Outlook for Tri-Cities’ December: warmer than usual

December should be warmer than usual in the Tri-Cities with normal precipitation, despite the cold and wet start to the month, according to the National Weather Service.

Normal highs for the Tri-Cities fall from 44 degrees at the start of the month to 39 degrees at the end of the month. Normal lows fall from 32 degrees to 28 degrees. Precipitation averages 1.13 inches in December.

November was a little cooler than usual in the Tri-Cities, averaging 0.7 degree below normal after temperatures made a dramatic drop at the end of the month. The high Nov. 18 was 67 degrees in the Tri-Cities, but five days later the high had dropped to 30 degrees.

One daily temperature record was tied at Hanford, where records are kept back to World War II. On Nov. 17, the low was 46 degrees, tying the warmest low on record for that date.

The month was also notable for a windstorm the same day. A wind gust of 72 mph at the Hanford Meteorological Station was the highest wind gust recorded there in any November.

In the Tri-Cities, a gust of 59 mph was recorded that day in Kennewick.

The highest temperature in November for the Tri-Cities was 71 degrees on the first day of the month. The coldest days of the month were Nov. 27 to 29, when the low, as recorded in Kennewick, was 19 degrees each day, helping bring the average low for the month to 1.2 degrees below normal.

On four days the high was below freezing in the Tri-Cities.

Precipitation for the month in the Tri-Cities totaled 0.63 inch in November, making it another drier than usual month. Normal precipitation is 1 inch. Snowfall totaled a half-inch, with enough snow to measure falling only on Nov. 24, according the weather service review.

This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 7:26 PM with the headline "Outlook for Tri-Cities’ December: warmer than usual."