Eastern Cornbelt:
Frigid air blanketed much of the Eastern Cornbelt as the week progressed. Wind chills fell to a negative 15-20 degrees in central Illinois during the week, with highs in Springfield topping out at 17 degrees at midweek.
Central and northern Indiana saw a similar plunge in temperatures, with highs falling to the single digits by the end of the week, down 30 degrees from midweek highs. Forecasts warned of lake-effect snow in northern Indiana as the week progressed, prompting a winter weather advisory for several counties on Jan. 21.
Ohio was also gripped by cold weather in mid-January, with lows expected to fall to zero degrees in the state’s northern counties by Jan. 22, down from midweek temperatures in the mid- to upper-30s. As in northern Indiana, a winter weather advisory was in effect for several northern Ohio counties late in the week, with forecasts warning of up to 3-5 inches of snow.
Western Cornbelt:
Bitterly cold weather gripped much of Iowa as the week progressed, prompting a wind chill advisory on Jan. 19-20.
Forecasts warned of wind chills dropping to a negative 20 degrees or more, with Des Moines posting a low of 6 degrees and a wind chill of negative 23 on the morning of Jan. 20. The wind chill warnings extended into southwestern Iowa and northwestern Missouri as well.
California:
Dry, mild weather conditions across much of California in early January raised more concerns about continuing drought in the state, even after one of the wettest Decembers on record.
A series of powerful storms in December delivered more than 15 feet of snow to the Sierra Nevada, pushing the statewide Sierra Nevada snowpack to 168 percent of normal as of Jan. 1. Dry weather since then, however, dropped the snowpack level to 117 percent of normal as of Jan. 18.
The Jan. 20 U.S. Drought Monitor showed a dramatic improvement in California. While most of the state remained in either moderate or severe drought, only tiny patches of extreme drought persisted in the far northern edge of the state, with no areas of exceptional drought reported statewide.
Pacific Northwest:
A pair of winter storms brought snow and colder temperatures to parts of the Pacific Northwest during the week. The first was an Arctic front that brought 1-4 inches of snow on Jan. 18 to parts of northern, eastern, and central Montana, along with subzero wind chills.
The second was a Pacific front that was expected to bring snowfall to parts of southern Idaho and western Montana later in the week, with 1-3 inches of accumulation expected in the valleys and 2-4 inches in higher elevations.
Western Canada:
A powerful winter storm early in the week brought high winds, freezing rain and snow, and much colder temperatures to the Prairies.
Much of Alberta experienced intense periods of blowing snow and a rapid drop in temperatures on Jan. 17, with winter storm warnings and wind warnings in effect for multiple communities. Wind gusts up to 70-80 km/h were reported, along with wind chills falling to -45 C in northern areas of the province.
The storm pushed into Saskatchewan late on Jan. 17 and into Jan. 18, bringing snowfall and dropping temperatures to -30 C and wind chills to -40 C in some locations. Heavy snow blanketed much of the southern half of Manitoba on Jan. 18, with 10-15 cm reported in western and central areas of the province and up to 20 cm in the Parkland Region.