January was wet, mild

The new year started wet, with 1.3” of rain five of the first six days and 2.1” in 10 of the first 13 days. The month ended the same way, with 1.5” rain six of last eight days. These two periods accounted for almost all of January’s precipitation. No snow, though. The winter’s first was the Valentine’s Day weekend.

Rainfall totaled 3.7”, 9% below the century’s average for January.

Temperatures were slightly above average, 1.5 degrees, for the day’s average and maximum temperatures over the last two decades.

There were six frost days, four of them between Jan.19-23, the coldest week of the year. Jan. 23 did not reach 32 degrees. The month started mild, with highs five of the first six days above 50 degree. Jan. 11-12 averaged above 50 degrees and 12 of the first 17 days highs were above 50 degrees.

The month’s high of 59 degrees, Jan 12 was in the middle of six days of over 50 degrees.

The 1.8” of precipitation in 2019 was the second driest in two decades, with 1.6” in 2017 the driest. Oddly, the last decade has had both the driest and wettest years of the century. Five of the driest years have been since 2010. But six of the eight wettest years have been since 2011, resulting in rainfall for the month averaging 4” the last 11 years, just below the century average.

Measurements and data are at Washington State University’s Mount Vernon weather station on Memorial Highway.