The US just experienced the coldest January since 2011

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1. **From AccuWeather:**

   If you spent much of last month shivering in the United States, you were not alone. A preliminary look at temperature data shows that the U.S. is likely to have experienced its coldest January average mean temperature since at least 2011, with records going back to 1895.

   [Climate Central’s preliminary report for January](https://www.climatecentral.org/report/monthly-attribution-overview-january-2025) showed that 166 out of 191 analyzed cities (87 percent) were cooler than normal. That included Alaska, where the warmest city, Fairbanks, was an astounding 14.6 degrees Fahrenheit above normal. They put the January departure from the historical average number for the nation at minus 2.9 F. This could rank as the coldest January since 2011, which is something [AccuWeather meteorologists accurately warned about in late December](https://www.accuweather.com/en/winter-weather/coldest-january-since-2011-brewing-for-us-to-lead-to-multiple-winter-storms/1728003).

   Official numbers will be released by NOAA on Feb. 10.

   A preliminary average of temperatures at more than 1,400 contiguous U.S. climate stations tabulated by the SERCC (Southeast Regional Climate Center) also shows a cold January, with a departure from the historical average of minus 2.5 F for January. Only northern Maine and the mountains of the West Coast saw above-normal temperatures in January.

2. This is what is called a “return to the mean.”

3. Weird, it’s been obscenely warm and dry for much of our Nebraska January. A few stretches of low teen temperatures, but mostly hovering around 30-60 degrees F.

4. Man-accelerated climate change causes wild swings in temperature and weather patterns (often adding power to each end of the spectrum), but the trend line is still onward and upward (hotter and drier). Then the whole thing collapses like a deck of cards. The Atlantic current, for one, will stall out and certain areas of the globe, like the UK, will become less inhabitable.

5. This is the phase of global warming when temperature actually drops for a period of time as cold water from the melting polar regions rapidly fills warmer oceans creating colder weather. After this we enter the penalty phase.

6. Jan 2025 is on track to be the hottest January on record, with an **average temperature increase of 1.75°C globally**

7. As the polar regions melt, massive amounts of cold air get pushed onto the rest of the planet courtesy of a destabilizing jet stream. This cold winter is yet another alarm bell. At this point, the amount of alarm bells is deafening.

8. And I just experienced the coldest day since yesterday….

9. But the North Pole is melting right now… so I don’t think this is a good thing.

10. lol I live in Pacific Northwest and this is the warmest winter I can ever remember. Up to two weeks ago I still had petunias growing outside. We have almost had no winter at all this year

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