Area sees warmest December

TRI-COUNTY AREA--It is winter, but not many would have noticed it in December. Climatologist Samantha Borisoff with the Northeast Regional Climate Center (NRCC) said this was the warmest December ever for the region. In Elmira, whose records date back to 1894, it was a record-warm December with an average temperature of 40.2 degrees Fahrenheit, which was 11.2 degrees above normal.
Borisoff attributes this warmer than normal span of temperatures to El Niño, as well as a few other teleconnections (large-scale patterns of climate variability). She said these conditions influenced the position of the jet stream in such a way that there was a ridge of high pressure dominating the East Coast, with warm southerly air streaming into the area.
In Penn Yan, it was the warmest December since 1998 when records began at the Penn Yan Airport.
"December's average temperature of 41.8 degrees Fahrenheit was 11.4 degrees Fahrenheit above normal," Borisoff said. "The second warmest December was 2006 at 37.2 degrees Fahrenheit, so December 2015 was warmer by a large margin."
Borisoff noted the warm December should not impact the rest of winter.
"More seasonable conditions are forecast for the next few days, however, according to the Climate Prediction Center, there's an increased chance of January being warmer than normal," Borisoff said.