Eastern United States – January weather produced sharp contrasts, with snow, wind, warmth, and record cold affecting multiple regions and travel corridors.
According to the National Weather Service Eastern Region, January 2026 finished drier than normal overall, despite several high-impact winter weather events across the East. Snowfall began early in the month, followed by two major systems that defined January’s weather impacts.
On Jan. 1, light snow fell across parts of the Northeast as the year began, with New York City recording 0.5 inches in Central Park. A stronger system followed on Jan. 9, when a cold front moved through western New York with wind gusts reaching 64 mph near Rochester, downing trees and powerlines. Thunderstorms formed ahead of the front, and record high temperatures were set in parts of Ohio.
Unseasonable warmth peaked around Jan. 10, with daily record highs reaching 82 degrees in Savannah, Georgia, and 81 in Augusta, while Raleigh, North Carolina reached 76. Cold conditions returned quickly, and from Jan. 14–16, lake-effect snow produced over a foot in 24 hours in northeast Ohio and western New York, including 14.5 inches near Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
Additional systems from Jan. 17–19 brought accumulating snow across the Northeast, impacting corridors such as I-80, I-90, and I-95. A major storm from Jan. 24–26 dropped heavy snow from the Ohio Valley into southern New England, with Dayton, Ohio recording 24 inches for the month and Boston receiving over eight inches during the storm.
The month ended with another coastal storm, bringing over a foot of snow to parts of eastern North Carolina and record cold in Ohio.
Commuters, students, and young workers experienced repeated travel disruptions due to snow-covered roadways and wind-related outages.
