Highlights

In Fairbanks the average temperature was -26.9°F, a very substantial -19.0°F below the long term mean for January. The high temperature for the month was 21°F on the 10thJanuary, while the lowest temperature was a frigid -51°F observed on the 29thof the month. For most of the month the temperatures were below normal, temperatures more commonly observed back in the 1960's. On 16 days of the month the temperature dropped to -40°F or below. For the month, January 2012 was the fifth coldest January on record. This continues the trend of the last decade, which has demonstrated some cooling, especially in winter. Despite the far below normal temperatures, no new temperature records were observed.
Precipitation in January was 0.69" water-equivalent, somewhat above the normal value of 0.58". Snowfall was also close to the normal of 10.3" with 9.6", and on 16 days of the month at least some snowfall was observed. Wind speed averaged a low 2.3 mph, typical for winter in Interior Alaska where the surface temperature inversion hinders the wind aloft to reach the surface. The highest gust was 23 mph on the 22nd.