There is some question around if Google did a local search ranking algorithm update this past January 31st. Some local SEOs said they saw some drops or changes for their clients and even the BrightLocal tool showed some fluctuations for that day.
The Local Search Forums has some chatter around it over the past couple of weeks. Max said on January 31, 2020 "Have a client who dropped 15-20 spots overnight for several prominent keywords in maps. Has there been another update or bug?" John responded "We dropped slightly (a couple of spots) for a couple of keyword phrases we track. I came here wondering the same thing. Is this an update, or a bug, or has anyone else noticed a change?"
Others also said they saw changes on that date for their local pack listings for their clients.
The BrightLocal Local Rank Flux chart shows a change around then too:
Joy Hawkins implied it was normal, she said "I have found that rankings in competitive industries (like legal) are almost always choppy. The larger the city, the more it will fluctuate. Here is a completely normal graph over 30 days." This is from WhiteSpark:
There has not been a confirmed local update since November 2019 and Google did not confirm that update until December.
This is unrelated to the big Google search update from this weekend that is still unconfirmed.
Forum discussion at Local Search Forums.
