January a cold, snowy month Published Jan. 10, 2011 By Jim Robinson, Meteorological Technician, 27th Special Operations Support Squadron CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. - -- January typically receives the coldest weather of the winter here. Precipitation events can be rain or snow (and sometimes both at the same time), and are generally created by broad synoptic storm systems. The average January is characterized by about four or five strong cold fronts during the month. The strongest cold fronts often feature temperature drops of 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit in a couple hours, and wind speeds approaching 60 mph. The recorded highest wind gust in January is slightly more than 69 mph. The amount of potentially available sunlight slowly increases through the month, as the time span between sunrise and sunset gradually lengthens. However, days are still relatively short, and the weather tends to reflect the lack of solar warming. The average temperature for January is 38 degrees, ranging from 37 degrees on Jan. 1 to 40 degrees on Jan 31. The average maximum temperature for the month is 51 degrees, with the average daily maximum temperature rising from 50 degrees on the first day of the month to 53 degrees by Jan. 31. The average minimum temperature for the month is 25 degrees, with the average daily minimum temperature ranging from 24 degrees on the 1st to 26 degrees on the 31st. The highest recorded monthly temperature is 79 degrees, which occurred Jan. 18, 1974. The lowest temperature recorded is 12 degrees below zero, which occurred on Jan. 13, 1963. Daily record high temperatures are in the 70s every day of the month. Daily record low temperatures are generally in the single digits above and below zero degrees. Cannon averages 0.5 inch of liquid equivalent precipitation during January. The month averages 3.5 inches of snowfall, with the highest recorded snowfall amount in January being 13.5 inches. In summary, January is generally considered the middle of winter, and accordingly usually has the coldest weather of the year. Not surprisingly, it also has the highest average snowfall amount of all the months.