December was plenty cold and wet in Utah

"Cold and wet" was the official description for December's weather in northern Utah by the Salt Lake Office of the National Weather Service.

The average daily temperatures were 6.6 degrees below average. While the average daytime high for the month is 38 degrees, December of 2009 was below freezing on average at a frigid 30.7 degrees.

The average nighttime low for the month is 22.4 degrees, but last month averaged just 16.5 bone-chilling degrees.

At the Salt Lake City International Airport, the month's warmest day was Dec. 1 at 46 degrees. The coldest was zero degrees on Dec. 10.

The lone individual temperature record at the Salt Lake airport was a record-low 23 degrees for the daytime high temperature on Dec. 28. That temperature edged out the former record of 24 degrees, set back in 1939.

The airport received 110 percent of the average amount of moisture at 1.35 inches. The airport also received 17.2 inches of snow during the month, or 141 percent of the average — 12.2 inches.

Three cities in southern Utah piled up some phenomenal moisture for the month.

Panguitch, for example, received 2.81 inches during December, or 653 percent of its average of 0.43 inches. Most of that fell as 11.2 inches of snow.

Boulder received 341 percent of its average moisture with 1.9 inches of water, mostly in 48 inches of snow.

Escalante also got dumped on with 18 inches of snow and 1.72 inches of total moisture for 319 percent of its average.

In contrast, the Cedar City Airport was the driest reported place in the Beehive State last month, with just 0.28 inches of moisture, or 43 percent of its average.

e-mail: lynn@desnews.com