January 2012 Weather Summary for Winnipeg
With a monthly average mean of -10.8°C, January 2012 went into the record books as the 3rd warmest January in Winnipeg since records began in 1873. A strong jet stream consistantly kept arctic air bottled up in the arctic and allowed mild Pacific air to dominate through the majority of the month.
Top 5 warmest Januarys in Winnipeg since 1873 (mean temperatures) :
1. 2006 . . . . . . -7.4°C
2. 1944 . . . . . . -10.6°C
3. 2012 . . . . . . -10.8°C
4. 1942 . . . . . . -11.4°C
5. 1992 . . . . . . -11.5°C
This warm January came on the heels of the 9th warmest
December on record. We sure have not felt winter's true fury yet
this winter in southern Manitoba. A strongly + AO which had
dominated December continued to dominate the first half of January.
High temperatures from the 1st to the 10th averaged just over + 1°C,
about 12°C above normal! Records were shattered day after day at
times with highs well above zero. Lows averaged about -8°C during
that same period, about 14°C above normal... For 7 straight days, the
temperature in the city had not even dropped to -10°C once; startling when you consider that the normal daytime high is about -12°C !
January 5 featured the peak of the warmth with temperatures flirting with all-time January highs. A favourable westerly flow of air and abundant sunshine allowed for it. Temperatures were well above zero, especially in the western RRV where temperatures exceeded 10°C!
Here are some record highs that were broken January 5 :
Winnipeg's high of 6.7°C was just shy of its all-time January high of 7.8°C back on Jan 23, 1942 and was the 3rd warmest January day ever. Melita's high of 11.9°C was also just shy of the all-time January high for all of Manitoba. That record currently stands at 14.5°C in McCreary on Jan 7, 2003.
As snow depth was already minimal throughout southern Manitoba, much of the snow had melted letting lots of grass to show up!
A return to reality was felt mid month with temperatures in the minus twenties, ending a 33-day streak of above normal temperatures. However, the frigid airmass was relatively short-lived. Truly, it wasn't even that bad considering Winnipeg did not even get to -30°C once thanks to westerly downslope winds. Temperatures rebounded at the end of the month to temperatures 5-10°C above normal in general.
As a result, more records were broken during the month in addition to January being the 3rd warmest on record.
First of all, we did not reach -30°C once this month, which is something that has happened only on 3 occasions since 1873.
Top Januarys with the least number of days under -30°C :
1. 0 days . . . . . . 1931 1944 2001 2012
5. 1 day . . . . . . . . . 1958 1990 2006
We also tied 8th for least number of days under -20 C. Thanks to the cool down mid-month we had 11 days under -20°C; not even close to 2006 which took top honours with just 3 days under -20°C.
And finally, 8 days above zero this January tied second for the most number of days above zero in January.
Top Januarys with the most number of days above zero :
1. 14 days . . . . . . 1942
2. 8 days . . . . . . . 1944 2012
4. 7 days . . . . . . . 1900 1902 1919 1928 1934 1990
Generally, precipitation this month was fairly normal with no significant winter storms to speak of. Dozens of fast-moving clipper systems brought frequent flurries with a few dumping a quick 2-5 cm. Despite about 20 cm of snow this month, snow depth remained minimal at less than 10 cm, except for the very last day of the month which had a depth of 11 cm. This depth is much below the normal of about 15 to 20 cm. Thanks to above zero temperatures in the beginning of the month, grass could still be seen on some days during the first 10 days of the month. Any snow that did fall in that period just melted with the incredibly mild temperatures.
But just how unnormal was the lack of snowdepth? To demonstrate, I've decided to use the snow depth on Jan 1 and Jan 31, simply because it is the first and last day of the month. (Note: data I'm using for snow depth is from the airport (1955 to 2002), and Charleswood (2005-present)
On Jan 1, the snow depth was 3 cm in the city, which is the 3rd lowest snow depth on record for the day. On Jan 31, the snow depth of 11 cm was the 8th lowest on record for the day.
Top lowest snow depth on January 1:
1. 2 cm . . . . . . 1981 1998
3. 3 cm . . . . . . 1960 1982 1996 2012
7. 4 cm . . . . . . 1984 1988
Top lowest snow depth on January 31:
1. 3 cm . . . . . . 1996
2. 5 cm . . . . . . 1963
3. 8 cm . . . . . . 1958
4. 9 cm . . . . . . 1999
5. 10 cm . . . . . 1982 1986 2000
8. 11 cm . . . . . 1984 2012
10. 12 cm . . . . . 1987
To finish off, here are some interesting reads January 2012-related:
Filling potholes in January
Lack of snow in North Dakota
Record warm Fall-Winter in parts of ND
Third warmest January day on record
Mild weather = January allergies
With a monthly average mean of -10.8°C, January 2012 went into the record books as the 3rd warmest January in Winnipeg since records began in 1873. A strong jet stream consistantly kept arctic air bottled up in the arctic and allowed mild Pacific air to dominate through the majority of the month.
Top 5 warmest Januarys in Winnipeg since 1873 (mean temperatures) :
1. 2006 . . . . . . -7.4°C
2. 1944 . . . . . . -10.6°C
3. 2012 . . . . . . -10.8°C
4. 1942 . . . . . . -11.4°C
5. 1992 . . . . . . -11.5°C
This warm January came on the heels of the 9th warmest
December on record. We sure have not felt winter's true fury yet
this winter in southern Manitoba. A strongly + AO which had
dominated December continued to dominate the first half of January.
High temperatures from the 1st to the 10th averaged just over + 1°C,
about 12°C above normal! Records were shattered day after day at
times with highs well above zero. Lows averaged about -8°C during
that same period, about 14°C above normal... For 7 straight days, the
temperature in the city had not even dropped to -10°C once; startling when you consider that the normal daytime high is about -12°C !
January 5 featured the peak of the warmth with temperatures flirting with all-time January highs. A favourable westerly flow of air and abundant sunshine allowed for it. Temperatures were well above zero, especially in the western RRV where temperatures exceeded 10°C!
Here are some record highs that were broken January 5 :
Winnipeg's high of 6.7°C was just shy of its all-time January high of 7.8°C back on Jan 23, 1942 and was the 3rd warmest January day ever. Melita's high of 11.9°C was also just shy of the all-time January high for all of Manitoba. That record currently stands at 14.5°C in McCreary on Jan 7, 2003.
As snow depth was already minimal throughout southern Manitoba, much of the snow had melted letting lots of grass to show up!
A return to reality was felt mid month with temperatures in the minus twenties, ending a 33-day streak of above normal temperatures. However, the frigid airmass was relatively short-lived. Truly, it wasn't even that bad considering Winnipeg did not even get to -30°C once thanks to westerly downslope winds. Temperatures rebounded at the end of the month to temperatures 5-10°C above normal in general.
As a result, more records were broken during the month in addition to January being the 3rd warmest on record.
First of all, we did not reach -30°C once this month, which is something that has happened only on 3 occasions since 1873.
Top Januarys with the least number of days under -30°C :
1. 0 days . . . . . . 1931 1944 2001 2012
5. 1 day . . . . . . . . . 1958 1990 2006
We also tied 8th for least number of days under -20 C. Thanks to the cool down mid-month we had 11 days under -20°C; not even close to 2006 which took top honours with just 3 days under -20°C.
And finally, 8 days above zero this January tied second for the most number of days above zero in January.
Top Januarys with the most number of days above zero :
1. 14 days . . . . . . 1942
2. 8 days . . . . . . . 1944 2012
4. 7 days . . . . . . . 1900 1902 1919 1928 1934 1990
Generally, precipitation this month was fairly normal with no significant winter storms to speak of. Dozens of fast-moving clipper systems brought frequent flurries with a few dumping a quick 2-5 cm. Despite about 20 cm of snow this month, snow depth remained minimal at less than 10 cm, except for the very last day of the month which had a depth of 11 cm. This depth is much below the normal of about 15 to 20 cm. Thanks to above zero temperatures in the beginning of the month, grass could still be seen on some days during the first 10 days of the month. Any snow that did fall in that period just melted with the incredibly mild temperatures.
But just how unnormal was the lack of snowdepth? To demonstrate, I've decided to use the snow depth on Jan 1 and Jan 31, simply because it is the first and last day of the month. (Note: data I'm using for snow depth is from the airport (1955 to 2002), and Charleswood (2005-present)
On Jan 1, the snow depth was 3 cm in the city, which is the 3rd lowest snow depth on record for the day. On Jan 31, the snow depth of 11 cm was the 8th lowest on record for the day.
Top lowest snow depth on January 1:
1. 2 cm . . . . . . 1981 1998
3. 3 cm . . . . . . 1960 1982 1996 2012
7. 4 cm . . . . . . 1984 1988
Top lowest snow depth on January 31:
1. 3 cm . . . . . . 1996
2. 5 cm . . . . . . 1963
3. 8 cm . . . . . . 1958
4. 9 cm . . . . . . 1999
5. 10 cm . . . . . 1982 1986 2000
8. 11 cm . . . . . 1984 2012
10. 12 cm . . . . . 1987
To finish off, here are some interesting reads January 2012-related:
Filling potholes in January
Lack of snow in North Dakota
Record warm Fall-Winter in parts of ND
Third warmest January day on record
Mild weather = January allergies
January 5 in Winnipeg, almost no snow!