CONNECTICUT, USA — January went out with a bang, bringing the first blizzard to parts of Connecticut in four years.
It was a very cold month too, a level we haven’t experienced in several years. Bradley International Airport is where records are kept for the Hartford area. This January was the coldest month there since 2015.
The monthly temperature, taking all the daily highs and lows and averaging them, came out to 24.5 degrees Fahrenheit. That's 2.6 degrees below average. It’s quite the flip from a very warm December, which saw temperatures more than 5 degrees above average.
Even though we still experience winter here in Southern New England, over time the cold each winter is getting less harsh.
A new analysis from Climate Central, looking at the length of each winter’s longest cold snap, finds those cold snaps are getting shorter over time. A cold snap is defined as the number of days in a row with temperatures below average.
The bottom line: we still get really cold in the winter, but that cold doesn’t last as long.
Here locally, the longest cold snap has shrunk by about seven days on average in the last five decades.
Right now, we’re actually in the middle of our longest cold snap of the winter; Tuesday is the fourth day in a row with temperatures below average. That streak will end Wednesday, when temperatures warm into the 40s.
This is something many of you may have noticed yourselves in recent winters, without even realizing it.
Generally speaking, even after big snowstorms like the one we had over the weekend, it’s harder to keep that snow on the ground, with more frequent warm-ups. This is a trend seen nationwide: 97% of the 244 weather stations across the country show the longest cold snap each year is getting shorter.
While this may be good for your heating bill, it’s not great if you’re a fan of winter sports that rely on natural snow or sustained cold to build up ice.
Ryan Breton is a meteorologist at FOX61 News. He can be reached at rbreton@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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