Is It Winter Yet?

It's actually an average January, temperature-wise, so far. There's just no snow.

Gonna fly now: Hayden Tomaszewski sleds down the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum in January 2011 | Photograph by Matt Rourke, AP

Remember this? | Photograph by Matt Rourke, AP

Is it winter yet?

Technically, the coldest season started a few weeks ago, right before Christmas, but unseasonably warm temperatures without a snow could easily leave one confused. It felt like spring in the days leading up to that holiday.

But it’s cold today! A high of just 36 degrees is forecast. Are we in for any kind of consistently cold weather yet?

No, not really. Accuweather is forecasting a warming to the 40s tomorrow, highs in the 30s on Wednesday and Thursday, then warming through the weekend before settling back into the 30s again next week.

Then again: Accuweather says the average high in Philly this week will be 40 degrees. In fact, that’s the usual monthly average high for the city during the month of January, according to U.S. Climate Data, and January tends to be the coldest month of the year here.

So really, this is a pretty average January — snow excepted — for Philadelphia. If it seems still warm, well: No snow or ice means it might not feel as bad as it would otherwise — and, well, the absolutely frozen winters of 2014 and 2015 might’ve made this relatively balmy season seem even warmer than it should.