Finally some colder temperatures, but still not much snow
By Russell Russ
Here are the weather highlights from January 2007 as recorded at Norfolk’s National Weather Service Cooperative Weather Observer Station, Norfolk 2SW, by the Great Mountain Forest Corporation. Norfolk 2SW has recorded weather observations since January 1, 1932.
The month’s high temperature of 62 degrees was recorded on January 6. This was a record warm temperature for that date beating the old record of 54 degrees set back in 1993. A high temperature of 56 degrees on January 5 was also a record warm temperature for that date beating the old record of 54 degrees also set back in 1993. The low temperature of 5 degrees below zero was recorded on January 26. Cold for this winter, but really fairly typical for a Norfolk January. A much warmer than normal first half of the month was followed by a normal to just below normal second half. The average temperature was 26.4 degrees which was 6.1 degrees above normal, but not record setting. Cold temperatures and high winds in the latter half of the month gave rise to numerous days recording wind chill values in the range of 10 to 30 degrees below zero. On January 17 both Tobey Pond and Wangum Lake finally froze over for the season. On January 26 Tobey’s ice depth was almost 7 inches.
The total precipitation recorded for the month was 3.00 inches which was 1.01 inches below normal. The month’s 4.1 inches of total snowfall was 17.6 inches below normal. This was the second least amount of snowfall for a January in our 75 years of recording. January 1980 recorded the least snowfall for a January with 2.6 inches. Had we not received 2.3 inches of snow on January 30 this January would own that least snow amount record.
Our Winter Season (October 2006 through April 2007) snowfall total through January is only 5.6 inches. Comparing this season to date to the last 75 years we are now 42.6 inches below a normal season’s snowfall total. We are most likely pushing another record, but let’s get through February and March first. Those two months have dumped some serious snow on Norfolk in the past.
