January Singularities in the Northeast from a Statistical Viewpoint

Abstract

Daily maximum and minimum temperature changes in January over 112 recorded years at Central Park, New York, were analyzed from a statistical viewpoint. The case study reveals that time series of mean and median changes are not smooth, that the data are highly variable, that a longer period of record is needed to develop stable statistical distributional relationships, and that there is a tendency, but not conclusive evidence, for a cooling event around 8 January and a ?January thaw? around 25 January.