La Crosse 2017 weather — a year-in review

Despite a long cold spell to end the year, 2017 was warmer than usual in La Crosse.

National Weather Service year-end summary shows that the average temperature was three degrees above normal.

January and February were unusually mild and the only months which were cooler than normal were May and August.

No record lows were set in 2017 but La Crosse had eight record highs. Those included 65-degrees on both Feb. 19 and the day after Thanksgiving, along with 90-degree temps in September.
When it came to snow and rain, the La Crosse area started out wet and ended fairly dry.

Six of the first seven months of 2017 were wetter than usual in the city. July was the wettest month, helped out by one storm that brought three inches of rain and led to severe tornadoes in eastern Iowa.

Except for October, the last five months of the year were abnormally dry. This winter has been very dry so far with only 4.4 inches of snow through New Year’s Eve.

That day was also the coldest of the winter so far in the city, with a high of only zero and a low of minus-11.

As far as snow goes, La Crosse has only received 4 inches this season, compared to some recent years, when the city has gotten 20 or 30 inches during December alone.

Overall, precipitation in La Crosse was about seven inches above normal for 2017.