Florida Climate Center

Prepared by Florida Climate Center
The Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL

January Key Points:

• Average temperatures in January were near normal for much of the state, although temperatures varied throughout the month from record warm to record cold.
• Rainfall was generally below normal for the month, although a few places had above normal rainfall including southeastern Florida and parts of the central Panhandle.
• The La Niña advisory remains in effect and is expected to continue through spring (~67% chance).
• Moderate drought (D1) emerged in the extreme western Panhandle in January.

Average temperatures in January were near or below normal for much of Florida. Average temperature departures from normal ranged from -2.0 ̊F in Pensacola to +0.6 ̊F in Tampa for the month (see Table 1 and Appendix 1 for select cities). Temperatures varied throughout the course of the month. January began with unseasonably warm weather, when average temperature departures from normal ranged from +5 ̊F in the south to +27 ̊F in parts of northwestern Florida on the 1st of the month. From January 1-2, many stations in North and Northwest Florida observed record warm maximum and minimum temperatures. Several cold fronts then impacted the state later in the month, with record cold temperatures and freezes on the 29th and 30th impacting even southern Florida. Several stations had a record cold day on the 29th and/or 30th based on mean temperatures, including Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Gainesville, Usher, Lakeland, and Fort Lauderdale. Several daily temperature records were set throughout the month, including daily high maximum and high minimum temperatures as well as daily low maximum and low minimum temperatures (see appendices 2-5).

Table 1.  January average temperatures and departures from normal ( ̊F) for selected cities.

Rainfall totals in January were below average for much of the state. The monthly precipitation departures from normal ranged from -2.90 inches in Pensacola to +4.15 inches in Miami (Table 2 and Appendix 1). Most places across the state recorded a precipitation deficit for the month, except for parts of the central Panhandle region and southeastern Florida (Figure 1). The Cape Florida station at Key Biscayne recorded its wettest January on record, with 7.58 inches total, and Fort Lauderdale Beach had its second wettest January on record with 6.49 inches of rainfall for the month.

Table 2. January precipitation totals and departures from normal (inches) for selected cities.

Figure 1. A graphical depiction of the monthly rainfall departure from normal (inches) for January (courtesy of NOAA, NWS).

La Niña Advisory Continues.

La Niña conditions, the cool phase of the ENSO climate pattern, continued in the tropical Pacific Ocean in January. According to the latest official NWS update, La Niña is likely to continue into the Northern Hemisphere spring (67% change during March-May) and then possibly transition to ENSO-neutral late spring/early summer (51% chance during April-June 2022).

Hazardous Weather Events in January.

According to the Local Storm Reports issued by the local National Weather Service offices serving Florida, there were 345 individual local reports of hazardous weather events recorded across the state during the month of January 2022 (see Table 4 for a breakdown by event type). Several reports of coastal flooding were reported in Taylor and Dixie Counties on the 3rd. On the 10th, 2-inch sized hail was reported in St. Lucie west of Fort Pierce. Several tornadoes associated with heavy thunderstorms moved through southwest Florida on the 16th, with 6 tornadoes reported in Collier, Lee and Charlotte Counties, including an EF2 tornado in Fort Myers. The tornadoes resulted in three injuries and localized damage.

Table 4. Breakdown of storm reports submitted in Florida during the month of January (compiled from Iowa State University/Iowa Environmental Mesonet).

Drought-Related Impacts.

2022 began with abnormally dry conditions (D0) across much of the Panhandle. By mid-month, moderate drought conditions (D1) emerged in the extreme western Panhandle, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. By the end of the month, abnormally dry conditions were alleviated in some parts of the Panhandle; however, moderate drought persisted but remained confined to the western Panhandle (1.36% area) and abnormally dry conditions remained across parts of the eastern Panhandle and Big Bend regions (15.93% area) (Figure 2).

As of January 31, the Lake Okeechobee water level was 14.94 ft. above sea level (Feet-NGVD29), which is above the average for this time of the year. The water level remained above average throughout the month. At the first of the month, the water level was around 15.50 ft. above sea level.

Agriculture-Related Impacts.

During the month of January, Florida cattle and pasture conditions continued to be mostly fair to good. Dry conditions and several frost events were reported during the month, which caused some damage to cover crops, fruits and vegetables. Sugarcane planting and harvest progressed well. Several citrus fruits were harvested, and several vegetable crops were marketed. For more information, consult the Crop Progress - State Stories reports, which are produced monthly December through March.

Appendix 1
Additional January departures from normal data for select Florida locations (Source: NWS).

Appendix 2
Select daily record high maximum temperatures broken or tied during January (compiled from NOAA).

Appendix 3
Select daily record high minimum temperatures broken or tied during January (compiled from NOAA).

Appendix 4
Select daily record low maximum temperatures broken or tied during January (compiled from NOAA).

Appendix 5
Select daily record low minimum temperatures broken or tied during January (compiled from NOAA).