YEAR 2003  HAD SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES WITH 
WELL BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION. 

Omaha Year 2003 Average Temperature = 50.9 F,  (normal = 50.7). 
Omaha Year 2003 Total Precipitation = 23.27 inches (normal = 30.22 inches).
Full description follows the table of statistics.

High Plains Regional Climate Center 2003 STATISTICS

  2003 STATISTICS  Omaha, Nebraska
              TEMPERATURE                    PRECIPITATION
Month   Avg.    Depart. Max     Min.            Total   Depart. Snow 
Jan.    22.8     1.1     68     -12              0.35   -0.42     7.5 
Feb.    23.7    -4.3     51      -2              1.32    0.52     8.6
Mar.    39.6     0.3     81       5              0.50   -1.63     3.9
Apr.    53.5     2.1     90      25              3.67    0.73     4.9
May.    59.6    -2.6     88      38              4.37   -0.07      0
June    69.1    -3.1     92      48              3.25   -0.70      0
July    78.4     1.7    102      56              2.49   -1.37      0
Aug.    78.0     3.5    102      59              0.74   -2.47      0
Sep.    63.4    -2.0     91      32              1.41   -1.76      0
Oct.    55.3     2.1     87      28              1.43   -0.78      0
Nov.    37.9    -0.1     71      11              2.91    1.09     0.3
Dec.    30.2     4.6     58       6              0.84   -0.08     6.8 
Year    50.9     0.2    102     -12              23.27  -6.95    32.0 
 

              DEGREE DAYS
Month   HEATING  NORMAL DEPART.    COOLING NORMAL  DEPART.
Jan.       1299      1304    -5             0      0       0
Feb.       1149      1052   +97             0      0       0
Mar.        781       805   -24             0      1      -1
Apr.        367       424   -57            29     14     +15
May         183       151   +32            24     60     -36
June         35        17   +18           166    233     -67 
July          0         1    -1           421    365     +56
Aug.          0         6    -6           410    296    +114
Sep.        128       105   +23            85    114     -29
Oct.        315       384   -69            20     12     + 8
Nov.        807       806    +1             0      0       0
Dec.       1071      1221  -150             0      0       0
Year                                     1155    1215    +60

YEARLY CLIMATOLOGICAL REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA NE
130 PM CST THU JAN 1 2004

(Caution!  This is a preliminary version.  December and annual
totals are subject to revision.)

               Omaha  Nebraska  in 2003 

2003 was an unusually dry year in Omaha.  Temperatures were near 
normal on the whole.  Severe thunderstorm activity was also close 
to normal.  The most noteworthy events in the area were a damaging
hailstorm on May 4, and a rare late season tornado in Cass County on
November 17.

The first half of January was unseasonably mild.  Daily records
were set when the high temperature reached 65 degrees on the 7th
and 68 on the 8th.  The high on the 8th was only one degree below the
January record high of 69.  The following two weeks were cold and 
snowy, but no records were set.  The coldest day of 2003 was
January 12th with a high of 5 above and a low of 12 below.

February was a wet and snowy month with below normal 
temperatures.  Cold and mild weather patterns alternated during
the month.  Some of the coldest weather came late in the month,
when a high of only 9 above on the 24th set a new daily
record.  Snowfall was frequent during February.  The only large
storm came on the 14th and 15th when 8.6 inches fell.  The storm began
with rain and sleet, allowing precipitation to total 1.09 inch.

March started out cold, then went through a series of fast changes.
The high temperature went from 20 on the 9th to 63 on the 11th,
back down to 38 on the 12th, and then to 79 on the 15th.  With all the ups
and downs, March temperatures averaged just about normal.  The 
only record was a mild minimum of 49 on the 16th.  Dry weather
prevailed, with only half an inch of precipitation for the month, 1.63
inches below normal.

April started very warm, with a high of 90 on the 1st tying a daily 
record, and 87 on the 2nd setting a new record.  A strong cold front
brought plunging temperatures on the 3rd, and some light snow on the
4TH.   A larger storm produced 4.5 inches of snow on the 6th and 7th,
and the high of 33 on the 7th was the coldest for the date.  Temperatures
soon recovered.  A high of 90 on the 14th set a warm record...as did the 
low of 63 the next day.  Temperatures were less extreme in the last two
weeks of April.  Total precipitation for the month was slightly above 
normal.

May was mostly cool and moist, with some dry and warmer weather
toward the end of the month.  The monthly average temperature at 59.6
was 2.6 degrees below normal.  The monthly high of 88 was two degrees
below April's 90 degree highs.  There were no new daily records set.
May rainfall of 4.37 inches was very close to normal, but this turned out
to be the wettest month of 2003.  Thunderstorms were noted on 10 days,
and large hail fell in the metropolitan area on the 4th.

June was a lot cooler and slightly drier than normal.  Temperatures were
well below normal through the 12th...then closer to normal.  The 24th 
was the only day above 90...with a high of 92.

Summer was dry and hotter than normal.  July rainfall of 2.49 inches 
was less than two thirds of normal.  Nearly half of what fell, 1.15 
inches, occurred in a single storm on the night of the 5th.  That storm 
also brought 60 mph winds and considerable tree damage to parts of 
Omaha.  Temperatures climbed in the dry spell following the storm. 
The temperature reached 101 degrees on the 17th and 102 on the 26th. 
Cooler and slightly wetter weather returned at the end of July,
but the rainfall was inadequate and relief only temporary.

As dry weather intensified...temperatures once again soared in the 
latter half of August.  Highs of 101 or 102 occurred on the 17th, 18th, 
24th, and 25th.  August overall was the 7th driest on record and the driest 
since 1976, with a total rainfall of only 0.74 inch.  This  was 2.47 inches 
below normal.  The August average temperature was 78.0 degrees,
nearly as warm as July, and 3.5 degrees above normal. 

September brought a quick end to the hot weather, with only a couple
of days that reached 90.  Temperatures were still near normal in the first 
half of the month, but cooled rapidly after the 17th.  The first freezing 
temperature of the season came on the 29th, 11 days sooner than average. 
The drought intensified as sparse monthly rainfall totaled only 1.41 inches,
less than half the normal amount.

The drought continued to worsen in October.  Nearly all of the 1.43 inches
that fell during the month came on just two days, the 9th and 11th.  The total 
was only two thirds of normal.  Warm and dry weather frequent through the
third week of October.  Highs were in the 80s for six consecutive days 
beginning on the 4th, and for another 5 days beginning on the 18th.  The 
total of 11 days in the 80s or above was the most in October since 1975.
The warmest day was the 19th, when a daily record high of 87 was set.

November was wetter than normal with normal temperatures.  The 2.19 inches
of rain that fell between the 2nd and the 4th improved the drought conditions.
1.81 inches fell on the 3rd, a new daily record.  Only 0.3 inch of snow fell 
during November.  The month started out cold, with cooler than normal
temperatures through the 9th.  Mild weather prevailed for much of the rest
of the month, but no records were set.  Humid air came up from the south
on the 17th, setting the stage for an unusual late November outbreak of
strong thunderstorms.  Eppley Airfield reported small hail.  In Cass County,
a rare November tornado touched down briefly.

December was mild overall with near normal precipitation.  The average 
temperature of 30.2 degrees was 4.6 degrees above normal.  The coldest 
weather came early in the month, and temperatures were above normal
from the 14th to the end of the month ,excepting only the 16th.  The 27th
was the warmest, with a high of 58 and a low of 41, just a few degrees
from the daily records.  Monthly snowfall came to 6.8 inches, of  which
4.7 inches fell in a storm on the 9th.