February in Review... Up Next: March

February is over, so this is the time to look back and see how 2013 stacks up.

With the exception of no 'major' winter storms, February followed a very typical winter pattern, resulting in an average monthly temperature just below normal, and monthly snowfall totals just above normal.

 

Average Monthly Temp: 28.3°
Actual Monthly Temp: 26.8°

Departure from Normal: -1.5°

 

Average Monthly Snowfall: 9.4"
Actual Monthly Snowfall: 12.4"
Departure from Normal: +3.0"

Meteorologically speaking, March 1st is the beginning of Spring. I know the actual first day of spring isn't until March 20th, but for compiling data and consistent record keeping, let's say February 28th is the last day of winter. Therefore:

 

2012 Dec-Mar snowfall: 15.7"
2013 Dec-Mar snowfall: 22.5"
Avg. Dec-Mar snowfall: 28.4"

2013 Departure from Normal: -5.9"

So even though we've blown last year's December-March snowfall totals out of the water, we've still landed below the 'norm'. Perhaps it is because of the lack of any one 'big' winter storm?
*Notice* February's total snowfall was accountable for over 50% of the season's total snowfall. Not bad for the shortest month of the year ;)

 

The shortest month yielded the most snow!

 

Time for a history review:

 

What do you remember about March 2012??

For me, the memory that stands out the most, is waiting for the St. Patrick's Day parade to begin while sweating bullets and drinking bottle after bottle of.... water.

 March 2012 was VERY warm. The warmest on record, in fact, yielding 11 Days above 70°, shattering the old record of 5 days set in 1995.

80s in March? Not this year.

So where are we, one year later? Not even close.

At this time of year, average high temps should be in the lower 40s and average lows should be in the middle 20s. We will approach that towards the middle and end of next week.

 

40s and 20s: The norm for March 1st.

FORECAST


So it's a cold start to March.

Highs in the upper 20s and lower 30s Friday, and through the weekend. Cloudy and breezy.

The sun makes an appearance several times over the next few days, but it will struggle to help warm us up much. Keep the parka handy! We're not done with the cold, or the snow, yet this season.