Above Normal Snowfall Across Majority of Midwest
Precipitation during the second week of December ranged from no precipitation in northern Minnesota to 1.5" to 2" in southeast Kentucky (Figure 1), which resulted in overall precipitation that was near to below normal for much of the region (Figure 2). There were a few pockets of above normal precipitation in Missouri, western Illinois, southern Kentucky, western Michigan, and central Minnesota. A handful of daily precipitation records were set throughout the week.
While overall precipitation totals were near to below normal for much of the region, the opposite was true for snowfall. A majority of the region experienced snowfall totals that were above normal for this time of year, with some locations receiving snowfall totals 400% to over 750% of normal
(Figure 3). Weekly snowfall totals measured 5" to 7.5" across much of the central Midwest, with higher totals along the lake in western Michigan as a result of a lake-effect event early in the week (Figure 4). The heavy snowfall in the central Midwest resulted from a storm system that moved through the region on December 14th and 15th
(Figure 5). Within this storm system, there were localized reports of snowfall totals topping 10" in Illinois and northern Michigan (Figure 6). Throughout the week, there were over 150 daily snowfall records broken, in addition to 5 monthly snowfall records.
Unseasonably Cold Temperatures
The second week of December was unseasonably chilly across the whole Midwest
(Figure 7). The largest departures were nearly 25°F below normal in northern Minnesota, with much of the region experiencing average temperatures that were at least 10°F below normal. The lowest temperature this week was -38°F, recorded in Brimson, MN (St. Louis County) on December 8th (Figure 8). As a result of the chilly temperatures, there were several daily temperature records set, which were scattered across the region.