Record December Snowfall: Champaign-Urbana

Champaign-Urbana set a record for their heaviest December snowfall total on record. The 20.4 inches of snow that has fallen so far in December surpassed the old record of 19.1 inches set in 1983.
The 5.0 inches of snow on Christmas Day clinched the December snowfall record. By the way, it was also the biggest snowfall on record for that date. It surpassed the old record of 3.8 inches that fell on December 25, 1944.
We have had measurable snow on the ground since December 4.
It has been persistently cold as well. The average temperature for December through the 27 is 21.3 degrees, the ninth coldest December on record. The forecast is for milder temperatures for the rest of the month so this December may slip a little in the rankings. Oddly, we only dropped below zero once, on December 9 with -1°F.
A complete listing of Champaign-Urbana observations are found  here.
What happened to the rest of the 1983-84 winter? The snowfall total for January was  only 5.6 inches. However, the heavy snow returned in February with 11.6 inches and 8.4 inches in March. Combined with the 0.2 inches that fell in November 1983, that winter season ended up with 44.9 inches.

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