b-b-b-Boston and b-b-b-Bridgeport go brrrrrrr through the coldest January in 50 years
By Blaine Friedlander
Toss another log on the Yankee fire. This was the coldest January for Bridgeport, Conn., and Boston in a half century, according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University.
Boston's average temperature for the month was 20.7 degrees Fahrenheit and for Bridgeport it was 21.7 degrees, says Keith Eggleston, a senior climatologist at the center. The normal average January temperature for Boston is 29.3 degrees and for Bridgeport it is 29.9 degrees.
New York City, Syracuse, N.Y., Binghamton, N.Y., and Worcester, Mass., each had the second-coldest January in the past 50 years. New York City's average temperature was 24.7 degrees Fahrenheit, second only to 1977, when the month's average in the city plummeted to 22 degrees. The normal average January temperature for New York City is 32.1 degrees.
Syracuse January temperatures averaging 14.7 degrees, only slightly higher than the 12.6-degree average in 1994. The normal January average for Syracuse is 22.7 degrees. In Binghamton, the average temperature fell to 13.4 degrees in January, balmy compared to the average of 12 degrees set in 1977. Binghamton's normal January average is 21.7 degrees. January's average temperature in Worcester was 15.1 degrees, slightly warmer than the frigid average of 14.9 degrees set 34 years ago. Worcester's average January temperature is 23.6 degrees.
Moving farther north in the Northeast region, the average January temperature in Caribou, Maine, was 3.2 degrees this year, compared with the normal average for the month of 9.5 degrees. The city's coldest January average temperature in recorded history was 0 degrees in 1994.
"This has been a pretty persistent cold," says Eggleston, explaining that January started warmer than usual before the jet stream plunged the region into a deep freeze for four weeks.
When will it warm up? Eggleston says that with the jet stream entrenched, the bitter cold could remain in the Northeast through February and March. He says the region could see the same jet stream pattern as the bitter cold winter of January through March, 1994. However, he points out that the Northeast stands an equally strong chance of warming up, which is what happened in December 2000, followed by climbing temperatures in January and February 2001.
January 2004 temperatures in perspective
Station Avg.Temp Rank Coldest Jan Last time it Jan 04 was colder Boston 20.7 1 20.7 in 2004 - Bridgeport, Conn. 21.7 1 21.7 in 2004 - Binghamton, N.Y. 13.4 2 12.0 in 1977 12.0 in 1977 Syracuse, N.Y. 14.7 2 12.6 in 1994 12.6 in 1994 Worcester, Mass. 15.1 2 14.9 in 1970 14.9 in 1970 New York City, NY 24.7 2 22.0 in 1977 22.0 in 1977 Caribou, Maine 3.2 3 0.0 in 1994 0.0 in 1994 Scranton, Pa. 18.6 3 15.0 in 1977 15.0 in 1977 Burlington, Vt. 8.8 4 3.6 in 1970 7.0 in 1994 Buffalo, N.Y, 17.4 4 13.8 in 1977 17.2 in 1994 Hartford, Conn. 18.7 4 16.8 in 1970 17.8 in 1981 Providence, R.I. 21.4 4 19.6 in 1970 20.3 in 1981 Newark, N.J. 24.2 4 20.9 in 1977 24.1 in 1982 Baltimore 27.5 4 22.9 in 1977 27.0 in 1994 Rochester, N.Y. 17.2 5 14.9 in 1994 14.9 in 1994 Wilmington, Del. 25.4 5 20.8 in 1977 24.8 in 1984 Albany, N.Y. 14.6 6 9.7 in 1970 12.7 in 1994 Portland, Maine 15.0 6 12.1 in 1971 14.0 in 1994 Ithaca, N.Y. 15.8 6 13.0 in 1977 13.8 in 1994 Williamsport, Pa. 20.6 6 14.9 in 1977 18.5 in 1994 Philadelphia 26.1 6 20.0 in 1977 24.7 in 1982 Atlantic City, N.J 26.8 6 19.7 in 1977 26.7 in 1985 Washington, D.C. 30.5 6 25.4 IN 1977 28.8 IN 1994 Allentown, Pa. 22.0 7 18.6 in 1977 20.6 in 1994 Pittsburgh 22.0 9 11.4 in 1977 21.4 in 2003 Concord, N.H 14.2 10 10.6 in 1977 12.6 in 2003 Cleveland 21.6 12 11.0 in 1977 21.2 in 2003 Erie, Pa. 21.8 13 12.5 in 1977 20.7 in 2003 Elkins, W.Va. 24.8 15 15.0 in 1977 22.3 in 2003 Charleston, W.Va. 30.8 16 18.5 in 1977 28.2 in 2003
All comparisons are for the 50 years 1955-2004. Data compiled by the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University.
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