JANUARY FEATURED RECORD TEMPERATURES HERE

January was a month of record temperature extremes in Cape Girardeau.

The 30-day outlook for February indicates more cold weather is ahead, with temperatures here expected to continue to average below normal.

Two record lows were set and a record high tied. Two new record minimum highs were also set.

A mid-month cold wave made it the 10th coldest January here in 49 years, said Al Robertson, climatologist and professor of geosciences at Southeast Missouri State University.

Robertson said the record high of 60 degrees occurred Jan. 27, tying the record for the date that was set in 1949. That same day the maximum overnight low of 48 degrees broke the record set in 1968.

The thaw occurred one week after a cold snap from Jan. 14-22, during which two record lows were set.

On Jan. 18, the low of minus 10 broke the record for the date (minus 1) that was set in 1977. About four hours later on Jan. 19, the record low for the date was set when the temperature dropped to minus 11. That broke the record of minus 8 in 1984.

Robertson said two record daily minimum highs were also set on those days. On Jan. 18 the daily high was 8, breaking the record of 12, which was set in 1977. On Jan. 19 the high was 13, compared to the record of 18 set in 1984.

Robertson said the 24-hour average daily temperature for Jan. 18 was minus 1. It was 1 degree on Jan. 19.

"The 10-day temperature averages for the month really show the roller-coaster effect," said Robertson.

From Jan.1-10 the average temperature was 32.8 degrees, up one-tenth of a degree from the long-term average.

"But the temperature average for Jan.11-20 was really the killer," said Robertson. "The average was 18.8 degrees, down 13.6 degrees from the long-term average of 32.4 degrees."

The average for Jan. 21-31 was an almost mild-like 34.4 degrees, up 1.1 degrees from the long-term average of 33.3 degrees.

Another illustration of how cold it was last month is the number of heating-degree-days in Cape Girardeau. That is defined as a 24-hour period when the average temperature is below 65. The number of heating-degree days was up 11 percent in January, he said.

January was also a wet month, with 6.6 inches of snow.

The airport weather observation station measured 3.5 inches on Jan. 16 and 3.1 inches of snow on Jan. 17. Total melted precipitation at the airport last month was 4.6 inches, compared to the long-term average of 3.52 inches. Robertson said the 6.6 inches of snow that fell last month was well above the long-term average for the month, 3.5 inches.

The long-term average temperature for February is 37.4 degrees. Last year's average was a cold 34 degrees.

The low for the month was minus 2 Feb. 18, 1993. "That's rather unusual for mid-February," said Robertson. "The high for the month was 65 on Feb. 10."

Although February is normally the driest month of the year, with long-term moisture of 2.84 inches, it is also a month for snow. Last year the airport measured a monthly total of 18.7 inches of snow, of which 12.2 inches fell on Feb. 15.