January in Seattle

The Smith Tower, a Seattle landmark completed in 1914.  It was the tallest building in Seattle until 1962, when the Space Needle was completed.

Witch Hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia) blooming in the Waterfall Garden.

The Pioneer Building, completed in 1892 & designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977.  All photos were taken in Pioneer Square on 1/15/14.  Some of Seattle's oldest buildings are here.  They date back to 1889, when a fire destroyed the wooden buildings that came before.  This was the original downtown Seattle.

January 2014 in Seattle was warmer & drier than usual.  The mean temperature was 44.3F/6.83C.  The normal mean temperature is 42F/5.56C.  The highest temperature was 58F/14.44C on 1/11, the lowest 31F/-0.56C on 1/5 & 1/6.  Total precipitation was 3.7 inches/93.9mm.  Normal precipitation is 5.57 inches/141.48mm.  This was the 4th month with significantly lower rainfall.  The Seattle Times published an article about the potential shortage in the municipal water supply, if this weather pattern persists.  There was 1 day with heavy rain, 9 days with rain, 15 days with light rain, 28 days with fog (17 with visibility at less than 1/4 mile) 22 cloudy days,  8 partly cloudy days & 1 fair day.  My mother said she had never seen so much fog.  I liked the fog.  But this January seemed very dark with so many cloudy days.

January in Seattle

Lincoln Park January 2013

Kerry Park January 2013

Thuja plicata on Queen Anne Hill January 2013

Seattle Center January 2013

Liquidambar styraciflua in Wedgwood January 2013

January 2013 in Seattle was significantly colder & drier than normal.  The mean temperature was 38.2F/3.44C.  The normal mean temperature is 42F/5.55C.  The highest temperature was 53F/11.66C on 1/8, the lowest was 24F/-4.44C on 1/13.  Total precipitation was 4.16 inches.  Normal precipitation is 5.57 inches.  There was 1 day with heavy rain, 2 days with rain, 17 days with light rain, 1 day with light snow, 25 days with fog, 11 days of fog with visibility at less than 1/4 mile, 4 days with haze, 23 cloudy days, 5 partly cloudy days & 3 fair days.      

It was very unusual that no rain fell for 12 days between 1/11 & 1/22.  It was fairly cold, with highs mostly below 40F/4.44C & lows below freezing every night.  But even without rain, it was very moist.  The ground remained wet, with frost every morning & thin ice in places.  6 consecutive days of fog came at the end of this period, sometimes quite heavy & lingering throughout the day.  The weather returned to normal on 1/23 with rain & temperatures well above freezing.  The fog was beautiful, yet oddly inhibiting.  I did not go out walking, or work in the garden.

January Garden Pictures

Sunrise from the Cascadia Garden January 2012

Berberis thunbergii 'Crimson Pygmy' January 2012

Agave toumeyana January 2012

Helleborus x hybridus January 2012

 Paeonia suffruticosa January 2012

January 2012 was colder & wetter, with much more snow than normal.  The mean temperature was 39.7F/4.3C, 2.3 degrees lower than normal.  The highest temperature was 55F/12.7C on January 1, the lowest 26F/-3.3C on January 15.  Total precipitation was 6.83 inches, 1.26 more than normal.  Total snowfall was 9.6 inches, 8.2 inches more than normal.  There were 2 fair days, 6 partly cloudy days & 23 cloudy days, with light rain on 21 days, rain on 9 days, light snow on 7 days, snow on 3 days, sleet on 1 day & fog on 22 days.  2.4 inches of snow fell on January 15, then 0.1 on January 16.  That melted on January 17.  6.8 inches fell on January 18, then 0.3 on January 19.  Seattle was pretty much at a standstill on those 4 snow-covered days.  The 2nd snowfall lingered as slush for 3 additional days, making driving & walking difficult.  I didn't leave the house for 5 days, except to shake snow from the branches of evergreen shrubs.  There was 1 large broken limb on Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Tempelhof' & several broken branches on Senecio munroi in the sidewalk garden.  Someone had dumped a heap of frozen snow on it from the roof of their car.  I cursed them for that.  Erica arborea 'Estrella Gold' leaned at an alarming angle under the weight of snow, but returned to an upright position once it had melted.  The last big snowfall, in December of 2008, caused much more damage to the garden.

January Garden Pictures & Bloom Times

Cyclamen coum January 2011

Erica x darleyensis 'Goldrush' January 2011

Helleborus lividus January 2011

Paeonia suffruticosa 'Zi Er Giao'

 Primula x juliana 'Wanda' January 2010

Below is a list of plants that began to bloom in my garden in Seattle in January 2011. I recorded the date when the 1st flower opened, not when they were in bud. Not very many plants bloomed in my garden in January.  Nurseries in Seattle usually sell plants when they are in bloom. I have included dates from previous years. Weather conditions probably account for most of the difference in bloom times.

01-05-11  Veronica pectinata 3-05-10, 4-06-09, 3-30-08
01-21-11  Primula elatior 2-25-10, 3-2-09
01-25-11  Euphorbia rigida 1-20-10, 2-12-09, 1-19-08
01-26-11  Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Pallida’ 1-20-10, 1-20-09
01-27-11  Iris ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ 1-25-10, 2-10-08
01-27-11  Mahonia aquifolium 1-28-10, 3-13-08
01-29-11  Helleborus x hybridus 1-15-10, 1-17-09, 1-26-08