The return of the January thaw
After another week of Arctic cold, wind and snow, the area may be seeing the January thaw return.
Upper level winds suggest a turn to a more westerly direction over the weekend and this could effectively shut off the supply of cold Arctic air, which has become a regular visitor who many feel has over stayed its visit.
With the forecasted change in wind direction, we should see temperatures beginning today more in line with seasonal averages, which are 39 degreees for the high and 21 for the morning low. It also appears that this period of thaw will not be as warm as the one last week, but it should last a bit longer. In fact, temperatures may be close to the seasonal values for the rest of January.
It is important to remember that with mild afternoon temperature to melt away some of the snow and ice, nighttime temperatures could still fall below freezing and the melted snow could refreeze on area roads in the form of black ice. This can be very dangerous as much of time drivers just think the road is wet when actually a thin layer of ice has formed and the roadway has become very slippery. After periods of intense Arctic cold, the ground is often much colder than the actual air temperature and this helps black ice form.
Many auto accidents, as well as slips and falls occur at this time of the year due to these icy conditions.
The next week or so should see afternoon temperatures in the 30s and 40s, but nights will fall back into the 20s and low 30s.
Speaking of milder temperatures, we are statistically at our low point for the season and very soon we will see an upturn in average temperatures. Just a degree rise until the end of the month, then six additional degrees for February and 11 degrees for March. The longer days finally begin to have an effect. Sunrise and sunset today are 7:39 a.m. and 5:22 p.m. By the end of January, we are at 7:30 a.m. and 5:38 p.m.
On this date back in 1994, the temperature fell to 18 below zero. The cold was about as intense as it can get in this area with below zero temperatures being recorded for 52 hours straight from 6 a.m. on the Jan. 18 until 10 a.m. on Jan. 21. We also recorded our coldest temperature ever at -22 on Jan. 19. The afternoon temperature that day only reached -3 degrees.
In the mountains, the low was 24 below zero with an afternoon high of -6. This makes the past several weeks of cold pale in comparison.
Enjoy the mild weather.