The year of 2023 has already been a crazy weather year in the Valley. The residents of Youngstown have experienced record warmth, severe weather, and record cold. The half way point of 2023 is a little over a month a way, so here is a look back on some of the crazy weather from the first half of the year.
January
The beginning of 2023 started off relatively tame. There were no records broken in the month of January, but it was the 6th warmest January on record in regards to average temperature.
| Rank | Average Temperature | Year |
| 1 | 40.7 | 1932 |
| 2 | 39.0 | 1933 |
| 3 | 36.8 | 2006 |
| 4 | 36.0 | 1950 |
| 5 | 35.5 | 1937 |
| 6 | 35.5 | 2023 |
| 7 | 34.9 | 1990 |
| 8 | 34.0 | 1998 |
| 9 | 34.0 | 2020 |
| 10 | 33.5 | 1949 |
These warm temperatures were a precursor to what we would experience in the month of Feburary.
February
February was an incredible month in regards to warm temperatures in Youngstown. Record high temperatures were broken on February 15th and February 23rd when the high temperature reached 69°F on both of those days.
In regards to the average high temperature, February 2023 was the warmest February on record with an average high temperature of 48.8°F. Additionally, it was the 2nd least snowiest February on record with only 0.4″ of snow recorded at the Youngstown/Warren Regional Airport.
| Rank | Total Snowfall (inches) | Year |
| 1 | T | 1998 |
| 2 | 0.4 | 2023 |
| 3 | 1.4 | 1943 |
| 4 | 1.6 | 1938 |
| 5 | 2.4 | 1937 |
| 6 | 2.6 | 1992 |
| 7 | 3.6 | 1942 |
| 8 | 3.7 | 1987 |
| – | 3.7 | 1949 |
| 10 | 4.6 | 2004 |
March
March was a relatively tame month…until the very end. There were not temperature records broken during March and it was cooler relative to normal than January and February.
However, on March 25th, a strong storm system moved through the Valley which produced the first of two major damaging wind events. The March 25th was more localized to the Valley with numerous damage reports of downed trees, powerlines, and structural damage.
April
One week later, a stronger storm system brought another round of severe thunderstorms and damaging wind gusts to the Valley on April 1st. This event was more widespread and impacting locations from the Midwest all the way to the northeastern United States.
Once again, this storm system resulted in numerous power outages, damage to trees/structures, and unfortunately a fatality.
Overall, there were nearly 400 reports of damaging wind gusts on April 1st, with many of those occurring in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
The middle of April featured an early look at some spring temperatures. Record high temperatures were broken on April 5th (81°F), April 13th (83°F), and April 16th (86°F) and the airport went without 9 days of recorded precipitation from April 7th through April 15th. The month of April finished on a cooler note, but it was still the 10th warmest April of all time in regards to the high temperature with an average high temperature of 63.8°F.
May
The start of May flipped the script of 2023 entirely. The first few days of May feature cold temperatures and a mix of rain and snow showers. Temperatures the first 3 days of May were around 20 degrees below average . On May 2nd, a record low high temperature was recorded at the Youngstown/Warren Regional Airport when the temperature only reached 44°F for a high.
There was another cold snap on May 18th when the low temperature nearly broke a record with a value of 31°F in the morning.
Thankfully, the end of May is looking very nice in regards to the temperature and precipitation. Who knows? There might be some more records broken before all is said and done.
