According to the National Weather Service, this has been the wettest and snowiest December recorded according to weather statistics from Ely, Nevada. Here's the bulletin they issued:
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELKO NV
441 PM PST SUN DEC 26 2010
...SNOWIEST AND WETTEST DECEMBER IN ELY, NV...
THIS DECEMBER HAS BEEN THE ALL-TIME SNOWIEST AND WETTEST DECEMBER
ON RECORD IN ELY, NV. HERE ARE THE TOP 5 DECEMBERS IN EACH CATEGORY.
SNOWIEST WETTEST
25.7 2010 3.18 2010
23.3 2009 3.15 1894
22.3 1968 2.11 1966
21.0 1894 1.87 1909
18.9 1948 1.79 1964
NOTE: MORE PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED IN ELY BEFORE THE END OF THE
MONTH. STAY TUNED TO WWW.WEATHER.GOV/ELKO FOR THE FINAL STATISTICS.