National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

 Monthly Highlights:

(1) Two big warm-ups, centered on the 12th and the 29th, allowed temperatures to climb well into the 40s and 50s, and several daily high temperature records were set. This resulted in the month averaging several degrees above normal across northern Michigan.  Despite the above normal temperatures, no monthly average temperature records were set, with all sites failing to reach even a top ten warmest January.

(2)  Precipitation averaged well above normal, highlighted by a period of heavy rain to end the month.  This heavy rain, combined with melting snow, brought some minor flooding to parts of the region on the 29th and 30th.  The heaviest rain fell across the southern third of the area.  Houghton Lake reported its wettest January since consistent and reliable records began at that location in 1919, with both Gaylord and Traverse City recording one of their top ten wettest.

(3) The heaviest, and most persistent snows were confined to the traditional snow belts of northern Lower and eastern Upper Michigan.  The lack of sustained cold, however, resulted in snowfall averaging below normal, especially away from the favored lake belts.  Alpena experienced their 8th lowest January snowfall since 1916, receiving only 7.3 inches.

January Temperature Data:

January Precipitation Data:

January Snowfall Data:

- all averages are calculated using the new 1981 - 2010 period

( ) = Consistent years of record; Record temperature data for Gaylord is a combination of Gaylord Airport (2001-2011) and the Cooperative Observing Station records (1951-2001), Record precipitation data for Traverse City is a combination of Cherry Capital Airport (1930-1993) and the Cooperative Observing Station records (2001-2011)

- only rankings in the top 10 will be entered

* = Record occurred in multiple years/dates; latest year/date shown

**THESE DATA ARE PRELIMINARY AND HAVE NOT UNDERGONE FINAL QUALITY CONTROL BY THE NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER. THEREFORE, THESE DATA ARE SUBJECT TO REVISION. FINAL AND CERTIFIED CLIMATE DATA CAN BE ACCESSED AT WWW.NCDC.NOAA.GOV.*

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* Data for Traverse City is derived from a composite of observations taken at both Cherry Capital Airport and the cooperative observing station at Munson Medical Center. This data is for informational purposes only and does not meet climatological standards. This data set may include periods with missing data…particularly snowfall data from 1996-2001.

**Data for Gaylord is derived from a composite of observations taken at both Gaylord-Otsego County Airport and the cooperative observing station located near downtown Gaylord. This data is for informational purposes only and does not meet climatological standards. This data set may include periods with missing data and data that has been recorded from different observing points throughout history.