Virginia:
Annandale
- Lowell reports:"
February was a little drier and colder than average. The snowfall was the
opposite of last February, the snowiest on record here, whereas this year
only 0.1 inches of frozen precipitation occurred as sleet. This is the
least since 1990 when only a trace occurred. The 2.59 inches of
precipitation was a departure of - 0.47 inches. All of the precipitation
fell in only four days; the previous least number of days on record was
five days in 1987. The mean temperature departure for the month was - 1.5°F.
The 16% low relative humidity on the 29th was the lowest recorded in
February since 1990 when 13% was recorded. We also went 17 days with
no precipitation, which is a new 24-year record for February, and the
driest period since 2001 ( October 17 - November 19 ) when we set the
24-year record of 34 days.
It was the eleventh coldest February in the last 24-years on record.
The lowest temperature was 14°F on the 1st that was the lowest minimum
temperature in February since 1996 other than the 14øF minimum of February
last year. February had 26 days with the minimum temperature at or below
freezing that is the most since 1995, which also had 26 days.
This was the third clearest February in the last 23-years of records.
(No records in 1986) The 1.66" rain on the 6th was the fourth greatest
precipitation in a calendar day ever recorded in February.
The maximum gust of 42 mph from the west on the 21st at 1400 was the
strongest wind gust recorded this month.
The maximum barometer reading of 30.62 inches on the 5th was the
highest recorded in February since 2001 when 30.73 inches was recorded.
The winter season (Dec. - Feb.) precipitation departure was only +0.60
inches but it was the fifth coldest winter
on record here in the last 24-years with a -4.5°F temperature departure.
Last year's winter was the third coldest winter season.
Only 4 February DAILY Records Tied or Broken- (24-Years of records):
daily HIGH maximum, 29th;
daily HIGH range, 29th;
daily HIGH precipitation record, 6th;
daily HIGH snowfall record, 5th.
" [ - - ]
Arlington
- NWS WBC reports:
"
NO RECORDS WERE BROKEN AT WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT IN FEBRUARY.
THE DELUGE OF OUR SECOND WETTEST YEAR IN OVER A HUNDRED YEARS WAS
BROKEN BY THE SEVENTH DRIEST JANUARY ON RECORD. WHAT WAS TO FOLLOW
FOR FEBRUARY? ACTUALLY...IT WAS A REMARKABLY AVERAGE MONTH.
AFTER THE FOURTH COLDEST JANUARY IN A GENERATION...FEBRUARY HAD ITS
WARM DAYS AND ITS COLD DAYS. BUT IN THE END...THE HIGH TEMPERATURES
AND LOW TEMPERATURES BOTH AVERAGED OUT TO THEIR NORMALS FOR FEBRUARY.
PRECIPITATION ALSO CAME CLOSE TO THE AVERAGE FOR THE MONTH...ALMOST
ENTIRELY DUE TO A HEAVY RAIN EVENT ON THE 5TH AND 6TH. THAT EVENT
COVERED TWO OF THE FOUR DAYS THAT FEATURED RAIN THIS MONTH...AND
MORE THAN SEVENTY PERCENT OF THE TOTAL PRECIPITATION AMOUNT FOR THE
MONTH. THERE EVEN WAS SOME MINOR FLOODING DURING THAT EVENT.
SNOWFALL WAS THE ONLY THING THAT WAS EXCEPTIONAL THIS MONTH...AND
THAT WAS THE LACK OF IT. ONLY A TRACE OF FROZEN PRECIPITATION FELL
THIS MONTH...AND EVEN THAT WAS ONLY SLEET MIXED IN WITH THE RAIN
DURING THE EARLY STAGES OF OUR LARGE EARLY MONTH RAIN STORM. IT WAS
THE FIRST FEBRUARY IN WASHINGTON WITHOUT MEASURABLE SNOWFALL IN SIX
YEARS.
The monthly precipitation was 0.35" BELOW normal while the average temperature was
normal.
" [ +/- - ]
Blacksburg
- NWS Blacksburg reports the monthly mean temp was 0.5° ABOVE normal
while rainfall was 0.01" ABOVE normal. The average wind speed was 5.4
MPH. [ + + ]
Bridgewater
- "
The average temperature was about normal. The precipitation was .45"
above normal. Most of the precipitation came during the first week
of the month. The last three weeks were rather dry with only .04"
occurring.
The heavy snowfall on the 3rd was quite a surprise. Only an inch or
two was forecasted. Bridgewater got 7.5" while places close by got
only an inch or less. My cutoff for any measurable snowfall is April 15.
However, the chances of snow after March 1 go down considerably. Usually,
we get one snow in March.
On the 29th, the temperature rose 47° from an early morning
low of 20° to a high of 67. The high temperature for the month was
67° and the lowest was 5°.
" - report from Clayton [ +/- + ]
Centreville
- "
February doesn't offer much material to write about this
time around. The overall monthly average temperature came in at 3.4° above
our 33.9° normal for a 37.3° reading in our average of averages column.
Even our extremes weren't extreme enough to get all excited about.
A maximum of 68° on February 29th (bet it won't do that for a while)
was logged as the hottest high temperature of the month; a 24.4° change to
the plus side over our 44.4° average high. That gave some of us a
feeling that we were about to springboard straight into May, and bypass
April all together. Our lows were low all right, with 24 of `em being
at or below 32° in February, but not low enough to set any records.
Our lowest was 14° on February 2nd, and that was a carryover from a
cool shot at the end of January. A far cry of -17° from 25 years ago.
Only three days had lows in the teens this month. Our published average
low of 23.3° was exceeded by 4.8° for our 28.1° average monthly low for
February.
Remarks about precipitation aren't any more exciting than the comments
on our temperatures. First, the snow, a trace; done. Frozen precip.,
a trace; done. Other- some, so let me explain. We accumulated a
remarkable 1.90" of rain for the month of February, coming in short by 1.03"
of meeting our expected 2.93" for the traditionally driest month of the year.
Two-thirds of that rain, or 1.26" fell as a frozen mix of this, that, and
the other. The other being light steady rain. After twenty-three hours
of "darn, this stuff is tough to measure", a dry spell ensued until the
24th when we picked up our final 0.09" for the month. So far, we
are running at 57% of normal water for the year.
" - notes from Paul [ + - ]
Charlottesville
- The monthly average temperature was 1.9° BELOW normal while rainfall
was 1.13" BELOW normal. The average wind speed was 4.8 mph. - from NWS WBC
[ - - ]
Danville
- The monthly average temperature
was 2.0° BELOW normal while rainfall was 0.53" BELOW normal. [ - - ]
Dulles
- The mean temp was normal. The monthly rainfall was
0.84" BELOW normal. Average wind speed, 6.2 mph. - from NWS WBC [ -/+ - ]
Falls Church -
"
What a difference from last February!!!!! I had a little over 26 inches of
snowfall for the month as opposed to this years zero. This month, I had
3 days with freezing rain/ice and my driveway was an ice skating rink
until mid month! Overall the month was warmer and drier. I really can't
complain :o) A cold start to the month but it ended on a mild note.
" - report from Erica [ M M ]
Herndon
- Bob sends these notes:"
My average MAX temp was 2.5° BELOW the Dulles "normal"
and the average MIN was 1.8° ABOVE.
Dulles is about 4 miles WSW and its normal is the 1971-2000 average.
" - [ - - ]
Herndon
- Russ notes:"
February let us off fairly easy. The monthly temperature
was 3.2 degrees below average and precipitation was 0.46"
below average. We only received a dusting of snow, which
occurred on the 5th. Frozen precipitation dominated the
unusually dry month. We had freezing rain and sleet on the
3rd. A dusting of snow with 1/4" of sleet and freezing
rain fell on the 5th. We had another 1/4" of ice from
freezing rain, which fell on the 6th. Warm air started to
filter in, causing dense fog on the 6th and 7th.
" - [ - - ]
Lexington
- "
Mean Max for the month was 6.4 degrees below normal while Mean Min was 1.0
degree below normal. 1.5 inches of snow/sleet was recorded which is 3.5 inches
above normal.
WREL has added numerous weather stations to our Mid-Atlantic Mesomap. The map
now covers from Bluefield, WV to Ocean City, MD. Place your cursor over any
temperature for current conditions. URL address is: http://www.wrel.com/mesomap.htm.
" - report from Scott at WREL-AM Radio [ - - ]
Louisa
- "
Lack of rain fall starting to tell around here. My fire department was
called to 14 brush/grass/woods fires the last two days in Feb! Sure is fun
raking and breathing smoke !
" - report from Joe [ M - ]
Lynchburg
- Rainfall for the month was 1.03" BELOW normal while the mean temp was
1.5° BELOW normal. The average wind speed was 5.0 MPH.
[ - - ] -from NWS Blacksburg
New Market
- Joyce sends these notes:
"
We were colder than usual by 4° for the month. Also most of our precip was
in the first 5 days of the month. Snow from Jan and early Feb. stayed on
the ground for several weeks during the coldest part of the month.
Only 4 days with any snow melt or rain.
"
- [ - M ]
Norfolk
- NWS AKQ noted the average temperature in Norfolk was 0.6° ABOVE normal.
The month's rainfall was 1.52" BELOW normal. The average wind speed was 10.1 mph.
- [ + - ]
Norfolk
- The Fred Heutte Center, in Historic
Ghent reports the average wind speed was 4.6 mph from a dominant NNE direction.
Portsmouth
- "
A slightly colder and rather dry winter month here. New station records were established in the database to 1976,
including:
6TH - TEMPERATURE MAXIMUM 72° [PREVIOUSLY 62° IN 1990];
7TH - TEMPERATURE MAXIMUM 64° [PREVIOUSLY 62° IN 1990];
15TH - PRECIPITATION - SNOWFALL 1.2" [PREVIOUSLY 0.5" 1986].
On two occasions, the high temps reached the lower 70s but the month clearly ended
with a string of alternating warmer/colder than normal days. The month ended
with a slight negative temp departure. Rainfall on the other hand was significantly lower
than normal. A rather high number of days with some type of fog (10) but only 1 day
with dense fog. A cold snap from the 15th through the 17th brought a light snowfall on the 15th (see records above).
The average sky cover was 47% and the average sea-level
pressure was 30.16". For the year-to-date, temps continued to run below normal
(-1.5°) while rainfall was only 48% of the norm at the end of February.
"
- [ - - ]
Mechanicsville
- Glenn reports: "Brief periods of snow during the month with
some quite large flakes on the 17th, some of the largest I've
ever seen."
[ M M ]
Richmond
- NWS AKQ reported the mean temp at RIC was 0.8° BELOW normal. Rainfall
was 1.11" BELOW normal. The average wind speed was 8.0 mph.
- [ - - ]
Ruther Glen
- From Danny: "
February brought a continuation of the below average temperature and
precipitation trend that began in January. For a month that historically
brings our biggest snowfalls, it was a bit surprising to have zero
snowfall with temperatures as cold as they were.
" - [- -]
Roanoke
- Wendell reports:"
The temp average at 37.6 was about as normal as you can get.
(-0.1°). Rainfall was below normal while snowfall total was
1" below normal.
" - [ - - ]
Roanoke
- NWS Blacksburg reports that the Roanoke airport monthly mean temp was 0.6° BELOW normal.
Rainfall was 0.81" BELOW normal. [ - - ]
Woodstock
- "
Cool (6th of 19 years) and snowy. Snow on the ground for the first
20 days of February. Third wettest February in 19 years, with some
minor flooding on the Shenandoah.
" - from Lauck [ - + ]
North
Carolina:
Asheville
- from NWS GSP. The monthly mean temp was 0.7°`BELOW and the
rainfall was 0.37" ABOVE normal. The average wind speed was 6.4 mph.
[ - + ]
Charlotte
- NWS GSP reports the mean temp here was 5.2° BELOW normal and precip
was normal. The average wind speed was 6.4 mph.
- [ - +/- ]
Elizabeth
City - The Elizabeth City Coast Guard Station [ECG] reported an average
wind speed of 11.1 mph. The mean temp was 1.8° BELOW normal while rainfall
was 1.32" BELOW normal. The average relative humidity was % while the average
sky cover was %. - from NWS AKQ [ - - ]
Fayetteville
- NWS RDU reports the average wind speed was 8.3 mph. The average sky cover
was 40% and the average relative humidity was 63%.
Greensboro
- NWS RDU notes a mean temp here that was 2.5° BELOW normal. Rainfall was
0.69" BELOW normal.
- [ - - ]
Hickory
- The average wind speed was 5.4 mph. The average monthly temperature was 2.6°
BELOW normal while rainfall was 0.06" BELOW normal. - from NWS GSP [ - - ]
Lumberton
- The average wind speed was 8.0 mph. The average monthly temperature was 1.5°
BELOW normal while rainfall was 1.49" ABOVE normal - from NWS ILM [ - + ]
Raleigh
-
NWS RDU reports the average daily temperatures were 1.6° BELOW normal while
precipitation was 0.15" BELOW normal. The average wind speed
was 6.4 mph. The average sky cover was 60% and the average relative humidity
was 65%.
" - [ - - ]
Raleigh
- Bob notes: "
February turned out to be quite active with frozen precipitation occurring
on three different events. The greatest snowfall occurred during the night
of February 26th through the morning of February 27th when 6" accumulated.
There were areas nearby that recorded more snow. The total snowfall for
February was 8.8".
" - [ M M ]
Roxboro
- Merriell sends these notes:"
February temperatures averaged near normal. Rainfall was
one-third short of the normal. Five rounds of wintry weather
passed through the area but nothing major in terms of injuries or
damage. There were many school and business closings during
the passage of these storms.
" - [ -/+ - ]
Wilmington
- From NWS ILM: The average temp was 3.3° BELOW normal while rainfall
was 2.34" BELOW normal. The average wind speed was 8.3 mph.
A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE (78°) SET ON 4TH. PREVIOUS RECORD HIGH 76° SET IN 2000.
A RECORD 24-HR RAINFALL (1.56") SET ON 26TH. PREVIOUS RECORD 1.18" SET IN 1895.
- [ - - ]
South
Carolina:
Anderson
- NWS GSP reports the monthly mean temp was 3.3° BELOW normal.
rainfall was 0.61" BELOW normal. The average wind speed was 7.1 mph. -
[ - - ]
Charleston
- NWS CHS reports the monthly mean temp was 2.9° BELOW normal. Rainfall
was 1.32" ABOVE normal. The average wind speed was 9.7 mph. - [ - + ]
Columbia
- NWS CAE reports that the mean temp here was 3.2° BELOW normal. Rainfall
was a 0.93" ABOVE normal. The average wind speed was 7.0 mph. -
[ - + ]
Florence
- The mean temp here was 3.9° BELOW normal while rainfall totals were
0.69" ABOVE normal. The average wind speed was 8.6 mph.
- from NWS ILM
[ - + ]
Greenville-Spartanburg
- The monthly mean temperature was 2.7° BELOW normal while rainfall
was 0.28" ABOVE normal. The average wind speed was 7.1 mph. - from NWS
GSP [ - + ]
North
Myrtle Beach - The mean temp was 2.5° BELOW normal while rainfall
was 1.84" ABOVE normal. The average wind speed was 8.3 mph.
" - data from NWS ILM [ - + ]
Orangeburg
- NWS CAE reports the average wind speed here was 5.8 mph.
Nearby
Cities:
Tri-Cities
-
"
The average monthly temperature at Tri-Cities was 38.6 degrees, which was
0.6 degrees above normal. No daily records were broken. The coldest February
at Tri-Cities was back in 1958, when the average temperature was only 28.1
degrees. The average seasonal temperature at Tri-Cities was 36.0 degrees, which was 0.5 degrees below normal. The coldest winter at Tri-Cities was back in 1976-77, when the average temperature was 30.0 degrees.
Tri-Cities received 3.37 inches of precipitation during February, which was 0.03 inches below normal. Measurable precipitation occurred on eleven days. The heaviest precipitation fell on the 6th, when 1.08 inches were recorded. The wettest February at Tri-Cities was back in 1994, when 7.75 inches fell.
Tri-Cities received 9.45 inches of precipitation this winter, which was 0.86 inches below normal. It ranked as the 25th driest winter on record at Tri-Cities. The driest winter at Tri-Cities was back in 1940-41, when only 4.54 inches fell."
- from NWS MRX [ + - ]