The month just past was colder and wetter than normal for Iowa according to state climatologist Harry Hillaker. He says he it was five degrees colder than normal statewide, the 20th coldest November in the past 127 years of weather record keeping. As for precipitation, Iowa averaged two-point-11 inches of rainfall. Western Iowa got nearly twice as much rain as usual while the southeast only got about half as much as normal. As for the month ahead, Hillaker says December should be near normal for precipitation and temperature. Hillaker says there’s usually about seven inches of precipitation — rain or snow — during a typical Iowa December. So what are the odds of having snow on the ground on the 25th of December?Hillaker says Northern Iowa gets a white Christmas about two-thirds of the time while it’s about a one-in-three chance for southern Iowa. For central Iowa, the odds are 50-50.
