If I didn't know better, I'd be apt to say the weather around here is more reminiscent of early April than late January. So far this month, our maximum daytime temperatures have averaged nearly 52 degrees--more than eight degrees above normal--and high temperatures have consistently popped into the 60s; a rare occurrence in January, to say the least. (Oh, and by the way, Dulles set a new high temp record of 63 degrees today, breaking the 62 degree record set in 1998).

How often is it this Warm
But, how odd is it for temperatures to be this warm, this early in the year? The average monthly temperature (highs and lows averaged) is 34.9 degrees for January. Through the 19th, however, the January 2005 monthly average is a comfortable 7.8 degrees above normal, moving into 9th place for the warmest January on record (in 1st place is 1950, when temperatures for the month average close to 50 degrees, a staggering 13 degrees above normal!)

All things considered, the near record high temperatures we've been experiencing may not be that bad of a thing. Most people I've talked to--even though they crave some of what winter has denied Washingtonians this month--say they've been enjoying the early spring-like weather. Hey, even the golf courses have managed to stay open longer than usual.

There are, however, still signs that colder air makes a move on the region by the end of the month as a negative North Atlantic Oscillation sets up (some guidance suggests significantly low values) which would favor a return to below-normal weather conditions.