Weather

Florida: 22-month consecutive warm stretch comes to an end; drought status

By Irene Sans, WFTV.com
By Irene Sans, WFTV.com

January's numbers are in, and even with record cold temperatures to start the year across the eastern half of the U.S., the western half remained sizzling and this warmth offset the record cold experienced in the east. On average, the contiguous United States ranked among the warmest third of the 123-year period on record. The average temperature was 32.2 degrees Fahrenheit; this is 2.1 degrees above average.

In Florida, the temperatures remained below normal. In fact, this was the coldest January since 2014. The average temperature for the month was 54.8 degrees Fahrenheit -- that’s 2.9 degrees below average.

Read more: Report: Cold snap killed 35 manatees in Florida in January

It wasn’t extreme cold, but at least that broke the 22-consecutive-month record of having above-average temperatures.

LOCAL VARIATION


At a more local level average temperature values for January 2018 varied. Most local primary sites remained below average, except Melbourne.

  • Daytona Beach had a monthly average temperature of 55.6 degrees Fahrenheit, which was 2.3 degrees below normal.
  • Sanford had a monthly average temperature of 57.2 degrees Fahrenheit, which was 2.6 degrees below normal.
  • Orlando had a monthly average temperature of 58.0 degrees Fahrenheit, which was 2.2 degrees below normal.
  • Melbourne had a monthly average temperature of 61.9 degrees Fahrenheit, which was 1.6 degrees above normal.
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On Jan. 18, Melbourne ended its longest streak -- 1,459 consecutive days (that's around four years) -- with a minimum temperature above 32 degrees Fahrenheit. That morning, the temperature dropped to 30 degrees.
We still must wait for February to end to see how this winter will end up compared to the long-term average. Remember, just because it was a cold January, December's warmth, and perhaps February's, might offset the cold January and bring a warmer than usual winter.

Watch more WEATHER FACTS AND HACKS

RAINFALL & DROUGHT

The drought also became a big issue across the U.S. Thirty eight percent of the contiguous U.S. was in drought -- that’s about 88 million people in some sort of drought. The drought is expected to increase in coverage across the Central Plains and the Southeast as we move close to the spring months. Florida is still halfway through the dry season, and although there are some spotty showers in the forecast, the long-term average forecast still shows a rain deficit.

LOCAL RAINFALL RANKING

A couple of fronts passed over Central Florida and produce someheavier amounts, mainly localliazed ni Volusia and Lake Counties. Record was broken in Daytona Beach on Jan. 9, when 1.42 inches on rain fell, breaking the previous record of 0.91 inches last set in 1953.

Overall January remain mostly dry with below average rainfall  across many inland locations. Here is how the primary weather locations ended:

  • Daytona Beach received 6.46 inches of rain for the month, which was 3.72 inches above normal. This ranks as the 5th wettest January on record for this site, with records going back to 1923.
  • Sanford received 2.35 inches of rain for the month, which was 0.27 inches below normal.
  • Orlando received 2.10 inches of rain for the month, which was 0.25 inches below normal.
  • Melbourne received 2.93 inches of rain for the month, which was 0.66 inches above normal.

Cox Media Group

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