Jan. brought record warmth across plains, western U.S.

An arctic air mass that dominated the first half of January gave way to a major warmup during the second half of the month, especially across the West and Midwest. The most remarkable record happened in a place famous for recording the world's official record high temperature back in July 1913. Death Valley, California, reached 87 degrees on Sunday, Jan. 25, tying its all-time record high for the month of January. The West baked while the Northeast experienced a blizzard. However, instead of an arctic high blasting south into the Plains as it did in 1962, this time the Plains also warmed to record levels.

Topeka, Kansas, broke its all-time record for the month of January on Wednesday (Jan. 28) when the mercury hit a springlike 78. Several other cities set not only daily, but either neared or topped record highs for the month of January on Tuesday, Jan. 27. In the Midwest, the persistent warmth caused ice to grow thinner on lakes and ponds, making it more dangerous to venture out onto the ice for fishing or other recreational activities. In fact, a man and his son died Sunday near Oshkosh, Wisconsin, when the man's vehicle plunged through ice on Lake Winnebago according to WISN-TV. In the West, the warm weather aggravated the ongoing drought in California, eating away at what little snowpack there was in the Sierra Nevada.

http://www.weather.com/forecast/national/news/mild-midwest-warm-west-record-highs