Summary:
- January continued the relatively mild first half of the winter with warmer than average temperatures over much of the west and throughout the rest of the United States.
- January brought welcomed rain/snow to the PNW, but little to no precipitation across most of California, the Great Basin, and southwest. Mountain snowpack development for the winter is now below average in California but has recovered to near average or slightly above average in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.
- The dry and warm January in California has brought back drought concerns, while a wet January has alleviated some of the concern of drought in the PNW.
- The short-term forecast is pointing to a cold period with possible low elevation snow as Arctic air fills in over central North America. Models indicate that these conditions will likely last through the rest of the month.
- The seasonal forecast for February through April tilts the odds to a near-normal PNW, to a warmer than average period for northern to southern California and across the southern tier of states to all the way to the east coast. Precipitation for FMA is forecast to be near average in the PNW and drier than average from northern to southern California and across the southern border with Mexico.
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