Virginia:

Arlington/Washington, D.C. - " THIS JANUARY FEATURED BIG SWINGS IN THE WEATHER PATTERN...WITH A STRETCH OF MUCH BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES IN THE FIRST THIRD OF JANUARY FOLLOWED BY ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES MID MONTH BEFORE MUCH BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES RETURNED TO END OUT THE MONTH. THE AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE THIS PAST JANUARY WAS TIED WITH 1873 AND 1984 FOR THE 38TH COLDEST ON RECORD (AND THE 15TH COLDEST SINCE OFFICIAL OBSERVATIONS WERE TAKEN AT REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT IN JULY 1945). THERE WERE 7 DAYS THIS MONTH WITH THE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE BELOW FREEZING....THE MOST IN ANY MONTH SINCE JANUARY 2004 (13 SUB-FREEZING DAYS). THERE WERE 13 DAYS THIS MONTH WITH THE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE IN THE TEENS OR SINGLE DIGITS...THE MOST IN JANUARY SINCE 1988 AND THE MOST IN ANY MONTH SINCE DECEMBER 1989. THE LAST 10 DAYS IN JANUARY WERE PARTICULARLY COLD. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 23.7F FOR THE 22ND-31ST WAS THE COLDEST 10-DAY PERIOD IN WASHINGTON DC IN 10 YEARS. THE AVERAGE DURING THAT COLD STRETCH WAS 23.2F FROM 23 JANUARY - 1 FEBRUARY 2004. A RECORD DAILY LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 19F WAS SET IN WASHINGTON DC ON 22 JANUARY. THIS BROKE THE PREVIOUS DAILY RECORD OF 21F SET BACK IN 1961. IT WAS ALSO THE LOWEST DAILY LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE IN JANUARY SINCE 16 JANUARY 1994 (19F)...A SPAN OF A DECADE. PRECIPITATION THIS JANUARY WAS NEAR NORMAL WHILE SNOWFALL WAS SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL. THE 6.6 INCHES OF SNOWFALL MEASURED AT REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT THIS MONTH WAS THE MOST IN A MONTH SINCE THE 7.3 INCHES OF SNOWFALL IN JANUARY 2011. A RECORD DAILY MAXIMUM SNOWFALL OF 3.8 INCHES WAS SET IN WASHINGTON DC ON 21 JANUARY. THIS BROKE THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 3.5 INCHES SET BACK IN 1982. IT WAS THE FIRST DAY WITH 2.0 INCHES OF SNOW FOR WASHINGTON DC SINCE 26 JANUARY 2011...A GAP OF 1090 DAYS. THE MOST NUMBER OF DAYS ON RECORD WITHOUT TWO INCHES OF SNOW IN WASHINGTON DC WAS PREVIOUSLY 700 DAYS FROM 5 FEBRUARY 1975 TO 4 JANUARY 1977. THE RAINFALL AMOUNT OF 2.58 INCHES WAS THE MOST RAINFALL IN JANUARY SINCE 2009. " - [ - - ] - from NWS Sterling, VA

Chantilly - from Russ Topping: " Winter returns with a vengeance. My coldest January in ten years. January temperatures and precipitation both averaged below normal. The mean monthly temperature was 29.2° (-4.0°). The mean high temperature was 39.3° (-3.2°) and the mean low temperature was 19.1° (-4.8°). A record low maximum temperature was set on the 7th (20°) and tied on the 19th (20°). A record low temperature was set on the 7th (4°). January precipitation of 2.23" was below average (-0.45"). Snow, mainly from fast moving clippers, was observed on the 2nd (2.75"), 3rd (Trace), 16th (Trace), 18th (Trace), 21st (3.5") and 28th (0.4"). Freezing rain was observed on the 5th (0.1" glaze) and 10th (0.1" glaze). It was interesting to note the variance in snowfall totals and temperatures when comparing my station's data with nearby Dulles Int'l Airport. In particular, the precipitation totals on the 21st (IAD snow 8.5 vs. my snow 3.5"). *Please note, anemometer is currently partially obstructed from the North and East " - [ - - ]

Dulles - from NWS Sterling (KLWX): " THIS JANUARY FEATURED BIG SWINGS IN THE WEATHER PATTERN...WITH A STRETCH OF MUCH BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES IN THE FIRST THIRD OF JANUARY FOLLOWED BY ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES MID MONTH BEFORE MUCH BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES RETURNED TO END OUT THE MONTH. OVERALL...THE AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE OF 27.2F THIS PAST JANUARY WAS THE 6TH COLDEST ON RECORD FOR DULLES AND THE COLDEST SINCE 1994. THE LAST 10 DAYS IN JANUARY WERE PARTICULARLY COLD. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 18.1F FOR THE 21ST-30TH WAS THE COLDEST 10-DAY PERIOD FOR DULLES IN 20 YEARS. THE AVERAGE DURING THAT COLD STRETCH WAS 15.7F FROM 14-23 JANUARY 1994. A RECORD DAILY MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 1 DEGREE WAS SET AT DULLES ON 7 JANUARY. THIS BROKE THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 8 DEGREES SET BACK IN 1988. IT WAS ALSO THE COLDEST MINIMUM TEMPERATURE IN JANUARY SINCE 17 JANUARY 2009 (0F). A RECORD DAILY LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 18 DEGREES WAS SET AT DULLES ON 7 JANUARY. THIS BROKE THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 21 DEGREES SET BACK IN 1988 AND 1996. IT WAS ALSO THE LOWEST DAILY LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE IN JANUARY SINCE 16 JANUARY 2009 (17F). A RECORD DAILY LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 15 DEGREES WAS SET AT DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON 22 JANUARY. THIS BROKE THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 20 DEGREES SET BACK IN 1970. IT WAS ALSO THE LOWEST DAILY LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE IN JANUARY SINCE 19 JANUARY 1994 (6F). A RECORD DAILY LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 21 DEGREES WAS SET AT DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON 24 JANUARY. THIS BROKE THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 25 DEGREES SET BACK IN 1987. IT WAS ALSO THE LOWEST DAILY LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE IN JANUARY SINCE 22 JANUARY 2014 (15F). A RECORD DAILY LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 18 DEGREES WAS SET AT DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON 28 JANUARY. THIS BROKE THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 21 DEGREES SET BACK IN 1966 AND 1986. IT WAS ALSO THE LOWEST DAILY LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE IN JANUARY SINCE 22 JANUARY 2014 (15F). PRECIPITATION THIS JANUARY WAS NEAR NORMAL WHILE SNOWFALL WAS ABOVE NORMAL. THE 12.0 INCHES OF SNOWFALL MEASURED AT DULLES THIS MONTH WAS THE 8TH HIGHEST SNOWFALL IN JANUARY ON RECORD. IT WAS ALSO THE MOST IN JANUARY SINCE THE 21.4 INCHES IN 2000 AND THE MOST IN ANY MONTH SINCE THE HISTORIC FEBRUARY OF 2010 (THE 46.1 INCHES WAS THE SNOWIEST MONTH ON RECORD). A RECORD DAILY MAXIMUM SNOWFALL OF 3.0 INCHES ON 2 JANUARY TIED AT THE DAILY RECORD FIRST SET BACK IN 1987. IT WAS THE MOST FOR A SINGLE DAY IN JANUARY SINCE 26 JANUARY 2011 WHEN 7.3 INCHES OF SNOW FELL. A RECORD DAILY MAXIMUM SNOWFALL OF 8.5 INCHES WAS SET AT DULLES ON 21 JANUARY....BREAKING THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 3.2 INCHES IN 2001. IT WAS THE 4TH HIGHEST ONE DAY SNOWFALL TOTAL IN THE MONTH OF JANUARY ALL TIME. " - [ - + ]

Glen Allen - from Lowell Koontz: " January was the coldest January on record with the monthly mean temperature of 33.2°F, a negative 4.3°F departure and the coldest month since December 2010 when the mean was 32.7°F. There were 6 days that the temperature was 32°F or less; the previous record was 3 days. January had 25 days that the minimum temperature was 32°F or lower. The 6°F on the 24th and 30th was the lowest temperature recorded here except for January 17th 2009 when it was 4°F. On January 7th the dew point fell to -12.9°F, which set the record of our lowest dew point at this station. January had five days with temperatures of 60°F or more. The highest temperature this month was 63°F recorded on January 11th and 27th. The maximum of 22°F on the 7th was the lowest maximum ever recorded at this station for any month. The 7th was also the coldest day at this station for any month with a daily mean of 14.5°F; the previous record was 16.5°F on January 16th & 17th, 2009. The 47°F temperature range on the 6th was the largest temperature range ever recorded at this station for any month. The precipitation for January of 3.07 inches was nearly the average but was short -0.08 inches. The snowfall for January was 7.2 inches, which was 2.5 inches above the average and the most snow in January since 2010. The maximum wind for the month was 33 mph on the 3rd during a 0.91-inch barometric pressure rise in 24 hours from midnight to midnight. On 7 days the pressure varied by more than 0.50 inches or more giving evidence to very changeable weather this month. " - [ - - ]

Hampton - from David Kessel: " Cold January- coldest since 1996- departure from normal -4; Highlights: F0 tornado track directly over this station as funnel before damage path began less than a mile from this station. Tree and shingle damaged occurred with wind gust to 63 mph; Snow occurred from two systems- with storm totals of 4.0 and 8.0. This is the second most monthly snow only (for January to January 1980 (13.0). The storm total of 8.0 is second only to 9.0 (January 1980); Snowfall records for (January) location: (monthly) January 1980 13.0, January 2014 12.0, and January 2002 11.0; Storm total maximums: January 2002 11.0, January 1980/1996 9.0, January 2014 8.0 " - [ - - ]

Herndon - from Randy Ashby: " January was below normal for temperature and for precipitation. The temperatures ranged between a high of 59 and a low of 2 and were 5.4 degrees below normal. We had nine days when the low temperature hit single digits and the average low of 19.58 degrees was the lowest for this site since 1994. On the precipitation side, the month was 0.41” below normal. We had precipitation on 10 days during the month, including periods of rain, snow, sleet and freezing rain/drizzle. We had 8.5” of snow for the month and have now had 12.3” of snow for the season. " - [ - - ]

Norfolk - from NWS Wakefield KAKQ: " ...6TH HIGHEST JANUARY SNOWFALL FOR NORFOLK... ...VARIOUS RECORD LOW TEMPERATURES DURING THE MONTH... JANUARY 2014 HAD A GOOD SHARE OF WINTER WEATHER WITH BOTH SNOWFALL AND UNUSUALLY LOW TEMPERATURES. THERE WERE ALSO BRIEF PERIODS OF MILD WEATHER WITH TEMPERATURES INTO THE 60S. READINGS CLIMBED TO THE LOWER 70S OVER SE VIRGINIA AND NE NORTH CAROLINA ON THE 11TH...A DAY IN WHICH SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED OVER THE SAME AREA. THERE WERE THREE SNOW EVENTS. ONE ON THE 3RD AFFECTED FAR NORTHERN AREAS...MAINLY THE MD EASTERN SHORE. TWO OTHERS WERE AREA WIDE...ONE ON THE 21ST AND 22ND AND AGAIN A WEEK LATER ON THE 28TH AND 29TH. THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL OF THE MONTH FELL OVER EASTERN VIRGINIA AND NORTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA WITH THE LATTER STORM....WHEN 7 TO 10 INCHES FELL IN THE HAMPTON ROADS AREA AND PORTIONS OF NORTH CAROLINA. NORFOLK RECORDED THEIR SIXTH HIGHEST JANUARY SNOWFALL WITH 11.5 INCHES. THE HIGHEST JANUARY SNOWFALL AT NORFOLK WAS 14.2 INCHES IN 1966. THERE WERE SEVERAL DATES WITH UNUSUALLY LOW TEMPERATURES DURING THE MONTH. WITH A SIGNIFICANT SNOW COVER IN PLACE...LOW TEMPERATURES ON THE MORNING OF JANUARY 30TH DROPPED TO THEIR LOWEST LEVELS IN MANY YEARS. A FEW LOCATIONS OVER EASTERN AND SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE OUR FORECAST AREA RECORDED SUB ZERO READINGS INCLUDING MINUS 7 AT THE WAKEFIELD AIRPORT...MINUS 6 AT SALISBURY AND MINUS 1 AT OCEANA NAVAL AIR STATION AT VIRGINIA BEACH. SALISBURY HAD THEIR LOWEST READINGS SINCE 1987...NORFOLK WITH A 6-DEGREE READING WAS THE COLDEST SINCE 1994 AND RICHMOND WITH 4 DEGREES HAD ITS COLDEST TEMPERATURE SINCE 2009. RECORD LOW TEMPERATURES INCLUDED THE FOLLOWING: AT NORFOLK...A RECORD LOW OF 6 OCCURRED ON THE 30TH. THERE WAS A RECORD LOW MAXIMUM OF 26 ON THE 7TH...24 DEGREES TIED A RECORD ON THE 24TH AND 24 DEGREES AGAIN BROKE A RECORD ON THE 29TH. RICHMOND HAD A RECORD COLD MAX OF 23 ON THE 22ND. THERE WAS A RECORD LOW MINIMUM OF 10 DEGREES ON THE 7TH. SALISBURY WITH A LOW OF MINUS 6 ON THE 30TH SET A RECORD. RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES WERE 20 DEGREES ON THE 7TH AND 19 DEGREES ON THE 22ND. - [ - + ]

Portsmouth - from Bill Trotter: " JANUARY 2014 WAS THE SNOWIEST JANUARY IN DATABASE TO 1977. The top 5 Snowiest Januarys include: 1) 12.5" 2014 2) TIE 9.0" 1980 & 9.0" 2002 4) 7.5" 1996 5) 6.9" 1994. January 2014 was the 10th coldest January in the database to 1977. The Top 10 Coldest Januarys by average temperature include: 1) 29.5° 1977 2) 32.1° 1981 3) 34.3° 1982 4) 35.6° 2011 5) 35.8° 1985 6) 36.4° 1978 7) 36.5° 2003 8) TIE 37.1° 1984 & 37.1° 1994 10) 37.3° 2014. January's average temperature of 37.3° was 3.0° BELOW NORMAL. Precipitation (3.99") was ABOVE NORMAL by 0.35" or 110% of the January average during the period from 1976 to 2013. Rainfall for the year through January 31st was 3.99" (+0.35" or 110% of normal). To view the station monthly and year-to-date summary for this Portsmouth station, please click here. Frontal passages were observed on these dates: 3, 6, 10, 11, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 26,and 27. FROST occurred on the 1st, 4th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 13th, 16th, 17th, and 23rd. STATION RECORDS: 7th - TEMP Min 13°[previous 17 1988] 7th - TEMP 26° Min high [previous 32 1988], 12th - TEMP Max low 56° [previous 51 2008], 12th - RAIN 1.75" [previous 0.79" 1980], 21st - SNOW 2.5" [previous 0.8" 1994], 21st - WIND TIED 38mph [previous 1989], 22nd - SNOW 1.5" [previous TRACE 1987], 22nd - TEMP Min Hi 25° [previous 28 2011], 22nd - WIND TIED 33mph [previous 1997], 23rd - TEMP Min 13° [previous 15 2003], 24th - TEMP Min Hi 24° [previous 35 2005], 25th - TEMP Min 16° [previous 19 2003], 28th - SNOW 5.0" [previous 1.0" 1985], 29th - SNOW 3.5" [previous 0.75" 1986], 29th - TEMP Min Hi 25 [previous 30 1977], and 30th - TEMP Min 6° [previous 19 1977]. - [ - + ]

Woodstock - from Lauck Walton (WOO): 2nd coldest January in 29 years of records

Richmond - from contributor Lowell Koontz (GAV): " The Richmond International Airport set five new daily records for January. On Jan 22nd set a new record low maximum of 23 °F; the old record was 25°F in 1970. Only 15 years of the past 117 years had a lower maximum temperature in January. The daily mean temperature of 16°F on January 7th was a record low daily mean for the date. It was also the coldest day since January 19, 1997 when the daily mean was also 16°F. January 7th set a new record low minimum temperature of 10°F; the old record was 12°F in 1988. Jan 06th set a new record high temperature range of 45°F (from a high of 63 at 6:23 AM to a low of 18 just before midnight); the previous record was 37°F. This 45-degree range represents the largest daily range in temperature since a range of 46 degrees occurred on April 3rd 1981. The largest daily range was 51 degrees on January 9, 1978. Also only 3 years in the past 117 years had a daily temperature range greater than 45°F in the month of January. The 2.0 inches of snow on the 21st set a new record for the date; the previous record amount for the date was 1.8 inches in 1918. Measurable snowfall at the Richmond International Airport this past January was 5.1 inches the most since 2010. The January precipitation was just 0.24 inches above the average; 57 years in the past 127 years have been wetter than this January. The mean temperature at the Richmond International Airport was 33.7°F, 21st coldest in the past 117 years and the coldest January since 2004 when it was 33.3°F. It was the coldest month since December 2010 when the mean was 33.3°F. Only 21 years have had a lower minimum temperature in January than the 4 °F on the 30th. Only 12 years in the past 117 years have had a lower average minimum monthly temperature of 22.8°F. The lowest was 12.7°F in 1940, which was our coldest January and coldest year. - [ - + ]

North Carolina:

Greensboro - from NWS Raleigh (RAH): " A RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 25 WAS TIED AT PIEDMONT TRIAD INTL AIRPORT ON FRIDAY JANUARY 24TH. THIS TIES THE OLD RECORD DAILY LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE SET IN 1948. A RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 29 WAS TIED AT PIEDMONT TRIAD INTL AIRPORT NC ON WEDNESDAY JANUARY 22. THIS TIES THE OLD RECORD DAILY LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 29 SET IN 1970. A RECORD SNOWFALL OF 0.4 INCHES WAS TIED AT PIEDMONT TRIAD INTL AIRPORT NC TUESDAY JANUARY 21. THIS TIES THE OLD RECORD OF 0.4 SET IN 1983. A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 5 DEGREES WAS SET AT THE PIEDMONT TRIAD INTL AIRPORT TUESDAY JANUARY 7. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 14 SET IN 1988. " - [ - + ]

Fayetteville - from NWS Raleigh (RAH): " A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 8 DEGREES WAS SET AT FAYETTEVILLE REGL AIRPORT NC THURSDAY JANUARY 30TH. THIS TIES THE OLD RECORD OF 8 SET IN 1934. A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 12 DEGREES WAS SET AT THE FAYETTEVILLE REGIONAL AIRPORT TUESDAY JANUARY 7TH. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 13 SET IN 1959. A RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 28 WAS SET AT THE FAYETTEVILLE REGL AIRPORT TUESDAY JANUARY 7TH. THE OLD RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE WAS 31 DEGREES SET IN 1988. " - [ - + ]

Raleigh - from NWS Raleigh RAH: " A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 7 DEGREES WAS TIED AT RALEIGH-DURHAM INTL AIRPORT NC THURSDAY JANUARY 30TH. THIS TIES THE OLD RECORD OF 7 SET IN 1977. A RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 27 WAS TIED AT THE RALEIGH- DURHAM INTL AIRPORT ON FRIDAY JANUARY 24TH. THIS TIES THE OLD RECORD DAILY LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE SET IN 1963. A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 9 DEGREES WAS SET RALEIGH-DURHAM INTL AIRPORT ON TUESDAY JANUARY 7TH. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 15 SET IN 1988. " - [ - - ]

Raleigh - from contributor Bob Woodson (RAL): " VERY COLD IS THE BEST WAY TO SUM JANUARY WEATHER. THE AVERAGE DAILY TEMPERATURE WAS 5.2 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL INCLUDING 3 DAYS ON WHICH THE HIGH NEVER MADE IT ABOVE FREEZING. ALSO ON TWO DAYS THE MINIMUM TEMP WAS IN SINGLE DIGITS. SNOW OCCURRED ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS, JANUARY 21ST AND AGAIN ON JANUARY 29TH. ALONG WITH THE VERY COLD WEATHER CAME A RELATIVELY DRY MONTH WITH ONLY 2.31” OF PRECIPITATION OR 1.19” BELOW NORMAL. . " - [ - - ]

Whiteville - from contributor Christopher Crawley: " A month of records for my station. Granted, I have only kept steady data since 2010, but the following new records were established at my station: January 7: New record low maximum temperature (27°F); new record lowest temperature (14°F); new lowest dewpoint measurement (negative-4.4°F). January 8: New all-time record highest barometric pressure at 30.639 inHg. January 28-29 brought a snow and ice event to the entire region. At my station we had 2 inches of snow with 1 inch of sleet accumulation; liquid equivalent was 0.51 inch. The sleet fell very heavily for about a 6-hour period. Some light snow and sleet developed the afternoon of Tuesday the 28th but did not amount to any real accumulation. Schools were closed Tuesday 1/28 through Friday 1/31. " - [ - - ]