Tuesday, January 17, 2006
January Continues to Bore Winter Weather Lovers
Matt Ross @ 1:00 AM
Forecast
Today we will see occasional light showers during the day with cloudy conditions and highs in the upper 40s. There is a Winter Weather Advisory through 9 AM for the far Northern and Western suburbs as enough cold air is trapped at the surface such that rain will freeze on contact before temps rise in the late morning. Inconvenience should be minimal in most areas. Tonight, rain and possibly thunderstorms will be on the increase during the overnight hours into Wednesday morning as temperatures rise and hold steady in the 50s before falling late Wednesday as winds shift to the West. However, most of the action will remain to our North. As is the norm this January, there will be very little in the way of cold air behind the front and temps should remain well above average through the weekend.
Cool looking sky yesterday afternoon along Constitution Avenue courtesy of CapitalWeather.com Photographer Kevin Ambrose
Record Warm January?
Warm January continues as we hit the midway point. Through January 15th temperatures are averaging 42.7 degrees or almost 8 degrees above normal. Only 11 out of the 64 January's at National Airport(DCA) have finished above 40 degrees, and only 3 in the last 30 years(1990, 1998, 2002). So far this month only one day has finished below normal. This trend looks to continue through the next week to 10 days. At that time there is some indication that a colder and snowier pattern may start to take hold. As such I believe we may get enough cold air toward the tail end of the month that while we will finish the month well above normal, we will fall short of the 40 degree mark for an average. The record warm January of 1950(48.0F) will not even be approached. That month, high temperatures reached the 60 degree mark 14 times and surpassed 70 degrees 5 times. A repeat is not in the cards. As far as snow, we haven't had any measurable snow since December 15th. Only 5 January's at DCA have finished with no measurable snow and only 3 in the last 30 years. Some may remember last winter when we received only 0.1" all winter until January 17th as a colder and snowier pattern took shape. I still think chances are better than 50/50 that we will see measurable snow this month. I think the last 5 days of the month are the best candidates for snow to re-enter the picture. For those who like snow(I know that isn't everyone), I hope we can resurrect the Snow Lovers Crystal Ball shortly. I will post more thoughts on February and March in the next couple weeks.
Image above right courtesy of Accuweather
Today we will see occasional light showers during the day with cloudy conditions and highs in the upper 40s. There is a Winter Weather Advisory through 9 AM for the far Northern and Western suburbs as enough cold air is trapped at the surface such that rain will freeze on contact before temps rise in the late morning. Inconvenience should be minimal in most areas. Tonight, rain and possibly thunderstorms will be on the increase during the overnight hours into Wednesday morning as temperatures rise and hold steady in the 50s before falling late Wednesday as winds shift to the West. However, most of the action will remain to our North. As is the norm this January, there will be very little in the way of cold air behind the front and temps should remain well above average through the weekend.
Record Warm January?
Warm January continues as we hit the midway point. Through January 15th temperatures are averaging 42.7 degrees or almost 8 degrees above normal. Only 11 out of the 64 January's at National Airport(DCA) have finished above 40 degrees, and only 3 in the last 30 years(1990, 1998, 2002). So far this month only one day has finished below normal. This trend looks to continue through the next week to 10 days. At that time there is some indication that a colder and snowier pattern may start to take hold. As such I believe we may get enough cold air toward the tail end of the month that while we will finish the month well above normal, we will fall short of the 40 degree mark for an average. The record warm January of 1950(48.0F) will not even be approached. That month, high temperatures reached the 60 degree mark 14 times and surpassed 70 degrees 5 times. A repeat is not in the cards. As far as snow, we haven't had any measurable snow since December 15th. Only 5 January's at DCA have finished with no measurable snow and only 3 in the last 30 years. Some may remember last winter when we received only 0.1" all winter until January 17th as a colder and snowier pattern took shape. I still think chances are better than 50/50 that we will see measurable snow this month. I think the last 5 days of the month are the best candidates for snow to re-enter the picture. For those who like snow(I know that isn't everyone), I hope we can resurrect the Snow Lovers Crystal Ball shortly. I will post more thoughts on February and March in the next couple weeks.
Image above right courtesy of Accuweather
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