What a month! Warm temperatures, then precipitation, then cold. It seems December couldn’t make up its mind. The mild part had eight days at 50 degrees or above, one a record high temperature as the photo above of my Davis Vantage Pro weather station showed, and two more readings close to records. But amazingly a white Christmas despite being the warmth. Overall, 15 days were above average and 13 below.
Precipitation was above average and that coupled with the melted snow we had brought the rivers to almost bank full.
Decembers in Great Barrington averages about three inches of rain and 14.5 inches of snow and this December was right on. But it only snowed five days out of the 31 with 9.4 inches measured of on December 11th. The 3.5 inches recorded on the 23rd followed by the coldest temperatures of the month, assured us of a white Christmas. And isn’t that all we want?
The overall total precipitation for the year totaled 48.36 inches for the year, a little less than the 49.51 average
Since December 30th nearly every day has been warmer than average and so far, a brown first month of the year
December facts:
Coldest: 1989 with an average high of 23/low 5.
The month recorded just 6 days above freezing and 9 days below zero
Warmest: 2015 with a September feel. Averages: 50/34. 15 days of 50 or above, 3 days in the record high 60’s. On only 11 days did it dip below freezing
Most snow: 1969 with the 3-day storm that started Christmas afternoon. I wrote “SNOW ACCUMULATION FOR 12/25-26-27 WAS 23 INCHES”
This storm came on the heels of two days of sub-zero temperatures.
Least snow: 1999 with just a scant one-tenth of an inch. Basically, that month was dry with only two inches of rain and only two daytime highs below 30.
Daily weather data for December 2022
