2018: The Year In Weather (Plus January 2019 Forecast)
2018: A Year Of Extremes (Again)
Extreme/record-setting weather has become more common in recent years and 2018 was no exception. The year started with a bang with a record low tied on New Year's morning (-1) and a high of just 13 that day. Early January was brutal; temperatures moderated during the rest of the month and January as a whole was fairly unremarkable.
February...ah February. Over the last 2 years, February and March have switched places...meaning that March was COLDER than February both in 2017 and 2018. Check out that 73 on February 20!
I will remember 2018 as a year with very short "transition" seasons. A cold April led to a very slow "greening up" across the area but then BANG, May was very summery. September and early October were quite warm and foliage was delayed. Then, when it got cold, it pretty much stayed cold and November was more like a typical December. Click on this graphic to enlarge:
Broken down by month:
In the precipitation department, well obviously it was a very wet year. The numbers were not final as of 8:30 Monday evening but the year will end up around 12" wetter than average. Good enough for the 2nd wettest year on record.
There were not many "typical" months in 2018:
January 2019 Forecast
Winter weather lovers.....you may want to read no farther. The first half of January looks mild and pretty snow-free...a continuation of the pattern we saw in the last 3 weeks of December. The second half of the month is likely to be much more typical of the season but as a whole it should be another mild month (compared to average). Our winter forecast is shaping up to be too cold and snowy but I still think February is looking better for snow and cold.
