January 2009: 7th warmest January on record

[cboy4]

Interesting!

:bounce:



Posted by: JeffMasters, 2:58 PM GMT on February 23, 2009

Earth recorded its 7th warmest January on record, according to statistics released by the National Climatic Data Center. The most notable extreme temperatures were recorded in southern Australia January 28-31, when the hottest weather since 1939 occurred.

January 2009 Northern Hemisphere sea ice extent is unknown, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. A sensor error in January caused underestimation of the ice coverage during the month, and a correction needs to be applied to the data.

At worst, January 2009 had the 6th lowest Arctic ice extent on record. The record January low was set in 2006. The sensor error does not affect months prior to January, and does not affect the records lows observed in September 2008 and 2007.

A dry January with average temperatures for the U.S.
For the contiguous U.S., January temperatures were near average. It was the 59th warmest January in the 114-year record, according to the National Climatic Data Center. The month was very dry, ranking as the 5th driest January on record.

Only ten (preliminary) tornado reports were logged by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center in January, making it the quietest January for tornadoes since 2004, when only three tornadoes were recorded. U.S. records set in January 2009 (courtesy of http://extremeweatherguide.com/updates.asp):

Waterloo, IA: All-time coldest temperature record tied on 1/16, -34°F

Maine: All-time coldest temperature -50°F at Big Black River

At the end of January, 21% of the contiguous United States was in moderate-to-exceptional drought. This is an increase from the 19% figure at the end of December.

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1192

[Earth_First]

1. But...but...but...

"The northeast has had one of it's snowiest seasons in many recent years..."

:eyes:

[getthefacts]

2. I couldn't tell

up here in Mass. But hey, looking forward to those December beach nights... :sarcasm:

[kestrel91316]

3. Yep. Dec was VERY weirdly wet and cold, and Feb has been pretty cold and

rainy, but Jan was HOT AND BONE FRICKIN' DRY 'round these parts.