January cold is gearing up

It should come as no surprise that much of the state is still waiting on its first 1" of snow for the winter, but that's not close to any kind of record. In fact, last winter our first significant snow for most of Kansas came on January 5th. It was after some freezing rain and ice buildup in central and eastern Kansas. Records for the "latest first 1" of snow" actually go clear into March, so we have a long way to go before that is threatened. 

December is wrapping up as a top 10 warmest for western Kansas (where the average temperature was 5-10° above the normal), but it wasn't quite as warm farther east. The cold weather that hit early in the month offset so much of the record heat during Christmas week.

Colder & longer periods of cold are coming:

It's interesting because when Alaska is bitter cold, the western half of the United States is milder. However, when high pressure (ridging) starts to develop near or over Alaska, we usually start to see the bitter cold diving farther south. 

Here are a couple of examples: January 4th you can see the low pressure favored areas (blue colors) along the West coast and right up into Alaska. Kansas and much of the Plains are warm at that time with high pressure over the region. 

Note - January 14th. There's a reversal. When high pressure "ridging" returns to Alaska and into the Pacific Northwest, much colder air should drop south right into the areas east of the Rockies. The blue colors over the Great Lakes and just east of Kansas represent a cold pattern that's more than likely taking hold BEFORE we get to mid-January. This will likely be Arctic air.

December didn't have much to pick from with moisture - some light snow at the very beginning of the month, and then a dusting on December 28/29. The last good soaking of rainfall was back in late November - just prior to Thanksgiving. 

January Temperature:

Here's the map - looks like a near "normal" month ahead where the cold snaps will be balanced out by warmer stretches of weather. It's entirely possible all the mild weather to kick off January will be wiped out by much colder air mid-late month. It will turn much colder before we know it. 

Precip:

There will be a couple of storm systems coming from the West as we approach mid-January. Look for the month to have more precipitation than December, but that may not be saying much considering how dry it was in the previous 30 days. We will get some snow, but I don't think it will be anything significant. 

Happy New Year!