January warmest on record in U.S.

WASHINGTON — January was a fair-weather friend.

The warmest January on record allowed Americans to save on their heating bills. But last month's mildness seems to have been too good to last.

The country's average temperature for the month was 39.5 degrees Fahrenheit, 8.5 degrees above average for January, the National Climatic Data Center said Tuesday. The old record for January warmth was 37.3 degrees, set in 1953.

While much of the United States was basking in warm weather, parts of Europe and Asia were bitterly cold. Climate details for the rest of the world for January are expected to be available next week.

During the month the jet stream, a strong high-altitude wind that guides weather fronts from west to east, stayed unusually far to the north, keeping the coldest air in Canada and Alaska, the agency said.

Keeping that cold air to the north allowed mild Pacific air to moderate temperatures across the contiguous states, leading to the warm conditions.

However, the jet stream is now sliding into a more typical winter pattern, according to the Climate Prediction Center.

The February outlook calls for below-normal temperatures in the mid-Atlantic, the Southeast and intermountain West, and above-normal temperatures in the Southwest, the northern Plains and Alaska.

Both centers are part of the government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The records go back to 1895, when detailed climate records began being collected.

During January, none of the 48 contiguous states had below-average temperatures, and 15 states in the northern Plains, Great Lakes and Midwest had record high temperatures for the month.

The record high temperatures helped reduce residential energy needs for the nation as a whole, the climatic data center reported. NOAA scientists estimated the nation's residential energy demand was 20 percent less than it would have been under average climate conditions.

It was the warmest January on record for Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin.