January 2017 is in the record books as being the 11th warmest out of 117 years of records in Dallas-Fort Worth.
The coldest part of the month was Jan. 4-8, when temperatures remained below normal. The coldest day had a high temperature of only 28 degrees on Jan. 6. The following morning, the temperature fell to a low of 14 degrees.
After that, much of the rest of the month featured above-normal temperatures. The high temperature reached or exceeded 75 degrees on seven different days. The average temperature for the month was 51.3 degrees, and that is what made it the 11th warmest January on record.
January was also a wet month with 4.39 inches of precipitation, making it the 10th wettest on record. Most of the rain fell on Jan. 15, when severe thunderstorms moved across much of North and Central Texas, producing six tornadoes. There was also one-tenth of snow that fell on Jan. 6.
Looking ahead to February, average temperatures slowly increase through the month. By the end of February, the normal high is in the mid 60s. Daylight increases by 50 minutes during the month.
Of course, we know February can still bring bitter cold and snow. In 1978, D-FW recorded 13.5 inches of February snow, and in 2010 we had 12.6 inches. Out of 117 years of records, 81 of them recorded at least a trace of snow in February.
