January 2007 clocked out two weeks ago as the warmest January on record around the globe, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. For the United States, it was just average. Read more about it here.  For Maryland, January averaged 38.7 degrees. That was 6.4 degrees above the long-term average for a January at BWI.

February, on the other hand, is running very cold. We've averaged just 25.6 degrees through Wednesday at BWI. That's 8.3 degrees below the long-term average, and tied with 1979 for the second-coldest February on record for Baltimore, going back to 1871. The coldest February on the books was in 1934, when the city averaged just 24.3 degrees.

It's costing us money. We're running 28 percent ahead of normal on heating degree-days so far this month. That means we've called on 28 percent more heating energy than the long-term average. Still, for the heating season so far, we remain ahead of the game by about 10 percent, thanks to a mild December and January.

We still have half the month to run, of course, and we're headed for the mid-40s next week - a shade above the norms. By the 28th, this month may well have faded back into temperature obscurity.

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