STATE COLLEGE — Face it; we’ve been spoiled.
When temperatures sailed into the 60s on Christmas Eve, most Centre County residents wondered if the warm forecast would continue into the new year.
The answer, quite simply, is no.
The weather took a stunning turn over the past seven days as temperatures dipped into the single digits during the first full week of January.
According to AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tom Kines, the fact that winter weather is finally here shouldn’t surprise anyone.
“It’s January; it does get cold,” Kines said with a laugh. “We have to keep that in mind.”
Kines said the warm December temperatures were a little out of the ordinary.
“The jet stream really guides weather systems across the country. It also separates the cold air masses in the North from the cold air masses in the South. For the past several weeks, the jet stream has not only been north of us, it’s been unusually far north of us. That’s been putting us in a very mild weather pattern,” Kines explained.
However, once the jet stream dipped south, Kines said, the cold air pushed southward across the Northeast.
Within less than a week, temperatures went from the 60s into the single digits.
“In the overall scheme of things, temperatures getting down into the single digits at night is not that huge of a deal. But the fact that it’s been so mild … we’re just not accustomed to it. It is a huge shock to the system,” Kines said.
Temperatures were in the single digits overnight Jan. 4.
“This is our coldest air mass since early March of last year, when it got down in to the single digits at night,” Kines said.
As for the forecast for the remainder of winter, Kines said not to expect temperatures in the 60s anytime soon.
“To get it as mild as it was in December … to have that happen again for such a prolonged period would be highly, highly unusual. Having said that, I think we will have some more mild spells during the month of January. I don’t think we’re going to see temperatures in the 60s, but I certainly think we’ll see some days that are up in the 40s. With some kind of luck, we might get in the 50s.”
According to Kines, normal highs for this time of year are the “low to mid 30s.”
“If you’re getting temperatures up into the 40s, that’s 10 to 15 degrees above normal,” Kines said. “That’s pretty significant.”
As for the winter sports enthusiasts who are waiting for snow? Kines said they might be waiting for awhile.
“It doesn’t really look like we’re going to see anything anytime soon,” Kines said. “Significant means 5 or 6 inches. We do think that there’s a possibility, as we head into February, there might be enough cold air around to give us some snow storms.”
The month to watch, Kines said, is February.
“If we’re going to have a ‘tough month,’ it’s probably going to be February. That could be a month where we get normal snowfall, maybe even above-normal snowfall if everything pans out.
“If you’re a skier and you’re bummed out because there hasn’t been much snow yet, hang in there. It could happen in February.”
