Midwest Weekly Highlights - December 25-31, 2011

---

Warm End to 2011

Warmer than normal temperatures were the rule across the Midwest for the last week of 2011. Temperatures ranged from 5°F above normal in southern Kentucky to more than 15°F above normal in parts of Iowa and Minnesota (Figure 1). All of the daily temperature records were record highs for the third week in a row.
 

Precipitation

Precipitation varied widely for the last seven days of the year. Totals were under 25% of normal in western Missouri, southwest Iowa, and central Wisconsin but parts of Iowa and Minnesota picked up more than twice their normal precipitation (Figure 2). The rains in Iowa and Minnesota fell in drought-stricken areas (Figure 3) but were far short of amounts needed to alleviate the drought. Totals were closer to normal in the southeast part of the region.

The warm temperatures helped continue the season's pattern of below normal snowfall for the Midwest (Figure 4). Most locations were an inch or two below normal but near the Great Lakes, where lake-effect snow usually brings higher totals, many locations were several inches below normal for the week (Figure 5). Much of the Midwest had no snow cover at year's end (Figure 6) and those locations with snow were well below normal for the time of year.
 

Tough Driving Conditions

Snow caused slick roads in Illinois on the 26th and Indiana on the 27th with one traffic fatality in Indiana (Kosciusko County). The 29th and 30th saw freezing rain in southern and eastern Wisconsin, northern Illinois, northern Indiana, and southern Michigan with dozens of traffic incidents blamed on the slick conditions. The Milwaukee area was particularly hard hit with local authorities reporting 50 accidents on the 29th and another 30 on the 30th.
 

-MST-