(Des Moines, IA) -- January in Iowa won't be balmy, but forecasters say it may be warmer than "normal." State Climatologist Justin Glison says there are elevated chances for warmer than normal temperatures in western Iowa and near normal temperatures for the rest of the state. Glison says average high temperatures in Iowa in January are in the upper 20s. The average lows are around 10-degrees.
He says average snow fall for December is just over eight inches. December 2020 recorded a statewide average of five inches of snow. Some areas in eastern Iowa received at least 12-inches of snow. Jackson County received 15-inches of snow.
Glison says average snow fall for January is 7.7 inches, February 6.8 inches. He says liquid precipitation is minimal, with an inch or less of rainfall during what are typically the most dry months of the year.
He says the snowfall will not likely do much to reverse the state's drought picture. The western half of Iowa is in some form of drought, with parts of northwest Iowa in more severe shape. He says some areas of northwest and west central Iowa have rainfall deficits of 10-to-14 inches.