December came and went without a major snowfall for the Capital Region.


What You Need To Know

  • It was the 6th warmest December on record in Albany

  • Many days featured precipitation; however, it was drier than average

  • It was a white Christmas for many

November can be feast or famine when it comes to snow around the 518, so it's hard to get disappointed when we don't see much.

However, once the calendar flips to December, it's on for the winter sports enthusiasts here.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature didn't give us all that much snow to enjoy this December.

December was weird in the sense that over 80% of the days in the month featured some type of precipitation, but for the month, Albany was 0.61 inches below average.

Many days featured patchy drizzle, mist and fog, hence so many days with a tenth of an inch or less.

Albany saw way below average snowfall with just 4.1 inches (-9.2 inches). The highest single-day snowfall was on the 8th, with just under 2 inches at the airport.

As you might imagine, it's tough to get snow without any cold air. It was the 6th warmest December on record, with Albany hitting 60 degrees+ twice!

Just a few short days after Albany's highest snowfall of the month, temperatures warmed into the 50s and 60s ahead of a cold front.

This front brought a line of thunderstorms accompanied by damaging winds. Albany International airport saw a wind gust of 53 mph!

December 16 was another day that cracked 60 degrees.

Albany was one of ten cities in NYS that set a new record high for the day.

The last day of fall (Dec. 20) was one of the few days that was colder than average.

It also featured one of the many cotton candy sunsets of the month.

A weak system pushed in right before Christmas Eve with light decorative snowfall.

Surprisingly, it stuck around into Christmas morning to make it the second white Christmas in Albany since 2009.

snow
Christmas Eve snow in Guilderland, N.Y. (Nicolette Viscusi)

For me, the end of the month felt more like Halloween. Low clouds, mist, drizzle and dense fog the last three days of the month had it looking like a Steven King horror movie.

Dense fog in Sharon Springs, N.Y. (Linda Wegner)

After a warm start to January, it looks like colder times are ahead, along with a few chances for wintry weather heading into the second week of January.

Fingers crossed for all my fellow snow-lovers out there!