Climatological Report (Monthly)
Issued by NWS Buffalo, NY
Issued by NWS Buffalo, NY
136
CXUS51 KBUF 021051
CLMROC
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
732 AM EST SUN FEB 01 2026
...................................
...THE ROCHESTER NY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2026...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD: 1991 TO 2020
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1871 TO 2026
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 74 01/25/1950
LOW -17 01/16/1994
HIGHEST 58 01/09 44 01/01
LOWEST -6 01/24 -2 01/22
AVG. MAXIMUM 28.8 33.4 -4.6 30.0
AVG. MINIMUM 17.2 19.0 -1.8 18.6
MEAN 23.0 26.2 -3.2 24.3
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 17 15.7 1.3 18
DAYS MIN <= 32 25 27.2 -2.2 30
DAYS MIN <= 0 2 2.3 -0.3 1
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 8.05 1878
MINIMUM 0.52 1921
TOTALS 3.28 2.55 0.73 1.72
DAYS >= .01 24 21
DAYS >= .10 8 5
DAYS >= .50 2 0
DAYS >= 1.00 0 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 0.73 01/25 TO 01/26 0.38 01/31 TO 01/31
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 61.3 2004
TOTALS 37.7 27.4 10.3 34.4
SINCE 7/1 82.5 57.9 24.6 MM
SNOWDEPTH AVG. 4 2
DAYS >= 1.0 12 8.3 3.7 MM
DAYS >= 0.1 20 MM
GREATEST
SNOW DEPTH 10R 01/26 5 01/08
01/20
24 HR TOTAL 8.8 01/25 TO 01/26 MM
DEGREE DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 1294 1203 91 1255
SINCE 7/1 3732 3470 262 MM
COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0
SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 MM
................................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 12.1
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 44/260
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 64/260 DATE 01/09
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.90
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 0
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 2
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 29
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 74
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 0 MIXED PRECIP 1
HEAVY RAIN 0 RAIN 2
LIGHT RAIN 6 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 9 SNOW 15
LIGHT SNOW 26 SLEET 0
FOG 26 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 9
HAZE 9
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
&&
... COLD AND SNOWY START TO THE NEW YEAR ...
JANUARY WILL GO DOWN AS A COLD AND SNOWY MONTH, BUT JANUARY HAD TWO
VERY DIFFERENT WEATHER PATTERNS. THE FIRST HALF OF THE MONTH
FEATURED TEMPERATURES MAINLY ABOVE NORMAL THAT CONTRIBUTED TO LITTLE
SNOWFALL THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF THE MONTH. A SHARP PATTERN CHANGE
MID-MONTH BROUGHT WINTER`S FURY BACK WITH LONG LASTING LAKE EFFECT
SNOWBANDS, FRIGID TEMPERATURES AND BITTERLY COLD WIND CHILLS.
THE TEMPERATURE THIS MONTH AVERAGED 23.0F WHICH IS JUST OVER THREE
DEGREES COLDER THAN NORMAL. TOGETHER WITH A COLD DECEMBER, THE FIRST
TWO MONTHS OF WINTER WERE THE COLDEST IN 12 YEARS. THE FIRST TWO
WEEKS FEATURED DAYS WITH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES MORE OFTEN THAN
NOT, AND INCLUDED SIX DAYS ABOVE 40F, WHICH IS ONE DAY LESS THAN
NORMAL. BY THE 15TH A PATTERN CHANGE OCCURRED WITH ARCTIC AIR
FLOWING FREELY SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES. A COLD THIRD WEEK
BECAME EVEN COLDER FOR THE FINAL 9 DAYS OF THE MONTH. THE FINAL WEEK
OF JANUARY AVERAGED 10.0F WHICH IS THE COLDEST END TO JANUARY ON
RECORD. THERE WERE 11 DAYS THAT FEATURED SINGLE DIGIT TEMPERATURES,
THREE DAYS MORE THAN NORMAL. THE COLD FINAL HALF OF JANUARY IS
NOTABLE FOR ITS PERSISTENT LENGTH, AND NOT NECESSARILY EXTREME
TEMPERATURE VALUES, WITH JUST TWO DAYS DROPPING BELOW ZERO AND ALL
MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE VALUES REACHING DOUBLE DIGITS.
PRECIPITATION TOTALED ABOVE NORMAL THIS MONTH WITH 3.28 INCHES OF
RAIN AND MELTED SNOW. BOTH DECEMBER AND JANUARY FINISHED WITH ABOVE
NORMAL PRECIPITATION, HELPING TO IMPROVE LONG TERM WATER DEFICITS
ACROSS THE GENESEE VALLEY. THERE WERE SEVERAL DAYS OF RAIN EARLY IN
THE MONTH, INCLUDING THE 6TH-7TH AS WELL AS THE 9TH-10TH WHICH
EITHER MELTED WHAT SNOWPACK EXISTED, OR MAINTAINED GREEN GRASS. THE
FINAL HALF OF THE MONTH FEATURED ALL SNOW, INCLUDING MEASURABLE SNOW
ON ALL FINAL 13 DAYS OF THE MONTH. SNOW DID TALLY WELL ABOVE NORMAL
WITH 37.7 INCHES MEASURED THROUGHOUT THE MONTH. THIS IS JUST OVER 10
INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. THE 19 DAYS WITH MEASURABLE SNOWFALL ARE 3 DAYS
GREATER THAN NORMAL.
THERE WERE FOUR SIGNIFICANT LAKE EFFECT SNOW EVENTS THIS MONTH, WITH
THE FIRST OCCURRING THE OPENING HOURS OF THE MONTH. STRONG ZONAL
FLOW ACROSS THE BORDER OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA THROUGH MID-
MONTH KEPT ARCTIC CHILL WELL TO OUR NORTH. FROM THE 5TH THROUGH THE
15TH THE AIR TEMPERATURE ROSE ABOVE THE FREEZING MARK. A COLD FRONT
CROSSED WESTERN NEW YORK ON THE 9TH, WITH GUSTY SOUTHEAST WINDS
AHEAD OF THE FRONT, THEN VERY STRONG WINDS ALONG AND BEHIND THE
FRONT. WINDS GUSTED TO 64 MPH DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS AT THE
ROCHESTER AIRPORT, WHILE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS FOR STRONG
WINDS WERE ISSUED TO THE SOUTH OF MONROE COUNTY.ANOTHER LOW
PRESSURE SYSTEM PASSING TO THE NORTHWEST OF ROCHESTER BROUGHT GUSTY
WINDS INTO THE 40 MPH RANGE ON THE 12TH AND 13TH. STARTING MID-
MONTH, A BURGEONING RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE EXTENDED TOWARDS ALASKA
AND THE ARCTIC CIRCLE, OPENING THE DOOR FOR POLAR AIRMASSES TO
SETTLE SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE PRAIRIES OF CANADA AND THE GREAT LAKES
REGION. DEEP TROUGHING OVER THE GREAT LAKES ALLOWED FOR LONG
DURATION LAKE EFFECT SNOW BANDS TO OSCILLATE DOWNWIND OF THE LAKES.
THE START OF THE ARCTIC PLUNGE OCCURRED ON THE 19TH WITH THE PASSAGE
OF A STRONG COLD FRONT, COUPLED WITH SNOW SQUALLS AND WINDS HOWLING
TO 51 MPH AT THE AIRPORT. A HEAVY BAND OF LAKE EFFECT SNOW ACROSS
NIAGARA COUNTY AND EXTENDING TOWARDS WESTERN MONROE COUNTY THE
MORNING HOURS OF THE 19TH WAS SWEPT QUICKLY SOUTHWARD MIDDAY BY THE
COLD FRONT, RESIDING SOUTH OF ROCHESTER AND ACROSS THE WESTERN NEW
YORK SNOWBELTS THE AFTERNOON HOURS OF THE 19TH THROUGH THE 20TH
BEFORE LIFTING BACK NORTHWARD ACROSS THE NORTHERN NIAGARA FRONTIER
THE EVENING HOURS OF THE 20TH AND EARLY MORNING HOURS OF THE 21ST.
BITTER COLD FOLLOWED ON THE 19TH THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS OF THE
20TH WITH WIND CHILL VALUES BELOW ZERO ACROSS ALL OF WESTERN NEW
YORK, INCLUDING -12F AT THE ROCHESTER AIRPORT.
A CLIPPER SYSTEM PASSED ACROSS WESTERN NEW YORK ON THE 21ST AND 22ND
WITH SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW, BUT A NARROW OPENING OF WATER ON LAKE
ERIE HELPED A LAKE EFFECT SNOWBAND TO FORM ACROSS SOUTHERN ERIE AND
WYOMING COUNTIES WITH A FOOT OF SNOW FALLING ON THE 22ND INTO THE
23RD. ANOTHER POLAR AIRMASS DROPPED ACROSS WESTERN NEW YORK ON
FRIDAY NIGHT THE 23RD INTO THE MORNING HOURS OF THE 24TH. WIND CHILL
VALUES REACHED WELL BELOW ZERO, INCLUDING -19F AT THE ROCHESTER
AIRPORT, AND -25F TO -30F WELL INLAND. ON SUNDAY MORNING THE 25TH
A SYNOPTIC SNOWSTORM UNFOLDED ACROSS THE REGION WITH 8 TO 12 INCHES
OF SNOW FALLING REGIONWIDE. A DAILY RECORD 8.3 INCHES OF SNOW WAS
MEASURED AT THE AIRPORT. ON A NORTHWEST FLOW LAKE EFFECT SNOW
CONTINUED SOUTH OF LAKE ONTARIO THE 29TH THROUGH THE 31ST. UP TO A
FOOT OF SNOW FELL ALONG THE IMMEDIATE SOUTHERN LAKE ONTARIO
SHORELINE BY THE MORNING OF THE 31ST. ON THE 29TH A HEAVIER BAND OF
SNOW, WITH REDUCED VISIBILITY CAUSED A 60-CAR PILEUP WITHIN MULTIPLE
ACCIDENTS ON THE NEW YORK STATE THRUWAY NEAR BATAVIA. THE SNOW AT
THE END OF JANUARY COMBINED WITH VERY COLD TEMPERATURES KEPT ROADS
SNOW COVERED THE FINAL WEEK OF JANUARY.
THE WATER TEMPERATURE ON LAKE ONTARIO REMAINED JUST A FEW DEGREES
ABOVE THE FREEZING MARK FOR THE MONTH, WITH CONSIDERABLE SHORELINE
ICE FOUND. IT WAS A WINDY MONTH WITH WINDS AVERAGING OVER A MILE PER
HOUR ABOVE NORMAL. THERE WERE 5 DAYS REGISTERING A WIND GUST OF 50
MPH OR GREATER, WHICH IS THE FIRST OCCURRENCE OF SUCH A FEAT SINCE
AT LEAST 2007.
IN ALL, WINTER`S FURY ARRIVED MID-MONTH WITH A BITTER COLD AND
SNOWY END TO JANUARY.
&&
THOMAS
$$