Warmer & Drier-Than-Normal January

Despite some brutally cold weather during the latter half of the month, January was warmer and drier-than-normal in southwestern Connecticut. The average temperature last month was 32.8 degrees, which is 2.7 degrees above normal. We received exactly two inches of precipitation, well below the 3.10" normal. Nearly five inches of snow (4.7") fell last month.

All but one of the last 24 months have been warmer-than-normal at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford. The only month which was colder-than-normal was last November, when the average temperature of 42.7 degrees was 2.8 degrees below the normal average. Last month, only two of the first 17 days featured temperatures below normal. In fact, during one five-day stretch from January 10 through January 14, the average daily temperature each day was 11, 7, 14, 13, and 17 degrees above normal, respectively.

It was a different story the second half of the month, however. Much colder air arrived by January 22, and the average daily temperature was 10 to 14 degrees below normal from January 22 through January 25. In fact, the average daily temperature was below normal for eight straight days from January 21 through January 28. The last three days, however, were featured average daily temperatures of 5, 16, and 14 degrees above normal, respectively.

The warmest temperature last month was 58 degrees on January 31, which happened at 4:36 a.m.prior to the arrival of a powerful cold front. That brought near-hurricane force winds winds, a 61-mph gust, power outages, and damage to buildings, including the roof at Fairfield Ludlowe High School. The coldest temperature last month was eight degrees exactly one week earlier, January 24. There were eight days with a maximum temperature of of 32 degrees or below and 26 days with a minimum temperature of 32 degrees or below.

There were just nine days with measured precipitation last month. The first 10 days only had a trace of precipitation (January 6). Five of the next six days, though, delivered measured precipitation, including 0.56" of liquid precipitation and 3.5" of snow January 16. The next eight days didn't have any measured precipitation, save for a trace of snow on January 21. Then, four of the last eight days of January had precipitation, including a half-inch of snow January 25 and 0.7" of snow January 28.

February is beginning on a chilly note. Daytime temperatures should stay in the 30s through the middle of next week. Nighttime lows will drop close to 20 degrees. Snow is expected to develop Saturday night and continue into Sunday, possibly mixing with rain along the immediate shoreline. Two-to-three inches are possible by Sunday night. More snow is possible later Tuesday into Wednesday.

Have a good weekend.

Paul