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November '08 was warmer, drier
Comments 0 | Recommend 0Despite Sunday's snowstorm, November was warmer and drier than usual and a normal December should bring colder temperatures but not a whole lot of moisture.
A continuing lack of notable weather patterns around the equator means normal temperatures and precipitation for the Pikes Peak region this month, said Joe Ceru, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pueblo.
Sunday's snowstorm officially produced just 1.7 inches at the Colorado Springs Airport, boosting the total for the 2008-09 snow season to 2.6 inches. Snowfall totals for the storm varied widely with areas such as Black Forest unofficially receiving more than 20 inches of snow. The storm didn't bring much moisture, producing just 0.11 inches of precipitation at the airport, which boosted the total for the month to 0.25 inches- less than half of the normal level.
Temperatures on Sunday never got much above freezing, and when combined with the snowfall, triggered 35 crashes reported to Colorado Springs police.
The average temperature for November of 41.7 degrees was 5.5 degrees above normal. The average high of 55.1 degrees was 5.3 degrees above normal and the average low of 28.2 degrees was 5.6 degrees above normal. The low for the month was 13 degrees on Nov. 15, while the high for the month was 76 degrees on Nov. 18, which broke a 66-year-old record for that day.
The mercury is expected to head lower in December, especially at night with average lows in the teens for the entire month. The average high for the month is 42 degrees, while lows average 16 degrees. The record high of 77 degrees was set on Dec. 23, 1955, and the record low of minus-27 degrees was set on Dec. 9, 1919.
The region sees an average of 6.7 inches of snow in December, producing just 0.42 inches of precipitation for the month and unlikely to make up the moisture deficit of nearly 5 inches from the first 11 months of the year. The record snowfall for December is nearly 41 inches in 1913 and the most snowfall on any December day was 9.1 inches on Dec. 27, 1979.
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Contact the writer: 636-0234 or wayneh@gazette.com
