January in Eastern Iowa colder than average

In deepest midwinter, even the most optimistic outlook is cold comfort.

“The El Nino answer is, this month should be warmer than normal,” State Climatologist Harry Hillaker said Tuesday afternoon. “But that was the answer for December and January, and it didn't really pan out.”

Instead, January's average daily temperature of 13.7 degrees was 4.1 degrees cooler than normal statewide, making this the 33rd coldest of 138 Januaries on record. Cedar Rapids' average daily temperature for the month was 13.6 degrees, 4.8 degrees cooler than average.

Usually, El Nino, the major warming of the equatorial waters in the Pacific Ocean, that occurs every 3 to 7 years, brings warmer than usual temperatures to the upper Midwest. But this year has been stubbornly cooler and snowier than average.

Hillaker noted the National Weather Service is calling for near normal temperatures for the next two weeks, based on computer models.

“That would be warmer than January by 8 degrees but still cold enough, and cold enough that we'll still be seeing snow if there's any precipitation,” said Hillaker.

The average from about 130 recording sites statewide was 1.33 inches of precipitation for the month, 0.38 inches more than usual. Although the weather service station at The Eastern Iowa Airport recorded no more than a trace of snow all month, Hillaker said that site's automated sensor isn't a reliable indicator of snowfall. He prefers the weather service site in Marion, which recorded 8.7 inches of snow for the month.

“And we never really got all that warm, so there wasn't much melting,” said Hillaker. “That made it seem worse.”