- Heavy precipitation occurred on several days in December, so the total precipitation for the month was above normal at all three sites. In fact, Chattanooga and Knoxville each set daily rainfall records on the 10th, but no records were broken at Tri-Cities. Heavy snow was limited to mainly the higher elevations, but Tri-Cities ended up with 1.4 inches of snow for the month while Chattanooga and Knoxville only reported a trace.

• Chattanooga received 9.75 inches of precipitation in December, which was 4.94 inches above normal. It ranked as the 7th wettest December on record at Chattanooga. Measurable precipitation occurred on 13 days, and nine of those days reported more than one-quarter of an inch of rain. In fact, more than 2 inches of rain fell on two consecutive days. The heaviest rain fell on the 10th when 2.41 inches was recorded, which broke the previous daily rainfall record of 1.56 inches set back in 1932. The wettest December of the 131 years of observations taken at Chattanooga was back in 1961, when 13.68 inches was recorded.

• Knoxville received 8.98 inches of precipitation in December, which was 4.49 inches above normal. It ranked as the 6th wettest December on record at Knoxville. Measurable precipitation occurred on 14 days, and eleven of those days had more than one-quarter of an inch of rain. In fact, a daily rainfall record was broken on the 10th when 1.85 inches of rain was recorded, which broke the previous record of 1.65 inches set back in 1952. The heaviest rain fell on the 11th, when 2.15 inches was recorded. The wettest December of the 139 years of observations taken in Knoxville was back in 1901, when 12.34 inches was recorded.

• Tri-Cities received 4.41 inches of precipitation in December, which was 1.02 inches above normal. It ranked as the 16th wettest December on record at Tri-Cities. Measurable precipitation occurred on 16 days, and seven of those days had more than one-quarter of an inch of rain. The heaviest rain fell on the 11th, when 0.94 inches was reported. The wettest December of the 72 years of observations taken at Tri-Cities was back in 1961, when 6.75 inches was recorded.

- Daily temperatures in December exhibited quite a swing from very mild weather to very cold days. However, the monthly-averaged temperatures ended up above normal for the month. In fact, one daily record high temperature was broken at Tri-Cities.

• The monthly-averaged temperature at Chattanooga was 45.1 degrees, which 2.7 degrees above normal. It tied with 1939 and 1999 as the 29th warmest December on record at Chattanooga. No daily temperature records were broken. The warmest December at Chattanooga was back in 1889, when the average temperature was 57.2 degrees.

• The monthly-averaged temperature at Knoxville was 42.1 degrees, which was 1.2 degrees above normal. It ranked in the middle one-third of observations taken in December at Knoxville. No daily temperature records were broken. The warmest December at Knoxville was back in 1889, when the average temperature was 54.1 degrees.

• The monthly-averaged temperature at Tri-Cities was 40.5 degrees, which was 3.2 degrees above normal. It tied with 1951 as the 22nd warmest December on record at Tri-Cities. One daily high temperature record was broken on the 27th when the afternoon high peaked at 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 69 degrees set back in 1982. The warmest December at Tri-Cities was back in 1971, when the average temperature was 47.5 degrees.

- Despite a few months experiencing well-above-normal precipitation, the majority of months in 2008 received below normal precipitation. As a result, the total annual precipitation (January to December) in 2008 was below normal.

• Chattanooga received a total of 47.33 inches of precipitation in 2008, which was 7.19 inches below normal. It ranked as the 41st driest year on record at Chattanooga. The driest year at Chattanooga was back in 1904, when only 32.68 inches of precipitation was recorded.

• Knoxville received a total of 47.76 inches of precipitation in 2008, which was 0.46 inches below normal. It ranked in the middle one-third of observations taken at Knoxville. The driest year at Knoxville was back in 1986, when only 32.48 inches of precipitation was recorded.

• Tri-Cities received a total of 35.24 inches of precipitation in 2008, which was 6.09 inches below normal. It ranked as the 14th driest year on record at Tri-Cities. The driest year at Tri-Cities was last year, when only 22.39 inches of precipitation was recorded.

- With the majority of the months in 2008 experiencing near to above normal monthly temperatures, the annual temperatures ended up above normal for 2008.

• The annually-averaged temperature at Chattanooga in 2008 was 61.1 degrees, which was 1.1 degrees above normal. It ranked in the middle one-third of observations taken at Chattanooga. The warmest year at Chattanooga was back in 1998, when the annual temperature was 63.5 degrees.

• The annually-averaged temperature at Knoxville in 2008 was 58.9 degrees, which was 0.4 degrees above normal. It ranked in the middle one-third of observations taken at Knoxville. The warmest year at Knoxville was back in 2006, when the annual temperature was 61.9 degrees.

• The annually-averaged temperature at Tri-Cities in 2008 was 55.6 degrees, which was 0.7 degrees above normal. It ranked in the middle one-third of observations at Tri-Cities. The warmest year at Tri-Cities was back in 1990, when the average temperature was 58.2 degrees.