January 2026 OBS and Discussion

[NorthShoreWx]

5 hours ago, SACRUS said:

 

22 / 5 split today.  Colder tomorrow.  Weekend storm sleeps with the fishes.  

Storm Luca?

[NorthShoreWx]

48 minutes ago, Volcanic Winter said:

Pics of the glacial conditions… in Seaside Park (my parents). To clear their driveway I’ve had to, no joke, use a metal framing hammer with a pointed end bit by bit and a metal shovel.

 

This is ONLY the accreting ice that had fallen the last 4-6 hours of the storm, I had cleared away the 6ish inches of snow that fell first during the storm. 

This is wild. I’m sore. Salt has been effectively useless. Crazy!

My pack at home hasn’t reduced more than a half inch - inch since the storm, about as perfect retention as it gets. 

Should have waited to clear the snow.  It's a lot easier to crack the ice off of powder snow than off the pavement.

[nycsnow]

A lot of the models seem to like the Feb 10-12 time period. Hopefully it continues to show up for another week or so and then we can take that week serious 

[Volcanic Winter]

13 minutes ago, NorthShoreWx said:

Should have waited to clear the snow.  It's a lot easier to crack the ice off of powder snow than off the pavement.

Yup, was a mistake in hindsight. There were other factors though including my car acting up, was just frantically trying to get something accomplished at their place during the height of it - and then get home safely. I was worried about exactly their conditions now, figured it would’ve been more difficult letting everything fall before shoveling the next day. 

Regardless they got the worst of the ice for sure, we had about half of that where I live about 10- 12ish miles inland of them. 

[EastonSN+]

NYC will be just 2 degrees warmer than the record high temp on this date.

Lots of records are forecasted to fall in Florida feel bad for vacationers.

[jm1220]

Down to 6. 

[WIN]

Minus 1.

[lee59]

8 here.

[TriPol]

36 minutes ago, EastonSN+ said:

NYC will be just 2 degrees warmer than the record high temp on this date.

Lots of records are forecasted to fall in Florida feel bad for vacationers.

The record high temp for Jan 30 in NYC is 64 degrees (set in 2006). To be 2 degrees warmer than the record high, we would need to be 66. The high for today will be 21 degrees.

[EastonSN+]

1 minute ago, TriPol said:

The record high temp for Jan 30 in NYC is 64 degrees (set in 2006). To be 2 degrees warmer than the record high, we would need to be 66. The high for today will be 21 degrees.

My mistake record low high temp. 

[WeatherGeek2025]

cold morning stiff wind, 4 degrees to start

[EastonSN+]

Not every day you see this lol.

[Freezing Drizzle]

Current, as of 7:30 am.

[dmillz25]

7 here

[sussexcountyobs]

Currently 0F

[donsutherland1]

Sunrise. 8°.

[bluewave]

This is one of those rare times that a November 500mb pattern locked in for the winter. 
 

 

 

 

[SACRUS]

Down to 4 here now to 12 / 5.   Sub 20 high today, olver cold into the beyond with some moderation perhaps to or above freezing for some Mon - Wed before next reinforcing shot of cold with arctic front / clipper in the Thu / Fri timeframe with next stronger cold 2/6 - 2/8.  Another system pegged for the period of 2/11 - 2/13-14 period.  

 

[SACRUS]

Records:

Highs:

EWR: 66 (2013)
NYC: 64 (2006)
NYC: 64 (2006)
JFK: 62 (2006)


Lows:

EWR: 3 (1935)
NYC: -1 (1873)
NYC: -1 (1873)
JFK: 7 (2019)

 

 

Historical:  

 

1936 - Birmingham, AL, established a single storm record and 24 hour record with 11 inches of snow. (29th-30th) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)

 

1966: The Blizzard of 1966 impacted New York and paralyzed the region. The train service was disrupted. Numerous highways, the New York State Thruway from Albany to the Pennsylvania state line, and the Buffalo Airport and other airports throughout western and central New York were closed. The Syracuse-Oswego area's hardest hit, where Bob Sykes, a meteorology professor at the State University of New York at Oswego, reported a whopping 102.4 inches! Some schools in Orleans County were closed for the entire week following the blizzard. Economic loss from the storm was estimated at $35 million. Winds gusting to 60 mph and temperatures in the teens, and heavy and blowing snow created severe blizzard conditions.

1977 - The great "Buffalo Blizzard" finally abated after three days. The storm added a foot of new snow to 33 inches already on the ground. Winds gusting to 75 mph reduced visibilities to near zero, produced snow drifts twenty-five feet high, and kept wind chill readings 50 degrees below zero. The blizzard paralyzed the city, and caused 250 million dollars damage. (David Ludlum)

1987 - A winter storm brought more heavy snow to the North Atlantic Coast Region, with 13.6 inches reported at Hiram ME. January proved to be the snowiest of record for much of Massachusetts. Worcester MA reported an all-time monthly record of 46.8 inches of snow. (National Weather Summary)

1988 - Strong southerly winds, gusting to 53 mph at Kansas City MO, spread warm air into the central U.S. Nineteen cities reported record high temperatures for the date. Snow and strong northwest winds ushered cold arctic air into the north central states. The temperature at Cutbank plunged from 54 degrees to a morning low of 7 degrees below zero. (National Weather Summary)

1989 - The temperature at McGrath, AK, dipped to 62 degrees below zero, and Fairbanks reported a reading of 51 degrees below zero, with unofficial readings in the area as cold as 75 degrees below zero. The massive dome of bitterly cold air began to slide down western Canada toward the north central U.S. Strong southwest winds ahead of the arctic front pushed the temperature at Great Falls MT to 62 degrees, and gusted to 124 mph at Choteau MT, overturning trucks and mobile homes, and a dozen empty railroad cars. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

1990 - A major winter storm produced heavy snow from Indiana to New England. It was the biggest storm in two and a half years for eastern New York State. Snowfall totals in the mountains of Maine ranged up to 20 inches at Guilford and Lovell. Other heavy snowfall totals included 17 inches at Utica NY, and 19 inches at Bethel VT, Ludlow VT, and New London NH. The storm claimed three lives in eastern New York State, and four lives in Vermont. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

2002 - One of the driest Januarys on record in Iowa was broken up by a winter storm that produced snowfall across the state from January 30-31. The snow was heaviest across southern and southeastern Iowa, where storm total accumulations ranged between 11 and 13 inches along and south of Chariton�s line through Ottumwa to Wapello and Burlington. The highest reported totals were 13.2 inches at Leon and 13.0 inches at Bloomfield and Fairfield.

2002: One of the driest Januarys on record in Iowa was broken up by a winter storm that produced snowfall across the state from January 30-31. The snow was heaviest across southern and southeastern Iowa, where storm total accumulations ranged between 11 and 13 inches along and south of Chariton’s line through Ottumwa to Wapello and Burlington. The highest reported totals were 13.2 inches at Leon and 13.0 inches at Bloomfield and Fairfield.

2005 - A significant ice storm struck parts of northern Georgia on the 30th-31st. Ice accretion was as great as 2 inches in Monroe county, located southeast of Atlanta. Power outages in the area at the height of the storm affected nearly 320,000 homes and businesses.

[psv88]

8 

[CPcantmeasuresnow]

Bottomed out at 0° this morning.

I would fully expect all non-Urban and non shore areas to go below zero tonight, if skies remain clear and winds calm.
I would expect a lot of double digit below zero in the forum area tomorrow morning in the usual colder spots.

[jm1220]

37 minutes ago, psv88 said:

8 

Still damn cold but too much of a breeze to have a chance at low single digits last night. 

[Roger Smith]

The record low max for NYC today is 16F set in 1934. That was followed by even colder weather in February. The max on Feb 9 was just 8F. Another record was set on the 25th of February (16F). 

The next coldest maxima for Jan 30 are 18F in 1908, 19F in 1977, and 20F in 1873, 2010.

Tomorrow's record low max is also 16F shared by 1935 and 2019. It was likely colder in the daytime on Jan 31, 1920 but an early midnight high prevented a record, by the next midnight it was below zero setting records for both Jan 31 (-1F ) and Feb 1  (-2F). Today's record low was -1 in 1873. Since then, the coldest readings have been 8F in 1908 (and 1952), 4F in 1935 as well as 1948, and 6F in 2019. It was then 2F for a low on Jan 31, 2019. Other very cold mins for Jan 31 include 0F in 1948, 2F in 1935, 8F in 1977 as well as 1872, and 9F in 1908. 

The severe cold of Jan 31-Feb 1 1920 was followed a few days later by three days of heavy mixed precip that included daily precip values over an inch and snowfalls over 5" on Feb 4, 5 and 6. 

[TWCCraig]

8.9°F this morning. Coldest of the year so far but tonight should be colder if winds go calm.

Interested to see what spots can radiate good tonight, wouldn't be surprised to see double digit negatives in the pine barrens of LI and NJ and other isolated low lying areas

[NorthShoreWx]

9⁰ low.  I could hear the wind gusting all night.

Tonight's temperatures should be interesting... Unless there's too many high clouds from storm Luca.

[Nibor]

Washington Square Park

[winterwx21]

Got down to 5 here this morning. With the wind going calm tonight we have a good chance of getting down to 0, which would be the first time in quite awhile here. 

[MANDA]

Low of 3 here for second morning in a row.  Zero or below has been unusually elusive here during all this cold even with a solid snow pack.  Seems there has always been a breezing kicking up or some high clouds.