Norfolk’s January 2022 Weather

By Russell Russ

The year 2021 was Norfolk’s eighth warmest ever, and December 2021 was its seventh warmest December on record. Winter season snowfall was considerably below normal through December. Would we simply skip winter this year? Or was it just a little slow to appear? Based on January’s weather, it seems that winter was just slow to arrive in Norfolk this year. January 2021 had four days with low temperatures in the single digits and just one day below zero. In comparison, January 2022 had seven days in the single digits and eight days with below zero temperatures. Yes, winter found its way back to Norfolk. At least in January it did.  

January’s average temperature of 17.9 degrees was 3.0 degrees below normal. It was 5.0 degrees colder than January 2021 (22.9) and 10.0 degrees colder than January 2020 (27.9). These recorded temperatures are pretty amazing, yet even with all the cold, there still were no days with daily record temperatures this month, and January 2022 only tied 2005 as Norfolk’s 21st coldest January. Remember, January is supposed to be one of the year’s coldest months, and in Norfolk’s past, there have been many cold ones. January’s high temperature of 48 degrees was on Jan. 1, and the low of minus 9 degrees was on Jan. 22. Norfolk’s warmest January on record was in 2002, with an average temperature of 31.7 degrees. The coldest was in 1982, with 11.7 degrees. 

January’s total precipitation of 2.56 inches was 1.46 inches below normal. 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 17.9 inches was 2.6 inches below normal. Of January’s 31 days, there was at least three inches of snow on the ground for 25 of them. Even with the month’s colder than normal temperatures, Norfolk still had a few days with rain and freezing rain. The largest storm snowfall total was 7.2 inches, from Jan. 16-17. Fortunately, even with some snow and freezing rain during the month, there were few widespread travel or power issues. The snowiest January occurred in 1987, with 50.5 inches. Coming in at second snowiest was January 2011, with 50.0 inches. The least snowy was in 1980, with just 2.6 inches. 

Norfolk’s 2021-22 (October-January) winter season snowfall total through January was just 23.5 inches, 21.3 inches below normal. As much as January gave it a good winter effort, October through December failed miserably in their attempts at winter weather. It will take a strong effort from February and March to bring Norfolk back to near normal for winter snowfall levels. 

A look at February’s weather through two-thirds of the month showed that winter was still here. Not a snow lover’s paradise, but it was winter. Temperatures were running just a little above normal; a few days reached the upper forties and one day was even in the mid-fifties, but there were also several days in the single digits. Temperature swings were the norm. Snowfall was considerably below normal, with just under five inches recorded. Precipitation, however, was above normal. One storm alone, on Feb. 3-5, produced 2.29 inches. This precipitation was mostly in the undesirable form of rain and freezing rain. As is fairly common in Norfolk’s higher elevation, there was considerable tree and wire icing from this event. Surrounding towns did not get the icing, but many parts of Norfolk (including the center of town) were covered in a shimmering glaze of ice for a few days. There were some minor power and road issues, but fortunately it just produced a slew of pretty pictures instead of too much trouble. 

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