Very Snowy Start to Winter!
As of Monday evening, the seasonal snowfall total in South Bend is 20.2". This is the 4th snowiest start to a winter on record. Only three other years, 1989, 1977, and 1976 had more snow through December 1. The seasonal snowfall total for those winters was 73" in 1989-90; 172.0" in 1977-78; and 129.2" in 1976-77. The average for the three winters was 124.7".

My winter forecast was for a snowfall of 91".

December Weather and Records
It's already December, and here is a look at the normal weather and some of the records that exist.

Temperatures
Normal highs start at 41° on the 1st and drop to 32° by the 31st. Normal lows fall from 27° to 17°. The record high for the month is 70°, set most recently on the 5th in 2001. The record low is -18°, set on the 28th in 1924.

Precipitation
There is normally 3.09" of precipitation in December. There has been as much as 8.25" (1895) and as little as 0.37" (1896).

Snowfall
December is typically the second snowiest month of the season with 19.2". The snowiest December was in 2000, when 44.6" fell in South Bend. The least snowy December was in 1912, when there was 0.5".

Length of Daylight
On the 1st, the sunrise is at 7:53AM EST, and the sunset is at 5:15PM. This gives a length of daylight of 9 hours and 22 minutes. The length of daylight is at a minimum of 9 hours and 9 minutes from the 19th through the 23rd. By the 31st, the sunrise is at 8:12AM, and the sunset is at 5:25PM. This is a length of daylight of 9 hours and 13 minutes. The net gain is 11 minutes for the month

Rick Mecklenburg