161
CXUS51 KBUF 021048
CLMBUF
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
732 AM EST SUN FEB 01 2026
...............................
..THE BUFFALO NY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2026
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD: 1991 TO 2020
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1871 TO 2026
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR'S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
............................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 72 01/25/1950
LOW -16 01/17/1982
HIGHEST 61 01/09 42 01/01
01/18
01/31
LOWEST -4 01/24 -5 01/22
AVG. MAXIMUM 28.2 32.1 -3.9 29.4
AVG. MINIMUM 16.6 19.0 -2.4 18.6
MEAN 22.4 25.5 -3.1 24.0
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 19 16.4 2.6 20
DAYS MIN <= 32 29 27.1 1.9 30
DAYS MIN <= 0 3 1.8 1.2 1
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 6.88 1982
MINIMUM 0.89 1921
TOTALS 3.24 3.35 -0.11 1.98
DAYS >= .01 21 18
DAYS >= .10 11 7
DAYS >= .50 2 0
DAYS >= 1.00 0 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 0.75 01/06 TO 01/07 0.45 01/31 TO 01/31
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 68.3 1977
TOTALS 36.6 26.7 9.9 29.2
SINCE 7/1 71.3 60.7 10.6
SNOWDEPTH AVG. 5 3
DAYS >= 1.0 9 7.5 1.5 12
DAYS >= 0.1 22 20
GREATEST
SNOW DEPTH 15 01/29 9 01/24
01/30
01/31
24 HR TOTAL 7.4 01/28 TO 01/29
DEGREE DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 1312 1223 89 1264
SINCE 7/1 3653 3532 121 MM
COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0
SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 MM
............................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 13.7
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 46/250
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 59/240 DATE 01/09
59/230 01/19
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 0
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 5
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 26
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 73
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 0 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 1 RAIN 3
LIGHT RAIN 7 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 10 SNOW 12
LIGHT SNOW 25 SLEET 0
FOG 22 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 8
HAZE 10
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
.. COLD AND SNOWY START TO THE NEW YEAR
JANUARY WILL GO DOWN AS A COLD AND SNOWY MONTH, BUT JANUARY HAD TWO
VERY DIFFERENT WEATHER PATTERNS. THE FIRST HALF OF THE MONTH
FEATURED TEMPERATURES MAINLY ABOVE NORMAL THAT CONTRIBUTED TO LITTLE
SNOWFALL THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF THE MONTH. A SHARP PATTERN CHANGE
MID-MONTH BROUGHT WINTER'S FURY BACK WITH LONG LASTING LAKE EFFECT
SNOWBANDS, FRIGID TEMPERATURES AND BITTERLY COLD WIND CHILLS.
THE TEMPERATURE THIS MONTH AVERAGED 22.4°F WHICH IS JUST OVER THREE
DEGREES COLDER THAN NORMAL. TOGETHER WITH A COLD DECEMBER, THE FIRST
TWO MONTHS OF WINTER WERE THE COLDEST IN 8 YEARS. THE FIRST TWO
WEEKS FEATURED DAYS WITH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES MORE OFTEN THAN
NOT, AND INCLUDED TWO DAYS ABOVE 50°F, WHICH IS EXACTLY THE AIRPORT
LONG TERM MEAN. BY THE 15TH A PATTERN CHANGE OCCURRED WITH ARCTIC
AIR FLOWING FREELY SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES. A COLD THIRD
WEEK BECAME EVEN COLDER FOR THE FINAL 9 DAYS OF THE MONTH. THE FINAL
NINE DAYS OF JANUARY AVERAGED 8.5°F WHICH IS THE SECOND COLDEST
FINAL 9 DAYS OF JANUARY (8.4°/1961). THERE WERE 10 DAYS THAT
FEATURED SINGLE DIGIT TEMPERATURES, THREE DAYS MORE THAN NORMAL.
THE COLD FINAL HALF OF JANUARY IS NOTABLE FOR ITS PERSISTENT LENGTH,
AND NOT NECESSARILY EXTREME TEMPERATURE VALUES, WITH JUST TWO DAYS
DROPPING BELOW ZERO AND ALL MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE VALUES REACHING
DOUBLE DIGITS. THERE WAS NO TEMPERATURE RECORDS REACHED THIS MONTH.
PRECIPITATION TOTALED JUST BELOW NORMAL THIS MONTH WITH 3.24 INCHES
OF RAIN AND MELTED SNOW. OF THE PAST 24 MONTHS, 19 HAVE FEATURED
BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION. THERE WERE SEVERAL DAYS OF RAIN EARLY IN
THE MONTH, INCLUDING THE 6TH-7TH AS WELL AS THE 9TH-10TH WHICH
EITHER MELTED WHAT SNOWPACK EXISTED, OR MAINTAINED GREEN GRASS. THE
FINAL HALF OF THE MONTH FEATURED ALL SNOW, INCLUDING MEASURABLE SNOW
ON ALL BUT 2 OF THE FINAL 17 DAYS OF THE MONTH. SNOW DID TALLY WELL
ABOVE NORMAL WITH 36.6 INCHES MEASURED THROUGHOUT THE MONTH. THIS IS
NEARLY 10 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. THE 22 DAYS WITH MEASURABLE SNOWFALL
ARE TIED FOR 14TH GREATEST ON RECORD.
THERE WERE FOUR SIGNIFICANT LAKE EFFECT SNOW EVENTS THIS MONTH, WITH
THE FIRST OCCURRING THE OPENING HOURS OF THE MONTH. STRONG ZONAL
FLOW ACROSS THE BORDER OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA THROUGH MID-
MONTH KEPT ARCTIC CHILL WELL TO OUR NORTH. FROM THE 5TH THROUGH THE
15TH THE AIR TEMPERATURE ROSE TO OR ABOVE THE FREEZING MARK. A COLD
FRONT CROSSED WESTERN NEW YORK ON THE 9TH, WITH GUSTY SOUTHEAST
WINDS AHEAD OF THE FRONT, THEN VERY STRONG WINDS ALONG AND BEHIND
THE FRONT. WINDS GUSTED TO 59 MPH DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS AT THE
BUFFALO AIRPORT, WHILE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS FOR STRONG WINDS
WERE ISSUED TO THE SOUTH AND EAST OF BUFFALO. ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE
SYSTEM PASSING TO THE NORTHWEST OF BUFFALO BROUGHT GUSTY WINDS INTO
THE 50 MPH RANGE ON THE 12TH AND 13TH. STARTING MID-MONTH, A
BURGEONING RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE EXTENDED TOWARDS ALASKA AND THE
ARCTIC CIRCLE, OPENING THE DOOR FOR POLAR AIRMASSES TO SETTLE
SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE PRAIRIES OF CANADA AND THE GREAT LAKES REGION.
DEEP TROUGHING OVER THE GREAT LAKES ALLOWED FOR LONG DURATION LAKE
EFFECT SNOW BANDS TO OSCILLATE DOWNWIND OF THE LAKES. THE START OF
THE ARCTIC PLUNGE OCCURRED ON THE 19TH WITH THE PASSAGE OF A STRONG
COLD FRONT, COUPLED WITH SNOW SQUALLS AND WINDS HOWLING TO 59 MPH AT
THE AIRPORT. A HEAVY BAND OF LAKE EFFECT SNOW ACROSS GRAND ISLAND
AND NIAGARA COUNTY THE MORNING HOURS OF THE 19TH WAS SWEPT QUICKLY
SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE BUFFALO METRO AREA MIDDAY BY THE COLD FRONT,
RESIDING ACROSS THE BUFFALO SOUTHTOWNS, SKI COUNTRY AND THE WESTERN
SOUTHERN TIER THE AFTERNOON HOURS OF THE 19TH THROUGH THE 20TH
BEFORE LIFTING BACK NORTHWARD ACROSS THE NORTHERN NIAGARA FRONTIER
THE EVENING HOURS OF THE 20TH AND EARLY MORNING HOURS OF THE 21ST.
DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS OF THE 20TH THE SNOWBAND BECAME
PARTICULARLY INTENSE WITH NEAR ZERO VISIBILITY ACROSS THE DUNKIRK
AREA, INCLUDING THE NYS THRUWAY WHICH WAS CLOSED FOR A PERIOD OF
TIME OWING TO MANY ACCIDENTS UNDER THE SNOWBAND. IN TOTAL TWO AND A
HALF FEET OF SNOW ACCUMULATED ACROSS SOUTHERN ERIE COUNTY WITH A
FOOT OF SNOW ACROSS THE BUFFALO SOUTHTOWNS, AND A FOOT ACROSS GRAND
ISLAND AND NIAGARA COUNTY. BITTER COLD FOLLOWED ON THE 19TH THROUGH
THE MORNING HOURS OF THE 20TH WITH WIND CHILL VALUES BELOW ZERO
ACROSS ALL OF WESTERN NEW YORK, INCLUDING -13°F AT THE BUFFALO
AIRPORT.
A CLIPPER SYSTEM PASSED ACROSS WESTERN NEW YORK ON THE 21ST AND 22ND
WITH SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW, BUT A NARROW OPENING OF WATER ON LAKE
ERIE HELPED A LAKE EFFECT SNOWBAND TO FORM ACROSS SOUTHERN ERIE AND
WYOMING COUNTIES WITH A FOOT OF SNOW FALLING ON THE 22ND INTO THE
23RD. ANOTHER POLAR AIRMASS DROPPED ACROSS WESTERN NEW YORK ON
FRIDAY NIGHT THE 23RD INTO THE MORNING HOURS OF THE 24TH. WIND CHILL
VALUES REACHED WELL BELOW ZERO, INCLUDING -20°F AT THE BUFFALO
AIRPORT, AND -25°F TO -30°F WELL INLAND. ON SUNDAY MORNING THE 25TH
A SYNOPTIC SNOWSTORM UNFOLDED ACROSS THE REGION WITH 8 TO 12 INCHES
OF SNOW FALLING REGIONWIDE. BEHIND THIS SYSTEM THE 4TH AND FINAL
LAKE EFFECT SNOW EVENT OF THE MONTH UNFOLDED. WHILE SNOW AMOUNTS OFF
LAKE ONTARIO TOTALED A FEW FEET, A HALF A FOOT OF SNOW FELL ACROSS
PORTIONS OF ERIE COUNTY FROM THE 27TH TO THE 29TH. ON A NORTHWEST
FLOW LAKE EFFECT SNOW CONTINUED SOUTH OF LAKE ONTARIO THE 29TH
THROUGH THE 31ST. UPWARDS TO A FOOT OF SNOW FELL ALONG THE IMMEDIATE
LAKE ONTARIO SHORELINE, WITH MULTIBANDED STRUCTURE SNOWBANDS
PROVIDING SEVERAL COATINGS OF SNOW THROUGH THE END OF THE MONTH. ON
THE 29TH A HEAVIER BAND OF SNOW, WITH REDUCED VISIBILITY CAUSED A 60-
CAR PILEUP WITHIN MULTIPLE ACCIDENTS ON THE NEW YORK STATE THRUWAY
NEAR BATAVIA. THE SNOW AT THE END OF JANUARY COMBINED WITH VERY COLD
TEMPERATURES KEPT ROADS SNOW COVERED THE FINAL WEEK OF JANUARY.
LAKE ERIE FROZE ON THE 21ST OF THE MONTH WHICH IS TWO DAYS AFTER THE
LONG TERM OVERALL AVERAGE. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME THE LAKE FROZE IN
THREE YEARS. IT WAS A WINDY MONTH WITH WINDS AVERAGING OVER A MILE
PER HOUR ABOVE NORMAL. THERE WERE 5 DAYS REGISTERING A WIND GUST OF
50 MPH OR GREATER, INCLUDING THE 59 MPH WIND GUST ON THE 19TH. THE
LAST TIME A MONTH FEATURED 5 DAYS WITH A 50 MPH OR GREATER WIND GUST
WAS JANUARY 2024.
IN ALL, WINTER'S FURY ARRIVED MID-MONTH WITH A BITTER COLD AND SNOWY
END TO JANUARY.
THOMAS
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