Did last month feel warm to you? January was unusually warm in central Indiana, but in a subtle way. The highest temperature recorded at the Purdue University Airport (KLAF) was 63°F — just four degrees warmer than last year. And the lowest temperature — -4°F — was a degree colder than last year. But what if last year was warm, too?
Let’s compare January 2017 to the climate normals (1981-2010). The average daily high was 5.4 degrees above normal, and the average daily low was 5.9 degrees above normal. The average temperature for the month was 5.6 degrees above normal. That’s noticeably warm, but not necessarily outrageous.
What makes January 2017 stand out is the extended stretch of warmer temperatures. More specifically, how it just wasn’t freezing for much of the month. January 2017 was right on target for number of days with a low below zero (3), but it had five fewer days than normal with a low below 32°F. In fact, Lafayette set a new record for consecutive hours in January with a temperature above freezing.
Streaks of January hourly temperatures at or above freezing at KLAF. Chart from Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
Since records began at KLAF in 1972, only two years have had a 10-day or longer above freezing streak. In 1995, we had a 10-day streak. This year it was 10.9 days. It just didn’t get cold for the second half of the month. Four of the last 10 Januaries had at least 5 days with a high temperature above 50°F. Four of the last 10 years also had at least one January day above 60°F. This year’s 2 is bested by 3 in 2008.
So if you were thinking to yourself “wow, January was really warm” but the high temperatures didn’t look all that off, rest assured that it was. It just forgot to January.
Full monthly climate report:
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
1113 AM EST WED FEB 1 2017
...................................
...THE LAFAYETTE IN CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2017...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 9999 TO 9999
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
HIGHEST 63 01/21 59 01/31
LOWEST -4 01/07 -3 01/13
AVG. MAXIMUM 39.4 34.0 5.4 35.5
AVG. MINIMUM 24.9 19.0 5.9 18.3
MEAN 32.1 26.5 5.6 26.9
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 10 12.9 -2.9 13
DAYS MIN <= 32 21 25.8 -4.8 28
DAYS MIN <= 0 3 3.1 -0.1 2
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
TOTALS 4.00 1.86 2.14 1.08 DAILY AVG. 0.13 0.06 0.07 0.03
DAYS >= .01 12 8.7 3.3 6
DAYS >= .10 10 4.0 6.0 4
DAYS >= .50 3 0.8 2.2 1
DAYS >= 1.00 0 0.3 -0.3 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 1.15 01/19 TO 01/20
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 1013 1193 -180 1172
SINCE 7/1 2997 3368 -371 2853
COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0
SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 0
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WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 8.9
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 40/270 DATE 01/10
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 55/270 DATE 01/10
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.70
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 7
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 7
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 17
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 84
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 5 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 6 RAIN 7
LIGHT RAIN 10 FREEZING RAIN 1
LT FREEZING RAIN 1 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 1
LIGHT SNOW 7 SLEET 0
FOG 21 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 1
HAZE 4
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.