A long-term below normal temperature trend has occurred in Iowa since last November and continued during January. Cold days far outnumbered the milder ones, with a few days when average temperatures were as much as 25 to 35 degrees below normal and high temperatures stayed below zero at some locations.

Average temperatures for most of January, compared to normal, were coldest in about the eastern half of Iowa, with departures from normal in the -5 to -10 degree range common. Winter precipitation, at least into late January, continued to be light ...