January 2012's overall weather pattern was reflected by warmer than normal temperatures and the lack of snow cover across a majority of the country. The average temperature in January across the Lower 48 was 36.3 degrees, 5.5 degrees above the 1901-2000 long-term average of 41.8 degrees, making this the fourth warmest January on record, and the warmest since 2006.
Nine states -- Arizona, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming -- experienced January temperatures ranking among their 10 warmest. January 2012 ranked as the 19th warmest for the state of Illinois with an average temperature of 30.2 degrees. Florida and Washington were the only states with temperatures near average, and there were no state that recorded cooler than average temperatures.
Precipitation totals were mixed across the United States during January. The Southern Plains and the Great Lakes were wetter than average for the month, with Texas having above-average precipitation for the second month in a row. Texas had not experienced two consecutive months with above-average precipitation since January-February 2010.
The first two months of the winter season, December and January, have been much warmer than average for the contiguous United States. The two-month period was the fourth warmest on record with an average temperature 3.8 degrees above average. Much of the warmth was anchored across the northern and eastern United States. Minnesota was record warm for the period, with an average temperature 10.1 degrees above average. A total of twenty-two states from Montana to Maine had December-January temperatures ranking among their 10 warmest. Illinois was one of the twenty-two states to rank among its top 10 warmest winters. According to the Illinois State Climatologist Office, Illinois ranked as the 6th warmest on record for the period from December 2011-January 2012 with an average temperature of 33.4 degrees. Records date back to 1895. Below is a list of the top 10 warmest December through January periods.
- 36.8° F in 1932
- 34.7° F in 2002
- 33.8° F in 1950
- 33.55° F in 1934
- 33.45° F in 1933 and 1983
- 33.4° F in 2012
- 32.7° F in 1989 and 2007
- 32.5° F in 1960 and 1992
- 32.3° F in 1941
- 32.1° F in 1939
Contributing factors that have led to such a mild winter in terms of both temperature and snowfall production includes the lack of a "Geenland Blocking Pattern" (resulting in +AO and NAO phases) that could have been responsible for pulling down cold, arctic air from Canada, and the effects of a weak La Nina. These factors led to the trapping of arctic air in Canada and explains for why Alaska experienced such a harsh winter with several locations experienced their coldest January on record with average temperatures ranging from -20 to -40.
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