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Northeast Regional Climate Center |
January began with a week of warm temperatures and rainy days. The entire Northeast was at least 2 degrees above normal from the 1st to the 7th of January, with the majority of the region between 8 and 12 degrees warmer than average during this period. Beginning on the 7th, the continental weather pattern changed drastically and January ended up the 11th coldest on record in the Northeast. Wave after wave of arctic air sank into the region from Canada setting many minimum temperature records at observation sites all over the Northeast. Cold snaps occurred from January 9-11, 13-16, and 24-26 causing pipe bursts across the region and prompting school closures even in the winter-hardy northern New England states. Not including the often exceptional West Virginia, the entire region was more than 4 degrees below normal. Massachusetts recorded the coldest January in that state (16.4 degrees) since records began in 1895, surpassing the old record of 16.7 degrees that had stood since 1981. New York, Rhode Island, and Connecticut all fell more than 7 degrees below their respective normals setting January 2004 among the ten coldest on record in each state. The region as a whole was 5.7 degrees below normal and, at 17.3 degrees, was the coldest month since 1994 and 0.8 degrees colder than last January.
When the region changed from warm to cold after the first week in January, it also went from wet to extremely dry. Many observation sites, especially in the northern half of the region, measured less than a quarter inch of rain/melted snow after the first week. All six New England states were more than 2 inches below the normal amount. Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont averaged only about an inch of precipitation (rain plus the liquid equivalent of snow) making this January one of the five driest on record in those states. The largescale dry conditions were alleviated in many upstate New York locales by plentiful lake effect snow which supplimented the early January rain/snow. The near continuous fresh snow pack contributed to temperature departures in the 14 to 16 degree below normal range in these areas during the latter part of the month. Further south the effects of the cold, dry arctic air masses were not as strong and moist air from the south was able to sneak up into Pennsylvania and West Virginia. These two states were very close to normal this month in terms of precipitation. Overall the Northeast fell more than 1 inch short of its January precipitation total but amazingly this was the wettest January since 2000. The lack of rain and snow this month puts an end to an 8-month streak of wet weather here in the Northeast.
Monthly Summary of State Temperature and Precipitation Averages.
| Record low minimum temperature (degrees F) | ||||||
| City | Date | New | Previous | |||
| Montpelier, VT | 8 | -18 | -18 in 1950,1968 | |||
| Lebanon, NH | 9 | -23 | -20 in 1976 | |||
| Mount Washington, NH | 9 | -34 | -34 in 1960 | |||
| Lebanon, NH | 10 | -21 | -21 in 1968 | |||
| Boston, MA | 10 | -3 | 3 in 1968 | |||
| Worcester, MA | 10 | -8 | -5 in 1968 | |||
| New Haven, CT | 10 | 0 | 1 in 1968 | |||
| New York (JFK), NY | 10 | 2 | 3 in 1968 | |||
| New York (Central Park), NY | 10 | 1 | 3 in 1968 | |||
| Syracuse, NY | 10 | -16 | -10 in 1994 | |||
| Rochester, NY | 10 | -12 | -6 in 1982 | |||
| Buffalo, NY | 10 | -7 | -7 in 1982 | |||
| Ithaca, NY | 10 | -17 | -15 in 1968 | |||
| Binghamton, NY | 10 | -14 | -6 in 1982 | |||
| Philadelphia, PA | 10 | 4 | 4 in 1982 | |||
| Montpelier, VT | 10 | -19 | -18 in 1968 | |||
| New Haven, CT | 11 | 0 | 1 in 1968 | |||
| New York (Central Park), NY | 11 | 1 | 3 in 1968 | |||
| Montpelier, VT | 11 | -21 | -20 in 1968 | |||
| Mount Washington, NH | 13 | -38 | -30 in 1988 | |||
| Boston, MA | 14 | -4 | -4 in 1957,1988 | |||
| Syracuse, NY | 14 | -18 | -16 in 1957 | |||
| Mount Washington, NH | 14 | -45 | -38 in 1965 | |||
| Worcester, MA | 15 | -12 | -11 in 1965 | |||
| New York (JFK), NY | 15 | 1 | 4 in 1988 | |||
| Mount Washington, NH | 15 | -45 | -39 in 1994 | |||
| Boston, MA | 16 | -7 | -5 in 1920 | |||
| Worcester, MA | 16 | -12 | -12 in 1994 | |||
| New Haven, CT | 16 | -3 | 3 in 1957,1971 | |||
| New York (JFK), NY | 16 | 1 | 4 in 1994 | |||
| New York (Central Park), NY | 16 | 1 | 1 in 1893 | |||
| Mount Washington, NH | 16 | -44 | -42 in 1994 | |||
| New Haven, CT | 17 | 1 | 1 in 1971 | |||
| Worcester, MA | 24 | -3 | -3 in 1963 | |||
| Mount Washington, NH | 24 | -38 | -31 in 1961 | |||
| Worcester, MA | 25 | -6 | -6 in 1961 | |||
| New Haven, CT | 25 | 2 | 2 in 1961 | |||
| New York (JFK), NY | 25 | 7 | 11 in 1987 | |||
| Syracuse, NY | 25 | -15 | -14 in 1945 | |||
| Mount Washington, NH | 25 | -38 | -34 in 1961 | |||
| Erie, PA | 25 | -5 | 0 in 1945 | |||
| Augusta, ME | 25 | -11 | -8 in 1963 | |||
| Bangor, ME | 25 | -12 | -10 in 1982 | |||
| Montpelier, VT | 25 | -17 | -14 in 1988 | |||
| Atlantic City, NJ | 25 | 4 | 4 in 1961 | |||
| Lebanon, NH | 26 | -18 | -18 in 1961 | |||
| New Haven, CT | 26 | 2 | 9 in 1961 | |||
