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Northeast Regional Climate Center |
The average temperature for the Northeast was below normal for the third straight month. This is the first time we've had three cold months in a row since July-September 2000. The average temperature departure for the region was -1.5 degrees. Maine was the only state on the warm side this December and only by half a degree. The other eleven states were slightly colder than normal. The southern states were the farthest from the average. Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware were all more than two degrees below normal. The rest of the individual states were within a degree of the regional departure. While this December was not particularly cold, it was the coldest month in the year 2002 for the Northeast. This is only the second time since 1990 that December has been the coldest month in a year.
The trend of above normal precipitation was extended to four months this December. The second such trend this calendar year (March-June). Northern New England was a bit drier than usual but the rest of the region eclipsed their respective normals. The region as a whole was only 0.32 inches above the normal amount, but Massachusetts and Rhode Island both recorded a positive departure of over an inch. They also measured over five inches of rain/melted snow on the month. This was the eighth month with above normal precipitation in 2002, compared to only two in 2001. Despite the majority of months in 2002 being on the wet side, the annual precipitation total for the region was less than half an inch above the normal annual total.
Monthly Summary of State Temperature and Precipitation Averages.