A Mild January Overall

January was a mixed-bag in terms of temperature in southern Manitoba. The month started off mild, but frigid conditions moved in mid month. Well above normal conditions returned late month. Overall, January was 1.8°C above normal at Winnipeg airport, tied 29th warmest since 1872.

Some fields were nearly bare in late January south of Winkler

Frigid conditions occurred from the 9th to 18th. Highs during the period averaged about -20°C and lows -28°C. These were the coldest conditions so far this winter, but thankfully they were short-lived. Warm conditions returned late month with record warmth at times in some locations. 3 days exceeded the freezing mark in Winnipeg; the 29th being the warmest at 3.3°C. No records were broken in Winnipeg. Brandon, on the other hand, reached a record 3.5°C on the 27th. The extended warmth melted much of what little snow there was on the ground in southwestern Manitoba and along the US border. Fields were left nearly bare in some locations, a rare sight in late January.

In terms of precipitation, it was a dry January overall. Meager snowfalls of 1-2 cm were common in the Winnipeg area, but major snowfalls were not. Just one ''major'' snowfall occurred: on January 27, around 7 cm of snow fell. Areas along the US border from Winkler to Melita saw even less snow in January with no more than 10 cm in some areas. Rain and freezing rain even occurred at times late month. Winnipeg saw some rain as well on January 27 and 29 but only less than 0.5 mm.