December,2021 will go down as a month of above normal temperatures,below normal precipitation and an outbreak of severe weather. The episode of severe weather occurred the late afternoon and early evening of Wednesday, December 15. A total of 43 tornadoes were reported in Iowa that day. The storms brought with it high winds, severe thunderstorms, brief periods of heavy rain and hail. Wind damage was reported in southwestern Hamilton County in areas near Stanhope and Stratford with damage done to farm structures. Interestingly enough, the same area was impacted by tornadoes last July 14. There were also tree limbs blown down in Webster City with some scattered power outages. No injuries were reported from the December 15 severe weather outbreak.
The average high in Webster City for last month was at 40 degrees and the average low at 18 degrees. In addition to the severe weather outbreak on December 15, the same date brought with it the warmest temperature for the month with a record setting high of 69 degrees breaking the old record of 56 degrees set on December 15, 1939 and 2002. The lowest temperature for the month was 4 above zero on December 7. As for precipitation, there was 42 hundredths of an inch of rain with one inch of snowfall.
The National Weather Service outlook for Iowa for January is predicting to be a month of below normal temperatures with equal chances for precipitation. The average high for January,2021 was 30 degrees and the average low at 13 degrees. There was 13.3 inches of snowfall in Webster City last January with the 1.01 inches of it in the form of rain or moisture content. KQWC-KZWC Radio is the official observer for the National Weather Service in Webster City.