By Russell Russ

Winter seems to be vacationing in Alaska and Europe this year. In many locations throughout the Northeast it was the warmest January on record. And while it was warm in Norfolk, it was only the tenth warmest January on record. Seasonal snowfall totals lag well behind normal as well.”

While the smaller ponds froze over in late December, it wasn’t until January 9 that Tobey Pond did so. Continuing the strange weather, Wangum Lake did not freeze over until January 16. This one week separation between the two bodies of water freezing is normally just a few days in length.

With an average mean temperature of 26.0 degrees, January was 5.2 degrees above normal. With an average mean temperature of 32.4, January 2002 remains the warmest on record. The month’s high temperature of 51 degrees was observed on January 7. The low temperature of minus 3 degrees, our coldest temperature yet this season, was observed on January 15.  

January’s total precipitation was 3.82 inches, 0.24 inches below normal. The monthly snowfall total of 11.4 inches was 9.6 inches below normal and far from last January’s 50 inches. The snowfall total for this winter season to date, October through January, is 38.5 inches. This is 7.3 inches below normal. With several weeks remaining in the season, there is a strong possibility that our largest snowfall of the season will have come prior to Halloween. 

Weather observations are recorded by the Great Mountain Forest Corporation at Norfolk’s National Weather Service Cooperative Weather Observer Station, Norfolk 2 SW. For additional weather information visit greatmountainforest.org and click on weather.