Stop us if you’ve asked yourself this recently while bundling up for a walk or scraping ice off your windshields: Is this weather normal for this time of year, or did it get colder and snowier much sooner in 2025?
Milwaukee has had its snowiest November in 50 years and the first 10 days of December were Milwaukee’s coldest and snowiest start to the month since 2008, according to the National Weather Service.
This weather is typical and expected for Milwaukee winters, but the city got a break from it in recent years, according to Kevin Wagner, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Milwaukee/Sullivan.
“Over the last five years we haven’t seen the snowy December we used to,” Wagner told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in a phone call.
How has snow in December 2025 compared to other years?
December has so far brought a cold start to meteorological winter, the time between Dec. 1 to the end of February when meteorologists track winter’s weather records.
As of Dec. 12, Milwaukee had recorded 6.6 inches of snow for the first month of meteorological winter, according to Wagner. That’s 3 inches above normal, or double, for the first 12 days of meteorological winter.
The average temperature in Milwaukee was 21.8 degrees during the first 10 days of the month, which is 10.7 degrees colder than the historical average for that period.
Still, it’s too soon to tell if this winter will bring record-breaking cold and snow overall.
Wagner said temperatures and precipitation may average out over the coming months.
“We’re going to see ebbs and flows like we do every year,” he said. “Pay attention to the forecast.”
Why has this winter been colder and snowier in Milwaukee?
Milwaukee can thank cold jet streams – narrow bands of strong wind – from Canada for the frigid December start.
Northwest winds have been pushing cold air from northern Canada down toward Wisconsin throughout December, J.J. Wood, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Milwaukee/Sullivan previously told the Journal Sentinel.
The jet streams have been consistently sweeping through the state since the Thanksgiving weekend storm.
The United States is also experiencing a La Niña winter this year, which means ocean surface temperatures are cooler than normal in the central and east-central Pacific Ocean. That hasn’t influenced southeastern Wisconsin’s weather much though, Wood said.
What’s the forecast for the rest of the winter?
The Climate Prediction Center is forecasting an increased chance of cold temperatures from December to February in Milwaukee.
That doesn’t mean the city won’t have more warmer temperatures, but that the chances for lower temperatures are higher, J.J. Wood previously told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Milwaukee’s snow records
Despite the colder start to December, Milwaukee would need a big storm to catch up to its all-time snow records.
Here are some of the city’s notable snow records, according to the Wisconsin State Climatology Office:
Maia Pandey contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Is it too early for it to be this cold in Wisconsin? What the weather service says
Reporting by Bridget Fogarty, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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