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Northeast Regional Climate Center |
After a relatively mild start, January temperatures took a dive and the region ended up 4.9 degrees colder than normal. With an average temperature of 18.1 degrees, this month was the coldest month since January of 1994. Despite the abnormal cold, none of the states were close to breaking any individual records. Massachusetts came closest to a record cold month but was still 2.8 degrees warmer than the record of 16.7 degrees. New York and New Hampshire were 5.5 and 5.6 degrees below normal, respectively, but Vermont had the greatest negative departure at 6.2 degrees. This was the first month since December 2000 in which each of the 12 states averaged below freezing, and the first month since January 1994 that each state averaged below 30 degrees. January 2003 was only the fourth January below normal out of the past 15 years. Last January was 12.4 degrees warmer than this year.
Only 69% of the normal rain/snowfall amount fell on the Northeast this January. In total the region received 2.30 inches, making this the 24th driest January of 109 years on record. Maine, Delaware and Rhode Island were all more than 2.0 inches below normal, totaling less than 55 percent of normal. Maine measured only 1.36 inches of precipitation which was its eighth lowest total on record. The remaining nine states were between 1.0 and 2.0 inches under the normal total with the exceptions of New York, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania which were 0.41, 0.85, and 0.68 inches short of their normals. This was the fourth dry January in a row, and it broke the streak of four straight wetter than normal months beginning last September.
Monthly Summary of State Temperature and Precipitation Averages.
While the temperature departures for the whole month averaged about to 4.9 degrees below normal, between the 15th and 30th of January most of the Northeast experienced an average temperature more than 10 degrees below normal, with many places more than 15 degrees below the norm. The 28th was especially cold, setting records across the Northeast.
| Record minimum temperature on 1/28 (degrees F) | |||
| City | New | Previous | |
| Portland, ME | -12 | -11 in 1935 | |
| Lebanon, NH | -24 | -19 in 1971 | |
| Bridgeport, CT | 3 | 4 in 1966 | |
| Providence, RI | -1 | 1 in 1961,71 | |
| Montpelier, VT | -22 | -18 in 1969 | |
| Bedford, MA | -6 (tie) | -6 in 1971 | |
| Scranton, PA | -6 | -4 in 1987 | |
| Elmira, NY | -8 | -6 in 1935 | |
| Massena, NY | -29 | -25 in 1971 | |
| Utica, NY | -15 | -7 in 1955 | |
| Glens Falls, NY | -27 | -17 in 1971 | |
| White Plains, NY | 1 | 3 in 1977 | |
| Other record minimum temperatures (degrees F) | |||
| City | Date | New | Previous |
| Lebanon, NH | 25 | -19 | -15 in 1961 |
| Montpelier, VT | 25 | -14 (tie) | -14 in 1968 |
| Massena, NY | 27 | -29 | -26 in 1982 |
| Buffalo, NY | 30 | -3 | -1 in 1948 |
| Mount Washington, NH | 21 | -33 (tie) | -33 in 1970 |
