Ithaca Climate Summary for January 1996

Temperature

• The month of January was a month of contrasts in temperature. The first sixteen days of the month averaged 9 degrees colder than normal. The final fifteen days, however, averaged 9 degrees warmer than normal.
• These extremes cancelled each other out, as the month wound up 0.3 degrees colder than normal.
• This January was 7.4 degrees colder than January 1995 and 7.4 degrees warmer than January 1994.
• The month's warmest temperature was 58 degrees on the 19th.
• The coldest temperature of the month (and the winter to date) was -16 degrees on the 6th.
• Two daily minimum temperature records were broken. The -16 degrees on the 6thbroke the record of -15 degrees set in 1896 and the -9 degree reading in the 7th broke the record of -8 degrees set in 1942.
  
  

Precipitation

• Precipitation for the month totalled 3.96 inches, which was 2.13 inches greater than or 216% of normal.
• This was the 5th wettest January in 118 years of record.
  
  

Snowfall

• The heavy snowfall continued into January. The monthly total of 29.2 inches was 173% of normal.
• The seasonal snowfall total now stands at 71.7 inches, which is 33.6 inches above normal.
• This was the third highest October-January snowfall total on record and the greatest since the record-setting winter of 1977-78, when 100.2 inches had fallen by the end of December and 122.2 inches was recorded for the entire winter.
• Snowfall totals for surrounding communities included 25.2 inches in Groton, 28 inches in Locke and 25.8 inches in Freeville.