December and 2010 Weather Recap

Low temperature for December was 17 degrees on December 31st.
Avg low for December = 36 degrees
High temperature for December was 58 degrees. The high on December 30th was only 33 degrees, and on December 31st, the high for the day was only 30 degrees—the first time in at least three years that a daytime temperature failed to rise above freezing.
Avg high for December = 50 degrees
High wind speed for December = 38 mph on December 30th
Avg wind speed for December = 12 mph
Total rain for December = 6.01 inches (we also received 2 inches of snow on December 29th)
Total rainfall for the year was 19.73 inches, nearly triple the normal average of 7 to 8 inches a year.

On December 14th, there was zero wind, none for the entire day. This is a first in the three years I’ve been recording weather in Toquerville. Even on days we think there is no wind, there is always some, sometimes early in the morning or late at night when we aren’t aware of the wind.

Remember, last month I noted that the forecast for Utah and the west was for a warmer and drier than normal winter. Both November and December have been colder and wetter than normal. The 17 degree reading on the morning of December 31st is the coldest recorded temperature since I’ve been recording weather the past three years.

The 4.6 inches of rain Toquerville received in the third week of December nearly caused flooding. Ash Creek was near going over its banks before the water level receded on December 23rd. Continual rain and warm temperatures, which caused early snow melt, contributed to the near flood conditions. According to KSL and Washington County officials, the rain totals for the third week of December was greater than the rain that caused severe flooding in 2005, but flood control measures contributed to the minor flooding this time.