4th warmest January on record around the globe

Just another of the endless accidents this winter caused by blowing snow. This one, involving 8 trucks, has closed the 401 near Cobourg, Ontario, Wednesday, February 26. (CTV News) 

There are just a couple of days left in February it what has been a relentless winter. While many have us have complained about the frigid cold, and with reason, it appears January was not so cold after all, at least globally. According to the National Climatic Data Centre, a branch of NOAA in the US, January was the 4th warmest on record globally dating back to 1880. The average temperature of land and sea was 12.7C or 0.65C above the 20 year average. Landmass areas were 1.17C above the long term average of 2.8C. The warmest places were where you would expect the coldest temperatures to be found, Greenland, Western Canada and Alaska. Portions of Brazil and South Africa also had record warmth. It also marked the 38th consecutive January and 347th consecutive month above the long term averages. Global Warming?Food for thought for sure.

Montreal for comparison had an average temperature of -10.2C for January compared to the normal of -9.7C. There were wild swings in the extremes which likely wore us all down including -27.3C for a low and plus 7.3C for a high. Not so good for roads, cars, pets and people. February has actually been consistently colder in Montreal so it will be interesting to see where the month ranks once we tally up the numbers.

This morning we are looking at a light dusting of snow across southern Quebec as an arctic front moves across the region. Strong winds behind the front will reach 30-50km/h and will cause some blowing snow issues on off island roads. Already this morning a major accident near Cobourg, Ontario on the 401 is being blamed on the snow. More squalls will lift off of Lake Ontario making travel in that area dangerous at times. The snow here will taper off with just a few flurries and cold with highs near -10C. Cold overnight lows of -16C tonight will be followed by more light snow Thursday, windy again at -10C. The weekend looks unsettled with light snow and continuing cold with lows near -20C in Montreal and as cold as -30C elsewhere in the province. It looks like it may warm to above the 0C mark by the end of next week. Keep in mind that March historically has had our biggest and most disruptive snowstorms. Time will tell if this year holds another for Montreal.