You might get your wish if the New Year’s weekend is any indication. Clear skies blessed us and the soggy ground could have dry if the sun would give us a break.
There are some interesting statistics offered by NOAA out of their Wakefield satellite station concerning our latest wacky weather.
It’s no surprise that December was one of the wettest on record. The region had just short of six inches of rain (5.94), twice the normal amount, which was 2.7 above normal, .888 over last year.
The most we had. On Dec. 23 – 24 we had a whopping 2.77 inches. We had 1.49 inches followed closely by the day after (Dec. 24) and the day before at 1.30 inches and 1.08 inches respectively.
There were other days that followed close behind – a total of 26 days of a trace or more of rain in December.
It didn’t rain every day, although it felt like it. On the lighter side, we had temperatures above average – The average temperature was 52.1 degrees and the one-day high of 76 degrees was Dec. 12. The departure from normal 10.9 degrees averaged for the 31 days in the month.
The 2014 weather stats pale in comparison with last December. There were 13 days below freezing. Temperatures were a departure from normal of -1 degree. That is over an 11 degrees less than December in 2015.
We also had a somewhat dry December last year. The number of inches of rain totaled 3.14, almost 3 inches less than 2014.
Knock on wood, we still have 81 days of winter and if December temperatures are any indication of what the rest of the winter will be like we are all set.
NOAA‘s 90-day forecast predicts even-steven temperatures for the next 90 days. Percentages are 36 percent above average, 34 percent average and 30 percent below normal average.
But beyond that, above-normal temperatures will increase to 42 percent of days through the summer months;like a cat on a hot tin roof.
