Warmest January on record
By ADAM STEWART Staff Reporter
It’s official. January was the warmest on record, for Seattle at least.
The National Weather Service recorded an average temperature of 47 degrees for January, nearly 7 degrees warmer than the normal average and half a degree higher than the previous record set in 2006.
Data from Weather Underground, a real-time online weather information Web site, shows Stanwood’s average was even higher, coming in at 47.9 degrees for the month.
Is it a record? Not sure.
The National Weather Service doesn’t have longterm historical data for Snohomish County.
Is it unusual? Yes.
And it’s keeping some green thumbs on pins and needles.
John Christianson of Christianson’s Nursery and Greenhouse in Mount Vernon is waiting to prune his roses.
“I learned my lesson during a similar warm spell in 1989,” he said. A cold snap in February of that year killed his freshly shorn flowers.
These wonderful warm days for gardening in January can create the sense of a foreboding February, he added. For now, the weather has been “totally positive.”
Warm temperatures — Stanwood reached 60 degrees or higher four times in January — helped the nursery reach record sales. However, said Christianson, the potential for adverse effects on those plants is strong if temperatures drop significantly.
“Twenty degree weather could damage anything in bloom,” he said. “But the forecast is looking good.”
Experts credit El Niño with the early gardening weather.
El Niño produces a “split flow,” said Dennis D’Amico, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle.
“The more powerful southern jet stream directs storm tracks into California. Washington is left in a weather ‘no man’s land’ with weak systems and generally mild temperatures,” he said.
Four out of the top five record-setting Januarys for highest average temperature in Seattle have been El Niño years.
The National Weather Service reported other record breaking high temperatures in several locations including Bellingham and Olympia.
Staff Reporter Adam
Stewart: 629-8066 ext. 115
or astewart@scnews.com.
