NJ closes out 2014 with a near-snowless December

This past month was not a typical December for the Garden State, especially in the way of snowfall. According to weather records, New Jersey's December was a milder and wetter one.

New Jersey State Climatologist Dr. David Robinson at Rutgers said the state, as a whole, squeezed out just six-tenths of an inch of snow in December.

"That's 4.3 inches below average," Robinson said, noting the state averaged 9.2 inches in December 2013.

The lack of snow was heavily due to above-average temperatures. Using mercury readings at stations across the state, Robinson said New Jersey's average temperature in December was 39.4 degrees, nearly four degrees above normal. With that, December 2014 ranks among the top 15 warmest Decembers over the past 12 decades.

Thanks to a number of rain events, the state still measured 4.79 inches of precipitation during December.

Robinson said a calm December means nothing for the rest of the winter. The harsh weather last winter "didn't really get cracking" until January, and the next two months delivered plenty of snow events and waves of frigid air.

Rain and melted snow totaled 50.54 inches of precipitation throughout the entire year, and the average statewide temperature came in at 52.1 degrees for 2014, about one degree below average.