January 2013 Revisited

January 2013 was (to put it politely), boring. At least here at Hood River city elevation:

Above average:  Temperature (compared to long term averages)
Average or near: Solar radiation
Below Average: Wind, rain, snow, temperature (compared to short term averages)

My station's average temperature of 34.2° was a little warmer than the long term January average of 33.6°, but cooler than the more recent (2001-2012) average of 36.6°.  So, sort of in the middle, which is to say: boring. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 33.8°.

The maximum temperature (at my station) was 54°, and the low temp was 17°. Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 53° and 17°, a pretty close match, if I do say so myself.  The high heat index (at my station) for the month was 54°, and the low wind chill was 17°.

Solar radiation averaged 87 Ly/day, compared to an average January of 88 Ly/day.  Perfectly average, almost boringly average, although it seemed to me it was grayer than average, thanks to a deep, deep temperature inversion in the middle of the month.

Speaking of the deep, deep inversion in the middle of the month, even Cliff Mass remarked how this one was extraordinary (and boring), with temperatures above the inversion fog layer in the 60's and 70's, and temperatures below the inversion fog layer (here) stuck around 30°, day and night.  Luckily, that only lasted 5 boring days, which seemed like at least 10 boring days.

It was, to put it mildly, a very dry month, which added to the boring-ness of it all.   My station had 1.54" precipitation for the month, and HOXO officially recorded 1.38".   This compares (rather poorly) to an average January of 5.14".  The max daily precipitation was January 28th, when HOXO recorded 0.40", and my station 0.31".

Snowfall was nothing to brag about either.  We received a measly 2" of snow on January 5th, and that was it.  Boring.  Average January snowfall, as officially measured by MCAREC, is 14.6".

The 24 hour average wind  speed at my weather station was 1.5 mph, compared to an average January wind speed of 2.1  mph.  The peak wind gust was 29 mph on the 29th, which has a nice ring to it, in an otherwise boring month.   Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were, of course, higher.  

Barometric pressure peaked at 30.58", and the low barometric was 29.18".

There were no local weather records set this month.  And this is (almost) the last time I'll mention "boring" in this post, but believe me, it was.

These monthly summaries use data from my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. To view my weather station's data for January 2013, click here.  For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at MCAREC, and HOXO, the automated station located right next to MCAREC.

I'm posting this January summary on Feb 22 (hey, that's a definite improvement over the past year!), so what better time for the video of the month to be Valentine's Day themed?   Notice how bored the female performers look, kind of all the same, pasty gray-white-ness, as if they weren't getting enough sun?  That's what January was like.  Pasty, gray, and boring.  And not getting enough sun.

Unless you headed for the hills, above the gray, in which case it was a fantastic month.  :)