A Look Back at the Weather for 2025

By Russell Russ

The year 2025, with an average yearly mean temperature of 46.7 degrees, was 1.7 degrees above normal. Ten of 12 months came in above normal for monthly mean temperature. Four months (March, June, July and September) ranked in the top 10 for warmth. July was the highest ranking, coming in as the third warmest July and third warmest of any month on record. There were six days during the year that set or tied daily high temperature records. Those record highs occurred in the months of March, June, September and December. In 2024, there were 10 new daily high records. Only one day set a new daily low temperature record, which occurred in December. In 2024, there were no daily low records recorded.

During all of 2025, there were 17 days in the single digits. There were only five in 2024. This year there were three days with below zero temperatures. In 2024 there were two days. The coldest day of 2025 was Jan. 22 with a low temperature of -8 and the warmest day was June 24 with a high of 93. At the weather station this year, there were three days at or above 90 degrees. For reaching 90 degrees or above at the weather station, the 94-year average is 2.5 days per year. The average over the last 45 years is 1.5 days per year. Norfolk’s warmest year (by a hair) over the last 94 years was 2024 with 48.6 degrees, second warmest was 2012 with 48.5, followed by 1998 and 2023 coming in as tied for third warmest. The coldest year was 1940 with 41.9 degrees.

The yearly total precipitation amount of 46.25 inches was 6.28 inches below normal. This was below normal, but not high ranking for driest years. Unlike 2024, this year had no wild extremes in monthly precipitation totals. January was below normal and that deficit slowly continued to grow throughout the year. Ten of 12 months were below normal for total precipitation. The two months (May and October) that came in above normal helped keep the yearly deficit somewhat in check. Two months (January and November) came in high in the rankings for driest, while two months (May and October) came in high as the wettest. The wettest month of 2025 was May with 6.94 inches, the driest was January with 1.55 inches. While there are occasional extremes, Norfolk is fortunate in that it gets its precipitation distributed evenly throughout the year. The entire state was fortunate this year in that it did not experience the extremely dry conditions or the dangerously high fire danger conditions that occurred during the fall of 2024. Norfolk’s wettest year was in 2011 with 77.28 inches and the driest was in 1965 with 33.89 inches.

Now (again this year) comes the depressing part for snow lovers. Snowfall for the year was again below normal. With a yearly snowfall total of 50.4 inches, 38.7 inches below normal, 2025 was tied with 2006 as Norfolk’s fourth least snowy year. Six of eight of Norfolk’s winter snow season months were below normal for snowfall. Only April and December came in a little above normal. The 2024 snowfall total of 53.1 inches ranked as seventh least. To pile it on even more, over the course of this station’s 94-year recording history, the last 25 years have seen eight years ranked in the top 10 for least snowy years. Norfolk’s snowiest year on record was 1956 with 175.1 inches. The least snowy year was 1998 with just 33.0 inches, second least was 1999 with 44.0 inches. The 2024-25 winter season (Oct-May), with a snowfall total of 45.6 inches, ranked as Norfolk’s seventh least snowy winter. The 2023-24 winter season, with 45.5 inches, ranked as the sixth least and 2021-22, with 43.4 inches, ranked as the third least. The winter of 2015-16 had the least amount of snowfall with 35.5 inches and 1955-56 had the most with 177.4 inches. Now the good news for snow lovers. Our current winter season is putting in a good winter effort. As of late December, Norfolk is only 4.6 inches below normal for snowfall. Plus, as of Jan. 23, January’s snowfall total was already 14.0 inches, with a big snowstorm in the immediate forecast that could possibly produce another 12-24 inches before the end of the month. Things might be looking up for fans of good old fashioned “Ice Box of Connecticut” wintertime weather.

Weather observations and record keeping are performed by Russell Russ for the National Weather Service and Great Mountain Forest at Norfolk’s National Weather Service Cooperative Weather Observer Station, Norfolk 2SW. Current weather conditions from Great Mountain Forest’s automated weather station are continuously transmitted to various weather networks all over the world. Weather Underground and CWOP (Citizen Weather Observer Program) are the most notable networks. Check out local conditions by accessing Weather Underground station KCT-NORFO15 or CWOP station GW5867.