More cold and dry conditions for February with the average temperature 5 degrees below normal and precipitation almost 1” under its normal. Like January, there was a fair amount of fluctuation in day-to-day temps with 6 days warming to 40 degrees or greater while another 6 held in the teens to single digits for highs.  There were 7 days with measurable precipitation in February, but none of them recorded more than 1/10” - relatively rare for the month (has only been done 11 other times). Snowfall was limited – no surprise – with only 40% (3.9”) of the February normal falling. There were 6 days with measurable snow with only 2 recording more than 1” (but both staying below 2”).

March was more in line with its monthly normal for both temperature and precipitation, finishing just a hair below for both. Temperatures would get quite chilly into the 2^nd week of the month with highs only in the 20s for the 10^th through the 12^th. Mid month brought a brief warm up with a couple days warming to 70 degrees or greater (16^th and 21^st). The 16^th was well ahead of the usual first 70 degree day in a year for La Crosse (April 8^th) and marked it as the 10^th earliest on record. It was a relatively dry first half of the month with only 2 days recording measurable precipitation. There would be 7 more such days from the 18^th through month’s end with the 22^nd and 23^rd (0.87”) accounting for 50% of the March total.  The only measurable snow came at the very end of the month with 0.3” on the 31^st. This was well below the normal March snowfall of 7.3” and tied it for the 8^th least snowiest March on record.

April continued the cool trend for the start of 2022 rounding out 4 ½ degrees below its normal. Highs didn’t climb out of the 50s 12 times (average is 8) while lows didn’t warm above freezing on an equal number of days. Further, there was only one day that managed to warm into the 70s (the 23^rd), well below the average of 5. While April also received below normal precipitation, there were 13 days when measurable amounts fell (average is 11). The precipitation was also spread out with 6 days marking the longest stretch between measurable precipitation. Of the 13, six of those recorded over ¼”. Interestingly, April had 3 days with measurable snow, amounting to an inch – more than what occurred in March on both accounts.

May managed to buck the cold trend of the previous 4 months averaging almost 1 ½ degrees above its normal. However, it was a month filled with warm and cold fluctuations: 15 days where temps were above normal, 15 below and 1 right on the normal. Highs warmed past 80 degrees 8 times, reaching into the 90s 3 times. – tied for 9^th most in a May. While the first 80 degree day of 2022 was over a week later than average, the high of 90 degrees on the 11^th was almost a month sooner than average. Precipitation for May was right around its normal and spread out through the month. There were 15 days with measurable precipitation (average is 12) with 2 days recording over an inch.

Like July, August finished at its normal for temperatures and just a bit under for precipitation. And in the same vein of July, the daily temperatures wavered only a few degrees either side of the normal. Highs didn’t reach 80 degrees on 7 days, well below the average of 12, with only 2 days climbing into the 90s (average is 4 days). Measurable rain fell on 10 days, which is the average for August, with 5 of those recording at least ¼ of an inch.

For the 3^rd consecutive month, the average temperature was within a few tenths of a degree (or right on) of its respective normal. Unlike the previous two months, September had more swings in the daily temperatures as it transitioned from warmer summer temps to cooler fall ones. Highs topped 80 degrees on 14 days, well above the average of 7, but also failed to reach 70 degrees on 9 days. September even flirted with freezing with a low of 33 degrees on the 28^th. Monthly rainfall was almost 2 inches under its normal. There were 9 days with measurable rain, but only 3 with 1/10” or greater (average is 3 such days). Of those, 1.32” fell on the 10^th and 24^th, accounting for 80% of the September total.

While October continued the trend of rounding out close to its normal, the fall month gave La Crosse a roller coaster ride of ups and downs when it came to daily highs and lows. For instance, a high of 48 degrees on the 18^th would warm to 81 degrees on the 22^nd. Highs climbed above 70 degrees 10 times (average is 7) but couldn’t reach 50 degrees on 5 days. Further, low temperatures could not warm out of the 20s and 30s on 20 days. The first freeze of the fall season came on the 18^th (morning low of 27) – about a week later than average. October was a very dry month with only 3 days of measurable precipitation – well below the average of 9 and tied it for second for the least number of such days in an October. There were 3 stretches of at least a week between measurable rainfall. Further, the bulk of the October total came on one day – with 0.95” (out of 1.04” for the month) falling on the 24^th.

November got off to a very mild start with above normal temperatures on 9 of the first 10 days. Highs were in the 60s on 4 of those, climbing into the 70s twice. The average temperature over that period was 52.5 degrees, marking it as the 3^rd warmest start (of that length) in a November for La Crosse.  Temperatures tumbled after that, with a 12 day stretch of below normal temperatures. Highs were mostly in the 30s over this period with a very chilly 10 degrees for a low on the 20^th. The rest of the month hovered closer to its normal and in the end, all the big swings in temperature muted themselves out with the average for the month finishing nearly spot on its normal.  Precipitation for November finished close to its normal too, but was heavily influenced by a couple days of rain on the 4^th and 5^th. The 1.57” over those 2 days accounted for over 75% of the month’s total. In addition, there was a long dry stretch for the latter half of the month with nary a flurry from the 20^th through 28^th. There were 5 days with measurable snowfall for the month, a couple more than average and mostly around ½” for each of those.

December ended 2022 as it began, on a chilly note, highlighted by a very cold 10 day stretch from the 18^th through the 27th.  Low temps were subzero on 8 of those days, with a high of only 1 on the 23^rd.  Precipitation was above normal for December, but mostly combined to the latter half of the month. Of the 13 days with measurable precipitation, 12 of those came after the 12^th. Snowfall was plentiful, highlighted at mid month with measurable snows falling on all but one of the days from the 14^th through 22^nd (just a trace fell on the 18^th). The 17” total for December was around 6 inches above normal.