Ithaca Climate Summary for December 1998

Temperature

• With an average temperature of 33.9 degrees, the month of December 1998 averaged 6.3 degrees warmer than normal.
• This was the 4th warmest December on record.
• The first 22 days of the month were exceptionally warm, averaging 10.5 degrees warmer than normal. The last 9 days brought much colder temperatures and averaged 4 degrees colder than normal.
• Eleven of the year's twelve months had a monthly temperature that averaged warmer than normal.
• The average temperature for the year was 49.4 degrees (3.5 degrees warmer than normal) - the warmest year since records began in 1873. The previous warmest year was 1990 with an average temperature of 48.9 degrees.
• The warmest temperature of the month was 69 degrees on the 6th. The was a record for the day and also the warmest temperature ever recorded in the month of December.
• The coldest temperature of the month was 4 degrees on the 23rd.
• Several temperature records were broken during the first week of the month:

  Date	New record	Old record
  December 2	65	64 in 1914
  December 4 (tie)	64	64 in 1973
  December 6	69	68 in 1982
  December 7	66	62 in 1951

Precipitation

• December precipitation totalled 1.21 inches, which was only 47% of normal.
• This was the driest December since 1989.
• This was the sixth consecutive drier than normal month.
• The year-to-date precipitation total of 34.14 inches was just 1.26 inches less than normal.
• Precipitation for the second half of the year (July-December) was 64% of normal and the 7th driest such period in 120 years of record.

Snowfall

• December snowfall totalled 5.1 inches. This was 10.3 inches below the monthly normal.
• During the month, new records were set for:
  • Latest date of the first measurable snowfall: December 18
    (Old record: December 2, 1966 and December 2, 1927)
  • Latest date of the first inch of snow: December 18
    (Old record: December 14, 1979)
  • Longest period between measurable snowfalls: 269 days (March 24-December 17)
    (Old record: 250 days - March 27-December 1, 1927)
• Seasonal snowfall is also 5.1 inches. This 16.1 inches less than normal and the second least amount through this point in the season in at least 50 years (least was 4 inches in 1994).