John Wheeler: January was warmer than average and not very snowy

By John Wheeler

February 03, 2023 at 5:00 AM

FARGO — January in the Red River Valley was consistently cold but not frigid, and not at all snowy. There were many days with fog and few with strong wind. The only serious cold came in the last four days. For Fargo, the average high was 17.9 degrees and the average low was 3.5 degrees, for an average daily mean temperature of 10.7 degrees, which is 1.4 degrees warmer than average.

The average high and low in Grand Forks were 16.7 and 3.1 degrees, for an average daily mean temperature of 9.9 degrees, which is 2.3 degrees warmer than average. Snowfall in Fargo was just 2.7 inches with a water content of 0.23 inches. Grand Forks measured 3.9 inches with a water content of 0.20 inches. At the end of the month, average snow depth was 12 inches in Fargo and 13 in Grand Forks.

By John Wheeler

John Wheeler is Chief Meteorologist for WDAY, a position he has had since May of 1985. Wheeler grew up in the South, in Louisiana and Alabama, and cites his family's move to the Midwest as important to developing his fascination with weather and climate. Wheeler lived in Wisconsin and Iowa as a teenager. He attended Iowa State University and achieved a B.S. degree in Meteorology in 1984. Wheeler worked about a year at WOI-TV in central Iowa before moving to Fargo and WDAY..