U.S. National Overview - December 2005

December:

• December temperatures were near average overall for the nation with below average temperatures in the Pacific Northwest and Southeast and warmer than average conditions for the Southwest and parts of the northern Plains. For information on temperature records during the month, please go to NCDC's Extremes page.
• Precipitation was near average for the contiguous US as a whole. Much below average to record low precipitation occurred across the southern US from Louisiana to Arizona, and much wetter than average conditions were present for much of the West. For more information on drought during December, please visit the U.S. Drought page.

• Indices used to determine the state of ENSO suggest that the Equatorial Pacific was in an ENSO neutral phase during December, though there are strong indications of a developing La Niña. Sea Surface Temperatures were cooler than average from the South American coast into the central equatorial Pacific. To see the latest NOAA advisory and typical impacts of a La Niña or El Niño episode for the U.S., go to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center. For an in-depth analysis of the current conditions see NCDC's ENSO Monitoring page

• December 2005 ranked as the 45th coldest December in the 1895 to present record. The preliminary nationally averaged temperature was 33.5°F (0.8°C), which was 0.0°F (0.0°C) different from the long-term mean.
• December 2005 had near average precipitation, nationally, ranking 53rd driest.
• For the last 3 months temperature was above average and ranked as the 16th warmest such period in the 1895 to present record. The preliminary nationally averaged temperature for October-December was 45.1°F (7.3°C) which was 1.5°F (0.8°C) above the long-term mean.
• October-December had near average precipitation, ranking 52nd wettest in the last 111 years.
• The January-December 2005 temperature was above average and ranked as the 13th warmest such period in the 1895 to present record. The preliminary nationally averaged temperature was 54.0°F (12.2°C) which was 1.2°F (0.7°C) above the long-term mean.
• Precipitation was near average for January-December, ranking 49th wettest for the last 12 months based on a record of 111 such periods.

• December 2005 temperatures ranked below average for 18 states and above average for only 4 states, with an additional 2 states (CA and NV) much above average.
• Alaska temperatures were much above average for December and ranked 6th warmest on record. The year was also much warmer than average ranking 6th warmest since statewide records began in 1918.
• December was record dry for 2 states (AZ and AR), with an additional 4 states, which were in the top ten driest Decembers on record. December was wetter than average for 11 states and much wetter than average for an additional 4 states.
  
• The 3 month period, October-December, was much warmer than average for 5 states.
• October-December 2005 was record wet for 5 New England states, while 10 more states were much wetter than average. Five states were much drier than average and Arkansas was record dry for the 3-month period.
• January-December 2005 was warmer or much warmer than average for much of the nation, with only 5 states in the contiguous U.S. near average.
• The last 12 months had a mixed precipitation pattern across the country. There were 24 states that were wetter or much wetter than average, including 2 record wet states in New England, and there were 10 states that were drier or much drier than average.

  See NCDC's Monthly Extremes web-page for weather and climate records for the month of December.