When it comes to weather, January was all about leftovers.
Most of the snow on the ground remains from December's record snowfall. And the region's sometimes lower-than-normal temperatures have been driven even lower by the abundance of white stuff.
But as crummy as January felt, the month didn't bring anything near monthly records for temperature or precipitation.
According to Iowa's state climatologist Harry Hillaker: Based on 138 years of records, Iowa saw its 33rd coldest January and 37th wettest; snowfall was about a half-inch below normal.
“I know no one is going to believe it,” Hillaker said.
The Omaha metropolitan area saw its 26th coldest January on record and 28th wettest based on readings at Eppley Airfield, according to Barbara Mayes, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Valley.
Iowa's Hillaker said the statistics don't reflect the ugliness of the month's weather because they don't show the blizzardlike winds that accompanied what little snowfall the state had. Nor do the stats reflect the ice storm that downed power lines late in the month.
There were, however, some noteworthy records for January:
Ÿ Omaha set a new record for snow depth. The previous record for January snow cover was 16 inches, set in 2005 and 1984. Last month's 21 inches buried that mark.
Ÿ On Monday, Iowa surpassed the previous record for the number of consecutive days with at least 4 inches of snow cover. That record had been 54 days, set in 1961-1962. The new record is 55 days and growing.
Hillaker said that snow cover kept temperatures from warming up appreciably. The warmest temperature anywhere in Iowa during January was 45, he said. That's only happened in two other months in 138 years: January 1979 and December 1983.
“That seems like a trivial statistic, but it helps explains things,” he said. While it never got bitterly cold, it simply didn't get warm.
A blast of arctic air early in the month sent eastern Nebraska into the deep freeze. The first 10 days of January were the third coldest on record in Omaha and in Norfolk, and fourth coldest in Lincoln, Mayes said.
Forecasts for February vary. AccuWeather Inc., The World-Herald's weather consultant, predicts temperatures to be lower than normal. The federal Climate Prediction Center says there is no clear climate pattern driving the region's weather and is giving even odds to higher-than-normal, normal, and lower-than-normal temperatures.
Contact the writer:
444-1102, nancy.gaarder@owh.com
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