2019 came to a close with the month of December’s average temperature slightly higher than the long-term average.

“This past month of December, we had an average temperature of 16.4 degrees which was 3.1 degrees above the 112-year long-term average of 13.5 degrees,” said Joe Effertz of the North Central Research Extension Center, south of Minot.

He said the lowest temperature of the month was -16 degrees on Dec. 10 and the highest temperature was 39 degrees on Dec. 22.

“The total moisture for the month was 0.64 inches which is 0.05 inches above the long-term average of 0.59 inches,” Effertz said. “The total snowfall for the month was 6.9 inches which is 0.2 inches below the long-term average of 7.1 inches.”

The average temperature for the year 2019 was 37.4 degrees, Effertz said.

The total precipitation for the year was 22.7 inches which is 5.5 inches above the long-term average. The coldest temperature of the year was -32 on Jan. 30 and the high was 90 on July 30,” according to Effertz.

There’s a likely chance of snow today but the rest of the week through the weekend will be mostly sunny days, according to the National Weather Service.

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2019 weather data

– Average temperature: 37.4 degrees

– Coldest temperature: -32 on Jan. 30, 2019

– Highest temperature: 90 on July 30, 2019

– Total precipitation: 22.7 inches

Source: North Central Research Extension Center