The preliminary climate summary for January 2025 shows that the region was colder than normal, which I am sure is no surprise to most of you, especially if you have recently paid a heating bill. However, since the normals now are quite a bit warmer than in previous decades, almost none of the region set any monthly records for cold temperatures during the month except a few stations that either had short records or were quite dry, such as in eastern NC. This is not what we expect in a La Nina winter, but the winter is not over yet, and we are already seeing some very warm temperatures in February, so that will tend to moderate the December through February winter temperatures to some extent. We do need to keep in mind that the La Nina did not officially start until just over a month ago and it is quite weak, so its influence on Southeastern climate is smaller than stronger La Ninas. The precipitation in most areas was drier than normal, which is expected in a La Nina winter. Snowfall does not have a high water content when it is really cold, so even several inches of rain does not provide much moisture, and that may be a problem going into the growing season. The dry conditions have led to an increase in dry conditions in recent Drought Monitors. Official monthly summaries should be available in a few days from NOAA.
