ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — If you love warm, mild winters, Tampa Bay is the place for you. On average, Tampa, Florida is one of the warmest parts of the country in January.
Warmer than Houston? Yep. Houston averages a high in the low 60s for most of January.
San Diego? There too. San Diego averages about 64-degrees each day in January.
Phoenix is even cooler than Tampa, with an average high of 67 degrees.
In Tampa, the average high each day is 70 degrees.
To get the average high temperature, you have plenty of cooler and warmer days all added up. No matter how you slice it, Tampa is one great place to escape the winter cold that most of the country is locked into for months.
Just for fun, let’s look at the extreme temperatures that can happen in Tampa. The hottest weather ever recorded in January was 86 degrees. It was done twice. January 1, 1991 and again on January 31, 2002.
The coldest day ever occurred on January 29, 1897, when the high temperature only reached 37 degrees. Beach anyone?
The coldest night ever might surprise you. We’re talking “up north” kind of cold. On January 21, 1985, the temperature plummeted to 21 degrees.
This was due to the 1985 North American cold wave that shattered record lows all over the eastern half of the country. At least 126 deaths were blamed on the cold snap. Some 90 percent of the citrus crop in Florida was destroyed in what the state called the "Freeze of the Century." Florida's citrus industry suffered $1.2 billion in losses.
The inauguration of President Ronald Reagan for his second term was held in the Capitol Rotunda instead of outside due to the cold weather, canceling the inaugural parade in the process.
As far as rain, Tampa doesn’t see a lot in January. The average rainfall for the month is just 2.23-inches. In 1950, only a trace of rain fell the entire month.
The bottom line, January weather in Tampa is usually very mild and comfortable with lots of sun and low humidity.
Enjoy this great time of the year, but share photos on social media with your friends and family up north at your own risk. They may accuse you of “rubbing it in."
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