December 2006 was one of the warmest Decembers in the modern record for the Twin Cities. The average monthly temperature for the Twin Cities International Airport was 29.1 degrees, making December 2006 the 6th warmest December on record and the warmest December in 47 years.

Decembers have been very mild in recent years. 9 of the last 10 Decembers were near or above the long term mean and 7 of the last 10 Twin Cities Decembers were near or above the 75th percentile.

One year does stand out among the recent balmy Decembers. December 2000 was the second coldest December on record for the Twin Cities. The average temperature for that month was 7.6 degrees. About 21 degrees colder than December 2006.

The Top 20 Warmest Decembers in the Twin Cities.

rank    year    avg temperature
------------------------------
1       1913    30.5
2       1891    30.1
3       1959    30.1
4       1931    30.0
5       1923    29.9
6       2006    29.1
7       1918    28.5
8       1894    28.3
9       1965    28.0
10      1939    27.7

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URL: http://climate.umn.edu/doc/journal/warmmsp0612.htm
Last modified: January 5, 2007