Odd Stat of the Day

January was no doubt a wild month with tornadoes, snow storms, arctic air, and everything in between. Here is your odd stat of the day: In January, Rockford recorded below average precipitation, but well above average snowfall. We had almost a quarter of an inch less liquid precipitation than we typically see, but over 7 inches of a surplus of snow.

A couple factors play into this. First, on January 7th when the tornado hit Poplar Grove and thunderstorms hit many other areas, the airport only recorded 0.10" of rain. Yet another example of how uneven storms produce rainfall across a region. Secondly, almost every snowmaker we had produced very fluffy and light snow. This allowed the totals to "fluff up" quite a bit with very little moisture actually in the piles of powder. -ADAM