Ithaca Climate Summary for December 1995

Temperature

• The average temperature for December was a very chilly 22.5 degrees. This was 5.1 degrees colder than normal. This was the largest negative departure from normal for any month since January 1994.
• There were only five days during the entire month when the daily average temperature was above normal.
• It was the coldest December since the record-setting December of 1989.
• The month was 10 degrees colder than last December (1994).
• The month's warmest temperature was 46 degrees on the 1st.
• The temperature never dropped below zero, but just reached zero on the 30th for the month's coldest temperature.
  
  

Precipitation

• Precipitation for the month totalled 1.66 inches, which was 0.91 inches below or 65% of normal.
• This was 1995's ninth month with below normal precipitation.
• It was the third December in a row with below normal precipitation.
  
  

Snowfall

• It was another month of heavy snowfall. The monthly total of 23.4 inches was 153% of normal.
• This was the snowiest December since 1977, when 35.7 inches was recorded. We were far from the December record, though, of 48.1 inches set in December 1969.
• The seasonal snowfall total now stands at 42.5 inches, which is double the normal accumulation of 21.2 inches.
• This was the sixth highest October-December snowfall total on record and the greatest since the record-setting winter of 1977-78, when 46.2 inches had fallen by the end of December and 122.2 inches was recorded for the entire winter.
• There were 22 days with at least an inch of snow cover this month. This is the most for December since 23 days in December 1989. There was only one such day in December 1994.
• Snowfall totals for surrounding communities included 23.5 inches in Groton, 37 inches in Freeville and 45 inches in Cortland.