January 11-17: Warm Conditions Continue.

Dry and mild winter weather continued through the January 11-17 period across the Midwest as a series of Pacific air masses invaded the nation's mid-section. During the week temperatures averaged 4°F above normal in Kentucky to 18°F above normal in northwestern Minnesota (Figure 14). The only significant precipitation resulted from a low pressure system that developed over the Central Plains on January 15 and crossed through southern Wisconsin, northern Illinois , and Michigan. The Chicago area received 3 to 4 inches of snow, the first snowfall of more than an inch this season (Figure 15). The snow, which fell at moderate to heavy rates at times, created the normal winter travel headaches. Precipitation was very far below normal for a large portion of the central and southern Midwest (Figure 16), with much of southern Illinois and almost all of Missouri receiving no precipitation (Figure 17).

The mild weather caused additional erosion of the snow cover across the Midwest. The deepest snow cover was in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where 10 to 13 inch amounts were reported on January 17 (Figure 18). Snow cover across Minnesota is well below normal. Duluth reported only 2 inches on the ground as of 7:00 AM on January 17. Normally Duluth has from 12 to 15 inches of snow on the ground at this point in January. Minneapolis-St. Paul has yet to reach a temperature below zero this season. Prior to this year, the latest ever first occurrence of below zero was on January 16, 1955 when the temperature reached -1°F. For more information on the unusual winter weather in Minnesota, go to the Minnesota State Climate Office web page.