January 2009 Weather

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NOME AK
755 AM AKST SUN FEB 1 2009

...NOME MONTHLY WEATHER SUMMARY FOR JANUARY 2009...

THE FIRST MONTH OF 2009 SAW TWO DISTINCT PERIODS OF COLD, DRY WEATHER
SANDWICHED AROUND A PERIOD OF WARMER, WETTER CONDITIONS.

A COLD, ARCTIC AIRMASS SETTLED OVER THE REGION IN LATE DECEMBER AND
PERSISTED THROUGH THE FIRST 11 DAYS OF THE MONTH. TEMPERATURES DURING
THIS TIME REMAINED BELOW ZERO, AND AVERAGED IN THE NEGATIVE TEENS AND
20S. DURING THE NEXT 15 DAYS, A MAJOR PATTERN SHIFT BROUGHT WARMER
TEMPERATURES AND SNOWY WEATHER TO NOME. WARM SOUTHERLY FLOW RAISED
MAX TEMPERATURES TO THE TEENS AND 20S ABOVE ZERO, AND EVEN BROUGHT
TEMPERATURES ABOVE THE FREEZING MARK FOR TWO DAYS. THE FINAL FIVE
DAYS OF THE MONTH SAW TEMPERATURES PLUMMET BELOW ZERO ONCE AGAIN. THE
HIGHEST TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH WAS 36 DEGREES ON THE 16TH, WHILE
THE LOWEST WAS NEGATIVE 28 ON THE 3RD. TWENTY-ONE DAYS HAD LOW
TEMPERATURES BELOW ZERO, WITH ELEVEN OF THOSE DAYS DROPPING TO
NEGATIVE 20 OR BELOW. THE AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE WAS ONE DEGREE,
AND THIS WAS 4.8 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL FOR JANUARY.

OTHER THAN A DUSTING OF SNOW ON NEW YEAR'S DAY, THE FIRST ELEVEN DAYS
OF THE MONTH WERE DRY. A MAJOR PATTERN SHIFT BROUGHT TWO STRONG STORM
SYSTEMS, WHICH PRODUCED STRONG GUSTY WINDS, BLOWING SNOW, POOR
VISIBILITIES, AND EVEN A BRIEF SHOT OF RAIN WHEN TEMPERATURES CLIMBED
ABOVE FREEZING. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OF AT LEAST AN INCH WERE RECORDED
EACH DAY FROM THE 12TH THROUGH THE 16TH, WITH THE HIGHEST AMOUNT OF
4.7 INCHES REPORTED IN THE 15TH. THE MONTH ROUNDED OUT WITH JUST WEAK
FLURRIES AND SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS, WITH DAILY TOTALS BEING NO MORE
THAN A HALF INCH. THE TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH WAS 15.6 INCHES,
BRINGING THE CURRENT SNOW DEPTH TO 28 INCHES, AND THE TOTAL SNOWFALL
FOR THE SEASON TO 39.7 INCHES.