...2006 YEARLY SUMMARY FOR LINCOLN...

ON THE WHOLE...2006 WAS A WARM AND DRY YEAR IN LINCOLN.  WINTER 
WEATHER WAS LACKING...WITH JUST TWO SNOW STORMS DURING THE ENTIRE 
CALENDAR YEAR.  THE EARLY AND MIDDLE PARTS OF THE GROWING SEASON 
WERE ALSO WARM AND DRY...BUT COOLER AND WETTER WEATHER IN AUGUST AND 
SEPTEMBER PROVIDED SOME RELIEF FROM DROUGHT CONDITIONS.  

JANUARY WAS A REMARKABLY MILD MONTH.  THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 
36.7 DEGREES...14.3 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL.  THIS TIED WITH 1933 FOR 
THE WARMEST JANUARY ON RECORD.  PREVAILING TEMPERATURES WERE WHAT 
WOULD BE EXPECTED IN THE SECOND WEEK OF MARCH.  EVEN MORE UNUSUAL 
WAS A COMPLETE LACK OF COLDER WEATHER.  EVERY DAY WAS AT LEAST 5 
DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL...AND THE LOW FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH WAS 14.
DAILY RECORDS WERE SET WITH A HIGH OF 69 ON THE 15TH...AND WARM 
MINIMUM TEMPERATURES OF 36 ON THE 4TH AND 38 ON THE 28TH.  ONLY A 
TRACE OF SNOW FELL.  THIS WAS A TIE WITH 1900 AND 1986 FOR THE LEAST 
JANUARY SNOWFALL.  PRECIPITATION WAS 0.91 INCH...0.24 INCH ABOVE 
NORMAL.

EARLY FEBRUARY CONTINUED THE MILD WEATHER OF JANUARY...BUT 
TEMPERATURES GRADUALLY COOLED THROUGH THE 11TH.  THE HIGH THAT DAY 
FAILED TO RISE ABOVE FREEZING FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE DECEMBER 19 
2005...A STRING OF 53 CONSECUTIVE DAYS.  THE LONGEST PREVIOUS WINTER
STRING WAS 37 DAYS IN 1984.  COLDER WEATHER PREVAILED IN MID 
FEBRUARY.  THE LOW OF 4 BELOW ON THE MORNING OF THE 18TH WAS THE 
ONLY SUBZERO TEMPERATURE IN 2006.  WARMER WEATHER RETURNED BY THE 
END OF THE MONTH...WITH HIGHS IN THE LOWER 70S FOR THE LAST TWO 
DAYS.  THE FEBRUARY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 29.7...1.4 DEGREES ABOVE 
NORMAL.  THIS TIED AS THE 5TH DRIEST FEBRUARY ON RECORD WITH ONLY 
0.07 INCH OF PRECIPITATION...0.59 INCH BELOW NORMAL.  SNOWFALL WAS 
ONLY 0.7 INCH.

MARCH AND APRIL WERE BOTH MOIST.  SPRING EQUINOX FEATURED THE ONLY 
SNOW STORM OF THE ENTIRE CALENDAR YEAR...WHEN 9.9 INCHES FELL IN A 
PROLONGED PERIOD FROM THE 19TH INTO THE 21ST.  A ROUND OF SEVERE 
THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCED HAIL AROUND THE AREA ON THE 30TH.  RAINFALL 
OF 0.99 INCH SET A NEW RECORD FOR THE DATE.  MONTHLY PRECIPITATION 
TOTALED 3.03 INCHES...0.82 INCH ABOVE NORMAL.  MARCH TEMPERATURES 
AVERAGED NEARLY NORMAL...AND THERE WERE NO RECORDS.  THE ONLY 
SUBFREEZING HIGH TEMPERATURE WAS A HIGH OF 31 ON THE 22ND.  APRIL 
WAS ALSO ON THE WET SIDE WITH 3.83 INCHES...0.93 INCH ABOVE NORMAL. 
THIS HELPED PROVIDE SOME EXTRA MOISTURE GOING INTO THE GROWING 
SEASON...BUT AS IT TURNED OUT...NOT ENOUGH.  THUNDERSTORMS WERE 
REPORTED ON 9 DAYS...AND PRODUCED WINDS GUSTING TO 58 MPH ON THE 
6TH.  TEMPERATURES WERE WARM DURING MUCH OF APRIL.  THE AVERAGE 
TEMPERATURE OF 55.5 WAS 4.3 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL...THE WARMEST SINCE 
1981.  THE LAST SPRING FROST CAME APRIL 9TH...TWO WEEKS EARLIER THAN 
NORMAL.  TEMPERATURES REACHED THE 80S FOR SIX DAYS IN A ROW FROM THE 
10TH THROUGH THE 15TH.  

MAY THROUGH JULY WERE GENERALLY WARM AND QUITE DRY.  MAY STARTED 
COOL...BUT STARTING ON THE 17TH THERE WAS A STRING OF 13 CONSECUTIVE 
DAYS WITH HIGHS AT LEAST 80.  THIS WAS SECOND ONLY TO A 14 DAY MAY 
STRING IN 1921.  THE MAY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 64.7 DEGREES WAS 2.7 
DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL.  ONLY 2.09 INCHES OF RAIN FELL DURING 
MAY...2.14 INCHES BELOW NORMAL.  JUNE WAS EVEN DRIER THAN MAY.  THE 
MONTHLY RAINFALL WAS JUST 0.65 INCHES...2.86 INCHES BELOW NORMAL.  
THIS TIED FOR 4TH DRIEST...BUT WAS NOT AS DRY AS 2002.  WARM WEATHER 
PREDOMINATED...WITH 10 DAYS IN THE 90S IN ADDITION TO A HIGH OF 100 
ON THE 30TH.  THE MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 74.3 DEGREES...1.6 
DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL.  JULY REMAINED DRY...AND HOTTER THAN JUNE.  
RAINFALL TOTALED 2.08 INCHES...1.46 INCHES BELOW NORMAL.  THE THREE 
MONTH RAINFALL WAS ONLY 4.82 INCHES...LESS THAN HALF THE NORMAL 
11.28 INCHES FOR THE PERIOD.  THIS WAS THE DRIEST SINCE 1953 AND THE 
5TH DRIEST ON RECORD FOR WHAT ARE NORMALLY WET MONTHS.  THE HEAT 
MADE DROUGHT CONDITIONS EVEN WORSE.  THERE WERE SIX DAYS WITH HIGHS 
IN THE TRIPLE DIGITS...THE SAME AS LAST YEAR.  A SCORCHING HIGH OF 
108 ON THE 19TH FELL SHORT OF A RECORD...BUT IT WAS THE HOTTEST DAY 
SINCE 1995...WITH NONE HOTTER SINCE 1954.  THE LOW ON THE 31ST TIED 
A RECORD WITH A VERY WARM 82.  THE MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 
80.2...2.4 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL.  

WETTER CONDITIONS PROVIDED SOME DROUGHT RELIEF DURING AUGUST AND 
SEPTEMBER.  THIS WAS NOT A COMPLETE RECOVERY...BUT STILL HELPFUL TO 
DROUGHT STRESSED CORN AND SOYBEANS.  AUGUST STARTED OUT HOT...WITH 
HIGHS IN THE TRIPLE DIGITS ON THE 1ST...5TH...AND 9TH.  THIS MADE 10 
DAYS WITH HIGHS IN THE 100S...THE SAME AS 2003 AND 1995.  THE HIGH 
OF 105 ON THE 1ST ALSO TIED A RECORD.  COOLER WEATHER LATER IN THE 
MONTH EVENED OUT THE AVERAGE...WHICH AT 75.7 DEGREES WAS ONLY 0.3 
DEGREES ABOVE THE AUGUST NORMAL.  RAINFALL OF 4.05 INCHES WAS VERY 
WELCOME...AND WAS 0.70 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL.  THE HEAVIEST RAIN CAME 
ON THE 8TH...WHEN 1.71 INCHES SET A NEW DAILY RECORD.  AUGUST WAS 
THE WETTEST MONTH OF THE YEAR...BUT SEPTEMBER CAME CLOSE WITH 3.93 
INCHES. THIS WAS 1.01 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. 1.43 INCHES FELL ON THE 
21ST FOR A NEW DAILY RECORD.  SEPTEMBER WAS COOLER WITH AN AVERAGE 
TEMPERATURE OF 63.2...2.8 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL.  

OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER WERE ONCE AGAIN DRY...WITH SOMEWHAT VARIABLE 
TEMPERATURES.  OCTOBER BEGAN QUITE WARM...WITH A RECORD HIGH OF 94 
ON THE 1ST...FOLLOWED BY TWO MORE DAYS IN THE LOWER 90S.  COLDER 
WEATHER ARRIVED ON THE 9TH...AND STAYED ON FOR MOST OF THE MONTH.
THE AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE WAS ONLY 50.5...3.0 DEGREES BELOW 
NORMAL.  RAINFALL WAS ALSO SUBNORMAL AT 0.90 INCH...1.04 BELOW 
NORMAL.  NOVEMBER WAS EVEN DRIER THAN OCTOBER WITH ONLY 0.09 INCH.
THIS IS 1.49 INCHES BELOW NORMAL.  DESPITE A COLD START AND AN EVEN 
COLDER FINISH...WARMER WEATHER SANDWICHED IN BETWEEN KEPT THE 
MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE AT 40.1 DEGREES...2.0 DEGREES ABOVE 
NORMAL.  THE MOST UNUSUAL TEMPERATURE EVENT WAS A HIGH OF 84 ON THE 
8TH.  THIS WAS A NEW DAILY RECORD...AND THE SECOND WARMEST EVER 
RECORDED IN NOVEMBER.

DECEMBER STARTED OUT COLD...BUT TEMPERATURES SOON MODERATED.  ABOVE 
NORMAL TEMPERATURES WERE A DAILY EVENT FROM THE 9TH ONWARD.  THE 
MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 33.5 WAS 7.0 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. 
RAINFALL WAS HEAVY FOR DECEMBER...COMING IN TWO STORMS LATE IN THE 
MONTH.  THE TOTAL OF 3.05 INCHES WAS 2.19 INCHES ABOVE 
NORMAL...MAKING THIS THE THIRD WETTEST DECEMBER ON RECORD. SNOWFALL 
WAS AS LACKING AS RAIN WAS ABUNDANT...THROUGH DECEMBER 30TH.  THIS 
WAS THE LATEST INTO THE WINTER SEASON WITHOUT MEASURABLE 
SNOWFALL...ECLIPSING THE OLD RECORD OF DECEMBER 27 1982.  THE LAST 
DAY OF THE MONTH PRODUCED A MAJOR STORM WITH 7.5 INCHES OF 
SNOWFALL.  THIS WAS ONLY THE SECOND SNOW GREATER THAN AN INCH IN 
2006. 

                       2006 STATISTICS

          TEMPERATURE                   PRECIPITATION 
MONTH  AVG. DEPART.  MAX  MIN      TOTAL  DEPART.  SNOW AND HAIL 
JAN.  36.7  14.3      69   14       0.91   0.24       T
FEB.  29.7   1.4      73   -4       0.07  -0.59      0.7 
MAR.  39.5   0.1      76   14       3.03   0.82      9.9
APR.  55.5   4.3      87   27       3.83   0.93      0.0 
MAY   64.7   2.7      94   42       2.09  -2.14      0.0 
JUNE  74.3   1.6     100   51       0.65  -2.86      0.0 
JULY  80.2   2.4     108   51       2.08  -1.46      0.0 
AUG.  75.7   0.3     105   52       4.05   0.70      0.0 
SEP.  63.2  -2.8      91   41       3.93   1.01      0.0 
OCT.  50.5  -3.0      94   20       0.90  -1.04       T 
NOV.  40.1   2.0      84    7       0.09  -1.49      0.0
DEC.  33.5   7.0      61    3       3.05   2.19      7.5
YEAR  53.6   2.5     105   -4      24.68  -3.69     18.1

           DEGREE DAYS
MONTH  HEATING  DEPART.  COOLING  DEPART.
JAN.     870    -458        0       0
FEB.     983     -60        0       0
MAR.     783     -16        0      -1
APR.     294    -131       16       3
MAY      116     -38      114      58
JUNE       5     -11      294      50
JULY       0      -1      478      88
AUG.       0      -5      338      23
SEP.      99      -1       52     -71
OCT.     473      96       35      23
NOV.     739     -67        0       0
DEC.     970    -218        0       0
YEAR                     1327     173