January was warm in Decorah, but not an all-time record

January was warm in Decorah.  That's not a surprise to anyone who lived here during the month.  But what may be surprising is that January 2012 was only the 14th warmest in the last 118 years.

Decorah weather observer Richard Bernatz says temperatures averaged 23.7 degrees in January.  That was a full 7.6 degrees warmer than the average January temperatures.  However, it was also 7.6 degrees cooler than the all-time warmest January in the last 118 years.  Temperatures averaged 31.3 degrees just six years ago in January of 2006.

Four records were set during January for high temperatures--55 degrees on January 5th; 52 degrees on January 6th; 53 degrees on January 10th and 52 degrees on January 11th.  On the other hand, the temperature fell to 18 degrees below zero on January 21st.

Decorah had seven days with measurable precipitation.  There was a total of 0.83 inches of precipitation in January--0.20 inches less than average.

For the past 12 months, ten months have been warmer than average and six months have been drier than average.