Sheldon, Iowa — The month of December 2021 was quite a bit warmer than usual in Sheldon. We received less than the normal precip, and less than the normal snowfall.
According to the weather facts collected by KIWA Radio, the highest high was 61 degrees, recorded on December 16th. That temperature actually tied a record set in 1939 for the highest temperature on that date. By the way, the highest temperature ever recorded in December in Sheldon was only five degrees higher than that, at 66 degrees on December 2nd, 1998. The lowest high temperature was 16 degrees, recorded on the 7th.
The lowest low in the month was 0 degrees on both December 29th and 30th. The highest low was 32, on the 2nd.
The average high for the month was 36. The normal is 30. The average low was 17. The normal is 11. The average temperature as-a-whole for the month was 26.5 degrees, and normally it’s 20.5.
We received 0.88 of an inch of precipitation for December. A normal December sees 0.93 of an inch, so we were below normal for the month by 0.5 an inch. Total precip for the year was 29.05 inches. Normal annual precip would be 27.63, so we ended the year at 1.42 inches above normal. The day with the most precip was the 11th when we received 6 inches of snow, which melted down to a half an inch of liquid precip.
The snow received in December added up to 6.4 inches. Normal snowfall for December is 7.7 inches, so we ended the month 1.3 inches below normal. Since September first, we’ve received 6.65 inches. Normal would be 12.2, so we’re 5.55 inches below normal for season-to-date snowfall.
By the way, 2021 as a whole was 1.42 degrees warmer on average than a normal year. Normal average annual temperature for Sheldon is 45.83 degrees. 2021’s average temperature was 47.25.
