But which January is our coldest?
That would be January 2003.
It was a month that never saw a deep bitter freeze on any single night –Although it did put a glaze of ice over a local evaporation pan, thus temporarily turning it into a “sublimation” pan, measuring exchange of water from its solid (as opposed to liquid) to vapor phase.
Rather, it was a January that just couldn’t get warm.
Day after day and week after week was a steady descent into colder than normal territory.
That was partly a result of the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) being in the El Nino phase.
The presence of an El Nino tends to diminish the likelihood of low digit freezes than can devastate citrus and vegetable crops, but can set the stage for the steady flow of “milder” cold air across the peninsula.
Compare that to this January.
It’s been a mild one by any measure, but low and behold, Jack Frost touched down deep into the peninsula last week.
The water I set out didn’t freeze,
That was partly a result of the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) being in the El Nino phase.
The presence of an El Nino tends to diminish the likelihood of low digit freezes than can devastate citrus and vegetable crops, but can set the stage for the steady flow of “milder” cold air across the peninsula.
Compare that to this January.
It’s been a mild one by any measure, but low and behold, Jack Frost touched down deep into the peninsula last week.
The water I set out didn’t freeze,
But I did wake up to the sight of a thin veneer of ice on my car windows.
I hurried outside to scrape it off before the sun got to it first.
I hurried outside to scrape it off before the sun got to it first.
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18 comments:
Interesting, Bob. I remember January of 2003 here since we bought our new home in October of 2002 --and came up here to visit our new home almost every weekend before we moved in permanently in July of 2003. It seemed very cold that year--but I'm not sure it was any colder than it has been in January this year. SO---who knows???
Glad you all didn't have too much of a freeze last week. I always worry about the citrus in Fl.
Betsy
Scraping off ice...such a foreign concept here...well at least for the moment anyway.
We 'suffered' through one of the hottest night on record last week.
I haven't done a scientific survey, but during much of this month it seems as if we just couldn't warm up during the day. I'm looking forward to spring as a cure.
Awesome post (as usual)
I enjoy your site!!
Take care and thanks for sharing your part of the world with us!!
Interesting stats on January temps. Funny that it's hard to get the overall picture without seeing the numbers. Seems like a cold one, but the stats don't lie (well, not usually, unless we're talking about Wall Street asset sheets!)
Great shots, I always enjoy your myworld posts.
Cheers!
Regina In Pictures
Thanks for your comments.
As much as the months and years blend together, January 2003 really sticks out in my mind. But it's true that sometimes a good look at the numbers can help boost our memory of hydrological and meteorological events. And funny how you mention the Wall Street asset sheets: I loosely modeled this online journal after the Wall Street Journal, but with a focus on water, not money, numbers ...
Thanks for the visit and the comment. Can we PLEASE swap weather patterns - we're going to be in the 100s all week.
Objectively sure right! Though it really feels like the coldest winter in my 10 Florida years now.
Last Friday I arrived at the Viera Wetlands close to Cocoa and my Car showed me an outside temp of 26F.
That was 6:15 am. At 9 am however it already was in the mid 50's and 3 pm 75F. I remember however that I got good use of my little portable heater in 2003 - it ran quite a bit then.Cheers, Klaus
Rob: We went over freezing for the first time in 3 weeks.
Always enjoy your posts! Interesting how much colder weather there has been all over the US this year. We've had a much colder winter here in Washington than they have had in 30 years. Great photos! Thanks for stopping by and for your comments! Have a good week.
Well I was still in the UK in 03, and so far 04 was the coldest I have experienced here, interesting.
It got pretty chilly out here on the island, but thankfully no frost to scrape off. :-)
what an informative post. thanks for your cool comment on my 'peeling paint' post.
Well, I hope the cold is GONE before I get there....Could you order that up for me please?
A very interesting post. When we had the grazing property I did a lot of statistics for interest sake. El Nino brought us draughts.
I like the frosty picture, glad you got to it before the sun.
Very interesting information. I don't think I get up early enough to catch frost on my windows if we get it. I can't think of the last time I saw frost on my windshield.
It's such a rare occurrence here in Naples, that's what made it so exciting. But up north, that's just another daily chore of winter. Not much frost in southern California, but I can't remember if there is periodic frosts in Tucson Arizona or Phoenix, which have lower night time temperatures.
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