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It was a warm and wet 2016 in Kansas City, but not a great year for snowmen

Kansas City turned out to be warmer and wetter than normal in 2016, according to climate stats for the year from the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill, Mo. On July 18, Kayla Lewis, 5, (from left) and her mother, Denise Lewis, of Kansas City, and Abraham Enriquez, 6, of Los Angeles, Calif., enjoyed a respite from the heat while splashing in the water at the Concourse Fountain, located at Benton Boulevard and St. John Avenue in George Kessler Park.
Kansas City turned out to be warmer and wetter than normal in 2016, according to climate stats for the year from the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill, Mo. On July 18, Kayla Lewis, 5, (from left) and her mother, Denise Lewis, of Kansas City, and Abraham Enriquez, 6, of Los Angeles, Calif., enjoyed a respite from the heat while splashing in the water at the Concourse Fountain, located at Benton Boulevard and St. John Avenue in George Kessler Park. tljungblad@kcstar.com

The weather in Kansas City for 2016 will go down in the books as being a warm and wet — although not snowy — year.

The average temperature in Kansas City for 2016 was 57.3 degrees, which was 2.7 degrees above normal. That tied for the 14th warmest year of 128 years of records, according to the National Weather Service Kansas City’s Facebook page.

Despite being warmer than normal, Kansas City never broke 100 degrees. The hottest day was June 22, when the temperature reached 99 degrees.

The coldest day was on Dec. 18, when the temperature bottomed out at minus-9 degrees.

The average high was 67.9 degrees, 2.9 degrees above normal. The average low was 47.1 degrees, up 2.5 degrees.

In addition to the heat, Kansas City saw a wetter-than-normal year. Precipitation for the year totaled 48.65 inches, which was 9.79 inches above normal. Last year was the 13th wettest year on record.

The day that had the greatest rainfall was July 2, when 4.33 inches of rain fell. The greatest 24-hour period of total rainfall was 4.96 inches on July 2 and 3.

Despite all the precipitation, Kansas City saw a year with very little snow — 5.7 inches, which was 13.1 inches below normal. That meager amount of snow ranked last year as the sixth least snowiest on record.

Dec. 17 had the greatest amount of snowfall, 2 inches.

Robert A. Cronkleton: 816-234-4261, @cronkb

This story was originally published January 3, 2017 at 2:13 PM with the headline "It was a warm and wet 2016 in Kansas City, but not a great year for snowmen."

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