Ticker for February 2, 2006

                
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February 2, 2006   February 2, 2006   February 2, 2006   February 2, 2006



State's Warmest January on Record?

(statewide numbers corrected for what we'll euphemistically call
"typos" in the first draft. Thanks to OCS climatologist Gary McManus
for pointing them out. But the actual pointing and laughing was a
bit much, in our opinion.)

The preliminary statewide average temperature for January was 46.6
degrees Fahrenheit. If that mark holds, last month will be the
warmest January on record for the state, a record that dates back
to 1895. The existing record is 46.0, set in 1923.

It was warm everywhere, but the most historically significant warmth
was stretched along southwest-to-northeast belt across the state.

Here's a list with preliminary data for each climate division.
It included this January's average temperature, the apparent rank
(1st=warmest) and the existing (or previous, in some cases) record:

2006  (rank)    Existing Record
Panhandle:  42.2  (3rd)     42.6 (1953)
N. Central:  45.1  (1st)     43.8 (1923)
Northeast:  46.0  (1st)     44.4 (1933)
W. Central:  46.4  (1st)     45.8 (1923)
Central:  47.5  (1st)     46.0 (1933)
E. Central:  47.6  (3rd)     47.7 (1933)
Southwest:  47.8  (t-1st)   47.8 (1923)
S. Central:  49.2  (2nd)     49.5 (1923)
Southeast:  47.8  (5th)     49.4 (1952)