December 2014 Climate Summary

...DECEMBER 2014 MONTHLY CLIMATE SUMMARY...

After quite a cool November, December temperatures were on the rebound and the month ended with average temperatures nearly three degrees warmer than normal. Despite the seemingly constant cloudiness throughout the month, precipitation totals for all four sites were below normal.

While the summer months of the year are obviously the warmest of the year, December actually comes out on top this year when considering departures from normal, as all sites had their warmest departures at nearly three degrees warmer than normal. Tupelo was the warmest site this month and also recorded the warmest temperature with 73.0 degrees. Memphis was the second warmest site, and finished 2014 with the greatest average temperature at 61.4 degrees. Jonesboro actually had the warmest departure from normal for the month, despite being the coolest site, at 3.1 degrees above normal. Despite the warmer than normal December temperatures, all sites managed to be nearly two degrees cooler than normal for 2014. A more in depth review of 2014 can be found in the 2014 Annual Climate Summary.

In addition to being warmer than normal, December was also drier than normal at all sites. Memphis was the driest site and also had the greatest departure, only picking up 2.60 inches of precipitation, making December 3.14 inches drier than normal. Jackson received 3.08 inches, 2.27 inches below normal, of precipitation in December, with a trace of that precipitation recorded as snowfall due to sleet which briefly fell a couple of times during the month. Jonesboro was also around 2 inches below normal with its precipitation total of 2.79 inches, while Tupelo was the wettest site with 5.08 inches of rain, which was still 1.20 inches drier than normal. With the exception of Jonesboro, all sites finished the year with wetter than normal precipitation totals.

TEMPERATURE DATA:

 Memphis    Jackson   Jonesboro   Tupelo

Average Temperature (MONTH)  :   46.2       43.6      42.6      46.7

Normal Avg. Temp (MONTH)     :   43.6       40.8      39.5      44.1

Departure from Normal (MONTH):    2.6        2.8        3.1       2.6

Average Temperature (YEAR)   :   61.4       58.1      58.0      60.9

Normal Avg. Temp (YEAR)      :   63.1       59.8      60.0      62.5

Departure from Normal (YEAR) :   -1.7       -1.7      -2.0      -1.6

Maximum Temperature          :   67.0       66.0      66.0      73.0

Minimum Temperature          :   27.0       26.0      26.0      28.0        

PRECIPITATION DATA:

                                Memphis   Jackson   Jonesboro   Tupelo

Total Precipitation (MONTH)  :    2.60      3.08        2.79     5.08

Normal Precipitation (MONTH) :    5.74      5.35        4.77     6.28

Departure from Normal (MONTH):   -3.14    -2.27      -1.98    -1.20

Total Precipitation (YEAR)   :   57.63    58.28      44.15    57.09

Normal Precipitation (YEAR)  :   53.68    53.27      48.10    55.01

Departure from Normal (YEAR) :    3.95      5.01      -3.95     2.08

Percent of Normal            :    107%      109%         92%     104%

Climate Outlook:

The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) has predicted an equal chance of above, near, or below normal temperatures for the month of January. The prediction for January precipitation is for enhanced odds of above normal totals, meaning the most likely outcome is for wetter than normal conditions. The three month outlook encompassing the months of January, February, and March predicts a 40 percent chance of below normal temperatures for the region, which leaves a 33 percent chance of near normal temperatures and only a 26 percent chance of above normal temperatures.

How much skill is associated with the CPC outlooks each month? The temperature outlook for the month of December was for enhanced odds of above normal temperatures. Looking at the outcome it is clear that this was a good forecast. The precipitation outlook for December was for much of the region to experience enhanced odds of above normal precipitation. However, the monthly data show this prediction to not carry much skill, which shows the difficulty in predicting precipitation months in advance.

MAYE