So far, 2018 has brought some polarizing weather. From subzero temperatures, to a day in the 60s, to several snow and ice storms that terrorized morning commutes, the first dozen days of 2018 have kept us guessing what to expect next.
Here are some winter weather facts that might make you feel a bit better about this year's frenetic forecasts, courtesy of the National Weather Service in Moon Township.
75: The warmest temperature reached in the region in January. It’s happened twice, on Jan. 25, 1950, and Jan. 22, 1906. Thursday’s balmy high of 62 wasn’t far off from the day’s historic high of 68, achieved on Jan. 11, 1890.
11.4: The average temperature in the coldest January on record, 1977.
40.2: Inches of snow that fell in the snowiest January on record, 1978. That’s not much less than the amount of snow that fell in February 2010, when 48.7 inches fell, including the 21.1 inches that fell Feb. 5-6 during the infamous “Snowmaggedon” storm.
68: How many days into the year (in 2000 to be exact) the earliest 80-degree day occurred. The high temperature hit 80 on March 8, 2000, usurping the nearly 114-year record of March 11, 1876.
15: The number of times in the past 50 years that more than 50 inches of snow have fallen in a season. That includes four years (2009-10, 1995-96, 1993-94, and 1969-70) when snowfall exceeded 70 inches.