January 25-31: Record Warmth Ends Abruptly With Severe Winter Storm.

The final week of January started with record warmth and ended with a major winter snow/ice/rain storm. The 25th through the 27th were dominated by surface high pressure over the southeastern U.S. that brought abundant amounts of unseasonably warm air northward. On the 28th, a cold front started sagging southward across the Midwest, along with a weak low center. By the 29th the cold front was established on an axis through St. Louis and Cleveland, and a small to moderate amount of precipitation took place. The front moved slightly south as a disturbance rode the front along the Ohio Valley. However, the major low pressure center with upper level support did not enter the southwestern Midwest until the 30th, bringing copious rains south of the cold front, moderate to heavy snow well to the north of the front, and a dangerous zone of heavy freezing rain along the north edge of the front. The rain totals exceeded 2 inches commonly in the storm track area (Figure 24), more than 300% of normal for the week from Missouri to southeastern Michigan (Figure 25). Most of the northern Midwest missed the main rain event, receiving less than 50% of normal precipitation totals and continuing to become drier. The band of snow north of the front exceeded 8 inches along most of its extent (Figure 26). Despite the cool turn on the last few days of the month, the week averaged 12 to 20°F above normal (Figure 27). The temperature departures were somewhat more positive in the southeast, where warm air persisted through the end of the period. Abnormally dry areas in western Iowa and much of Minnesota were expanded in the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor due to the combination of little precipitation and extremely warm temperatures for the time of year.