January 2011

Report and Summary

Tyler, Texas
January 2011
by Robert K. Peters, Ph.D.
National Weather Service Cooperating Observer

The month of January 2011 was colder and wetter than normal. The month saw similar temperatures to January 2010, but was 2.14 inches wetter. The thirty-day outlook had called for near normal temperatures and near normal precipitation.

The New Year began cold, with Arctic air holding temperatures below normal through the 3rd. Warmer air between the 4th and 6th returned readings to near normal levels. A weak storm system crossed on the 5th, resulting in light rainfall amounts of one-third inch or less. Arctic air returned on the night of the 7th.

A winter storm crossed on the 9th, with widespread frozen precipitation. The heaviest snow report was from Delta County with 6.0 inch, with 1.4 inch falling in Tyler and freezing rain in the two tiers of counties west of the Louisiana border.

The cold persisted through the 14th, with temperatures running 10-20 deg. Below normal.

A series of upper air disturbances crossed between the 13th and 18th, with clouds and slowly warming temperatures which finally returned to normal values on the 17th. Rain fell between the 15th and 17th, with heavy rains of 1.5 to 3.0 inches on the 16th. Tyler and Longview both set daily rainfall records on that day, with Tyler showing a three-day storm total of 3.66 inches.

Another strong cold front on the 20th brought rains of around one-tenth of an inch, windy conditions on that afternoon, and a turn back to colder temperatures through the morning of the 22nd. Storm systems crossing on the afternoon of the 23rd and night of the 24th brought rain back to the region. Temperatures continued cool, until a cold front on the 25th ended precipitation and introduced even cooler and drier air.

Temperatures began warming on the 28th, and continued near to above normal through the end of the month.

A weak storm system and cold front affected the area on the 30th and 31th, with light rain and fog.

• KEY TO SYMBOLS:
• A = HAIL
• B = BLOWING
• D = DUST
• F = FOG
• H = HAZE
• IP = SLEET
• K = SMOKE
• L = DRIZZLE
• R = RAIN
• S = SNOW
• T = THUNDERSTORM
• Z = GREENWICH MEAN TIME
• ZL = FREEZING DRIZZLE
• ZR = FREEZING RAIN
• - = LIGHT
• + = HEAVY

R FOLLOWING A TEMPERATURE OR PRECIPITATION VALUE = RECORD

The reporting period for temperatures, precipitation, and phenomenon on each day is for the twenty-four hours ending at midnight hours GMT--6 p.m. CST and 7 p.m. CDT. All times are given using the twenty-four hour clock, and are expressed in Greenwich Mean Time.

Observations are from NWS Station 41/9207/4 in Tyler, Texas. The term "normal" refers to averages from the standard climatic period 1971-2000.

JANUARY 2011

• DY MX MN OBS PCPN REMARKS
• 01 49 31 40 MORNING LOW 41, DAYTIME HIGH 47
• 02 49 24 41
• 03 60 30 54
• 04 63 45 58 H
• 05 64 39 54 0.05 F, PCPN 0000-0300 MORNING LOW 49
• 06 62 34 53
• 07 69 35 58
• 08 55 38 48
• 09 44 26 29 1.37 F, S, R, PCPN 0900-2300 MORNING LOW 35, DAYTIME HIGH 35 1.4 IN. SNOWFALL
• 10 32 26 31 tr. F, S, TR. SNOW ON GROUND
• 11 35 24 29 TR. SNOW ON GROUND MORNING LOW 25
• 12 36 20 29
• 13 39 21 36
• 14 45 35 44
• 15 44 38 42 0.35 F, PCPN 0900-2400 Daytime high 42
• 16 49 43 47 3.13 F, PCPN 0000-2200
• 17 50 44 49 0.18 F, PCPN 0800-1000
• 18 57 36 50 tr. F, +F Morning low 47
• 19 53 31 50 F
• 20 49 24 30 0.05 F, PCPN 1500-1700 Morning low 46, Daytime high 47
• 21 42 19 38 F
• 22 57 24 50
• 23 59 36 49 0.10 PCPN 2300-2400
• 24 54 27 50 0.03 F, PCPN 0100-0300
• 25 49 31 46 F, MORNING LOW 36
• 26 61 26 52
• 27 63 29 56
• 28 72 33 63
• 29 73 38 66
• 30 73 50 60 0.01 T, F, PCPN 2100-2200 Morning low 59
• 31 61 53 59 0.03 F, PCPN 1300-1600

• 16TH RECORD RAINFALL 3.13 IN., PREVIOUS RECORD 2.20 IN 1919;
• HIGHEST TEMPERATURE 73 ON THE 29TH,19 ON THE 21ST,
• LOWEST TEMPERATURE 19 ON THE 21ST;
• AVERAGE MAXIMUM 53.8 F.,
• AVERAGE MINIMUM 32.6 F.,
• AVERAGE TEMPERATURE 43.2 F.,
• 4.3 DEG. COLDER THAN NORMAL.
• 664 HEATING DEGREE DAYS,
• 120.1 PERCENT OF NORMAL HEATING DEGREE DAYS.
• 0 COOLING DEGREE DAYS,
• 0 PERCENT OF NORMAL COOLING DEGREE-DAYS;
• TOTAL PRECIPITATION 5.30 IN.,
• 1.96 IN. GREATER THAN MONTHLY NORMAL.
• 158.7 PERCENT OF NORMAL MONTHLY PRECIPITATION.
• YEAR-TO-DATE PRECIPITATION 5.30 IN.,
• 1.96 IN. GREATER THAN NORMAL YEAR-TO-DATE PRECIPITATION,
• 158.7 PERCENT OF NORMAL YEAR-TO-DATE PRECIPITATION;
• 1 DAYS ON WHICH THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED;
• 10 DAYS ON WHICH MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION OCCURRED;
• 15 DAYS ON WHICH THE VISIBILITY WAS RESTRICTED TO BETWEEN « AND 6 MILES BY FOG, SMOKE, OR HAZE;
• 1 DAYS ON WHICH THE VISIBILITY WAS RESTRICTED TO 1/4 MILE OR LESS BY FOG;
• 0 DAYS ON WHICH THE VISIBILITY WAS RESTRICTED BY DUST OR BLOWING DUST;
• 2 DAYS ON WHICH FROZEN PRECIPITATION WAS OBSERVED;
• 1.4 IN. TOTAL SNOWFALL.
• 0 DAYS ON WHICH THE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE REACHED OR EXCEEDED 90 DEG.;
• 0 DAYS ON WHICH THE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE REACHED OR EXCEEDED 100 DEG.;
• 1 DAYS ON WHICH THE TEMPERATURE FAILED TO RISE ABOVE 32 DEG.
• 16 DAYS ON WHICH THE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE REACHED OR FELL BELOW 32 DEG.
• 1519 SEASON-TO-DATE HEATING DEGREE DAYS,
• PERCENTAGE OF NORMAL SEASON-TO-DATE HEATING DEGREE DAYS: 122.7.
• 0 YEAR-TO-DATE COOLING DEGREE DAYS.
• PERCENTAGE OF NORMAL YEAR-TO-DATE COOLING DEGREE DAYS: 0;
• PRECIPITATION DURING THE PREVIOUS TWELVE MONTHS 38.04 IN.,
• TWELVE-MONTH PRECIPITATION PERCENTAGE 84.0.

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