Midwest Weekly Highlights - January 15-21, 2020

---

Colder Air Moves In

Temperatures began to cool off across the Midwest after two significantly warmer weeks to start 2020 (Figure 1).  Areas in Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana were 1-4°F above normal, with temperatures significantly colder to the west.   In western Iowa and southwestern Minnesota, temperatures were 10-12°F below normal.  Minimum temperatures in these areas averaged below 0°F (Figure 2).  However, only a few daily temperature records were broken across the region (Figure 3) as temperatures this cold are not uncommon in January.
 

Wet, Except in Kentucky

Widespread precipitation affected most of the Midwest except Kentucky during the period (Figure 4).  Amounts over an inch fell from southern Missouri through southern Illinois, with amounts up to an inch in Indiana, Ohio and the U.P. of Michigan.  Precipitation in Minnesota and Iowa was also more than double the normal amount (Figure 5), with some areas in northwestern Minnesota receiving more than 5 times the normal amount.  More than 150 daily records were broken throughout the region (Figure 6). Most of the precipitation in the Upper Midwest fell as snow, with heavy amounts in northern Minnesota and Michigan (Figure 7).
 

Widespread Snowfall January 17-18

A winter storm through on January 17 through the morning of January 18 (Figure 8) blanketed Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan with 3-6 inches of snowfall.  Heavier amounts were recorded in northern Minnesota, where 6-10 inches fell.  As the storm moved east, lake-effect snowfall took over in Michigan where 4-8 inches also fell (Figure 9).
 

-BJP-