Hate winter? Then you’ll want to see what January has in store for us

A relatively mild January is forecast by the National Weather Service for the Tri-Cities.

It predicts that temperatures should be warmer than normal and precipitation should be lighter than usual for the month.

Normal highs for the Tri-Cities in January are about 41 degrees and lows are about 29. Normal precipitation is about an inch.

January is starting out warmer than usual, with the temperature expected to climb to as high as 47 degrees by Sunday. Lows should be in the mid to upper 30s through at least Wednesday night.

December was quite a bit warmer than usual, with stations in Richland, Kennewick and Pasco reporting an average temperature of at least 4 degrees above normal.

However, that was not warm enough to be a record breaker.

At Pasco, four other Decembers had warmer average temperatures since 1984, the last year that the weather service had complete Pasco temperature data available.

In Western Washington, the Seattle Times reported that 2018 was Seattle’s fifth hottest year on record.

That was not true for the Tri-Cities.

About a dozen years just since 1984 were warmer than 2018 in the Tri-Cities.

The Hanford Meteorological Service reported that the average temperature for the year was warmer than usual at 55.4 degrees, but only 1.5 degrees above normal.

One daily temperature record was set at Hanford in December, and another tied, both on the same day.

On Dec. 18 the high was 58, which tied the warmest high temperature on record for the date set in 2017. The low was 45, which beat the record warmest low of 42 set in 1999.

Hanford has daily weather records at its Meteorology Station going back to World War II.

December in the Tri-Cities was a little drier than usual, ending a year that was also had less precipitation that usual.

In Richland 5.25 inches of precipitation were reported for the year, which is 2.37 inches below normal.

The Tri-Cities had some snow flurries in December, with not much sticking to the ground.

But Hanford reported 2.2 inches of snow, with 1.5 inches falling on Dec. 28.

The Tri-Cities did have some high winds in December, particularly on Dec. 29. Gusts of 54 mph were reported that day in Kennewick and at the Tri-Cities Airport.

The peak gust for the month at Hanford was 47 mph on the same day.