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Does a warm January mean we're off the hook for a big freeze? Not quite

Does this warm start to the new year mean anything for our weather for the rest of winter or even the rest of the year?

DALLAS — This January has been very warm. This is normally the coolest time of the year in North Texas, and there's been a big lack of "chill." In fact, this is currently the 3rd warmest January to date. 

Every single day, so far this month, has been warmer than normal. We even broke two record highs: Both the 10th and 11th saw record high temperatures in the mid 80s. 

Credit: WFAA

The mid 80s?! In January?? It's not unheard of, but it's certainly not common. There have been 58 total times on record where we've been in the 80s in January. Also, the 85 degrees on the 11th was the warmest January day since 1969.

Credit: WFAA

What does this mean for the rest of winter? What about spring?

In short? Not much. Let's look back to the warmest Januarys on record. 

          YEAR                          AVG. TEMP

Credit: WFAA

If you look beyond these Januarys into the rest of the winter, the following springs, and following summers, there are no clear similarities. In other words, the warm Januarys don't necessarily translate to anything specific about the weather for the rest of the season. 

So what should we expect?

Don't let your guard down! It may have felt like spring for a while, but winter is far from over. It's undoubtedly in the realm of possibility we see another deep freeze here in North Texas before the winter is over. Februarys have become notorious here in Texas...

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