Now that 2009 is in the rear view mirror, I wanted to pass along the stats for the year that was in both Wausau and Rhinelander when it came to the average temperatures, along with total precipitation.  If you checked out my blog from last week, it comes as no surprise that 2009 was a cooler than average one in the area.  As for the precipitation, we have had more years that were drier than average this past decade.  Most notable for 2009 was that Rhinelander was nearly eight and a half inches below average.  In case you are wondering, the driest years on record were in 1976 in Wausau (-11.93") and 1989 in Rhinelander (-17.59").

A few other notes on the past decade when it came to temperatures in Wausau. 2003 and 2008 also featured below average temps by about 1 to 2 degrees, with 2004 being close to average.  The other 5 years (2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, and 2007) all had warmer than normal temperature trends.  When it came to the whole state of Wisconsin, 2001 was the 5th warmest, 2005 was the 7th warmest, and 2006 was 3rd warmest on record.

Moving on to what's on tap for the week ahead, it will continue to be cold not only in North Central Wisconsin, but across much of the eastern half of the U.S.  The jet stream is dipping all the way down to near the Gulf Coast, which has ushered near freezing temperatures all the way down into parts of Texas and Florida.  Yes, the citrus crop in Florida could encounter some problems due to frost/freeze conditions.  Meanwhile, our next weather maker is expected to drive on by Wednesday night into Thursday, spreading some light snow into our area.  The main punch with this storm system is a reinforcing shot of cold air , that will plunge temperatures back into the single digits for highs in some spots Thursday and certainly much of the region Friday.  However, as quick as the arctic air swoops in, afternoon readings may moderate back into the 20s by early next week.  Not exactly a January Thaw, but at least there's hope for seasonable temperatures down the road.  Also in general, no significant snowfall is in the works for Wisconsin during the next 7-10 days.