Winter in Decorah has been fairly mild so far

Posted: Tue, Feb 4, 2020 20:38 AM

Now that January is over, Decorah weather statistician Richard Bernatz has crunched the numbers for temperatures and snowfall totals from November 1st through January 31st.

Bernatz says this winter ranks 99th out of the 127 years for which records have been kept in Decorah. In other words, 98 past winters have been more severe than this winter, while only 28 have been less severe.

Driving the mild winter has been the mild temperatures. Bernatz says only 27 days out of the 92 day span have had a recorded high of less than 32 degrees. The average for the past 127 years is 39.

Likewise, only three days have seen the temperature drop below zero, while the average number is 16. Cloudy skies at night have kept low temperatures warmer than normal. The average minimum temperature this winter has been 21.7 degrees, which is 6.5 degrees warmer than the average.

Snowfall measurements, however, have been higher than normal. There have been 15 days of measurable snowfall, which is four more than average. Snowfall has totaled 21.7 inches, just slightly above average.