LINCOLN NEBRASKA IN 2003

YEAR 2003  HAD AN ANNUAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURES THAT WAS EXACTLY NORMAL & 
SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION. 

Lincoln Year 2003 Average Temperature = 51.1 F,  (normal = 51.1 F): 
Lincoln Year 2003 Total Precipitation = 26.09 inches (normal = 28.37 inches)

Full description follows the table of statistics.

High Plains Regional Climate Center 2003 STATISTICS

   2003 STATISTICS  Lincoln, Nebraska
              TEMPERATURE                    PRECIPITATION
Month   Avg.   Depart. Max    Min.      Total     Depart.   Snow 
Jan.    24.3    1.9     70    -13        0.41     -0.26      8.8 
Feb.    24.6   -3.7     59     -6        1.62      0.96     13.0
Mar.    40.5    1.1     85      3        0.84     -1.37      1.7
Apr.    52.7    1.5     91     21        2.42     -0.48      4.6
May.    59.4   -2.6     91     35        3.60     -0.63       0
June    69.0   -3.7     93     47        6.79      3.28       0
July    79.1    1.3    105     52        1.39     -2.15       0
Aug.    77.7    2.3    103     56        1.11     -2.24       0
Sep.    62.3   -3.7     90     32        3.62      0.70       0
Oct.    55.3    1.8     88     28        1.35     -0.59       0
Nov.    37.8   -0.3     73     11        2.42      0.84      0.3
Dec.    30.5    4.0     56     -2        0.52     -0.34      6.8 
Year    51.1    0.0    105    -13       26.09     -2.28     35.2
 

             DEGREE DAYS
Month     HEATING   NORMAL DEPART.    COOLING NORMAL  DEPART.
Jan.       1256      1328   -72         0       0       0
Feb.       1125      1043   +82         0       0       0
Mar.        750       799   -49         0       1      -1
Apr.        388       425   -37        23      13     +10
May         194       154   +40        28      56     -28
June         37        16   +21       163     244     -81
July          0         1    -1       441     390     +51
Aug.          1         5    -4       403     315     +88
Sep.        139       100   +39        65     123     -58
Oct.        301       377   -76         9      12      -3
Nov.        808       806     2         0       0       0
Dec.       1065      1188  -123         0       0       0
Year       5982      6242  -260......1132....1154.....-22 

YEAR 2003, YEARLY CLIMATOLOGICAL REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA NE
130 PM CST THU JAN 1 2004

(Caution!  This is a preliminary version.  Statistics are subject to
revision.)

                 Lincoln  Nebraska  in 2003

2003 was a dry year in Lincoln with near normal temperatures.  Some
annual highlights were a snowy February, a hot and very dry midsummer,
and an unusual severe weather outbreak in late November.

January was a mix of cold and mild weather.  Mild weather prevailed
through the 9th.  Daily records were set with highs of 65 on the 7th
and 70 on the 8th.  Cold weather prevailed in mid to late January.
The coldest day of the year was the 23rd with a high of 8 above and
a low of 13 below, but this was not a record.  Snowfall totaled 8.8 
inches during the month.  Most of this came on the 15th and 16th
when a storm dumped 6.6 inches. 

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 10 above on the 24th set a new daily record. 
Snowfall was frequent during February.  A storm on the 14th and 
15th produced 4.1 inches of snow and 1.01 inch of precipitation. 
Storms on the 3rd and the 23rd dropped 3 to 4 inches...contributing
to the monthly total of 13.0 inches.  Total precipitation of 1.62 
inches was nearly an inch above normal.

March started out cold, then went through a series of fast changes.
The high temperature went from 26 on the 9th to 64 on the 11th,
back down to 39 on the 12th, and then to a record 85 on the 15th,
and 81 on the 16th.  With all the ups and downs, March temperatures 
averaged just above normal.  March precipitation totaled 0.84 
inches, less than half of normal.

April was dry until late in the month, when some thunderstorms brought
precipitation totals closer normal.  The month started hot, with a record
high of 91 on the 1st.  A strong cold front early on the 3rd resulted in 
plummeting temperatures, with a high of only 40 and a trace of snow
on the 4th.  Winter stuck around through the 6th and 7th, when 4.6 inches
of snow fell.  A maximum of only 34 on the 6th tied a record for the 
date, and the low of 21 on the 9th came close to a record.  After that,

warm weather made a rapid comeback, with highs in the 80s from the 
13th through the 15th.   April total precipitation of 2.42 inches was a
little below normal.  Snowfall was above normal, but not a record.

May was cooler and slightly drier than normal.  The warmest weather

occurred near the end of the month, with a high of 91 on the 30th.
Temperatures on the whole averaged 59.4 degrees, 2.6 degrees below
normal, but no records were set. 

June was also cooler than normal, but rainfall was well above normal.
Thunderstorms brought 1.37 inches of rain, and also some hail, on the
9th.  On the 12th, 3.01 inches of rain drenched Lincoln, setting a new 
record for the date.  June total rainfall was 6.79 inches, 3.28 inches 
above normal.  Temperatures were cool most of the month, with 22
days below normal.  The monthly average was 69.0 degrees, 3.7 below
normal. 

July and August featured similar weather, generally hot and quite dry.
The July average temperature of 79.1 degrees was 1.3 degrees above
normal, and the August average of 77.7 was 2.3 degrees above normal.
The mercury reached 100 or above on 5 days in July, beginning on
the 14th.  After a lull in early August, there were another 5 days in the
last half of August.  This was the most for any August since 1988.
The hottest day of the year was July 17th with a high of 105 and a low 
of 78.   July rainfall was only 1.39 inches.  August was even drier with
only 1.11 inches,  making this the driest August since 1976.  Added
together, the total of 2.50 inches for both was the 7th driest on record, 
and the driest since 1983. 

Excessively hot and dry weather came to a quick end in early 
September, and temperatures did not exceed 90 during the month. 
A very wet period between the 9th and 11th produced 3.29 inches of
rain for Lincoln.  The monthly total of 3.62 inches was 0.70 inch above 
normal.  The September average temperature of 62.3 degrees was 
3.7 degrees below normal, but no records were set.

October was warmer than normal with near normal rainfall.  Warm and
dry weather was frequent during the month, and the monthly average of
55.3 degrees was 1.8 degrees above normal.  Temperatures reached the
80s from the 5th through the 8th, and again from the 18th through the 22nd.
The warmest came on the 19th, when a high of 88 set a daily record. 
Nearly all the October rainfall of 1.35 inches came on the 11th and 13th.

November was wetter than normal due to a large storm early in the month.
Temperatures started out colder than normal, but mild weather prevailed
during the last half of the month.  The monthly average was close to 
normal, with no records.  Precipitation patterns were more unusual. 
The monthly total of 2.42 inches was 0.82 inch above normal.  Most of it, 
2.05 inches, fell as rain on the 3rd.  This was the most recorded on any 
calendar day in the beginning third of November.  Precipitation was 
sparse later in the month, but there was a severe thunderstorm with 
hail on the 17th.  Even more unusual for the season, a tornado touched 
down briefly in western Cass County.

There was plenty of winter weather in early December, including a 
6.5 inch snowstorm on the 9th and a low of -2 on the 12th, but no records
were set.  Above normal temperatures began on the 14th and lasted 
through the end of December.  The monthly average temperature of
30.5 degrees was 4.0 degrees above normal, the greatest temperature
departure of the year.  Despite the snowstorm, the month finished out
dry, and precipitation was below normal.