January 2026 OBS and Discussion

[BlizzLuv]

Fresh coat of snow overnight. 22F 

[PhiEaglesfan712]

57 minutes ago, WeatherGeek2025 said:

those never work out. we would need a phase but those never worked out in my experience 

Yeah, the last time a clipper really worked out was the one in January 2005, which turned into a Nor'easter.

[coastalplainsnowman]

3 hours ago, WestBabylonWeather said:

Fresh coating two days in a row 

Same.  Did better this morning than yesterday.

Edit: On further review, did better yesterday. I'll call it 1/4" tops here.  Still whitened everything up a bit tho.  Calm enough out this morning too.  Another beautiful morning.

[RU848789]

Damn, missed it - we got 1/4" overnight.  Was awake and watching TV most of the time it was snowing (12-3 am per the radar), but never looked outside or on-line, lol.  With 1.0" the past 2 mornings, we're up to 11.2" for the season. 

[Volcanic Winter]

Really beautiful this morning, never underestimate how nice even a small coating of fresh powder in proper cold can be. 

Great New Years, storm or no storm. That squall was fascinating for those that were up for it. And then that burst overnight was the cherry on top. 

[Krs4Lfe]

It was a nice dusting of snow here in North Queens last night right around .2 of an inch at most

[SACRUS]

23 / 14 a new fresh coating of snow from earlier this morning between 6 / 730 am.  Cold and on / off snow showers flurries over the next 72 hours as reinforcing clippers move through.  Warms up by the 5th through the 10/11th with a few chances of 50s around 1/7-1/10.  Beyond there cold is rebuilding into the GL/Plains and perhaps back and forth towards mid month with continued clipper northern stream systems.

 

[Bxstormwatcher360]

.3 down,powder everywhere. Nice and wintery outside with the Grey skies.

[SACRUS]

Records:

HIghs:

EWR: 63 (1979)
NYC: 68 (1876)
LGA: 60 (2022)
JFK: 59 (2022)

Lows:

EWR: 7 (1968)
NYC: 2 (1918)
LGA: 9 (1968)
JFK: 6 (1968)

 

Historical:

1777: George Washington retreated across the frozen mud to escape the British at Trenton and reach safe shelter in northern New Jersey. (Ref. AccWeather Weather History)


 

1839: It is believed Louis Daguerre took the first daguerreotype of the moon. Unfortunately, in March of that same year, his entire laboratory burnt to the ground, destroying all his written records and much of his early experimental work–and that historical image of the moon. A year later, John William Draper, an American doctor, and chemist took his own daguerreotype of the moon. 

1876: The maximum temperature for the date is 71°F. in Washington, DC. (Ref. Washington Weather Records - KDCA)

1897: Tornadoes in January? Two tornadoes touched down on this day. The first tornado touched down in Mooringsport, Louisiana, killing five people and injuring 21 others. The second tornado occurred at Benton, Arkansas. Although this tornado was more destructive in regards to property damage, it caused one death.



 

1910 - A great flood in Utah and Nevada washed out 100 miles of railroad between Salt Lake City UT and Los Angeles CA causing seven million dollars damage. (David Ludlum)

1918: The coldest period of the winter of 1917 and 1918 occurred from December 29th to January 4th. The temperatures for this date were a high of 13 degrees Fahrenheit and a low of +10 degrees Fahrenheit.

1941: Grand Portage, MN gets over 4.5 inches of precipitation in 24 hours. That's roughly how much normally falls there during the winter months (Nov.-Feb). (Ref. AccWeather Weather History)

1948: An ice storm glazed surfaces in Chicago, IL, with ½-1” ice; it was followed by 4”+ snow. Winds to 50 mph common (approx. 100 mph estimate at Glenview Naval Air Station) 11 radio station towers destroyed/damaged. 6,000 Western Union poles down; 5,500 miles of wire broken/tangled. (Ref. Weather Guide Calendar with Phenomenal Weather Events 2010 Accord Publishing, USA)

1949: For 7 weeks, blizzard after blizzard pounded the Great Plains. Temperatures plunged to -50° in some areas. Over 200 people perished. Livestock was hard hit, with over 150,000 head of sheep killed. On this date, the worst blizzard in many years struck northern Colorado. The storm produced blizzard conditions with wind gusts up to 50 mph all day on the 3rd when temperatures stayed in the single digits. That resulted in dangerous wind chill readings from -40° to -55°. The former Stapleton Airport in Denver received 13.3 inches while downtown Denver received 11.8 inches. Snow fell for 51 straight hours in downtown Denver.
(Ref. Wilson Wx. History) (Ref. AccWeather Weather History)

 

1949: A blizzard raged and brought heavy snow, strong winds, and cold temperatures to South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska.

 

1955: Hurricane Alice passed through the Islands of Saint Martin and Saba in the Caribbean Sea on this day. Alice, which developed on December 30, 1954, is the only known Atlantic hurricane to span two calendar years. 

1961 - The coldest temperature of record for the state of Hawaii was established with a reading of 14 degrees atop Haleakela Summit. (David Ludlum)

1987 - A winter storm moving up the Atlantic coast brought heavy snow and high winds to the northeastern U.S. Wind gusts reached 82 mph at Trenton NJ and Southwest Harbor in Maine. Snowfall totals ranged up to two feet at Salem NH and Waterboro ME. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

1988 - "Old Man Winter" took a siesta, with snow a scarcity across the nation. For the second day in a row Alamosa CO reported a record low of 31 degrees below zero. (National Weather Summary)

1989 - Strong and gusty winds prevailed along the eastern slopes of the northern and central Rockies. Winds gusted to 71 mph at Colorado Springs CO and Livingston MT. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

1990 - The first winter storm of the new year and decade developed in the southwestern U.S., and blanketed the northern mountains of Utah with 12 to 23 inches of snow. Up to 22 inches of snow was reported in the Alta-Snowbird area. The storm brought Las Vegas NV their first measurable precipitation in four and a half months, since the 17th of August. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

1994 - High winds buffeted the Northern Front Range of Colorado during the morning hours. Peak wind gusts included 105 mph atop Squaw Mountain near Idaho Springs and 89 mph at Fort Collins. A fast moving "Alberta Clipper" brought up to six inches of snow to Iowa. Up to a foot of snow blanketed the Snowy Range Mountains in southeastern Wyoming. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

1994: High winds buffeted the Northern Front Range of Colorado during the morning hours. Peak wind gusts included 105 mph atop Squaw Mountain near Idaho Springs and 89 mph at Fort Collins. A fast moving "Alberta Clipper" brought up to six inches of snow to Iowa. Up to a foot of snow blanketed the Snowy Range Mountains in southeastern Wyoming.(National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

1999: Chicago had its greatest calendar day snowfall with a total of 18.6 inches of snow on this date.
Grand Rapids, MI recorded 22 inches for their greatest snowstorm ever. Detroit, MI reported a foot of snow and Milwaukee, WI was buried under 15.4 inches; the city's biggest snowstorm in 52 years. Heavy snow of 6 to 8 inches fell across part of northeast South Dakota from the late afternoon hours of the 1st to the early morning hours on this date. Strong north winds of 15 to 30 mph combined with temperatures in the single digits generated wind chills from -25° to -40° and visibilities below 1/4 of a mile at times. Thousands of holiday travelers were stranded on planes at Detroit’s Metro Airport. Many were stuck on planes for hours when snow plows were unable to clear paths to the gates.(Ref. Wilson Wx. History) (Ref. AccWeather Weather History)

 

1999: A powerful winter storm developed over the Texas panhandle and moved northeast through the Missouri bootheel and then north northeast through eastern Illinois and into Michigan. Snow began accumulating in east-central Illinois and areas south of Chicago during the early evening hours of New Year's Day and overspread the city and north suburbs by midnight. Snow continued through the night and much of the day Saturday, January 2. The heaviest snow fell during the daytime hours Saturday and tapered off by late afternoon or early evening and ended by late evening. Northeast winds were 20 to 30 mph with a few higher gusts during the day Saturday. Winds gusted to over 50 mph along the Lake Michigan shoreline. The strong wind coming off the lake enhanced snowfall totals within about 10 miles of the lake. Snowfall was generally 9 to 15 inches over north central and east central Illinois and in the Chicago suburbs. Snowfall in Chicago and the north suburbs in Lake County was 18 to 22 inches. Winds subsided Saturday evening as the storm center passed over southern Lake Michigan. Then strong northwest winds developed Sunday, causing considerable blowing and drifting and hampering clean-up efforts.  The 21.6 inches at O'hare, the official observing site for Chicago, was the second greatest storm total snowfall. The record was 23.0 inches January 26-27, 1967. Of the 21.6 inches, 18.6 fell on January 2, setting a record for the most snowfall on a calendar day. Other snowfall amounts included; Algonquin 14.0, Aurora 14.4, Barrington 18.0, Brookfield 15.1, Bourbonnais 14.0, Channahon 13.0, Chatsworth 17.0, Coal City 13.0, Compton 9.7, Crestwood 14.2, DeKalb 12.4, Dixon 16.4, Earlville 11.3, Fairbury 13.0, Geneva 13.0, Glenwood 16.0, Harvard 9.0, Lake Villa 17.9, LaGrange Park 15.0, Midway Airport 20.6, Mundelein 10.0, Naperville 11.0, Olympia Fields 15.8, Orland Park 13.8, Rochelle 9.6, Rockford 9.0, Streamwood 14.0, Willow Springs 12.0. The heavy snow and blowing snow caused hazardous travel. Lake Shore Drive was closed down for the first time ever. State, county, and local road crews worked around the clock. The City of Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation spent 12 million dollars on snow removal efforts. Three hundred flights were canceled at O'Hare and Midway airports.

 

2006: Six tornadoes impacted central and northern Georgia. The tornadoes were rated from F0 to F3.

2008 - The second day of 2008 brought snow to areas of Indiana, Ohio and the Appalachians through the Northeastern United States. Parts of New England received the heaviest amounts, with some areas receiving storm totals of over 15 inches (38 cm) in several areas of central and eastern Maine. (NCDC)

 

2017: 36 confirmed tornadoes impacted the Deep South from Louisiana to Georgia. Many of the tornadoes came from line segments of storms known as quasi-linear convective systems. A larger convective system also created numerous wind damage reports, and in Alabama, four people died from straight-line winds. 

[wthrmn654]

6 hours ago, NorthShoreWx said:

Perfect fetch for LIS effect snow into the north fork right now.  @wthrmn654 might wake up to a surprise.

21⁰ with light snow in Smithtown at 2am.

Temp had been down to 16⁰ earlier.

 

[JustinRP37]

Beautiful night last night at Catamount skiing with my son. Some ice, but overall wonderful conditions. The coldest I saw on the car thermometer was -2 coming home. Certainly cold out there. As for those saying if it doesn’t snow it should be warm, winter sports enthusiasts strongly disagree! Although talking with some people last night, the common theme was this start is too good and we are all waiting for the shoe to drop. But so far this has been a great winter. 

[sussexcountyobs]

Light snow falling 16.7

[TriPol]

At least with the upcoming warm up, all the old snow will melt so when our next storm hits, it won't be new snow on top of ice.

[CPcantmeasuresnow]

4 minutes ago, TriPol said:

At least with the upcoming warm up, all the old snow will melt so when our next storm hits, it won't be new snow on top of ice.

Im not sure all areas will go green during that period but I'm curious why you view that as better?

[Krs4Lfe]

BAM weather is shutting the door on a potential flip to colder weather starting the 12th. They’re not ruling it out completely but they’re saying the polar vortex might not drop through North America, cutting off the cold air source. Remember, it’s been quite cold across northeast and Midwest, but rest of CONUS has been quite warm. Doesn’t look to have any end in sight. Winter never arrived for many places and without some cold air over there, there won’t be snow. It’s always good to see ample cold air and snow to our west. Instead; it’s only been directed towards our region since early December. Would be better for our storm chances if this changes up 

[MANDA]

Some good lake effect video on this guy's X feed.

https://x.com/ChasingWConnor

[wthrmn654]

Feels like I'm in the movie ground hog day, keep waking up to new snowfall lol

[ForestHillWx]

Apparently as we await the warm up, it looks like deep winter in Chester.

Snow on top of snow pack, with temps that haven’t cracked 32 in about 72-96 hours. 

[Krs4Lfe]

Most of our thaws put us in the 50s. The January thaws in 2020 and 2023 were insane. 65-70 for most of us. Was a telltale sign that winter was finished. 2024 was a bit more muted, and January 2021 and January 2022 were low 50s for the thaw, nothing too crazy, and we went back to wintry conditions after that. I'm certain we'll crack 50 next week, but anything above mid to upper 50s and that's usually a bad sign. 

[vegan_edible]

24 minutes ago, Krs4Lfe said:

Most of our thaws put us in the 50s. The January thaws in 2020 and 2023 were insane. 65-70 for most of us. Was a telltale sign that winter was finished. 2024 was a bit more muted, and January 2021 and January 2022 were low 50s for the thaw, nothing too crazy, and we went back to wintry conditions after that. I'm certain we'll crack 50 next week, but anything above mid to upper 50s and that's usually a bad sign. 

 

[coastalplainsnowman]

28 minutes ago, Krs4Lfe said:

Most of our thaws put us in the 50s. The January thaws in 2020 and 2023 were insane. 65-70 for most of us. Was a telltale sign that winter was finished. 2024 was a bit more muted, and January 2021 and January 2022 were low 50s for the thaw, nothing too crazy, and we went back to wintry conditions after that. I'm certain we'll crack 50 next week, but anything above mid to upper 50s and that's usually a bad sign. 

February 1996 the last week of the month hovered in the upper 50s to lower 60s for the better part of a week, averaging 56.5 degree highs.  6 weeks later we had a 4-12 inch snowstorm.  There's too much variability around here to take much to the bank more than two weeks out, ever.

[WestBabylonWeather]

Vividly remember driving on the southern state parkway in 60 degree weather while the traffic billboards said “winter storm warning avoid travel”

 

warmups don’t scare me. 

[Stormlover74]

49 minutes ago, wthrmn654 said:

Feels like I'm in the movie ground hog day, keep waking up to new snowfall lol

And posts canceling winter

[MANDA]

14 minutes ago, Stormlover74 said:

And posts canceling winter

Until the deep cold gets scoured out of Canada I'm not giving up on this winter.  Still -30's to -40 over large part of NW Canada. 

It has been cold around here for a while so a "thaw" had to be expected.  Not at all giving up on January from about 1/12 onward.....at least from what I see on the guidance as of now.  Some indications could turn quite cold again after mid month. Snow and storms more uncertain.

[Stormlover74]

1 minute ago, MANDA said:

Until the deep cold gets scoured out of Canada I'm not giving up on this winter.  Still -30's to -40 over large part of NW Canada. 

It has been cold around here for a while so a "thaw" had to be expected.  Not at all giving up on January from about 1/12 onward.....at least from what I see on the guidance as of now.  Some indications could turn quite cold again after mid month. Snow and storms more uncertain.

Yeah but bam bam said...

[STORMANLI]

10 hours ago, NorthShoreWx said:

Perfect fetch for LIS effect snow into the north fork right now.  @wthrmn654 might wake up to a surprise.

21⁰ with light snow in Smithtown at 2am.

Temp had been down to 16⁰ 

Down to 12°,then "warmed" up to 19° with the flakes, some were large and delivered 0.1".

27° now.

[North and West]

Is it too early in the new year to cancel winter?


.

[wthrmn654]

Well i successfully shoveled my driveway earlier this time versus yesterday doing it then having a 10 minute coughing /gagging attack cause of this dam cold!  Yey! 

[wthrmn654]

Call me crazy but we have had bigger wind events from fronts then actual noreasters past year or 2?

[BoulderWX]

1 hour ago, Stormlover74 said:

Yeah but bam bam said...

lol - if I had a dollar for every time they’ve been wrong with their pattern analysis