Phil Gave His Prediction Now Iowa Climatologist Gives His
If you were thinking this was a very cold January, you are not wrong. Statewide, January saw colder than normal temperatures and some parts even saw above-average snowfall.
State Climatologist Justin Glisan spoke with KQWC about this month’s temperature data.
We were five degrees below average across the state and anywhere from two to eight degrees below average if you look at eastern Iowa where we had a little more snowpack.
When you average out the statewide numbers, January was also dryer than normal.
We were about a quarter-inch below average, but January is the driest month of the year and it doesn't take a lot to be above or below average. And then if we look at the actual snowpack that we've had -- about eight and a half inches across the state. And that was basically above average across much of southeast and central Iowa. And that's about an inch above average.
In 2021, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow telling us there were 6 more weeks of cold winter weather.
While his prediction remains the same this year, Glisan is saying we might not see cold temperatures this February like we did last February.
Now we see in the short-term getting out into the middle of February -- near normal to slightly elevated shots of warmer conditions,
And this could mean there isn’t as much precipitation.
This time of year when we do see warmer conditions we generally see a drier signal or near-normal conditions -- but we are seeing an elevated signal for drier conditions for the first half of the month. If we look at the monthly outlooks in general that were issued on January 31st -- we are not seeing any real clear guidance for the full month.
So even though our little groundhog friend saw his shadow and we are expecting more winter weather in the coming 6 weeks, we are just going to have to wait back and see whose prediction came true.