The unusual January 2019 swing
KMSP - The metro had 4 days in the 40s and two different record highs before getting out of the first week. Combine that with almost no snow on the ground, and it felt more like late March than early January. We had the 9th warmest first half of the month on record. But as we all know, things took a turn in that third week which lead to the coldest second half of January since 1972 and the 5th coldest last week of the month on record.
It was this nearly record cold finish that pushed the month 1.3° below average as a whole after starting more than 9° above average. That more than 10° swing in average temperatures is nearly unprecedented for any month on record in the Twin Cities dating back to 1872.
Because of our initial warmth, it was actually the lack of snow that was the story in what is typically our snowiest month; just a trace of the white stuff was reported through the 17th. We did manage to get a total of 6.8” those last 10 days or so, which is still well shy of our foot or so average, but certainly aided in our cold stretch of weather the last week.