CLEVELAND -- Northeast Ohio saw a wild weather ride during the month of January.
On Wednesday, the National Weather Service said Cleveland ended up 4.4 degrees warmer than is typical for the month, although this year was not among the top warmest ever.
WKYC Meteorologist Betsy Kling says we have the North Atlantic Oscillation to thank for our mild weather. The pressure pattern blocks cold air from diving southward out of Canada.
"We are seeing a 'positive' setup this year where high pressure over the northern Atlantic is forcing the jetstream to stay north of the US/Canadian border for longer periods of time," Kling says.
In fact, 23 out of 31 days saw a daytime high temperature warmer than normal. This included five days of 50 degree or warmer weather on January 1 (50 degrees), January 6 (54 degrees), January 17 (57 degrees), January 23 (57 degrees) and January 31 (59 degrees).
But there were some chilly days as well in northeast Ohio where the winter jackets were needed. Ten mornings started below 20 degrees with the lowest being six degrees on January 20th. Even this chilliness was no where close to the all time coldest record of -20 degrees set in Cleveland on January 19, 1994.
Snowfall for January was right on par with 18.1 inches falling on 17 days. However, for the entire winter, Cleveland remains almost a foot of snow below normal thanks in part to the same weather setup that allowed for warmer temperatures, and thus, more rain this year.
Elsewhere across northern Ohio, here is how some major cities fared for January:
- Cleveland: +4.4 degrees | +.49" rain | -.6" snow
- Akron: +5.5 degrees | +.77" rain | +1.8" snow
- Mansfield: +4.8 degrees | +.75" rain | +2.7" snow
- Toledo: +4.7 degrees | +.37" rain | -4.7" snow
- Youngstown: +5.4 degrees | +1.96" rain | +9.6" snow
WKYC-TV