop: What to Expect as 2026 Begins

As we say goodbye to 2025 and ring in 2026, m

30 Dec 2026 2:35 AM
Arctic  Air Blasts Central & Southern U.S.

Arctic Air Blasts Central & Southern U.S.

Sunday brought another day of record warmth,

30 Dec 2026 2:00 AM
Blizzard Conditions In the Upper Midwest, Portions of I-35 Shutdown

Blizzard Conditions In the Upper Midwest, Portions of I-35 Shutdown

UPPER MIDWEST - Blizzard alerts are in place

29 Dec 2026 12:20 PM
Tornadoes Touch Down in Illinois Sunday

Tornadoes Touch Down in Illinois Sunday

A cold front is moved through portions of the

29 Dec 2026 9:55 AM