January was warm for most Americans

    I recently wrote about January being the 8th warmest January in Twin Cities history, using data that goes back to 1872.  NOAA ( the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ) has posted a map of January temperature rankings for the continental United States.  Here it is:
    The map shows that Minnesota had its 5th warmest January in the past 118 years...ranking 114 out of 118 with 118 being the warmest January.  It is amazing that 46 out of 48 states were either above normal or much above normal in temperature last month.  Only Florida and Washington state were near normal.

    Is it any wonder that some people were able to golf in Minnesota in January? :

   More info on my January golf story can be found at http://rontrenda.blogspot.com/2012/01/jamuary-golf-in-minnesota.html
   We topped out at 46 degrees yesterday in the Twin Cities, but temperatures are much cooler today.  It has been so warm this winter that it feels chilly to some of us when temperatures dip back to "normal".