Twin Cities continues monthly above average streak, now at 17

Image 1 of 4

January 2017 started off cold, but finished on an extremely warm note propelling the month above normal.  That marks the 17th consecutive month that temperatures have averaged above normal in the Twin Cities.

After -30s & -40s in parts of the state early on, the 2nd half of the month was the 4th warmest on record in the Twin Cities and top 5 in every other official climate site statewide.  The warmth was capped off by a record breaking streak of consecutive days where temperatures stayed above freezing… a grand total of 4… something that has never happened before in the month of January.

With 17 months in a row where temperatures finished above average, puts the last below normal month was August 2015.  This appears to be the longest above average monthly temperature streak in the Cities’ history, although calculating procedures have changed over time which makes accurate record keeping for this type of climate event rather tricky and potentially inaccurate.  Just 5 of the last 32 months have been below average.