Brrr! Wichita is off to ‘coldest start to January’ in decades, NWS meteorologist says
Wichita has clocked so many cold temperatures in 2024 the National Weather Service has deemed this January the coldest in decades — at least so far.
“Climate tidbit.. Through the 21st, it’s Wichita’s coldest start to January since 1988,” the NWS said Monday on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The tidbit is based off historical daily average temperatures for January, NWS Wichita meteorologist Bryan Baerg said.
Numbers provided by Weather Underground compare historical average temperatures to current ones and show for January, averages measured in Wichita have been in the mid 20s to low 30s.
Recorded temps in Wichita for January so far have sat between the low teens to low 20s, with the lowest recorded daily temperature of minus 3 degrees on Jan. 14, numbers from Weather Underground show.
In addition, temperatures in Wichita didn’t get above 10 degrees between Jan. 13 and 15, the NWS said. Those days recorded daily temperatures near or below zero.
Baerg said this type of “cold snap” usually happens in February, but can happen any time during winter.
“Our cold snaps typically happen in February,” Baerg said. “That’s kind of what caused our averages to be quite a bit lower than what we’ve seen in a while for the month [January].”
Things will start to heat up later this week with expected temperatures in the mid-to-high 40s between Wednesday and Sunday, with Monday peaking at 53 degrees, a detailed NWS forecast shows.
“For the rest of the month, we’re probably going to be closer to normal for this time of year,” Baerg said. “Generally with highs in the 40s for the rest of the month, and lows in the 30s and 20s.”
Although, the NWS did not rule out another chance of a cold snap for the rest of the season.
“It’s a little bit tough to say right now because it just depends on where that arctic air decides to surge,” Baerg said.