WASHINGTON (WUSA) - January 2013 featured an enormous variety of weather across the Mid-Atlantic Region.
There was the coldest stretch of weather in four years before spring-like warmth with a little snow mixed in too.
The month and year got off to a relatively benign start with seasonal highs in the 40s and lows near freezing. It wasn't until January 6 that the weather turned milder.
Starting that day, seven of the following ten days saw highs of at least 50 degrees. The highest daily average temperature in the Nation's Capital during the month of January is only 44 degrees so temperatures in the 50s are significantly warmer than normal.
From January 22nd to the 25th, the weather featured the opposite extreme in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Temperatures remained at or below freezing during that entire four day period.
In fact, temperatures stayed below 30 degrees from the 23rd to the 25th marking the first three day stretch of highs below 30 degrees in the Nation's Capital since January 15th - 17th, 2009.
During this cold wave, two Alberta Clipper systems brought light amounts of snowfall to the Mid-Atlantic. National Airport saw 0.4" of snow on both January 24th and January 25th.
It is interesting to note that the Nation's Capital has seen precious little snowfall in recent memory. The last time at least an inch of snow fell at National Airport - the official weather observing site for Washington, D.C. - was January 26th, 2011, when 5" of snow fell.
The weather pattern swung once again late in the month when unusually mild weather enveloped the Mid-Atlantic Region. The high on January 30th was 72 degrees. That's the average high in Washington, DC on May 2nd. The average temperature for the month - combining daytime highs and nighttime lows - finished more than 4 degrees above normal. At the same time, precipitation was below normal. Snow lovers shouldn't fret, though, as February has seen its fair share of major winter storms. As recently as February 2010, 32.1" of snow fell in the Nation's Capital compared to a February average of 5.7" of snow. The team of WUSA 9 meteorologists will keep viewers apprised of the latest weather conditions - both on air and online at wusa9.com.