Wisconsin 78 Degrees Warmer Than 1 Year Ago

MILWAUKEE, WI — What a difference a year makes.

While we won't exactly say January 2020 has been balmy, The National Weather Service says this January is on track to be the eighth-warmest January on record for the Milwaukee area since records began in 1871.

For Madison, this month is on track to be the eleventh-warmest January since 1869, the National Weather Service says. If nightly lows trend warmer over the next two days, this month may crack a top ten for Madison as well.

That's in stark contrast to one year ago, when temperatures were so cold that many places across Wisconsin shut down: schools temporarily closed their doors, and municipal buildings shut down over the extreme cold.

2019

At the time, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers declared a State of Emergency in Wisconsin for Jan. 27 through Feb. 1, 2019. In the emergency declaration, Evers cited extreme temperatures and dangerous travel conditions. Weather observers said parts of Wisconsin were colder than Antarctica and even the summit of Mount Everest.

According to the National Weather Service, on Jan. 30, 2019, the high temperature was -10 degrees, and the low temperature was -20 degrees.

But the biggest difference comes when you take a look at the wind chill temperatures. On Jan. 30, 2019, the wind chill was -51 degrees in Milwaukee. This year, it was 27 degrees.

That's a difference of 78 degrees.