December 2015 - Wet and Warmest on Record in Milwaukee (Updated 1/7 at 145 pm)

December 2015 was very warm across southern Wisconsin. In fact, December 2015 ranks as one of the warmest Decembers on record for Milwaukee and Madison. It was also one of the wettest on record.

See the tables below for the top 10 warmest Decembers on record, based on average temperature, for Milwaukee and Madison. 

Milwaukee:

Madison:

Below are two maps showing the average temperature across Wisconsin (left), and the other shows the departure from the normal seasonal values (right). It's clear from the departure from the average map that the entire state of Wisconsin was at or above 10°F above the seasonal averages, with some locations in Waupaca and Shawano counties seeing average monthly temperatures 13 to 14° above average!

Click on each map to enlarge

Precipitation was also well above average, and December 2015 ranks as the wettest December on record for Wisconsin. It was the 8th wettest on record at Milwaukee and the 10th wettest at Madison. Precipitation for the month was generally 3.5 to almost 6 inches, in some places, in southern WI. Thi was 2 to 4 inches above average.

The first few days of the New Year will start out with at, or slightly below normal temperatures. There will be a strong cooling trend next week, as indicated by the 6-10 Day Temperature Outlook below (lower left image).

Mild temperatures are still forecast for January 2016, as indicated in the One Month Temperature Outlook (lower right image). Both graphics are from the Climate Prediction Center:

Click on images below to enlarge.

6-10 Day Temperature Outlook	One Month Temperature Outlook

Additional Tidbits:

Milwaukee had eight days that the high temperature reached 50 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. This tied the record for the number of days >= 50 degrees Fahrenheit in December in Milwaukee, which also occurred in 1994 and 1877.

Madison had five days that the high temperature reached 50 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. This ranks as 5th highest on record for Madison. The record is 9 days, set in 1877.

Milwaukee saw nine consecutive December days with temperatures remaining above 32 degrees Fahrenheit, from December 8th through December 16th, 2015. This was the second longest streak of consecutive above 32 degree days in December on record for Milwaukee. The longest such streak was 14 days, which last occurred back in 1877.

In addition, Madison saw seven consecutive December days with temperatures remaining above 32 degrees Fahrenheit, from December 8th through December 14th, 2015.
 

Wood/Schultz/SPM/BSH/REM

NWS Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI