The following is a guest post from local weather enthusiast Lee Warnick.
February Temperatures
- High temperatures: 29.6° | 3.6 degrees below normal
- Low temperatures: 4.8° | 9.8 degrees below normal
- Zero or below days: 11 | Normal: 4.4
- Highest wind gust: 37 mph on the 3rd
- Number of windy days: 2 | Normal: 4.1
- Highest temperature: 42° on the 29th
- Lowest temperature: -10° on the 20th
- Lowest wind chill: -23° on the 20th and 21st
We had the 11th coldest February highs and tied for the 3rd coldest February lows in 49 years. About those lows, only 1985 (2.4°) and 2002 (3.9°) were colder. Over an 18-day span between the 9th and 26th, we spent less than 30 minutes above freezing.
How cold was February? It was chillier than this winter’s January and December… by a bunch.
The 11 low temps of 0° or below were the most we’ve had in a February since 2002. Our high temps were the lowest since 2011.
February Precipitation
- Precipitation: 0.76 | 97 percent of average
- Snowfall: 12.3 | 135 percent of average
- 2019-20 water year precipitation (5 of 12 months): 4.78″ | 96 percent of average
- 2020 annual precipitation (2 of 12 months): 2.92″ | 160 percent of average
- 2019-20 season snowfall: 63.9″ | 134 percent of average
It pretty well stopped snowing after the first week of February (85 percent of the month’s snow fell in the first week), but there was enough snow in that week to carry us above the month’s average.
You’ve no doubt noticed that even with more than three weeks of very little new snowfall (less than 2 inches, to be precise), we still have a bunch of snow piled up. In the 24 years I’ve been compiling snow cover statistics, I’ve never observed more snow still on the ground on March 1. Our snow typically starts melting at a more rapid pace the last half of February, but this February was so cold, that didn’t happen. Let’s hope for a gradual March melt-off; there’s a LOT of moisture sitting there.
As usual, you can check the National Weather Service for our local area HERE.