Winter returned for the first of half of February with highs only in the teens on 7 of the first 12 days with lows below zero also for 7 of those. More seasonable air returned for the rest of the month with highs even jumping into the 50s for the last 2 days. Shovels saw a lot of use for the start of February with at least a trace of snowfall falling over the first 9 days. Accumulations were minor over this period, only amounting to 6.9 inches. On the whole, there was 11 days with accumulating snow for February, 7^th most on record and well above the normal of 6. However, no day recorded over 3 inches and the monthly total of 9.5 was actually an inch below normal.

March hung right around its normal for temperatures all month long, averaging plus or minus 5 degrees of its daily normal on 20 of the 31 days. Highs were in the 40s to low 50s the bulk of the time, with lows generally in the 20s. It was a relatively dry month, finishing almost an inch below normal. There were 6 days with accumulating precipitation, with 3 days accounting for over 95% of the total. In fact, there was a stretch of 15 consecutive days when not even a flurry fell.  Despite the 6.1 inch total for snowfall, it was a “snow free” March on the whole. There were only 2 days with measurable snow, and 6 of those inches came on  the 5^th with the additional tenth falling the next day.  After the 6^th, there were only 3 days that received a trace of snowfall. The 29 days with no measurable snowfall placed it in the top 20 for least in a March (on average March receives 5 days of measurable snow).

April in La Crosse felt more like March, Part 2 as temperatures averaged under 40 degrees for the entire month.  The 39.3 degree average tied it with 1874 for the coldest April on record in La Crosse. High temperatures were held under 40 degrees 10 times with lows below 20 on 7 days. Both are records for April. The first 18 days were so cold that average temperatures were held below freezing (31.8), crushing the previous coldest start to an April by 4 ½ degrees.  There was a taste of summer for the last day of April though as highs climbed to 84 degrees. It was not only winter temperatures for the start of April, but a lot of snow too. Measurable snow fell 6 times in April, all during the first 18 days. The 19 inch total set the all-time record for an April, blowing past the normal of just under 2 inches, and also made it the 42^nd snowiest month on record in La Crosse. A sizable feat for an April.  The month did end dry though with no rain or snow falling from the 19^th onward.

As the calendar flipped to May, so did the seasons – from winter to summer. Spring seemed to get left out this year. The average temperature for May was 67.6 degrees, almost 8 degrees above normal and also the second warmest on record. In fact, the average was so mild it was only a couple degrees below what can be expected for a normal June! Highs topped 80 degrees 15 times (tied for 3^rd most in a May), exceeding 90 degrees 4 times. Temperatures nearly cracked 100 on the 27^th with a 98 degree day – 4^th earliest occurrence of 95 degree or warmer day in a year for La Crosse.  The summer temperatures also brought a lot of summer-like rain. There was measurable rainfall on 16 days in May with 7 of those recording a ½ inch or more and 3 over an inch. The 7.41 inch total marked it as the 6^th wettest May on record for La Crosse. The rainfall was fairly spread out with the longest stretch between measurable rains of only 4 days.

August would continue the warm summer trend, finishing almost 3 degrees above normal (74.2, tied for 12^th warmest on record). Highs reached 90 degrees or greater on 8 days, with a 7 day streak from the 9^th through 15^th accounting for most. Rain was more plentiful in August, measuring on 13 days for a total of 6.88 inches (15^th most). Much of what fell came in a 2-day span with 4.39 inches on the 27^th and 28^th (64% of August’s total).

The summer months of June, July and August were warm by La Crosse standards. The 74.4 degree average made it the 3^rd warmest summer on records. No record for rainfall, but the 13.70 total was almost 2 inches above the average.    

September would mark the 5^th consecutive month with above normal temperatures – rounding out 3 degrees above a typical September. Most of the heat was found at mid month with a stretch of warm days from the 11^th through the 20^th. The last 90 degree day of 2018 would occur during this period (93 on the 17^th). On the flip-side, highs would only reach 50 on the 29^th.  It was a very soggy start to September with 5 consecutive days of rain, amounting to over 3 inches.  A spate of dry days from the 6^th through the 16^th would give the area a chance to dry out before another extended period of rain moved in for the 17^th through the 21^st. Overall, rainfall for the month would amount to 6.08 inches, 2 ½ inches above normal

After a fairly wet but seasonable first week for November, temperatures would take a tumble, not warming above freezing on 14 of the remaining 23 days. This was the 3^rd most days in a November where temperatures could not warm above 32. Average is only 5.  On the flipside, highs only warmed to 50 degrees or greater twice (at the start of the month), tied for 3^rd least on record and well below the average of 9. On the whole, the month was about 5 degrees below normal. As mentioned, it was a soggy start to the month as 2 ½ of rain fell from the 3^rd through 6^th. After that, while there were many days with flurries, not one day recorded more than 1/10 of an inch of precipitation or more than 1 inch of snow.

On the whole, it was a wet fall (Sep-Oct-Nov) with the 12.75 inches over those 3 months making it the 11^th wettest fall for La Crosse on record.

The start to December was fairly seasonable with respect to temperatures, hovering around the normal through the 11^th. After that, milder air settled in and held through the rest of the month. Temperatures averaged double digits above normal on 12 of the last 20 days. Highs topped 40 6 times while low temperatures during this period were generally at or above the normal highs for December. The mild conditions put a damper on snowfall. There was nearly 3 inches to kick the month off, but only 4 additional days with measurable snow after the 2^nd, none recording over an inch. The bulk of the approximately 2 inches precipitation that fell in December came as rain, with the over 3/4rds of an inch on the 27^th accounting for almost 40% of the total.