January 2010 will go down in the records as one of the coldest ever recorded in Southeastern North Carolina, according to the monthly summary from the National Weather Service in Wilmington.
Record low daily temperatures were only recorded on three days, but the duration of the cold spell caused the average temperature for the month to fall to 41.3 degrees. That’s 4.8 degrees lower than normal, making this the thirteenth coldest January recorded since records began in 1874.
The average low for the month was 31 degrees, the ninth coldest average for the month and only the fourteenth time that the average low was below freezing.
There were two near-record cold streaks during the month, according to the weather service.
From Jan. 2-10, the low was 28 degrees or lower for 10 days, just one day short of a record of 11 days, set in 1960.
From Jan. 2-16, the low temperature was below freezing for 16 days, a tie for the sixth longest stretch of days with lows below freezing. The record is 21 days, set in 2001.
Date posted: February 2, 2010
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Tracy Rollins
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