The 4-week retail January trended as the 8th warmest and 7th wettest of the past 16 years for the nation as a whole (warmest and wettest in 2 years).  It was an extremely active weather pattern throughout the month with multiple powerful storms impacting the West Coast resulting in record rain and snowfall in many areas.  The Midwest was hit by a rare tornado outbreak early in the month and the Northeast saw record rainfall on the second to last day of the retail January. Overall, monthly snow totals fell just short of last year’s level but the Pacific Northwest recorded the most snow in at least 15 years.

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Rankings (colored boxes) are based on the past 16 years for each week.  A “1” indicates the hottest week of the past 15 years and a “16”, thecoldest week of the past 16 years.  For precipitation “1” is the wettest week of the past 16 years and “16” is the driest.

The rankings above show that the first week of the month and third week of the month were the extremes with the warmest and coldest weather respectively for those weeks in at least 16 years for the nation as a whole.  Normally, warm weather is very favorable for store traffic and retail sales during January, but wet weather and snow and ice keeps consumers home indoors.
The Pacific Northwest had the highest snowfall total in at least 15 years as storm after storm blew through.  Record snow pack in that region will benefit AG interests come Spring.  Thankfully, rain and even snow in the Southeast helped improve the drought.