January was coldest in U.S. since 1988 but globe was warmest ever
The U.S. experienced its coldest January in 37 years, but the Earth experienced its warmest January on record.
Residents across the eastern and southern United States shivered last month as multiple Arctic fronts brought record-low temperatures and rare snow to the Gulf Coast. The numbers are in, and NOAA says the United States experienced the coldest January average temperature since 1988, while Copernicus reports that the Earth had its warmest January on record.
Coldest January in 37 years
The NOAA average temperature in January was 29.23 degrees Fahrenheit, narrowly beating out January 2011 (29.71) and January 1996 (29.70) and making last month the coldest January since 1988 (27.79). The temperature anomaly for January was -0.89 of a degree compared to the last 130 years and -3.14 degrees compared to the 1991-2020 climate normals.
The states of West Virginia and Alabama had their 12th- and 15th-coldest January in the last 130 years, respectively. The last time both states experienced a colder January was in 2014.
Over 5,000 daily snow and cold records were broken
According to NOAA, 4,630 daily record minimum temperatures (or record low maximum temperatures) were tied or broken during January 2025, along with 884 daily snowfall records.
A total of 24 stations measured the most snow they had ever received in 24 hours, and another 23 broke all-time low temperatures for any time of year. Louisiana and Florida preliminarily broke their state all-time 24-hour snowfall records during the record-breaking Gulf Coast snowstorm.
A cold month among many warmer months
This below-normal January in the U.S. bucks recent trends, following 11 above-normal months. This is the first month that the U.S. has recorded below-normal temperatures since January 2024, when mean temperatures were only slightly below normal, minus 0.46 F.
Globe experiences its hottest January ever
Worldwide, the globe experienced its hottest January on record, Copernicus reported, with most of the Earth's land masses reporting high temperature anomalies compared to the 30-year normals, except for the United States and parts of Russia. NOAA will report on global temperatures soon and is expected to confirm those numbers.
