Norfolk’s January 2023 Weather

By Russell Russ

The year of 2022 was Norfolk’s eleventh warmest year and November and December were high-ranking for warmth. Winter season snowfall was considerably below normal through December. January seemed to take it to another level, coming in as the warmest January over the last 92 years, while also ranking as the tenth least snowy January. Over recent years, winter has seemed to wait to arrive until after the New Year. This year, we all are wondering if it will arrive at all. 

January’s average temperature of 32.0 degrees was a whopping 11.1 degrees above normal, surpassing the previous record of 31.7 from 2002. Jan. 2022’s monthly average was 17.9 degrees. Quite the difference. Even with the record monthly warmth, there surprisingly was just one day with a record daily high temperature. A high of 54 on Jan. 3 just beat the 53 from 1949. The month’s high temperature was 57 on Jan. 4, one degree shy of the 1949 record for that date. The month’s low temperature of 16 was observed on Jan. 16. Every day this month was above average for mean temperature. That surely will raise the monthly average mean temperature. January is supposed to be one of the year’s coldest months and in Norfolk’s past, there have been many cold ones. Norfolk’s coldest January on record was in 1982 with 11.7 degrees. 

January’s total precipitation of 5.68 inches was 1.66 inches above normal. This January ranked as Norfolk’s fifteenth wettest January. It was a warm and wet month with numerous days and nights with foggy conditions. Not a typical January by any means. The wettest January occurred in 1979 with a total of 11.77 inches and the driest was in 1970 with just 0.74 inch. 

The monthly snowfall total of 8.0 inches was 12.5 inches below normal. There was measurable snow on the ground only from Jan. 24 through the end of the month, but the greatest depth was four inches and that went down to two inches at month’s end. The largest storm snowfall total was 4.7 inches, but that occurred over two days and the maximum depth barely reached four inches - pretty bleak for those who enjoy playing in the snow and also for those who try to make a living from the snow. The snowiest January occurred in 1987 with 50.5 inches. Coming in at second snowiest was Jan. 2011 with 50.0 inches. The least snowy was in 1980 with just 2.6 inches. Norfolk’s 2022-23 winter season (October-January) snowfall total through January was just 22.3 inches, 22.5 inches below normal.  

If you thought January was strange, then February might even top that. The first week of the month acted normal, even colder than normal, with a record setting low of minus 17 on Feb. 4. That was about it for winter until later in the month when temperatures turned a bit colder and we picked up a quick 1.8 inches of snow on Feb. 21. Through two-thirds of the month, this February was very high-ranking for warmth, lack of precipitation and lack of snow. March can be cold and snowy here in Norfolk, but this year, winter just might be over before it starts.

Weather observations are recorded by the Great Mountain Forest at Norfolk’s National Weather Service Cooperative Weather Observer Station, Norfolk 2SW.