The Atlantic Coast Observer Network - Virginia/North Carolina/South Carolina
http://members.cox.net/wxr/acon.htm

SUMMARY OF CLIMATOLOGICAL DATA 


JANUARY 2009


... COLDER AND DRIER FOR MOST STATIONS THROUGOUT THE MID-ATLANTIC ...

After a fairly mild start to the month, a lot of cold air settled over the Mid-Atlantic States with several stations reporting low temps below 0°F. There wasn't a lot of moisture to work with as strongest storms stayed well to the north and significant weather over the Gulf coastal states was unremarkable. Still, Alberta-clipper type storms moved across the area frequently which helped to keep the cold air in place over the Mid-Atlantic. A couple of these clippers moved across North Carolina providing the Tar Heel State with two winter events producing several inches of mostly localized snow. Bob Woodson in Raleigh (RAL) received 6" of snow on inauguration day!
  • THE NOAA RESOURCES PAGE    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has many exciting informative resources available for the public to view and learn about the oceans and atmosphere. CoCoRaHS in partnership with NOAA will continue to strive to bring you the latest products and information as it becomes available. To learn more about NOAA Resources listed on the CoCoRaHS Web site click on the NOAA logo on the left side of our home page: www.cocorahs.org or click here: "NOAA Resources" at http://www.cocorahs.org/Content.aspx?page=noaa.


  • SNOWFALL MEASUREMENT REMINDER from CoCoRAHS    Also from the CoCoRAHS' website comes this: " Snowfall Depth . . . Report to the tenth of an inch! New snowfall depth is measured to the "tenth" of an inch, not "hundredth" as rainfall is. So when reporting snowfall depth remember only one decimal place. If you are using a regular ruler here is a review of the conversions to the nearest tenth-inch increments: 1/16 = 0.1, 1/8 = 0.1, 3/16 = 0.2, 1/4 = 0.3, 5/16 = 0.3, 3/8 = 0.4, 7/16 = 0.4, 1/2 = 0.5, 9/16 = 0.6, 5/8 = 0.6, 11/16 = 0.7, 3/4 = 0.8, 13/16 = 0.8, 7/8 = 0.9, 15/16 = 0.9 ... "


  • FREEZING RAIN    Here's another reminder from CoCoRAHS: "Freezing rain is rain that falls in liquid form but freezes on contact with the ground and objects above the ground. Do NOT report freezing rain as 'Snow. If you have an inch of freezing rain accumulate, you melt and measure the moisture that has accumulated inside your gauge and you report that as your daily precipitation amount. You report ZERO for your new snow amount (assuming it all fell as rain, and no sleet or snow accumulated). You DO report the total depth of freezing rain that has accumulated on the ground and enter that in the "Total Snow on Ground" column. Again, make a note in your comments section of your report so that we know its freezing rain. A very useful measure of freezing rain is the "radial thickness" of ice on wires, branches, etc. If you can, measure the ice thickness on a wire or branch and report in your "Comments" the average radius of the ice (not the diameter)."


  • DROUGHT MONITOR    http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html    More information on drought can be found at NOAA's Drought Information Center http://www.drought.noaa.gov/

  • REMINDER All National Weather Service station data listed herein is preliminary and may be subject to change.  The data has not been certified and cannot be used in legal actions.  Only reports certified by the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, NC can be used for these purposes.

    • ACON VA/NC/SC Member Station Extremes - JANUARY 2009
    State
    Maximum Temperature
    Minimum
    Temperature
    Warmest
    Average
    Temperature
    Coldest
    Average
    Temperature
    Maximum
    Precipitation
    Minimum
    Precipitation
    Virginia
    71°
    Norfolk (ORF)
    Norfolk (FHC)
    -4°
    Blacksburg
    New Market
    38.8°
    Norfolk (FHC)
    28.36°
    New Market
    3.60"
    Blacksburg
    1.49"
    Richmond
    North Carolina
    73°
    New Bern
    Wilmington
    2°
    Roxboro
    45.2°
    Wilmington
    36.9°
    Asheville
    3.53"
    Roxboro
    1.64"
    Cape Hatteras
    South Carolina
    77°
    Charleston
    13°
    Anderson
    Columbia
    Greenville-Spartanburg
    48.2°
    Charleston
    42.0°
    Anderson
    4.28"
    Anderson
    1.07"
    Columbia


    ( For an explanation of column headers in the following tables,
    please note the column denotations table below. )

    TEMPERATURE / WINDS/ ELEMENTS

    VIRGINIA
    [Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]
    
     STN  A      B    C     C1     D    E  F    G    H  I  J K K1  L  M      N   N1   N2   O P Q R R1 R2   S   CWA
     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     BCB 40.7  21.2  30.9    0.0  64    4  -4   17   0  5 29 1 75% 32 280°   7   6.3       0 0 2 1  1     2400 AKQ
     BRI 40    25    32.5   +1.8  61   23   0   17   0  6 25 1 54%                         0 0 0 0  0     0510/1600 LWX
     CEN 37.6  22.5  30.1   -1.4  58   23   2   17   0  9 30 0 60% 35 330°  15   3.2  340° 0 0 0 1  0     2400 LWX
     CHT 38.1  22.3  30.2   -1.5  57.4 23   2.4 17   0  6 27 0 66% 18 360° 2,13  1.1  360° 0 0 2 2  0     2400 LWX
     CHO 40.5  21.8  31.1         60   23  -2   17   0  4 30 1     30 260°   8   4.4       0 0 1 1  1     2400 LWX
     DAN 46.7  26.2  36.5   -0.1  62   23   3   17   0  2 24 0 61% 45 280°   7   5.5       0 0 0 1  3     2400 RNK
     DCA 38.3  25.0  31.6   -3.3  51 5,23   8   17   0  6 29 0 57% 43 330°  15   8.0       0 0 2 3  1     2400 LWX
     IAD 38.0  21.2  29.6   -2.1  57   23   0   17   0  6 30 1 60% 37 330°  14   6.6       0 0 4 1  0     2400 LWX
                                                                   37 310°  28
     FRV 38.4  21.1  29.2         61   23   0   17   0  8 30 1                             0 0 0 2  2     2400 LWX
     GAV 43.74 25.29 34.52        62   23   4   17   0  2 27 0 64% 37 270°   7             0 0 2 2  2     2400 AKQ
     HDV 38.0  21.7  29.8   -4.7  56   26   2   17   0  6 30 0 60%                         0 0 4 1  0     2400 LWX
     LDY 40.3  25.1  32.7   -3.3  57   23   4   17   0  4 27 0 50%                         0 0 1 2  0     2400 AKQ
     LYH 42.7  22.9  32.8   -1.7  62 5,23   1   17   0  2 29 0 60% 35 250°   7   4.7       0 0 2 1  4     2400 RNK
     NEW 38.35 18.38 28.36  -3    60   23  -4   17   0  6 31 1 72% 35        8  19.38 230° 0        4     1700 LWX
     NPN 45.7  28.4  37.0         70    7  11   17   0  2 24 0     41 270°   7             0 0 0 1  2     2400 AKQ
     NOR 45.4  29.8  37.6   -2.2  71    7  14   17   0  2 23 0                             0 0 0 1  2     2400 AKQ
     ORF 45.4  30.1  37.7   -2.4  71    7  18   17   0  2 22 0 66% 60 240°   7   9.1       0 0 0 1  4     2400 AKQ
     FHC 45.51 32.09 38.80  -1.3  70.1  7  17.3 17   0  2 15 0 68% 50 200°   7   4.0  200°                2400 AKQ
     POR 45.2  30.5  37.8   -2.7  69 7,28  16   17   0  2 20 0 74% 57 250°   7   5.8  310° 0 0 0 0  0     2400 AKQ
     CTR 44.5  24.1  34.1   -2.3  64.3 28   1.5 17   0  2 17 0 69% 27 248°   8   0.7  252° 0 0 0 1  0     2400 AKQ
     MEC 43.55 25.84 34.90        59   23   3   17   0  2 25 0                             0 0 0 1  1     1700 AKQ
     RIC 44.5  26.0  35.2   -1.2  65   28   4   17   0  2 27 0 61% 45 270°   7   7.0       1 0 1 2  3     2400 AKQ
     ROA 45.2  26.6  35.9   +0.1  64   23   3   17   0  3 24 0 53% 49 280°   7   7.6       0 0 1 0  1     2400 AKQ
     AKQ                                                                                                  2400 AKQ
     WAL 41.5  25.6  33.5   -2.5  58    7   6   17   0  4 27 0     43 290°   7   7.7       0 0 1 0  5     2400 AKQ
     WOO 38.7  21.6  30.2   -5.2  58 6,24   1   17   0  8 29 0                             0 0 0 0  0     2400 LWX
     WSH 36.8  21.4  29.1   -5.09 54.3 23  0.8  17   0  8 30 0 65% 22 135°   7   1.5  360° 0 0 4 3  0     2400 LWX
                                                                   22 045°  11
    NORTH CAROLINA
    [Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]     
        
     STN  A      B    C     C1    D    E  F      G  H  I  J K K1  L  M     N    N1   N2  O P Q R R1 R2  S    CWA
     -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     AVL 47.7  26.0  36.9  +1.1  67     5  4    17  0  2 24 0 64% 43 280°  7    8.2      0 0 0 0  3     2400 GSP
     MRH 52.0  35.0  43.5        70     7 16    17  0  1 13 0     55 260°  7    9.4      0 0 0 0  6     2400 MHX
     CLT 49.7  30.2  40.0  -1.7  67   5,7  9    17  0  1 19 0 61% 48 250°  7    6.9      1 0 0 1  5     2400 GSP
     ECG 48.1  30.8  39.5  -2.9  71     7 15    16  0  2 19 0 66% 49 280°  7    9.0      0 0 0 1  3     2400 AKQ
     FAY 52.2  33.1  42.6        72    28 12    17  0  1 18 0 62% 53 260°  7    7.5      0 0 0 0  8     2400 RAH
     GSO 47.0  28.4  37.7   0.0  62     7 10    17  0  2 21 0 57% 50 230°  7    7.3      1 0 0 0  5     2400 RAH
     HSE 50.6  37.3  43.9  -2.2  70     7 24 16,17  0  1  9 0 74% 55 280°  7    8.8      0 0 0 0  4     2400 MHX
     HKY 48.1  27.7  37.9  -1.1  68     5  8    17  0  3 22 0     39 300°  8    4.3      0 0 0 0  7     2400 GSP
     LBT 52.9  34.0  43.5  +1.4  70  6,28 13    17  0  1 17 0 69% 51 260°  7    5.9      1 0 0 0  6     2400 ILM
     EWN 52.3  32.7  42.5  -1.8  73     6 17 17,21  0  1 17 0 70% 63 090° 14    6.5      0 0 1 0  5     2400 MHX
     RDU 49.2  30.9  40.0  +0.3  68     7 11    17  0  1 19 0 60% 59 230°  7    6.1      0 0 0 0  5     2400 RAH
     RAL 49.2  29.2  39.2  -0.5  67    28  9    17  0  1 21 0     36      17             0 0 0 0  2     2400 RAH
     ROX 46.4  27.1  36.9  +0.6  63    23  2    17  0  2 23 0 66% 31 270° 28        VRBL 1 0 1 1  6     2400 RAH
     ILM 54.5  35.9  45.2  -0.9  73     6 15    17  0  1 14 0 69% 51 280°  7    7.5      0 0 0 0  6     2400 ILM
    SOUTH CAROLINA
    [Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]     
       
     STN  A      B    C     C1    D    E  F      G  H  I  J K K1  L  M     N   N1   N2   O P Q R R1 R2  S    CWA
     -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     AND 51.4  32.6  42.0  +0.3  68     5 13    16  0  1 17 0     53 280°  7   6.1       1 0 0 0  7     2400 GSP
     CAE 54.6  34.3  44.5  -0.1  72     5 13    17  0  0 17 0 64% 49 270°  7   6.1       0 0 0 0  7     2400 CAE
     CRE 54.1  37.3  45.7  -1.1  67     7 17    17  0  0 10 0 70% 47 250°  7   6.9       0 0 0 0  9     2400 ILM
     CHS 58.0  38.4  48.2  +0.3  77     5 20    17  0  0  9 0     46 260°  7   8.1       0 0 0 0  8     2400 CHS
     FLO 53.8  34.7  44.3  -0.7  73     5 14    17  0  1 15 0 68% 59 250°  7   6.4       0 0 1 0  7     2400 ILM
     GSP 51.6  32.5  42.1  +1.3  72     5 13    16  0  1 16 0 59% 49 240°  7   6.0       2 0 0 0  6     2400 GSP
     OGB 56.5  35.7  46.1        75     5 17    17  0  0 14 0     38 270°  7   6.2       0 0 0 0  9     2400 CAE
    NEARBY STATIONS
    [Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]     
       
     STN  A      B    C     C1    D     E  F     G  H  I  J K K1  L  M     N   N1   N2   O P Q R R1 R2  S    CWA
     ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     TRI 43.5  25.0  34.3  +0.1  62    28   4   17  0  3 23 0     49 250°  7   5.1       1 0 3 2  4     2400 MRX
     DAV             19    -6    49     5 -15   17  0 21 29 3                                           0700 PBZ

    (Please note the column denotations table below.)
    PRECIPITATION / BAROMETRIC PRESSURE

    VIRGINIA
    [Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]
       
     STN  T      T1     U  U1   V    V1   W X   Y      Z  1   2 3    4    5     6   6A   7    7A    8    S
     -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     BCB  3.60  +0.23 1.23  6 1.23     6 12 2  3.60  0.5  8  15 0  1.4  6.0                             2400
     BRI  1.95  -0.27 1.00  6 1.44   6-7  4 1  1.95           1 1  1.0  1.0  30.49 16, 29.45   8        0510/1600
                                                                                    17              
     CEN  2.95  -0.57 1.31  7 1.51   6-7  8 1  2.95  2.4 27   3 1  2.4  2.4  30.64  16 29.20   7 29.92  2400
     CHT  2.79  -0.26 1.15  7 0.39   6-7  7 1  2.79  2.0 27   3 1  2.0  2.0  30.71  16 29.19   7 30.06  2400
     CHO  1.56        0.74  7 1.08   6-7  5 0  1.56                                    29.17   7        2400
     DAN  3.01  -1.02 1.04  6 1.35   5-6  7 1  3.01  0.4 20   2 0  0.4  0.4  30.69  16 29.21   7        2400
     DCA  2.68  -0.53 1.26  7 1.54   6-7  6 1  2.68  1.9 27   7 1  1.9  1.9  30.69  16 29.17   7        2400
     IAD  2.64  -0.41 1.17  7 1.61   6-7  7 1  2.64  2.0 27   6 1  2.0  2.0  30.70  16 29.17   7        2400
     FRV  2.05                0.72   6-7  6 0  2.05  1.9 27   6 1  1.9  2.4  30.50  27 29.59  28        2400
     GAV  1.95        0.61 27 0.66   6-7  8 0  1.95  0.3 27   4 0  0.3  0.7  30.64  16 29.17   7 30.03  2400
     HDV  3.01  -0.17 1.52  7             7 1  3.01  2.0 27   4 1  2.1  2.2  30.67  16 29.14   7        2400
     LDY  1.90  -1.53 0.97  7 1.31   6-7  4 0  1.90  2.0 27   2 1  2.0  2.1  30.68  17 29.20   7 30.07  2400
     LYH  3.13  -0.41 1.45  7 1.75   6-7  7 1  3.13   T  26   3 0    T    T  30.68  16 29.23   7        2400
     NEW  2.23  +0.4  1.26  7                  2.23  1.5 27        2.0  2.3  30.84  16 29.60 7,8        1700
     NPN  1.86        0.55  6 0.55     6 10 0  1.86   T 18,20 0 0    T    T  30.67  16 29.20   7        2400
     NOR  2.04  -1.85 0.50  6             9 0  2.04   T 17,18 4 0    T    T                             2400
                                                        20,25
     ORF  1.82  -2.11 0.43  6 0.43     6  9 0  1.82   T  20   2 0    T    T  30.65  16 29.19   7        2400
     FHC  1.79  -2.14 0.42  6 0.42     6  9 0  1.79   T 17,20 2 0    T    T                      30.104 2400
     POR  1.89  -1.76 0.48  6 0.48     6  8 0  1.89   T 17,20 2 0    T    T  30.65  16 29.22   7 30.062 2400
     CTR  2.04  -1.19 0.54 27 0.78 27-28  9 0  2.04  0.0      1 0    T    T  30.67  16 29.18   7 30.054 0400
     MEC  1.58        0.54  7 0.70   6-7  7 0  1.58   T 2,27  2 0    T    T  30.21  15 29.06   7        1700
     RIC  1.49  -2.06 0.50 27 0.52 27-28  8 0  1.49   T  2,19,       T    T  30.69  17 29.19   7        2400
                                                        26,27
     ROA  2.72  -0.51 1.00  6 1.53   6-7  7 1  2.72   T   30  9 0    T    T  30.69  16 29.21   7        2400
     AKQ                                             0.0           0.0  0.0                             2400
     WAL  1.87  -1.34 0.49 28 0.57 27-28 10 0  1.87  0.3  27  3 0  0.3  0.4  30.65  17 29.15   7        2400
     WOO  2.17  -0.50         0.89   6-7  9 0  2.17  1.7  27  4 1  3.3  5.4  30.67  16 29.57   7        0800
     WSH  2.63  -1.08 0.91  6 0.91     6  9 0  2.63  2.0  27  5 1  3.0  3.0  30.62  16 29.23   7        2400
    NORTH CAROLINA
    [Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]
       
     STN  T      T1     U  U1   V    V1   W X   Y      Z    1 2 3   4    5     6    6A   7    7A    8     S
     -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     AVL  2.40  -1.66 1.45  6 1.82   6-7  9 1  2.40   1.0  19 5 1  1.0    T  30.65  16 29.29   7         2400
     MRH  2.76        1.09 28 1.11 18-19  7 1  2.76    T    4 1 0    T    T            29.51  19         2400
     CLT  2.52  -1.48 1.31  6 1.35   5-6  9 1  2.52    T   20 2 0    T    T  30.68  16 29.32   7         2400
     ECG  1.65  -2.93 0.64  6 0.64     6  7 0  1.65    T   20 2 0    T  0.5  30.67  17 29.14   7         2400
     FAY  1.83        0.57  6 0.58   5-6  9 0  1.83   0.0               0.0            29.58  19         2400
     GSO  2.58  -0.96 0.98  6 1.06   5-6  8 0  2.58   0.5  20 2 0  0.5  1.1            29.58  19         2400
     HSE  1.64  -4.20 0.58 13 0.58    13 10 0  1.64   2.3  20 1 1  2.3  2.3            29.37   7         2400
     HKY  3.00  -1.23 1.29  6 1.91   6-7  7 2  3.00    T   20 2 0    T    T  30.65  16 29.29   7         2400
     LBT  0.73  -3.56 0.25 18 0.25    18  7 0  0.73                          30.67  16 29.36   7         2400
     EWN  1.82  -2.92 0.53 13 0.53    13 11 0  1.82   1.5  20 1 1  1.5  1.5            29.37   7         2400
     RDU  2.53  -1.49 0.90  6 0.90     5  9 0  2.53   3.5  20 2 1  3.5  3.5            29.58  19         1900
     RAL  2.66  -1.36         0.79   5-6  8 0  2.66   6.0          6.0  6.0  30.71  16 29.35   7         2400
     ROX  3.53  -0.11 1.70  6 1.70     6  9 1  3.53   1.0  20 1 1  1.0  1.2  30.66  16 29.24   7  30.16  2200
     ILM  2.01  -2.51 0.53 13 0.53    13 11 0  2.01   0.9  20 1 0  0.9  0.9  30.35  16 29.41   7         2400
    SOUTH CAROLINA
    [Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]
       
     STN  T      T1     U  U1   V    V1   W X   Y     Z   1  2 3  4     5     6    6A   7    7A    8     S
     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
     AND  4.28  -0.30 1.98  6  2.22   5-6 11 1  4.28  0.0          0.0  0.0  30.68  16 29.38   7         2400
     CAE  1.07  -3.59 0.26 11  0.26    11 11 0  1.07   T  20 1 0     T    T  30.69  16 29.42   7         2400
     CRE  2.19  -1.47 0.51 18  0.52 13-14 12 0  2.19                         30.66  16 29.43  20         2400
     CHS  1.29  -2.79 0.45 18  0.45    18 11 0  1.29   T  20 1 0     T    T  30.65  16 29.45  20         2400
     FLO  1.55  -2.54 0.67 18  0.67    18 12 0  1.55                         30.69  16 29.41   7         2400
     GSP  2.98  -1.43 1.26  6  1.53   6-7 15 8  2.98   T  20 3 0     T    T  30.65  16 29.55  19         2400
     OGB  1.88        0.57  4  0.57     4 11 0  1.88                         30.68  16 29.48   7         2400
    NEARBY STATIONS
    [Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]
       
     STN  T      T1     U  U1   V      V1  W X   Y      Z  1  2  3   4     5     6   6A   7    7A 8      S
     -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     TRI  5.67  +2.15 2.29  6 2.29     6 16 2  5.67   1.2 19 16  2   2.0   5.3 30.74 16 29.26   7        2400
     DAV  9.90  +5.3  1.68  7            26 2  9.90   8.9 15 25 16  64.0 135.0                           0700

    Virginia:

    Arlington - From NWS WBC come these notes: " AT WASHINGTON REAGAN NATIONAL...THE JANUARY 2009 AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE WAS WELL BELOW NORMAL...TIED FOR 32ND COLDEST ON RECORD. IT WAS THE COLDEST JANUARY SINCE 2004. 20 OUT OF 31 DAYS THIS JANUARY AVERAGED BELOW NORMAL. THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY WAS 51F...ON THE 5TH AND 23RD. THIS WAS THE LOWEST MAX TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH SINCE JANUARY 1977...WHEN 49F WAS RECORDED. PRECIPITATION FOR JANUARY 2009 WAS BELOW NORMAL. THE 19TH WAS THE ONLY DAY WITH MEASURABLE SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH. THE TOTAL OF 1.9 INCHES OF SNOW WAS WELL BELOW NORMAL BUT SLIGHTLY MORE COMPARED TO THE 1.3 INCHES RECORDED LAST JANUARY 2008. OVERALL THIS IS THE 4TH JANUARY IN A ROW WITH BELOW NORMAL SNOWFALL. " [ - - ] 

    Bridgewater - " The temperature was 1.8 degrees above normal while the precipitation was .27 inches below normal. The first measurable snow of the season occurred on the 27th. The zero reading on the 16th was the first zero reading in 13 years. An unusual snow occurred on February 2. It snowed with the temperature at 40 degrees. The next morning, the sun came out, and shone on all the snow covered trees and bushes presenting a beautiful winter scene. By the way, the ground hog saw his shadow so be prepared! " - [ + - ] - notes from Clayton

    Centreville - " As with the latest trends in the economy, January too was depressing. Having had periods of consistently low temperatures during the third and forth weeks of the month, January couldn't muster any more than a measly gain of 2.4 inches of snow. This is also the seasonal total, so with a little luck a moderate recovery could still be in the cards. Waking in the morning of the 23rd began with temperatures typically in the 20's, but by noon changes were afoot that would cause the warmest day of the month to be tallied. By mid-afternoon we had our high in the books at 58° with the next warmest days being 50° recorded on the 5th and 24th. Our average monthly temperature of 30.1° worked out to be 1.4° below the normal 31.5° average for January. The lowest temperature for January was 2° on the 17th, with all but one other day during the month with recordings of freezing or below. That one day happened to be 36° on the 5th. It looks here that the 5th was a real scorcher! True to form, the low average for January was higher than the predicted 21.8° by +0.7°. No doubt, this has something to do with why my snow blower continues to frown and still remains covered in the shed. Precipitation let all the winter tricks out of the bag in January. Rain wise, we picked up 2.95 inches that includes 0.25" form snow on the 27th. The monthly total was 0.57" short, or 84% of the 3.52" normal. At least we are better off from a year ago when January produced less than half of what was usually expected. The greatest 24 hour rain event occurred on January 6th and 7th when a total of 1.51" was recorded. This amounted to 51% of our monthly accumulation. The only snow day was really a mix of all the wintry junk rolled into one event on the 27th coupled with below freezing temperatures days before and a day to thaw and then refreeze afterwards. Yes, we began with snowfall of varying intensities throughout the day on the 27th for 2.4" before changing over to rain, freezing rain, and sleet by late afternoon. The freezing rain with a touch of light fog continued into the day on the 28th, gradually ending around noon and temperatures increasing to 42° throughout the afternoon. Yes, refreezing did occur... So there you have it from the winter wonderland of sunny Centreville. " - [ - - ] - notes from Paul

    Chantilly - Russ reports: " After a mild December and beginning of January, we ended up with our coldest January average in 5 years. Six days did not make it above 32° and we saw many ponds and lakes freeze over. The average monthly temperature was only 1.5° below normal, but in comparison to recent winters it seemed unusually cold. Total precipitation for the month was 2.79", which was 0.26" below normal. The maximum calendar day rainfall of 1.15" fell on the 7th. A trace of snow fell on 15th and 19th. Our worst winter storm of the season brought a meager 2.0" of snow on the 27th, which then turned to freezing rain and sleet and continued on the 28th. School children rejoiced, as the ice (.25" on the 27th and .125" on the 28th) was enough to close schools for the first time this winter. As noted by several, this is the 9th consecutive January with below normal snowfall. Sorry snow lovers and plow drivers. *Please note, anemometer is currently partially obstructed from the Southeast " - [ - - ]

    Dulles - from NWS Sterling (KLWX) come these notes: " AT DULLES...THE JANUARY 2009 AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE WAS BELOW NORMAL...THE 18TH COLDEST ON RECORD...AND THE COLDEST JANUARY SINCE 2004. 18 OUT OF 31 DAYS THIS JANUARY AVERAGED BELOW NORMAL. THE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF ZERO DEG F ON THE 17TH WAS THE LOWEST MIN TEMPERATURE RECORDED AT DULLES SINCE FEB 6 1996 WHEN IT WAS -9 DEGF. JANUARY 2009 MONTHLY PRECIPITATION WAS SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL AS WELL WITH NEARLY HALF OF THE MONTHLY PRECIPITATION FALLING ON THE 7TH. THE 19TH WAS THE ONLY DAY WITH MEASURABLE SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH. THE SNOW TOTAL OF 2.0 INCHES WAS OVER 6 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. OVERALL THIS IS THE 9TH JANUARY IN A ROW WITH BELOW NORMAL SNOWFALL. " - [ - - ]

    Front Royal - Mike sends these additional summary notes: " Everything was below normal in January 2009. The average high temperature of 38.4 was about 5 degrees below normal. Average low was 21.1 which is about a degree below normal. There was a 61 degree temp difference between the highest and the lowest temp recorded this month. Zero was the lowest. Out of the 2.05" of total precipitation recorded only 2.4" of snow fell, which is about 4" below normal. Overall it was a disappointing weather month. Yea, the cold was nice. In a way though the old saying of "it was too cold to snow" was true. Days 1-10: The 36° high on the first would be the coolest daytime high until the 10th. In between mild winter weather was the experience here in the Shenandoah Valley of VA. The first precipitation of the month fell on the 6th from a low pressure area and associated front that moved far to the northeast of the area. The .72" that fell on the 6th was duplicated again on the 7th, but no frozen precipitation was found here. The next little event on the 10th consisted of spotty ice in the greater Washington DC area, but only liquid precipitation could be found at this station. Days 11-13 These three days would be the last time a 40° reading would be seen until the 22nd. Sunny skies on the 11th and 12 and an early evening cold frontal passage on the 13th was all the excitement we had before some of the coldest weather in several years affected the area. Days 14-22 Out of these 9 days temps remained below freezing for 6 of them. The coldest of these days was the 16th. The high temperature of 18° helped us achieve the 0° reading the following morning which would be the lowest temperature of the month. A warm-up if you will occurred on the 18th when we hit 39°, but was short lived as another artic front brought temps right back down. A whopping .3" fell from snow showers from a short wave that traversed the area on the afternoon of the 19th. Snow was found in far southeast VA and North Carolina on the 20th, but sunshine was the rule here as that low pressure was too far south to do any good here. The 21st and 22nd were nice days as high pressure was centered to the south and temps moderated slightly. Days 23 and 24 The 61° high on the 23rd was actually quite a welcome break from the cold weather. Clouds increased late on the 23rd and the 51° high on the 24th was set at midnight. After the frontal passage temps fell the remainder of the day and fell into the 20s by noon and stayed there. A dusting of snow occurred from a few snow showers as well. Days 25-28 Temps made it to 33° on the 25th, but remained below the 26th and 27th. Low pressure to the south brought us 1.9" of snow on the 27th. Snowfall began here around 4:30am and was moderate for a short time before that batch ended just before noon. Another area of moisture which started as a brief period of snow 12hrs from the 1st quickly turned to all sleet and then freezing rain by midnight. Moderating temperatures turned what precipitation remained to all rain by morning. However, minor traffic problems resulted from ice accumulation here and in the DC area and most schools closed. 29-31 The month closed on a quiet note with near normal temperatures and no precipitation. " - [ - - ]

    Glen Allen - Lowell Koontz notes: " January was colder than average as the monthly mean temperature was 34.52°F, a -1.6°F departure, and was also drier than average (when compared to Ashland, Virginia records). Also there were 27 days the minimum temperature dropped below freezing and two days that the maximum didn't climb above freezing. The 1.95 inches of rain for January was a -1.41 inch departure when compared to the Ashland, VA average. The maximum rainfall recorded in a day was only 0.61 inches on the 27th on a day of sleet, snow, glaze but mostly sleet. Measurable precipitation occurred on only eight days and it is noteworthy that there wasn't any measurable precipitation from and including the 12th to the 26th a fifteen day period. The only frozen precipitation was 0.3 inches of mostly sleet for the month all recorded on the 27th which was a -5.5 inch departure compared to Ashland, Virginia records. January was cloudier than average. The maximum temperature for January was only 62°F on the 23rd and the lowest minimum was 4°F recorded here on the 17th. This was the lowest minimum temperature of the winter recorded at this station and according to Channel 12 the coldest since January of 2004. The lowest dew point temperature on the 16th at 1659 was -12.8°F quite low for the Glen Allen area. The maximum wind gust of 37 mph occurred on the 7th at 1806. This wind was associated with the lowest barometric pressure (29.17 inches) since April 15, 2007 when the pressure was also 29.17 inches when compared to Annandale, Virginia records. The highest barometer recorded for the month was 30.64 inches on the 16th. " - [ - - ] 

    Herndon - Randy reports: " January was well below normal for temperature and slightly below for precipitation. January gave us a total of 3.01 inches of precipitation and was only 0.17 inch below normal for precipitation, but we had a wintry mix fall during two periods in the month. On the 7th and 8th we had 2.05 inches of precip and a little bit of freezing rain mixed in. The bigger event occurred on the 27th and 28th when we had 2 inches of snow and sleet followed by a ¼ inch of freezing rain causing many hazardous walking and driving conditions. The total precipitation during this event was 0.75 inches. As for the temperatures, we had a very cold month with the average coming in 4.7 degrees below normal. The low of 2 degrees came on the 17th and was the lowest I had recorded since 1996 and the high on the 16th was only 17 degrees, the coldest high temperature I have ever recorded (started in 1992). The high of 56 recorded on the 23rd was also the lowest January high temperature that I have ever recorded. " - [ - - ]

    Ladysmith - Danny reports : " January starts the new year with well below normal temperatures and precipitation. January 17th's morning low of 4° was the coldest temperature observed here since February 6, 2007 (3°). A winter storm system brought 2" of snow and sleet at the end of the month. " - [ - - ]

    Portsmouth - " January was a much colder, drier month when compared to January's from 1977 to 2008. The infiltrating drier air helped shunt moisture from two expected systems further south, bypassing the locale and giving nothing more than flurries. The 1.89" of rain produced a January that was 1.76" BELOW normal rainfall. The month's average temp was 2.7° BELOW normal Frost occurred on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd ; 4th; 10th, 12th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 29th, 30th, 31st. COLD FRONTAL PASSAGES were recorded on the 2nd, 5th, 7th, 8th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 20th, 24th, 28th, 30th while WARM FRONTAL PASSAGES were noted on the 7th & 28th. STATION RECORDS: 1st - TEMPERATURE Tied Minimum Maximum 34° [previous 1977]; 7th - WIND GUST - 57mph [previous 45mph 1995]; 28th - WIND GUST - 47mph [previous 44mph 1983]. " - [ - - ] 

    North Carolina:

    Greensboro - NWS Raleigh (RAH) reports: - " The January 2009 North Carolina Weather Review is located here: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/rah/ncsummaries/MonthlySummary.Jan.2009.doc [when available]. " - [ - - ]

    Raleigh - Bob notes: " January actually felt like January, including snow and temperature in the single digits. The snow drought finally ended with 6" of snow on the 20th. In addition, the temperature dropped to 9 degrees ( lowest since January 2005) on January 17th. The high temperature on the 16th was only 29 degrees! Precipitation for the month was 1.36" below normal. " - [ - - ]

    Raleigh - NWS Raleigh (RAH) reports: " The January 2009 North Carolina Weather Review is located here: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/rah/ncsummaries/MonthlySummary.Jan.2009.doc [when available]. " - [ - - ]

    Nearby Cities:

    Tri-Cities - NWS Morristown, TN (MRX) reports: " The monthly-averaged temperature at Tri-Cities was 34.3 degrees, which was 0.1 degrees above normal. It ranked in the middle one-third of observations taken at Tri-Cities in January. The warmest January at Tri-Cities was back in 1950, when the average temperature was 50.1 degrees. Tri-Cities received 5.67 inches of precipitation in January, which was 2.15 inches above normal. It ranked as the 6th wettest January on record at Tri-Cities. Measurable precipitation occurred on 16 days, and seven of those days had more than one-quarter of an inch. The heaviest precipitation fell on the 6th when 2.29 inches of rain was reported, which also broke the old daily rainfall record of 1.10 inches set in 1996. The wettest January of the 72 years of observations taken at Tri-Cities was back in 1957, when 9.18 inches was recorded. " - [ + + ]

    Davis, WV - from Dave Lesher: " The 64" of snow at Davis (for the month) was a whopping 28" above normal! Meanwhile the seasonal snowfall total at month's end of 135" was 57" above normal! " - [ - + ]



    COLUMN DENOTATIONS:

    A  maximum mean temperature T total precipitation (inches)
    T1 departure from normal
    B  minimum mean temperature U maximum calendar day precipitation (inches)
    C  monthly mean temperature
    C1 departure from normal    		 U1 date of maximum calendar day precipitation
    D  maximum temperature V date(s) of maximum daily precipitation
    E  date(s) of maximum temperature V1 maximum 24-hour precip. & date(s)
    F  minimum temperature W number of days with precip. >= .01"
    G  date(s) of minimum temperature  X number of days with precip. >= 1.0"
    H  days with maximum temperature >=90 Y year-to-date precipitation (inches)
    I  days with maximum temperature <=32 Z maximum calendar day snowfall (inches)
    J  days with minimum temperature <=32 VRB Variable
    K  days with minimum temperature <= 0 1 date of maximum calendar day snowfall (inches)
    K1 average relative humidity 2 number of days with snowfall
    L  peak wind gust (miles per hour)  3 number of days with snowfall >= 1.0"
    M  direction of peak wind gust 4  total snowfall for month (inches)
    N  date(s) of peak wind gust  5 total snowfall for 2007-2008 season (inches)
    N1   average wind speed (miles per hour) 6 maximum barometric pressure (inches)
    N2 dominant wind direction 6A date of maximum barometric pressure
    O  number of days with thunder  7 minimum barometric pressure (inches)
    P  number of days with hail 7A date of minimum barometric pressure
    Q  number of days with glaze 8   average sea-level pressure
    R  number of days with ice pellets STN  Station
    R2 sky cover percentage NR not recorded
    R1 number of days with dense fog [1/4 mile and less visibility] (i) incomplete data
    S  local observation time for temps/precipitation (M) missing, if listed in data table
     ~ "about" E estimated
     +  additional indeterminate number of days CWA - NWS Office County Warning Area


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         NWS Columbia, SC
         NWS Charleston, SC
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    STATION / LOCATION (MILES & DIRECTION FROM MAIN POST OFFICE)/OBSERVER / YEAR RECORDS BEGAN / EMAIL ADDRESS:

      
      ROK   Roanoke, VA 6SW Wendell Prillaman  4/76 wlprillaman@cox.net
    GAV - Glen Allen, Henrico County, VA - Lowell Koontz  8/1/08  wwkoontz@verizon.net AKQ    Wakefield, VA NWS Wakefield Municipal Airport 36-58-53N 077-00-04W 33M
    DCA    Arlington, VA Washington, DC, Reagan Washington National Airport 38-50-54N 077-02-03W 18M WSH   Washington, VA  David Yowell runamok@runamok.com
    BCB    Blacksburg, VA NWS Virginia Tech Airport 37-13N 080-25W   
    BRI     Bridgewater, VA Clayton Towers Ctowers@rica.net WOO  Woodstock, VA 5NW Lauck Walton - 12/1/85 jwalton@shentel.net
    CEN  Centreville, VA Paul Bassett 1985, 38° 50.9788' N LAT. 77° 25.6374' W LON. | Elevation 324' | m.psb@verizon.net LDY Ladysmith, VA Danny Jessee 2003 danny@dannyjessee.com
       WAL   Wallops Island, VA 37° 56'26" N 75° 27'47" W Wallops Flight Facility Airport
    CHO   Charlottesville, VA  Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport ASOS  (Rappahannock County) 38-08-18N 078-27-21W 192M AVL    Asheville, NC  Asheville Regional Airport 35-25-55N 082-32-15W 670M
      MRH    Beaufort, NC  Michael J. Field Airport 34-44-01N 076-39-38W 3M
    DAN  Danville, VA, Danville Regional Airport, 36-34-22N 079-20-10W 175M  CLT    Charlotte, NC NWS Charlotte/Douglas International Airpot 35-12-48N 080-56-55W 220M
    IAD   Dulles - Washington-Dulles International Airport  38-56-05N 077-26-51W 93M  SSB    Sunset Beach, NC   33.9° N 78.5° W  Tom Myers
    FCH    Falls Church, VA Erica Page - 3/7/94 Windie1970@aol.com HKY  Hickory, NC 
    HAM    Hampton, VA 5NE Dave Kessel 1989 david82@verizon.net ECG  Elizabeth City, NC,  Coast Guard Air Station 36-15-47N 076-10-58W 11M
    CTR  Winterpock in Chesterfield County, VA Albert Arnold 06/03 FAY  Fayetteville, NC Fayetteville Regional Airport, 34-59-22N 078-52-48W 55M
      GSO   Greensboro, NC NWS Piedmont Triad International Airport 36-05-51N 079-56-37W 275M
    CHT   Chantilly, VA Russ Topping -  12/2006  russ.topping@gmail.com - new location December 2006 HSE    Cape Hatteras, NC  Mitchell Field 35-13-56N 075-27-21W 3M
    HDV    Herndon, VA  Randoplh W. Ashby, 3.3 SM South, Lat: 38.922127, Lon: -77.38015, Elev: 390'. Randolph_Ashby@Raytheon.com LBT    Lumberton, NC  Lumberton Municipal Airport 34-36-26N 079-03-36W 37M
       EWN    New Bern, NC  Craven County Regional Airport 36-04-03N 077-02-50W 3M
    FRV     Front Royal, VA  Michael Perritt -  04/08 snowyat9@yahoo.com RAL    Raleigh, NC 7NNW  Bob Woodson -  6/1/93 kf4mmm@qsl.net
    LKU     Louisa, VA 1N Joseph Bowers 1944 - NWS ID  44-5050-02jmbiii@earthlink.net RDU   Raleigh-Durham, NC Raleigh-Durham International Airport 35-52-14N 078-47-11W 130M
    LOU     Louisa, VA 6S John Bullock (about 1970) INACTIVE 1/1/02 - MEMBER DECEASED FALL 2004 ROX    Roxboro, NC 2SE Merriell A. Jay 1/93
    LYH     Lynchburg, VA NWS Lynchburg Regional Airport 37-19-15N 079-12-24W 295M ILM     Wilmington, NC NWS New Hanover International Airport 34-16-06N 077-54-22W 9M
    NEW    Newmarket, VA 2W Joyce Winfree joywood@shentel.net CHS   Charleston, SC NWS Charleston Air Force Base 32-53-56N 080-02-26W 13M
    NPN     Newport News, VA 7N Gary Leonard -  6/91 GaryMLeonard@aol.com CAE    Columbia, SC NWS Columbia Metropolitan Airport 33-56-31N 081-07-05W 73M 
    NOR     Norfolk, VA 3NE Jim Fentress 6/1/77 FLO    Florence, SC Florence Regional Airport 34-11-16N 079-43-51W 44M
    ORF     Norfolk, VA 5NE 36-54-13N 076-11-31W 14M  1871 GSP   Greenville-Spartanburg, SC NWS Greenville-Spartanburg Airport 34-53-02N 082-13-15W 286M 
    POR     Portsmouth, VA 36.81° North 76.33° West 3S Bill Trotter -  7/1/76 wxr@cox.net CRE    North Myrtle Beach, SC Grand Strand Airport 33-48-42N 078-43-26W 10M
    MEC     Mechanicsville, VA Glen Martin 11/19/91 OGB   Orangeburg, SC  Orangeburg Municipal Airport 33-27-50N 080-51-13W 59M
    FHC    Norfolk, VA  Fred Heutte Center 36° 54'N 76° 16'W 01/01/03 fhcgarden@cox.net AND   Anderson, SC 
    RIC     Richmond, VA Richmond International Airport 37-30-40N 077-19-24W 50M TRI     Tri-cities, TN  (Bristol / Johnson / Kingsport), Tri-City Regional Airport 36-28-47N 082-23-56W 474M 
    ROA    Roanoke, VA Roanoke Regional Airport 37-19-01N 079-58-27W 362M DAV  Davis, WV Dave Lesher canaanwx@canaantv.tv