January 1-7, 2025

Temperature

Average temperatures were near to slightly below normal across the east and significantly above normal to the west (Figure 1). Many locations west of the Mississippi River were at least 10°F above normal for the week. Only in eastern Ohio and eastern Michigan were temperatures below normal by 1-3°F.

Minimum temperatures were well above normal west of the Mississippi River (Figure 2). They were up to 6°f below normal across eastern Ohio. Much of the region’s midsection was 5-10°F above normal.

Maximum temperatures were above normal to the south and west by 10-15°F (Figure 3). Some parts of southwest and western Missouri were roughly 15°F above normal for the week. Maximum temperatures were near to slightly below normal across Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. In Des Moines, the temperature rose to 60°F on January 7 for the first time in January since 2012.

Precipitation/Drought

There was virtually no precipitation for locations outside the Upper Midwest (Figure 4). Precipitation was near to above normal across northern sections of Wisconsin and Michigan. There was little snow this week, and much of the precipitation fell as rain, even across the Upper Midwest. However, some significant accumulating snow did fall across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (Figure 5). particularly near Sault Ste. Marie, which accumulated 20 inches of snow from January 1-7. This was the 5th snowiest start to January on record since 1888, and the snowiest first week of the year since 2000.

With dry weather, drought conditions expanded as of January 6. D0 (abnormally dry) expanded along the Ohio River and west of the Mississippi River in Iowa and Missouri. D1 (moderate drought) and D2 (severe drought) expanded across Central Illinois and Central Indiana (Figure 6). Even D3 (extreme drought) expanded slightly in eastern Illinois and Central Indiana.