Climatological Report (Monthly)
Issued by NWS Buffalo, NY
Issued by NWS Buffalo, NY
530 CXUS51 KBUF 030753 CLMBUF CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY 832 AM EST THU FEB 01 2024 ................................... ...THE BUFFALO NY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2024... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD: 1991 TO 2020 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1871 TO 2024 WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S) NORMAL ................................................................ TEMPERATURE (F) RECORD HIGH 72 01/25/1950 LOW -16 01/17/1982 HIGHEST 52 01/09 47 01/17 LOWEST 6 01/17 15 01/31 01/20 AVG. MAXIMUM 33.9 32.1 1.8 36.9 AVG. MINIMUM 24.9 19.0 5.9 28.6 MEAN 29.4 25.5 3.9 32.8 DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0 DAYS MAX <= 32 12 16.4 -4.4 6 DAYS MIN <= 32 26 27.1 -1.1 22 DAYS MIN <= 0 0 1.8 -1.8 0 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 6.88 1982 MINIMUM 0.89 1921 TOTALS 5.67 3.35 2.32 3.89 DAYS >= .01 22 21 DAYS >= .10 14 11 DAYS >= .50 2 2 DAYS >= 1.00 1 0 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 1.07 01/26 TO 01/26 0.99 01/03 TO 01/04 SNOWFALL (INCHES) RECORDS TOTAL 68.3 1977 TOTALS 45.6 26.7 18.9 14.7 SINCE 7/1 53.6 60.7 -7.1 SNOWDEPTH AVG. 6 1 DAYS >= 1.0 10 7.5 2.5 5 DAYS >= 0.1 19 10 GREATEST SNOW DEPTH 21 01/19 6 01/27 01/20 01/28 24 HR TOTAL 12.0 01/17 TO 01/17 DEGREE DAYS HEATING TOTAL 1094 1223 -129 991 SINCE 7/1 3013 3532 -519 MM COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0 SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 MM ................................................................ WIND (MPH) AVERAGE WIND SPEED 10.6 HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 44/150 HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 70/140 DATE 01/09 SKY COVER POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 0 NUMBER OF DAYS PC 0 NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 31 AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 82 WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORM 2 MIXED PRECIP 0 HEAVY RAIN 1 RAIN 4 LIGHT RAIN 11 FREEZING RAIN 0 LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0 HEAVY SNOW 5 SNOW 11 LIGHT SNOW 25 SLEET 1 FOG 28 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 7 HAZE 2 - INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS. R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED. MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING. T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT. && ... CLOUDY AND WET MONTH ... CLOUDS WERE ABUNDANT THIS MONTH, WITH JUST TWO PARTIAL DAYS FEATURING DEEP BLUE SKY. THE FIRST AND LAST WEEKS OF THE MONTH WERE QUIET AND WARM, WHILE THE MIDDLE WEEKS OF THE MONTH OF JANUARY FEATURED TWO HIGH END WIND EVENTS, AND TWO SIGNIFICANT LAKE EFFECT SNOW EVENTS. THE COMBINATION OF THESE LAKE EFFECT EVENTS AND GENERAL RAINFALL PUSHED THE PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH TO 8TH WETTEST JANUARY ON RECORD. THE TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH AVERAGED 29.4F. THE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE WAS JUST 1.8F DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL, WHILE THE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE AVERAGED WELL ABOVE NORMAL, COMING IN AT 5.9F DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. THE COMBINED DECEMBER AND JANUARY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 34.3F IS FOURTH WARMEST IN 153 YEARS OF RECORD FOR THIS 2-MONTH STRETCH, AND WARMEST SINCE 2015-16, WHICH HAPPENED TO ALSO BE A STRONG EL NIO WINTER. THERE WERE JUST 8 DAYS THAT AVERAGED BELOW NORMAL, ALL CONSECUTIVE DURING THE MIDDLE PART OF THE MONTH. THE 11 DAYS THAT REMAINED AT OR ABOVE FREEZING IS 5TH GREATEST IN JANUARY`S HISTORY RECORD. DESPITE THE WARM MONTH, THERE WERE NO TEMPERATURE RECORDS SET. PRECIPITATION TOTALED 5.67 INCHES FOR THE MONTH, FINISHING 8TH WETTEST ON RECORD. PERSISTENT LAKE EFFECT SNOW MID-MONTH, AND A SYNOPTIC RAIN EVENT THAT DROPPED OVER AN INCH OF RAIN ON THE 26TH PRODUCED THE WET MONTH. WHILE THE NUMBER OF DAYS (22 DAYS) WITH MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION WAS JUST 2 DAYS MORE THAN NORMAL (20 DAYS), THE NUMBER OF DAYS WITH AT LEAST A QUARTER INCH OF PRECIPITATION (10) IS SECOND GREATEST FOR JANUARY, TRAILING JUST THE WET JANUARY OF 1999. SNOW TOTALED 45.6 INCHES WHICH IS THE 11TH SNOWIEST JANUARY ON RECORD. MOST OF THIS SNOW FELL DURING THE 3RD WEEK OF THE MONTH WHEN TWO LAKE EFFECT SNOW EVENTS OCCURRED, WITH 35.4 INCHES OF SNOW ACCUMULATING FROM THE 14TH TO THE 20TH AT THE BUFFALO AIRPORT. TWO DAILY SNOWFALL RECORDS WERE ESTABLISHED, WITH THE 8.6 INCHES ON THE 14TH AND 7.9 INCHES ON THE 18TH ESTABLISHING NEW DAILY RECORDS. HOWEVER THE GREATEST DAILY SNOWFALL OCCURRED ON THE 17TH, WITH 12.0 INCHES OF SNOW MEASURED. THE SNOW DEPTH BUILT UP TO 21 INCHES THIS MONTH, BECOMING JUST THE 18TH JANUARY ON RECORD TO RECORD A SNOW DEPTH OF AT LEAST 20 INCHES. THE MILD START TO WINTER CONTINUED INTO THE FIRST HALF OF JANUARY WITH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES RECORDED THROUGH THE 13TH. THERE WERE TWO RELATIVELY CLOSE WIND EVENTS THIS MONTH THAT PRODUCED WIDESPREAD WIND DAMAGE. BOTH EVENTS FEATURED STRONG SOUTHEASTERLY DAMAGING WIND GUSTS, NOT THE COMMON SOUTHWEST WIND DIRECTION FOR HIGH WIND EVENTS. THE FIRST EVENT, ON THE 9TH AND 10TH OF THE MONTH WAS FOLLOWED BY THE SECOND EVENT ON THE 13TH AND 14TH OF THE MONTH. SOUTHWEST WINDS BEHIND A COLD FRONT ON THE 14TH PRODUCED A SEICHE ON LAKE ERIE OF 7.4 FEET. THIS COLD FRONT ALSO BROUGHT THE BEGINNING OF AN 8-DAY STRETCH OF MORE TYPICAL WINTER CHILL. LAKE EFFECT SNOW ON THE 13TH BEGAN NEAR THE BUFFALO METRO AREA BEFORE SETTLING SOUTHWARD BRIEFLY. THIS BAND OF SNOW LIFTED BACK TOWARDS THE AIRPORT EARLY ON THE 14TH, AND ACROSS NIAGARA COUNTY DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS OF THE 14TH. BY LATER IN THE MORNING THIS BAND SETTLED BACK SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE BUFFALO SOUTHTOWNS, WHERE IT LARGELY REMAINED THROUGH THE MORNING OF THE 15TH. LATER, THIS SNOWBAND LIFTED BACK NORTHWARD ACROSS THE BUFFALO NORTHTOWNS AND NIAGARA COUNTY WHERE IT DIMINISHED TO FLURRIES. SEVERAL FEET OF SNOW FELL DURING THIS EVENT ACROSS THE BUFFALO SOUTHTOWNS, WITH HEAVY IMPACTS ACROSS THE COUNTY OF ERIE WITH TRAVEL BANS AND A FOOTBALL PLAYOFF GAME DATE SHIFTED. AFTER A SYNOPTIC WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE PASSED ACROSS THE REGION WITH A LIGHT GENERAL SNOWFALL, ANOTHER BAND OF HEAVY LAKE EFFECT SNOW FORMED ACROSS THE BUFFALO SOUTHTOWNS LATE ON THE 16TH. THIS BAND OF SNOW AGAIN OSCILLATED ACROSS ERIE COUNTY THROUGH THE 18TH. SEVERAL FEET OF SNOW ACCUMULATED WITH THIS EVENT ACROSS THE BUFFALO SOUTHTOWNS AND PROVIDED A WEEKLY TOTAL OF SIX FEET TO SEVERAL BUFFALO SOUTHTOWN COMMUNITIES. ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM BROUGHT LIGHT SYNOPTIC SNOWS TO WESTERN NEW YORK ON THE 19TH. NORTHERLY FLOW BEHIND THIS SYSTEM BROUGHT LAKE SNOWS NOW CONCENTRATED TO THE SOUTH OF LAKE ERIE AND ONTARIO, WITH DAY TO DAY ACCUMULATIONS ON THE 19TH THROUGH THE 21ST ADDING UP TO AROUND A FOOT OF SNOW SOUTH OF LAKE ONTARIO. WINTER`S BRIEF APPEARANCE ENDED ON THE 24TH WHEN TEMPERATURES WARMED INTO THE LOWER 40S WITH WIDESPREAD RAINFALL. THIS RAIN RIPENED THE SNOWPACK, SUCH THAT THE INCH OF RAINFALL ON THE 26TH MELTED THE SNOWPACK PRODUCING POOR DRAINAGE FLOODING. WHILE ICE JAMS OCCURRED ON AREA CREEKS THEIR IMPACTS WERE MANAGEABLE DUE TO THIN ICE THICKNESS. SEVERAL CREEKS AND RIVERS ROSE TO NEAR OR BEYOND BANKFULL DURING THIS WARM STRETCH, INCLUDING THE ELLICOTT CREEK AND TONAWANDA CREEK. A LITTLE LIGHT RAIN AND SNOW ENDED THE MONTH WITH LITTLE IMPACT. THE FINAL DAY FEATURED A SUNNY START, ONE OF ONLY TWO DAYS (16TH) TO FEATURE ANY MEANINGFUL SUNSHINE. THE WATER TEMPERATURE ON LAKE ERIE STARTED AT RECORD LEVELS FOR THE MONTH, WITH 43F DEGREES MEASURED THE FIRST 4 DAYS. THE COOLEST THE LAKE TEMPERATURE DROPPED TO WAS 34 DEGREES TOWARDS THE MONTH`S END. IN THE COOL MID MONTH PERIOD, SOME LIGHT SHORELINE ICE FORMED. WINDS AVERAGED ABOUT 2 MPH BELOW NORMAL. THE STRONGEST GUST WAS FROM THE SOUTHEAST ON THE 9TH, WITH A SPEED OF 70 MPH DURING THE EARLY AFTERNOON. IN ALL, A FEW WEEKS OF IMPACTFUL WEATHER MID-MONTH, OTHERWISE MILD, WET AND CLOUDY. && THOMAS $$