Despite bitter cold, January’s been pretty average

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — This cold weather seems like it just keeps going on and on and on. But has it really been that cold that long in southeastern North Carolina?

From 23-degree morning temperatures to tiny snowflakes in Wilmington (Yes, they were tiny. Really tiny, but they still count), snow-wonder why people think January has been C-O-L-D cold. But before you fly farther south for the winter check out some evidence that says otherwise.

Wilmington spent 15 of the past 23 days at or above seasonal averages. Normal temperatures for January run between 56 and 57 degrees, and actually Wilmington recorded a stretch of 70- and 60-degree weather just more than a week ago.

So why does it seem so cold? That’s easy. When it was below normal in Wilmington, it was well below normal. Statistically, though, only five days so far this month were in the 30s and 40s. Today, of course, is another one of those 30-degree days, and it looks like below-normal temperatures headline the rest of this month.

That makes January about half and half. Or just about average.