Despite Cold Week Ahead Sioux Falls Reaches Temperature Tipping Point

January 21 is the day to look at the weather in the frigid Northern Plains optimistically. On average, temperatures will get warmer for the next six months.

Let’s underscore that word again: average. There is a mountain of data from the National Weather Service bearing the fact that a normal day during the month of January has 26 degrees for a high and 7 degrees for a low temperature. However, the trend starts moving upward on day 21 of the first month when the average high moves to 27 degrees which breaks a 27-day stretch when that average high is stuck at 26.

January 2019 has already started off warmer than normal with 14 days where the high and low temps were above the normal readings. It does appear that forecasted highs and lows will erode a lot of the lead the warmer conditions earlier this month built up. The forecasted average high will be 19 and the average low will be minus 2 from Monday, January 21 through Sunday, January 27.

Take heart, friend. Winter will eventually give way to spring. It always does. Too bad it appears that we’ve already had our January thaw.