GREENSBORO, North Carolina — VERIFY QUESTION
A new year hopefully means a new forecast for the Triad, especially given the tumultuous 2018 weather year (a tornado, two hurricanes and a major snow storm). Weather can catch us off guard, so the least we can do is prepare for what we know to be true. On this weather Wednesday, we VERIFY: what's the coldest day of the year, on average, in the Triad?
VERIFY SOURCE
Meteorologist Terran Kirksey
VERIFY PROCESS
Kirksey explained, using a basketball to demonstrate, how the earth rotates on its axis. During the winter solstice, the continental U.S. is far from the sun. Typically, the Triad reaches this farthest point during the first two weeks in January -- hence, those are the coldest.
The National Weather Service compiled data at Piedmont Triad International Airport from 1981 to 2010. It shows, by mere decimals, the average coldest day in the Triad is January 12. From January 1 through January 16, the average "normal maximum (high) temperature" is between 47 and 48 degrees.
The average "normal minimum (low) temperature" is between 29.3 and 29.7 degrees. By January 29, the maximum high temperature creeps up to 49, and the normal minimum temperature bumps up to 30.
VERIFY CONCLUSION
Typically, the first two weeks in January are the coldest of the year in the Triad area. That said, January 2019 is starting off unseasonably warm (in the 50s and low 60s)!
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