The overall weather pattern for January was drier and warmer than normal for much of the state. Statewide average precipitation was 0.44 inches. This ranks as the 50th driest January since 1895, and places it in the middle third of the range. The North Central and Central Divisions were exceptions to this dry pattern. The North Central Divisional average was 0.71 of an inch, or 110 percent of the normal. The Central Divisional average was 0.79 of an inch, or 113 percent of normal. In contrast, the Northwest Division averaged just 0.06 of an inch of precipitation, which was 13 percent of normal. Still, there were 76 new daily record precipitation amounts. The bulk of these records occurred during the January 6-8th event. Flooding was not as much of an issue as it was in the case of the December storms.
Despite the warmer-than-normal temperatures, snow was a feature during the month. The greatest 24-hour total was 9.5 inches at Haddam, Washington County, on the 22nd. Haddam was also the station with the greatest monthly total for the state at 10.5 inches.
Temperatures also fell in the middle third of the distribution. The statewide average temperature was 30.9 degrees F, or 1.1 degrees warmer than normal. This is much closer to the normal than was December, which was the 4th warmest December on record. The eastern divisions were the closest to normal, with departures ranging from +0.6 degrees F in the Southeast Division to -0.4 degrees F in the Northeast Division. The Northwest Division had the greatest departure from normal, with an average of 31.1 degrees F, or 2.6 degrees warmer than normal. There were 21 new daily high maximum temperature records set, although none of these was a record high for the month. In addition, 14 record warm minimum temperatures were recorded. The warmest reading for the month was 74 degrees F at Sedan (Chautauqua County) on the 30th. The coldest reading was -11 degrees F at Horton (Brown County) and Troy (Doniphan County) on the 18th. That places the range from warmest to coldest at 85 degrees.
Drought conditions didn’t change during the month. Abnormally dry areas remain in central and northwest Kansas. While drier-than-normal conditions persisted across much of the state, this is a normally low-precipitation month so changes are slow to develop. Wetter-than-normal conditions in the Central Division weren’t sufficient to erase the abnormally dry conditions there. Some long-term hydrological deficits are in place affecting water supplies and reservoirs. The drought outlook is for improving conditions, and the precipitation outlook for February is for increased chances of wetter than normal. However, we are still in a drier period of the year and either above- or below-normal precipitation will be slow to show impacts.
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Table 1 |
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January 2016 |
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Kansas Climate Division Summary |
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Precipitation (inches) |
Temperature (oF) |
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January 2016 |
2016 through January |
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Monthly Extremes |
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Division |
Total |
Dep. 1 |
% Normal |
Total |
Dep. 1 |
% Normal |
Ave |
Dep. 1 |
Max |
Min |
|
Northwest |
0.06 |
-0.39 |
15 |
0.06 |
-0.39 |
15 |
31.1 |
2.6 |
65 |
2 |
|
West Central |
0.13 |
-0.37 |
22 |
0.13 |
-0.37 |
22 |
31.8 |
2.1 |
66 |
3 |
|
Southwest |
0.09 |
-0.38 |
17 |
0.09 |
-0.38 |
17 |
34.0 |
1.9 |
73 |
7 |
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North Central |
0.71 |
0.08 |
110 |
0.71 |
0.08 |
110 |
28.6 |
0.7 |
65 |
-8 |
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Central |
0.79 |
0.10 |
113 |
0.79 |
0.10 |
113 |
31.1 |
1.2 |
67 |
-1 |
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South Central |
0.34 |
-0.49 |
43 |
0.34 |
-0.49 |
43 |
33.1 |
1.0 |
71 |
3 |
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Northeast |
0.68 |
-0.13 |
86 |
0.68 |
-0.13 |
86 |
26.9 |
-0.4 |
69 |
-11 |
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East Central |
0.69 |
-0.25 |
73 |
0.69 |
-0.25 |
73 |
29.7 |
0.6 |
71 |
-2 |
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Southeast |
0.59 |
-0.66 |
46 |
0.59 |
-0.66 |
46 |
31.9 |
0.2 |
74 |
1 |
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STATE |
0.44 |
-0.30 |
56 |
0.44 |
-0.30 |
56 |
30.9 |
1.1 |
74 |
-11 |
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1. Departure from 1981-2010 normal value |
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Mary Knapp, Weather Data Library
mknapp@ksu.edu
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