Buresh Blog: January averages... January night skies... Quarter of 21st century weather review

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — First Alert Neighborhood Weather Network. Scan below &/or click * here *:

January averages for JIA:

January night skies (Sky & Telescope):

Jan. 9 (evening): The waxing gibbous Moon visits the Pleiades star cluster in Taurus (best with binoculars).

Jan. 13 (evening): The full Moon is less than ½° from Mars. Viewers across the U.S. will see the Moon eclipse the planet for about an hour (best with binoculars or a small telescope).

Jan. 15–16 (all night): Mars reaches opposition (rises at sunset, sets at sunrise) and is 60 million miles from Earth.

Jan. 16 (evening): The waning gibbous Moon follows Regulus, in Leo, by some 6° as they climb in the east.

Jan. 17, 18 (dusk): Venus and much dimmer Saturn are within 2° of one another on these two evenings.

Jan. 21 (morning): The Moon, just shy of last quarter, is 3½° to the lower left of Spica in Virgo.

Jan. 23 (evening): Mars, in Gemini, is 2½° to the right of Pollux in the eastern sky.

Jan. 31 (dusk): Face west-southwest after sunset to see the Moon, two days past new, 3° to the lower right of Saturn. Venus guards the pair from above. The view will intensify as twilight deepens.

Moon Phases

First Quarter January 6 6:56 p.m. EST

Full Moon January 13 5:27 p.m. EST (Wolf Moon)

Last Quarter January 21 3:31 p.m. EST

New Moon January 29 7:36 a.m. EDT

So this year marks a quarter of the 21st century! So I’ve broken down the first 25 years of weatherwise with a few highlights & the annual temps. & rainfall vs. average.

2000 - Rainfall: 39.77″/-12.55″ .... avg. temp.:67.4 degrees/-1.8

* July 20 - 103 degrees - tied for the 3rd hottest temp. ever recorded in Jacksonville (105 is hottest)

* Dec. 20 & 31: 21 degrees

* $9.3 billion drought across much of the south including Florida

2001 - Rainfall: 49.14″/-3.18″ ... avg. temp.: 68.3/-0.9

2002 - Rainfall: 54.72″/+2.4″ ... avg. temp.: 68.9/-0.3

2003 - Rainfall: 44.47″/-7.85″ ... avg. temp.: 67.9/-1.3

* Jan. 24 - 19 degrees breaks the record low of 24 degrees & the coldest of this century so far.

* Dec. 4 - Tropical storm “Odette” forms over the Caribbean - through the 7th

* Dec. 9 - Tropical storm “Peter” forms over the Eastern Atlantic - first time since 1887 with two named storms in Dec. over the Atlantic Basin.

2004 - Rainfall: 69.47″/+17/15″ ... avg. temp.: 68.6/-0.6

* Aug. - Sept.: Tropical storm Bonnie, Cat. 4 Charley, Cat. 3 Frances, Cat. 3Jeanne & Cat. 3 Ivan all hit Florida. Power was finally restored to all of Florida Oct. 5.

* Dec. 26 - Indian Ocean tsunami killing an estimated nearly quarter of a million people.

2005 - Rainfall: 64.45″ / +12.13″ ... avg. temp.: 68.4/-0.8

* Feb. 6 - Super Bowl 39 in Jacksonville with a high temp. of 65 degrees & game time temp. in the 50s. Patriots beat the Eagles 24-21.

* Aug. 24 - Hurricane Katrina forms with a devastating landfall east of New Orleans Aug. 29 as a Cat. 3 but with a Cat. 5-like storm surge of 30 feet!

* Sept. 24 - Cat. 3 hurricane Rita landfall near Texas/Louisiana border

* Oct. 24 - Cat. 3 hurricane Wilma hits South Florida

* Dec. 2 - Hurricane Epsilon over Northeast Atlantic followed by another late season tropical cyclone hurricane Zeta on Dec. 30th - total for 2005 - 27 named storms, 15 hurricanes!

2006 - Rainfall: 38.07″ / -14.25″ ... avg. temp.: 69.0/-0.2

* Dec. 25 - Christmas day tornadoes - Lake City & DeLand F-2

2007 - Rainfall: 46.01″ / -6.31″ ... avg. temp.: 68.8/0.4

* Feb. 2 - Killer overnight long track tornadoes across the I-4 corridor of Florida including The Villages.

* The latest freeze on record in Jacksonville - 32 degrees at JIA - previous latest freeze was March 31, 1964.

* April 16 - Large Ware County wildfire ignites

* May 4 - Massive EF-5 Greensburg, Kansas tornado.

* Aug. 21 - Cat. 5 hurricane Dean hits the lower Yucatan coast.

* Dec. 10 - Tropical storm “Olga” forms near Puerto Rico & hits Hispaniola on the 12th

2008 - Rainfall: 57.18″ / +4.86″ ... avg. temp.: 67.8/-1/4

* Jan. 2 -3 - two day cold snap in Jacksonville with highs of 41 & 43 degrees & lows of 27 & 25 degrees - coldest back-to-back days since 2003.

* March 14 - Downtown Atlanta EF-2 tornado kills 1

* Aug. 20 - 23 - High end tropical storm “Fay” drop up to 20″ of rain south of I-10.... nearly a foot of rain at JIA.

2009 - Rainfall: 59.20″ / +6.88″ ... avg. temp.: 68.6/-0.6

2010 - Rainfall: 33.40″ / -18.92″ ... avg. temp.: 66.9/-2.3 - * Third coldest year on record, 4th driest year on record

* 12 of the first 14 days of Jan. had a low temp. of 32 degrees or lower - a record.

* March 31 - 80 degrees in Jacksonville for the first time of the year - latest on record (March 14, 1978)

* April 20 - Gulf of Mexico BP oil spill

* August - hottest in Jacksonville since 1954 +3.2 degrees

* 50 straight days 90+ degrees ends Aug. 26. Old record - 44 straight days.

* Driest Oct. or any month on record in Jacksonville - zero(!) - only month since 1851 without at least a trace of rain.

* Coldest December on record - 46.1 degrees, old record: 47.7 degrees in 1989

* Dec. 26 - snow flurries in Jacksonville & the coldest Jags home game on record - 38 degrees at 1pm kickoff.

2011 - Rainfall: 47.96″ / -4.36″ ... avg. temp.: 69.0/-0.2

* From Dec., 2010 through Feb., 2011 - 30 freezes - 2nd all time

* March 11 - Japan tsunami killing more than 18,000 people.

* April 27 - 2nd most deadly tornado outbreak since 1950 - Arkansas to Georgia to Virginia

* May 9 - Okefenokee wildfire ignited by lightning reaches more than 137,000 acres sending smoke over much of Jacksonville/NE Florida - not officially declared ‘extinguished’ until Aril 17, 2012(!)

* May 22 - Violent EF-5 tornado devastates Joplin, Missouri killing 161 people.

2012 - Rainfall: 53.41″ / +1.09″ ... avg. temp.: 69.5/+0.3

* May 28 - tropical storm “Beryl” makes landfall at Jacksonville Beach over the Memorial Day weekend

* June 25-26 - tropical storm “Debby” moves from the Gulf into Florida dropping a record 2-day total rainfall at JIA of 12.56″, old record - 12.11″ Sept. 9-10, 1908.

* Oct. 29 - Post-tropical “super storm Sandy” hit New York City & surrounding areas with severe flooding.

2013 - Rainfall: 45.22″ / -7.10″ ... avg. temp.: 68.9/-0.3

* 2nd coldest March on record in Jax: -6.2 degrees

* 2nd coolest spring in Jacksonville at 64.8 degrees

* May 20 - EF-5 Moore, Oklahoma tornado kills 20+

* May 31 - EF-5 El Reno, Oklahoma tornado.

2014 - Rainfall: 55.46″ / +3.14″ ... avg. temp.: 67.8/-1.4

2015 - Rainfall: 44.54″ / -7.78″ ... avg. temp.: 70.5/+1.3

* Jan. 8 - flurries & snow showers in NE Florida & SE Georgia

* Feb. 3 - one week snowfall total in Boston 40″+!

* Oct. 1 - Hurricane Joaquin sinks the El Faro killing 33

* 2nd warmest Dec. on record in Jax.: +11.3 degrees

2016 - Rainfall: 38.52″ / -13.8″ ... avg. temp.: 69.8/+0.6

* First winter freeze in Jacksonville for the winter ‘15-’16 does not occur until Jan. 11

* Jan. 14 - Hurricane “Alex” forms over the East Atlantic. First January hurricane since 1938.

* June/July/August in Jax - driest on record - 7.88″

* Sept. 2 - Cat. 1 hurricane “Hermine” makes landfall on the Fl. Big Bend - first Florida hurricane landfall since Wilma in Oct., 2005 - longest in recorded history.

* Oct. 7 - Hurricane “Matthew” ~40 miles offshore of the NE Fl. coast causing significant beach erosion & flooding & widespread power outages.

2017 - Rainfall: 70.11″ / +17.79″ ... avg. temp.: 70.9/+1.7 - 19 temp. records for the year.

* Feb. 7 - squall line produces EF-1 tornadoes in Lawtey & Heritage Landing

* April 19 - early season tropical storm “Arlene” forms over E. Atlantic

* June - first month with below avg. temps. since Feb., 2016

* Wettest May - Aug. on record in Jax - 40.53″, old record: 33.73″/1965.

* Aug. 21 - Great American Eclipse! Garrett & I traveled to totality in S. Carolina - read * here* - “Buresh Blog”.

* Aug. 25 - Cat 4 hurricane “Harvey” hits Texas - first ‘major’ U.S. landfalling hurricane since Cat. 3 Wilma hit Florida in 2005.

* Aug. 27 - Harvey caused catastrophic flooding in Houston.

Sept. 10 - Cat. 4 hurricane “Irma” hits the Florida Keys the soaks Jacksonville/NE Fl. & SE Ga. Sept. 11 with record flooding on the St. Johns River, downtown Jacksonville.

2018 - Rainfall: 59.84″ / +7.52″ ... avg. temp.: 70.2/+1.0

* Jan. 3 - ice & snow across SE Ga., & Baker, Columbia & Western Nassau Co. in Fl.

* 16 80-degree days in Jax in Feb. - a record (previous record - 12 80-degree days in 1989)

* May 28 - subtropical storm “Alberto” hits Fl. Panhandle

* June/July/Aug. in Jax - 69 t’storm days - a record (63/1927)

* Sept. 16 - hottest Jags home game on record - 96 degrees, heat index: 106 degrees

* Oct. 10 - Cat. 5 hurricane Michael slams the Fl. Panhandle - recap in “Buresh Blog”.

* Dec. 2 - EF-3 tornado hits Kings Bay Base, Ga - 4 injured.

2019 - Rainfall: 46.33″ / -5.99″ ... avg. temp.: 71.3/+2.1 - 2nd warmest year on record in Jax (1949 - 71.3 degrees)

* March 3 tornado outbreak - Alabama, Fl. Panhandle to Ga. & S. Carolina kills 24

* May 3 - Boeing 737 skids into the St. Johns River during a heavy t’storm at NAS Jax.

* May 27 - 100 degrees - ties the all-time high temp. in Jax

* Sept. 1 - Cat. 5 hurricane “Dorian” hammers the Bahamas

* Oct. 31 - 91 degrees in Jax - the latest 90-degree day on record in Jacksonville

2020 - Rainfall: 56.96″ / +4.64″ ... avg. temp.: 71.1/+1.9

* Jan. 3 - 85 degrees - ties the Jax all-time Jan. record high

* Zero Feb. freezes

* March 11 - Covid 19 declared a pandemic

* 2nd warmest March on record: +9.1 degrees/70.8 degrees

* April 12-13 - 30 killed by tornadoes Ga. & Tennessee to Carolina’s.

* May 16 - early season tropical storm “Arthur” over W. Atlantic

* Aug. 10 - powerful Midwest derecho centered on Iowa with winds 100+ mph. Pic below is my 80-year old dad cleaning up tree damage in Central Iowa:

* Aug. 25 - 80 degree low in Jax is warmest Aug. low on record at JIA

* Nov. 11 - low of 76 degrees is all-time Nov. warm min. temp. for Jax

* Dec. 1 - 29 degrees at JIA - breaks a record 1,047 days without a freeze

* Dec. 24 - EF-1 tornadoes in Starke & Baymeadows

* Dec. 25 - high of 48 in Jacksonville makes it the 5th coldest Christmas on record

2021 - Rainfall: 57.16″ / +4.84″ ... avg. temp.: 68.9/-0.3

* 7 t’storm days in Feb in Jax beats the record of 6 in 1998

* May 22 - tropical storm “Ana” over Central Atlantic

* April - June - all below avg. temps. First time in Jax with 3 months in a row with below avg. temps. since May-July, 2014

* July 7 - tropical storm “Elsa” drops EF-1 tornado in Jacksonville between downtown & UNF - recap in the “Buresh Blog”.

* Aug. 21 - Tennessee flooding kills 20+

* Aug. 29 - Cat. 4 hurricane “Ida” hits Louisiana... then floods the Mid-Atlantic & Northeast where 40+ are killed including tornadoes

* June/July/Aug. - coolest summer (-1.0 degree) since 2012

* Dec. 10 - Tornadoes from Gulf to Tennessee to Ky. kill 70+

* Dec. 15 - Midwest derecho - first ever in Dec.

2022 - Rainfall: 55.24″ / +2.92″ ... avg. temp.: 69.4/+0.2

* Jan. 15 - Tonga underwater volcano erupts

* March 5 - Iowa tornadoes kill at least 7

* June 13 - historic Yellowstone flash flood

* Driest June on record in Jax - 1.17″

* July 28 - Eastern Ky. flooding kills 35+

* Sept. 28 - Cat. 4 hurricane Ian landfall at Ft. Myers - “Buresh Blog” recap * here *

* 13 80-degree days in Nov.-Dec. is a record (11 days in 1961)

2023 - Rainfall: 58.81″ / +6.49″ ... avg. temp.: 70.9/+1.7

* Jan. 30 - 87 degrees in Jacksonville - all-time Jan. record high

* Feb. 28 - low in Jax of 71 degrees - all-time Feb. record high low temp.

* Feb. - 17-80 degree days beats the record of 16 days in 2018

* March 24 - EF-4 tornado in Mississippi (Rolling Fork) kills at least 26

* March 31 - 26 killed by tornadoes in the Midwest, South & Tennessee Valley

* April 12 - Ft. Lauderdale - 24″+ of rain less than 24 hours causes severe flooding

* 34 80-degree days in Jan. through April in Jax beats the record of 33 days in 2020

* Aug. 9 - Maui wildfires kill 100+

* Aug. 20 - tropical storm “Hilary” drenches parts of California with record rain & flooding

* Aug. 30 - Cat. 3 Idalia hits the Big Bend of Fl. - recap * here * in the “Buresh Blog”.

* Oct. 25 - Cat. 5 hurricane “Otis” devastates Acapulco, Mexico.

* First time Jax has had no t’storms in Oct. & Nov. since 2000.

2024 - Rainfall: 62.81″ / +10.49″ ... avg. temp.: 71.0/+1.9

* March 9 - EF-2 tornado in Nahunta, Ga. injures 9

* April 8 - Great American eclipse (partial eclipse in Jax) - see “Buresh Blog” as I traveled to Texas for totality!

* April 11 - World Golf Village EF-1 tornado

* May 10 - 2 EF-2 tornadoes hit Tallahassee. Northern lights visible in NE Fl. & SE Ga.!

* May 17 - Houston derecho kills 7

* May 21 - EF-4 tornado kills 5 in Greenfield, Iowa

* May 26 - 3rd day of tornado outbreak from Texas to Ky. kills 20+

* July 1 - Cat. 4 hurricane “Beryl” makes Caribbean landfall - earliest Cat. 4 over the Atlantic on record.

* Aug. 5 - Cat. 1 hurricane “Debby” makes landfall in the Fl. Big Bend - “Buresh Blog” recap * here *.

* Sept. 26 - Cat. 4 hurricane “Helene” landfall in the Fl. Big Bend followed by catastrophic flooding northward through parts of Ga., N. Carolina & Tennessee. “Buresh Blog” recap.

* Wettest July/Aug./Sept. on record in Jax - 36.90″

* Cat. 3 hurricane “Milton” landfall just south of Tampa Bay. “Buresh Blog” recap * here *.

* 32 degrees or colder in Jax the first 4 days of Dec. - first time since 1876 to start Dec. so cold.