A Preview of Caribou's December Weather

...A statistical preview of Caribou's December weather...

During the month of December the average high temperature falls from 32 on the 1st to 22 by months end. The average low temperature falls from 18 on the 1st to 4 above by months end.

The warmest temperature ever observed during the month of December was 58 degrees On both December 5th and 12th in 1950. The coldest temperature ever observed in December was 31 below on December 30, 1989.

December is on average the 2nd snowiest month of the year behind only January. The average snowfall is just under 2 feet (23.4 inches). The snowiest December was in 1972 when just shy of 5 feet of snow fell (59.9 inches), and this was the all-time snowiest month on record at Caribou. 1982 holds the honors for the least snowy December with only 4 inches observed all month. December has had more 40+ inch monthly snowfall totals than any other month of the year with eight.

Since 1939, December has been the coldest month of the year 3 times in 1955, 1958, and 1989. The winter season (December through February) crosses calendar years, and has been the coldest winter month 5 times, or just under 7 percent of winters. Of the three winter months December is typically the warmest of the three.

On average there are 6 days in December with a snowfall of 1 inch of more, 2 days with a snowfall of 3 inches of more, and 1 day with a snowfall of 6 inches or greater. The greatest calendar day snowfall of 27.1 inches was observed on December 15, 2003. In years when the snow pack is not established in November it is almost always established in December. There have been years when the snow pack has either completely or nearly completely melted early in the month or has not yet been established. Only one time in 1982 was the ground completely bare at months end. The probability of a white Christmas (1 inch or more of snow on the ground on Christmas morning) is 90 percent.

DECEMBER: CARIBOU’S TOP 5 WARMEST (AVERAGE TEMPERATURES):

28.5 DEGREES 2015

26.5 2001

26.2 1996

25.2 2010

23.6 2006

DECEMBER: CARIBOU’S TOP 5 COLDEST (AVERAGE TEMPERATURES):

3.5 DEGREES 1989

5.5 1958

7.6 1972

7.9 1976

8.7 1963