Highlights

The big weather news of the month was the tempest around the middle of January that brought storm warnings across large portions of the state, high winds to Southcentral and other locations, and dumped snow and rain across the Southcentral and Interior areas of the state. Flood, blizzard, and storms warnings were issued as appropriate. The storm's deleterious effects on the roads prompted school closures on the Kenai, Anchorage, Mat-Su and Fairbanks. The storm also generated avalanches that slowed traffic along the Seward Highway on the 14th, and delays extended into the next day as crews cleaned up the mess. Severe avalanche warnings were issued for Southcentral from the 9th to after the storm.

Other road related weather news included travel advisories along the Dalton on the 1st to the 2nd of the month. Overflows made the Elliot treacherous on the 2nd. The storm on the 13th generated blizzard conditions along the Dalton. Travel advisories were issued for the Richardson and Parks on the 24th. The Richardson ended up being closed for traffic from milepost 181 to 261 due to high winds and drifting snow. The road was reopened on the on the 26th after drifts up to five feet were removed. The Steese was closed at Eagle summit on the 31st, while the bad conditions caused to accidents along the Elliott also on the 31st.

Low snowfall had the Yukon Quest organizers worried about poor conditions along the race's trail. Excessive freeze-thaw cycles at Kodiak caused boulders to fall on the main road out of the city on the 24th; causing an accident. Finally, the cold weather on the 27th halted a man's thirdsolo attempt on Mt McKinley.