January 2026 Overview – Midwestern Regional Climate Center

Temperature

The average January temperature for the Midwest was 20.0°F, which was 2.4°F below the 1991-2020 normal (Figure 1). Temperatures were near to slightly above normal in the west-central Midwest and 1 to 6°F below normal for the rest of the region (Figure 2). Statewide average temperatures ranged from 0.2°F below normal in Iowa to 4.7°F below normal in Ohio. January was notably warm to start, with average temperatures from January 1-14 ranging from 5 to 15°F above normal across the region (Figure 3). High temperatures in the upper 50s and 60s rolled across the region from west to east from January 7-10 ahead of a potent cold front that traversed the region. On January 9, Racine, Wisconsin, had its 2nd earliest 60°F day on record (dating back to 1897). On January 10, Waverly, Ohio, had its 6th earliest 70°F day on record (dating back to 1894). Another brief shot of warmth soared high temperatures in the western half of the region 20 to 30°F above normal on January 13-14 (Figure 4). Starting mid-month, the large-scale weather pattern shifted, ushering in repeated Arctic cold fronts that plunged the entire Midwest into a deep freeze. Nearly every long-running weather station across the nine-state region had a top 10 coldest close to the month (January 18-31) (Figure 5). Low temperatures in Detroit, Michigan, during the last two weeks of January were the coldest in their 153-year record. In Ohio, daytime high temperatures from January 18-31 were the coldest on record in Cleveland (dating back 148 years) and Akron (dating back 137 years). In northern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin, the coldest temperatures of the month occurred from January 23-26 when lows reached -30 to -40°F. During the last week of January, temperatures in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio reached -10 to -20°F on multiple days. In northeast Ohio, Warren tied for its 2nd coldest temperature on record (for any month dating back to 1893) when the mercury dropped to -25 °F on January 31. Cold air temperatures were amplified by gusty winds throughout late January, resulting in dangerous wind chills. Minnesota and Wisconsin had wind chill temperatures of -40 to -55°F while the lower Midwest saw wind chills from -20 to -35°F. For most areas, these frigid wind chills were the coldest the region has experienced since 2019.

Precipitation

January precipitation totaled 1.29 inches for the Midwest, which was 0.65 inches below normal, or 66 percent of normal (Figure 1). Precipitation was near to slightly above normal along an axis from southwest Iowa to northern Michigan (Figure 6). Across most of the lower Midwest, precipitation was 1 to 3 inches below normal, with the largest deficits along the Ohio River (Figure 7). Statewide precipitation totals ranged from 0.53 inches above normal in Michigan to 1.47 inches below normal in Indiana (Figure 1). Precipitation for Iowa was near normal for the month but largely driven by rainfall on a single day, January 9, when 0.5 to 2 inches drenched the state (Figure 8). In far southwest Wisconsin, Prairie du Chien had its wettest January day on record (dating back to 1893), with 2 inches of precipitation on January 9. For the month, many locations across the upper Midwest had January precipitation totals in the top 10 wettest on record, including: Herman (MI) – 1st, Sault Ste. Marie (MI) – 4th, Minocqua (WI) – 5th, and Decorah (IA) – 7th (Figure 9).

Drought

January closed with about 60 percent of the Midwest classified as abnormally dry or in drought, a slight improvement from the start of the month (Figure 10). The dominant drought-affected area across the lower Midwest included a wide swath of moderate (D1) to extreme (D3) drought from southern Missouri to northwest Ohio. Extreme (D3) drought persisted across portions of east-central Illinois, northern Indiana, and northwest Ohio. A small area of D3 emerged in southern Missouri in January. Across the upper Midwest, Wisconsin and Michigan had some relief during the month. The dominant drought areas in the north were located across northern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin.

Snowfall

January snowfall totals ranged from less than an inch to up to 20 inches in non-lake-affected areas across the Midwest (Figure 11). The lower Midwest had snow totals of 200-300 percent of normal, with locally higher amounts. In southern Illinois, Du Quoin picked up 19.5 inches for the month, making it the 4th snowiest January in 111 years. Du Quoin also recorded its snowiest day on record for any time of year, with 14.5 inches on January 25, 2026. In southern Indiana, Washington had its 5th snowiest January in 120 years with 13 inches. Conversely, the northwest quadrant of the region (Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and northern Illinois) had widespread areas with 10-50 percent of normal snowfall for the month (Figure 12). Des Moines, Iowa, tied for the 10th-least-snowy January since 1884, with just 1.4 inches for the month. Moline, Illinois, tied for the 10th-least-snowy January since 1882, with just 1.7 inches. Monthly snowfall totals in lake-affected areas downwind of Lakes Superior, Michigan, and Erie reached 30 to over 80 inches for January. These totals were generally near normal to above normal in lake-affected areas. In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Herman measured 93 inches for the month, which is 45.2 inches above normal, making it the 2nd snowiest January since records began in 1969.

Major Winter Storm -- January 24-26

A large and powerful winter storm moved across the lower Midwest from January 24-26, bringing deep snow and dangerous freezing rain, followed by frigid temperatures. A wide swath of 8 to 18 inches of snow fell along an axis from southwest Missouri to northeast Ohio (Figure 13). Kentucky, meanwhile, was blanketed with 0.25 to 1.0 inches of ice accumulation from widespread freezing rain. On the heels of the storm’s passage, dangerous Arctic air and frigid wind chills were felt regionwide, hampering storm recovery and snow removal and resulting in multiple days of school and business closures.