Past IEM Features tagged: jan
January Min Wind Chill
02 Feb 2023 05:30 AMOutside of the cold experienced to end the month, January was not all that bad for temperatures in Iowa. One measure of how bad it was is shown by the featured chart of yearly minimum wind chill temperatures for Des Moines during January. The 2023 value comes in near the 95th percentile. Approximately 19 out of every 20 previous Januaries had a colder value. It is kind of interesting to note two of the years failed to even reach a sub zero Fahrenheit value! Temperatures did warm nicely for the first day of February for most of the state, but a reinforcing shot of colder air arrives on Thursday.
Voting:
Good: 9
Bad: 0
Tags: jan windchill
January below Zero
25 Jan 2022 05:29 AMOur brief respite from bitter cold temperatures last week is over with a return of deep freeze conditions last night. Temperatures are again below 0 Fahrenheit with even colder temperatures expected Tuesday night. The featured chart presents the number of hours each January with a temperature below zero for Des Moines. This metric is computed based on available hourly temperatures. The total for this year is highlighted in blue as the month total is still in progress. Of note is that the total for last year's January was zero! The total for this year isn't too out of line versus previous years. The bottom panel presents the number of days for the month with such a temperature at the given hour. The total there for 2022 shows no days this year with afternoon temperatures that cold, so certainly things could be worse!
Voting:
Good: 10
Bad: 0
Tags: jan belowzero
41 Degree Warmup
21 Jan 2021 05:34 AMAfter a chilly start to Wednesday, temperatures soared during the afternoon hours thanks to a brisk southwesterly wind mixing down warmer air from aloft. A few locations in the state were able to add 40+ degrees to the low temperature for an afternoon high. For example, Waterloo had a low of -1 and a high of 40, which makes for a 41 degree warm-up. Such large differences in the daily low and high temperature are a bit rare for January as shown by the featured chart. The left panel presents a histogram of daily temperature combinations during January and the right side of the plot shows some statistics on the daily temperature range. A 41 degree warm-up comes in at the 99.25th percentile, which works out to a return interval of about one day over three years worth of Januarys.
Voting:
Good: 11
Bad: 0
Tags: jan
January vs February Temps
08 Feb 2018 05:33 AMThe January average temperature for Ames came in just under long term average for the month at about 16.5 degrees. The featured chart compares the January average temperature with February for the same year for Ames. Having a below average January does not guarantee the same for the next month. The chart shows each month's average value and the frequency within each quadrant defined by these averages. There is some correlation denoted, which is likely influenced by persistence or dearth of snow cover.
Voting:
Good: 6
Bad: 0
Tags: feb jan
January 50s
29 Jan 2018 05:33 AMVery warm temperatures showed up late last week and into the first half of the weekend with Des Moines hitting 50+ degrees on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. With the rest of the month expected to be cooler than 50, the three days this January is a day above long term average as shown by the featured chart. The chart also shows that a number of years did not even reach 50 once for the month, so things certainly could have been much worse.
Voting:
Good: 6
Bad: 1
Abstain: 1
Tags: jan
Doing Well for January Highs
09 Jan 2018 05:34 AMHigh temperatures on Monday were an awesome relief from the bitter cold to start off the new year. Highs were well above freezing and even into the 40s for parts of Iowa. This is doing very well for January as average highs for the month are generally below freezing for the state as shown by the featured map depicting an analysis of NCEI climatology for the month. We'll have two more very nice days before winter returns in full force on Wednesday into Thursday.
Voting:
Good: 8
Bad: 0
Abstain: 1
Tags: jan
January Days Above Average
29 Jan 2016 05:35 AMTemperatures warmed nicely on Thursday to levels above freezing and above normal for this day in January for Ames. The featured chart displays the number of days each January that the daily high temperature was warmer than the present day climatology for Ames. The total this year will come in lower than each of the past four years and below average for the month. Having said that, temperatures will finish the month with 40+ degrees possible each day for highs prior to the arrival of a major winter storm next week.
Voting:
Good: 32
Bad: 24
Abstain: 31
Tags: jan
Above Freezing in January
13 Jan 2016 05:35 AMTemperatures are expected to approach freezing or just above this afternoon thanks to a warm southwesterly breeze. The featured chart is a wind rose displaying the frequency of wind speed and direction during times of having the temperature above freezing. At first inspection, the high frequencies from the northwest may seem odd, but this is a favored direction for "chinook" style winds blowing down the Rocky Mountains and into Iowa. The downward motion of this air heats it and creates a warm transport into the state.
Voting:
Good: 24
Bad: 9
Abstain: 14
Tags: jan
January Temps + Wind
06 Jan 2016 05:35 AMSo far this January, we have avoided the very cold temperatures. The forecast calls for that to change this weekend and combined with brisk winds, dangerous wind chills are expected. The featured chart presents the frequency of having 5+ mph winds at a given temperature in January for Des Moines. It is interesting to note the increase in frequency with warm and very cold temperatures. It takes strong winds to support these temperatures as the winds advect cold or warmer air into the state.
Voting:
Good: 16
Bad: 14
Abstain: 12
Tags: jan
January Maxes
28 Jan 2015 05:39 AMThe featured chart displays the warmest January high temperature for Ames for each of the past years on record. This year has seen temperatures above 50 degrees, which is just slightly above average for maximum temperature for the month. The chart shows that while each of the past four years has seen a 50+ temperature, the prior five years did not. The amount of snow pack during January makes a big difference to how warm we can get. Temperatures today are expected into the 50s for Ames, so get outside and enjoy it before winter returns!
Voting:
Good: 13
Bad: 6
Abstain: 6
Tags: jan
January Departures
27 Jan 2014 08:21 AMSunday was a wild weather day in Iowa with chinook winds pushing temperatures well above freezing for much of the state during the afternoon hours, while the rest suffered blizzard conditions. The Arctic Front eventually dropped south and put the entire state back in the deep freeze with strong winds. For Des Moines, the high temperature of 49 was well above average while the low temperature of 4 occurred around midnight and was below average. The featured chart presents the frequency of daily high and low temperature departures. Sunday's value is denoted with a 'x' on the chart. The highest frequencies on the chart do not occur at the origin (0 and 0), which is why many prefer to talk about average temperatures and not normal temperatures as the most frequent temperature are not at the mean value!
Voting:
Good: 18
Bad: 8
Abstain: 6
Tags: jan
Windy January
21 Jan 2014 05:38 AMAverage wind speed so far this January has been on the high side of long term average as shown by the featured chart. This has been the windiest 1-20 January period since Jan 1997, which is interesting as this season has been comparable to the fall and winter of 1996-1997 (more on this in future features). The windy conditions have helped to usher in brutal cold and some refreshing warmth so far this January. We are currently getting the cold end as temperatures and wind chills are very cold this Tuesday morning.
Voting:
Good: 28
Bad: 7
Abstain: 6
Tags: jan jan14
Severe Weather Returns
26 Jan 2012 05:58 AMAfter a devastating year of damaging severe weather, 2012 is starting off active with the number of warnings issued second to only 2008 since 2002. More severe weather is possible today over the southeast US.
Voting:
Good: 17
Bad: 4
Tags: jan
Still time to improve
27 Jan 2011 05:50 AMAccording to IEM estimates, the warmest temperature recorded so far in Iowa this month was a mere 44 degrees. This makes for one of the lowest values on record only behind 1979 and 1940. Last year was not much better, with just one degree warmer value of 45. The forecast for the next few days does hold some promise that we may be able to improve on the warmest value with highs hopefully above freezing for most.
Voting:
Good: 17
Bad: 1
Tags: jan11 jan
To be at or above freezing
25 Jan 2011 05:50 AMSome lucky parts of Iowa got to experience at or above freezing temperatures on Monday! For Des Moines, the experience was brief for only a few moments in the mid afternoon. The featured chart presents the number of hours at or above freezing for January measured by the Des Moines ASOS. The total number of hours so far this January is one of the smallest since the epic winters during the late 1970s. January 2006 sticks out with the number of hours totalling around 20 days worth of time! The bottom chart presents the hourly frequency of having at or above freezing temperatures. The largest percentages are in mid-afternoon at just under 40%.
Voting:
Good: 18
Bad: 6
Tags: jan
Snow brings the cold
20 Jan 2011 05:50 AMThe average temperature so far this month is about 5 degrees below normal for Ames with each day having snow cover so far. The featured chart presents the relationship between observed average temperature departure and number of days with snow cover for January. While the linear fit is not perfect, the relationship is fairly clear. The preliminary value so far for 2011 is shown by the plus symbol. The chart shows the coldest five months all having snow cover for 30 or 31 days.
Voting:
Good: 16
Bad: 6
Tags: snowcover jan