SEATTLE (AP) -- January's warm temperatures in Western Washington may set a record.
Through Thursday, the average temperature at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport was 46.9 degrees. That would top the previous record of 46.6 degrees set in 2006. Records have been kept there since 1945.
In a typical January, the average temperature at the airport is 40.9 degrees. The average high temperature is 47 degrees. That means this January's average temperature is close to the average high temperature for the month in previous years.
Many cities in Western Washington -- such as Seattle, Olympia and Bellingham -- are also close to record marks for January. The warmer-than-normal weather can largely be attributed to El Nino, which is a cyclical warming of the eastern Pacific Ocean. The warming switches weather patterns all over North America every few years.
