ACON - VA/NC/SC
The Atlantic Coast Observer Network:   Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina
http://members.cox.net/wxr/acon.htm

SUMMARY OF CLIMATOLOGICAL DATA 
FEBRUARY 2004

...A COLDER FEBRUARY...
...MANY STATIONS WITH BELOW NORMAL RAINFALL -
BUT THERE WERE EXCEPTIONS...

Your data tell as much. Indeed there were some exceptions, as always, but the pattern held true for most. The big event clearly was the surprise snowstorm late in the month where up to 20 inches of heavy, wet snow was measured in southwestern North Carolina and up to 12 inches of wet snow in north-central South Carolina! Low pressure moved across the Southeast, pulling a wedge of cold air into our central areas. Where the cold penetrated at critical levels where abundant moisture flowed into the wedge, the heavy snow resulted. The unexpected high accumulations of snow kept the National Weather Service hopping over a 24-hour period. Some of the moisture made it across southern Virginia, but the bulk of precip occurred across the Tar Heel state. For much of Virginia, February was a snowless month, well-below normal expectations for the state, particularly in the western mountains extending across the northern half of the Old Dominion. However, Lauck Walton in Woodstock reported his 3rd wettest February in 19 years. Erica Page (Falls Church, VA) reminds us that just one year ago, the February snowfall there measured 26 inches!
                    

  • MAJOR CAROLINAS SNOW EVENT Steve Jascourt, Roger Rafler and Kevin Shaw of ACON MD/DE/DC sent along two links for the surprising, major snowstorm of February 26th and 27th, 2004 that affected most all of North Carolina and parts of SC and Southern Virginia. Greatest snowfall amounts were recorded in southern and western North Carolina. Here are two links- the first for North Carolina - depicting snowfall accumulations in the storm area: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~nwsfo/storage/cases/20040226/accum.20040227.gif and http://www.erh.noaa.gov/cae/snowfall.htm.


  • NORTH CAROLINA MONTHLY SUMMARIES The National Weather Service Raleigh is now posting a monthly summary for North Carolina on its climate subpage at its web site. These reports are narrative summaries of the weather that affected North Carolina during a given month. The summaries are not all inclusive nor are they intended for technical audiences but rather for users who desire broad summary of the weather for a given month. Check them out at: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/rah/climate/index.html.


  • REMINDER All National Weather Service station data listed herein is preliminary and may be subject to change.  The data has not been certified and cannot be used in legal actions.  Only reports certified by the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, NC may be used for these purposes.

ACON VA/NC/SC Member Station Extremes - FEBRUARY 2004
State
Maximum Temperature
Minimum
Temperature
Warmest
Average
Temperature
Coldest
Average
Temperature
Maximum
Precipitation
Minimum
Precipitation
Virginia
75°
Norfolk (ORF)

New Market
42.6°
Norfolk (ORF)
32.46°
New Market
3.03"
Blacksburg
1.44"
Chesterfield
North Carolina
74°
Wilmington
16°
Raleigh (RAL)
44.9°
Wilmington
38.3°
Asheville
5.28"
Wilmington
1.78"
Elizabeth City
South Carolina
75°
Charleston
Florence
23°
Anderson
Columbia
47.8°
Charleston
41.7°
Greenville-Spartanburg
6.20"
Orangeburg
3.54"
Anderson

(Please note the column denotations table below.)
TEMPERATURE / WINDS/ ELEMENTS

VIRGINIA
[Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]
STN  A      B    C      C1    D      E F     G    H I  J K L  M     N  O P Q R R1 S
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
ANN 44.83 27.31 36.07 -1.5  65    29 14    1   0  0 26 0 42 W    21  0 0 3 2  1 2400
BCB 44.7  23.3  34.0  +0.5  63    29  5    1   0  2 27 0 37 300° 21  0 0 3 2  0 2400 
BRI 46.4  23.9  35.2   0.0  67    29  5    1   0  0 28 0             0 0 1 1  0 2400
CEN 46.4  28.1  37.3  +3.4  68    29 14    7   0  1 24 0 35 336°  7  0 0 2 1  0 2400
CHO 47.5  26.1  36.8  -1.9  69    29  9    1   0  0 25 0 35 280° 21  0 0 3 0  2 2400 
CTR 54.4  25.4  39.0        72.7  20 16.1  1   0  0 23 0 26 SW   21  0 0 0 0  0 2400 
DAN 47.7  27.7  37.7  -2.0  68    20 14   16   0  1 27 0 33 310° 21  0 1 1 0  5 2400
                                                         33 010° 26
DCA 46.6  29.7  38.1   0.0  66    29 15    1   0  0 20 0 38 310°  7  0 0 3 2  1 2400
IAD 44.9  24.7  34.8   0.0  67    29  5    2   0  2 27 0 40 310°  4  0 0 3 3  2 2400
FCH 44.1  30.1  37.1        65    29 18    1   0  1 17 0             0 0 3 0  0 2400 
HER 43.0  25.9  34.4  -2.5  63.0  29  9.9  2   0  2 28 0 24       8  0 0 0 0    2400
HRN 43.5  25.8  34.9  -3.2  65.4  29 11.9  2   0  3 28 0 32      21  0 0 3 2  2 2400 
LKU 47.9  22.9  35.4  -2.0  69.0  29  9    1   0  0 25 0 28 WNW  13  0 0 1 0  0 2400 
LYH 47.0  25.7  36.3  -1.5  67    29 15 2,16   0  0 26 0 35 050° 27  0 0 3 0  2 2400 
LXI 43.3  25.1  34.0        64.4  29  7.5  1   0  0 28 0 40 W    21  0 0 0 1  2 2400
NEW 44.31 20.62 32.46 -4.0  66    29  0    1   0  0 27 1 35 W     1  0 0 1 0  0 1800
NPN 50.1  29.9  40.0        70  6,20 19  1,2   0  0 21 0 32 W    21  0 0 0 1  1 2400
NOR 49.1  32.2  40.7  -0.9  72     6 23    1   0  1 15 0             0 0 0 3  0 2400 
ORF 50.3  34.9  42.6  +0.6  75     6 23    1   0  0 10 0 44 050° 15  0 0 2 2  1 2400
FHC             41.9        70.6   6 23.8  1   0  0  9 0 33 023° 15             2400 
POR 51.6  32.5  42.1  -0.6  72     6 22    1   0  0 15 0 38 293° 31  0 0 0 2  1 2400
MEC 48.93 27.86 38.62       71 20,29 10    1   0  0 21 0             0 0 0 0  0 1700
RIC 48.7  28.7  38.7  -0.8  70 20,29 16    1   0  7 22 0 36 280° 21  0 0 0 0  2 2400
RGL 48.8  26.29 37.5  -2.0  69    29 12    1   0  0 26 0 15 SSW  21  0 0 2 0  0 2400
ROA 48.0  28.9  38.5  -0.6  67    29 17    1   0  0 20 0 40 310°  7  0 0 3 2  2 2400
ROK 48.2  27.1  37.6  -0.1  68    29 13    1   0  0 24 0 33 NW   21  0 0 1 1  0 2230
AKQ 51    28    39.5        70 20,29 13    1   0  0 20 0                        2400 
WEE 48.4  27.8  38.0        70  1,29 12    1   0  0 23 0             0 0 0 1  2 1630
WOO 39.0  27.8  35.7        62    20 11    1   0  3 24 0             0 0 2 1  4 2400
WSH 44.2  27.0  35.6        66.9  29 12.3  1   0  0 23 0 21 WNW  25  0 0 3 2  0 2400
NORTH CAROLINA
[Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]
STN  A      B    C      C1    D      E F    G     H I  J K L  M     N  O P Q R R1 S
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
AVL 47.6  29.0  38.3  -0.7  64    20 19    1   0  0 24 0 32 350°  7  0 0 4 1  3 2400
                                                         32 330°  8             
CLT 50.2  29.7  40.0  -5.2  65 20,21 22   28   0  0 20 0 33 220° 20  0 0 1 0  2 2400
ECG 52.2  33.6  42.9  -1.8  73     6 23    1   0  0 11 0 44 040° 15  0 0 0 0  2 2400
FAY 54.7  34.3  44.5        73     6 22    1   0  0 12 0 36 030° 27  0 0 3 1  2 2400
GSO 48.0  29.3  38.6  -2.6  67    20 20    1   0  1 23 0 33 210° 20  0 0 1 1  3 2400
                                                         33 280° 21           
HKY 49.3  30.1  39.7  -2.6  67    19 21    1   0  0 23 0 36 210° 20  0 0 5 1  7 2400
LBT 53.5  33.4  43.5  -1.5  73     6 21    1   0  0 14 0 33 280° 21  0 0 1 0  2 2400
                                                         33 050° 26
RAL 52.0  29.5  40.8        69    20 16    1   0  1 21 0 28      21  0 0 1 2  0 2400
RDU 51.3  31.4  41.4  -1.6  68    20 19    1   0  1 18 0 33 230° 20  0 0 0 5  5 2400
                                                         33 260° 21
ROX 49.2  30.3  39.8        70    20 17 2,16   0  1 20 0 31 W    21  0 0 0 3  1 2200
ILM 54.7  35.0  44.9  -3.6  74    21 23    1   0  0 12 0 39 280°  7  1 0 1 0  1 2400
SOUTH CAROLINA
[Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]
STN  A      B    C      C1    D      E F    G     H I  J K L  M     N  O P Q R R1 S
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
AND 51.6  32.6  42.1  -3.3  66    19 23     8  0  0 17 0 36 250° 20  1 0 2 1  5 2400
CAE 55.2  34.1  44.7  -3.2  73     6 23    29  0  0 12 0 37 270°  7  0 0 0 3  1 2400
CHS 57.6  38.0  47.8  -2.9  75  6,21 26     8  0  0  5 0 40 200°  6  1 0 0 0  1 2400
CRE 54.2  36.5  45.3  -2.5  73    21 25     1  0  0  9 0 40 030° 26  0 0 0 0  2 2400
FLO 54.3  34.9  44.6  -3.9  75     6 24     1  0  0 14 0 38 050° 26  0 0 1 0  4 2400
GSP 51.0  32.3  41.7  -2.7  67    21 26    29  0  0 18 0 37 240° 20  1 0 2 2  6 2400
OGB 55.4  35.8  45.6        74     6 26    29  0  0  9 0 35 270°  7  1 0 0 0  4 2400
                                                         35 040° 26
NEARBY STATIONS
[Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]
STN  A      B    C      C1    D      E F    G    H  I  J K L  M     N  O P Q R R1 Sl
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRI 49.0  28.1  38.6  +0.6  67   29   17     1 0  0 24 0 35 250°   7 0 0 0 2  3 2400
DAV 31.9  15.3  23.6        55   21   -8     1 0 19 29 1             0 0 2 2  2 1900

(Please note the column denotations table below.)
PRECIPITATION / BAROMETRIC PRESSURE

VIRGINIA
[Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]
STN  T      T1     U       V      V1   W X    Y      Z  1  2 3    4    5      6       7        S 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
ANN  2.59  -0.47 1.66  6 1.76   5-6  4 1  4.56  0.1  5  2 0  0.1   6.9  30.62   5 29.47  21 2400
BCB  3.03  +0.01 1.70  6 1.70     6  8 1  5.58  5.5 15  7 2 10.2  28.2                      2400
BRI  2.72  +0.45 1.75  6 1.75     6  3 1  3.57  7.5  3  1 1  7.5  25.2  30.47     29.77     0515/1600
CEN  1.90  -1.03 1.16  6 1.26   6-7  4 1  3.64    T            T  16.9  30.61  15 29.51  21 2400
CHO  2.17  -1.13 1.28  6 1.35   6-7  3 1  3.34  NOT REPORTED            30.64   5 29.50  21 2400
DAN  2.88  -0.53 1.67  6 1.69   5-6  7 1  4.06  7.0 27  4 3 16.5        30.60   5 29.60  21 2400
DCA  2.28  -0.35 1.60  6 1.66   5-6  4 1  3.69    T 5,6 2 0    T  12.2  30.66   5 29.49  21 2400
IAD  1.93  -0.84 1.20  6 1.33   5-6  4 1  3.28    T 3,5 4 0    T  17.4  30.65   5 29.48  21 2400
                                                   6,24
FCH  2.34        1.67  6 1.80   5-6  4 1  3.79  0.0          0.0  15.0                      2400
HER  2.40  -0.37 1.52  6 1.52     6  4 1  4.21  0.0          0.0  20.7  30.68   5 29.48   7 2400
HRN  2.17  -0.46 1.34  6 1.36     6  4 1  3.99    T  5  1 0    T  19.5  30.576  5 29.48  21 2400
LKU  2.12  -0.99 1.24  6 1.24     6  4 1  3.98  0.0          0.0   9.0  30.61   5 29.47  21 2400
LYH  2.03  -1.07 0.94  6 0.96   5-6  6 0  3.77  1.5 15  2 1  1.5  12.1  30.64   5 29.57  21 2400
LXI  1.83        1.45  6 1.52   5-6  5 1  2.76  0.7  6  3 0  1.5  18.4  30.60   5 29.57  21 2400
NEW  2.76        1.55  6             4 1  3.81  6.0  3       6.0  23.5                      1700
NPN  2.25        0.98  6 1.41   6-7  7 0  4.22  2.3 15    1  2.3   7.1  30.60   5 29.53   7 2400
NOR  1.89  -1.73 0.40 15 0.49   6-7  9 0  4.06  2.1 15  3 1  2.2   7.2                      2400
ORF  1.82  -1.52 0.40 6, 0.54   6-7 10 0  3.41  2.1 15  5 1  2.2   6.2  30.62   5 29.57   7 2400
                      15                               
FHC  1.62        0.83  6 0.96   6-7  8 0  3.07                     6.0  30.59   5 29.57   7 2400
POR  1.76  -1.56 0.42 17 0.42    17  7 0  3.49  1.2 15  1 1  1.2   6.5  30.599  5 29.603 21 2400
CTR  1.44        0.96  6 0.97   5-6  4 0  2.74  0.8 15  2 0  0.8   5.4  30.628  5 29.546 21 2400
MEC  2.15        0.82  7 1.40   6-7  6 0  4.04  1.0 16, 2 2  2.0   7.4  30.36   8 29.47  20 1700
                                                    17   
RIC  1.87  -1.11 1.14  6 1.14     6  6 1  3.42  1.0 17  2 1  1.4   6.3  30.66   5 29.58  21 2400
RGL  1.50  -1.48 0.91  6 0.95   5-6  4 0  2.96  0.0          0.0   3.25 30.62   5 29.50  21 2400
ROA  2.27  -0.81 1.19  6 1.25   5-6  6 1  3.90  2.4  3  6 2  4.4  22.0  30.63   5 29.56  21 2400
ROK  2.67  -0.46 1.42  3 1.42     6  5 1  4.63  3.2 15  3 2  5.4  21.3  30.56  16 29.63  21 2400
AKQ  2.02        0.77  6 1.05   6-7  8 0  3.48  2.5 15  3 1  2.5   7.6                      2400
WEE  2.56        1.42  6 1.42     6  5 1  4.14    T 17  1 0    T   4.2  30.56   5 29.66   7 1630
WOO  3.11                0.53 25-26 12 0  4.06  6.0 26    2  7.8  19.6  30.29  11 29.53  18 0800
WSH  2.32        1.07  6 1.34   5-6  4 1  3.25  1.8  3  2 1  1.8  22.2  30.58   5 29.50  21 2400
NORTH CAROLINA
[Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]
STN  T     U       V      V1   W X   Y     Z   1  2 3  4     5       6       7        S
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
AVL  4.20  +0.37 1.70  6 2.25   5-6 11 1  5.03  5.5 26  7 2  6.8 14.3  30.45  29 29.65  21 2400
CLT  3.55   0.00 1.26  6 1.28   5-6 10 1  4.47 11.6 26  4 2 13.2 14.5  30.57   8 29.67  21 2400
ECG  1.78  -1.32 0.42 12            12 0  2.95  5.0 16  3 1  5.0  8.5  30.61   8 29.58   7 2400
FAY  2.71        0.71 27 1.14 26-27  9 0  3.28  0.0          0.0       30.58   8 29.64   7 2400
GSO  2.41  -0.69 0.84  6 0.84     6  8 0  3.30  5.0 26  6 3 11.0 18.5                      2400
HKY  3.81  -0.06 1.70  6 1.86   5-6 10 1  4.96  7.0 26  5 1  8.7 12.7  30.50  16 29.61  21 2400
LBT  4.86  +1.49 1.50 26 1.83 26-27 10 1  6.00                         30.47  29 29.73  21 2400
RAL  3.52                0.72 24-25 13 0  5.28               8.8 14.8  30.63   5 29.65  21 1900
RDU  3.32  -0.15 0.95  6 0.95     6 10 0  4.55  4.5 27  6 3  9.2 14.9  30.60   5 29.65  21 2400
ROX  2.17        0.68  3 0.68     3  7 0  3.58  2.0 15  1 2  4.5  8.0  30.55   5 29.60  21 2100
ILM  5.28  +1.62 1.28 26 1.44 26-27 11 2  7.46    T 27  1 0    T    T  30.60   8 29.71   7 2400
SOUTH CAROLINA
[Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]
STN  T      T1     U       V      V1   W X   Y     Z   1  2 3  4     5       6       7        S
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
AND  3.54  -0.61 0.84  2 0.85   2-3 12 0  5.61  4.0  26 2 1  4.1  4.4  30.46  29 29.83  24 2400
CAE  4.77  +0.93 1.43 26 1.53 25-26 13 2 10.73  0.4  26 3 0  0.4  0.4  30.57   9 29.75   6 2400
CHS  4.40  +1.32 1.01 12 1.16 11-12 13 1  5.97    T  17 1 0    T    T  30.58   8 29.78  15 2400
CRE  5.34  -1.84 1.13 26 1.13 26-27 11 2  7.57                         30.49  16 29.76  21 2400
FLO  3.71  +0.69 1.49 26 1.49    26 10 2  4.64                         30.51  16 29.74  21 2400
GSP  4.52  +0.28 1.43  6 1.43     6  8 1  5.88  8.0  26 3 1  8.3   9.3 30.54   8 29.67  21 2400
OGB  6.20        2.12 26 2.25 25-26 14 3  8.08                         30.58   8 29.78   6 2400
NEARBY STATIONS
[Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]
STN  T      T1     U       V      V1   W X   Y     Z   1  2 3  4     5       6       7        S
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRI  3.37  -0.03 1.08  6 1.08   5-6 11 1  6.25  3.2 26  8  2  6.7  15.6 30.47  28 29.66  21 2400
DAV  4.61        2.42  6            10 1 10.72  9.7  8 14  4 18.0 137.3                     1900

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 [ + - ] 

COLUMN DENOTATIONS:

A  maximum mean temperature T total precipitation (inches)
T1 Departure from normal
B  minimum mean temperature U maximum calendar day precipitation (inches)
C  monthly mean temperature
C1 Departure from normal
U1 date of maximum calendar day precipitation
D  maximum temperature V date(s) of maximum daily precipitation
E  date(s) of maximum temperature V1 maximum 24-hour precip. & date(s)
F  minimum temperature W number of days with precip. >= .01"
G  date(s) of minimum temperature  X number of days with precip. >= 1.0"
H  days with maximum temperature >=90 Y year-to-date precipitation (inches)
I  days with maximum temperature <=32 Z maximum calendar day snowfall (inches)
J  days with minimum temperature <=32 1 date of maximum calendar day snowfall (inches)
K  days with minimum temperature <= 0 2 number of days with snowfall
L  peak wind gust (miles per hour)  3 number of days with snowfall >= 1.0"
M  direction of peak wind gust 4  total snowfall for month (inches)
N  date(s) of peak wind gust  5 total snowfall for 2003-2004 season (inches)
O  number of days with thunder  6 maximum barometric pressure (inches)
P  number of days with hail 6A date of maximum barometric pressure 
Q  number of days with glaze 7 minimum barometric pressure (inches)
R  number of days with ice pellets 7A date of minimum barometric pressure
R1 number of days with dense fog [1/4 mile and less visibility] (i) incomplete data
S  local observation time for temps/precipitation (M) Missing, if listed in data table
 ~ "about" E estimated
 +  additional indeterminate number of days NR not recorded


For ACON VA/NC/SC Recent Weather News, Search CNN
http://www.cnn.com/WEATHER
 

National Weather Service Web Sites & Current Email Addresses
Within or Nearby the ACON VA/NC/SC Area Can Be Found At:

     NWS Washington/Baltimore, VA/MD
     NWS Wakefield, VA
     NWS Blacksburg, VA
     NWS Raleigh, NC
     NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC
     NWS Wilmington, NC
     NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
     NWS Columbia, SC
     NWS Charleston, SC
     NWS Morristown, TN

     National Weather Service Homepages

     $$$ National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC $$$

STATION / LOCATION (MILES & DIRECTION FROM MAIN POST OFFICE)/OBSERVER / YEAR RECORDS BEGAN / EMAIL ADDRESS:

  ROK   Roanoke, VA 6SW Wendell Prillaman  4/76 wlprillaman@cox.net
ANN    Annandale, VA 1 3/4 ENE - Lowell Koontz  8/31/79  wwkoontz@verizon.net AKQ    Wakefield, VA NWS Wakefield Municipal Airport 36-58-53N 077-00-04W 33M
DCA    Arlington, VA Washington, DC, Reagan Washington National Airport 38-50-54N 077-02-03W 18M WSH   Washington, VA  David Yowell runamok@runamok.com
BCB    Blacksburg, VA NWS Virginia Tech Airport 37-13N 080-25W WEE   Weems, VA 3WNW Francis J. Socey
BRI     Bridgewater, VA Clayton Towers Ctowers@rica.net WOO  Woodstock, VA 5NW Lauck Walton - 12/1/85 jwalton@shentel.net
CEN   Centreville, VA Paul Bassett 1985 m.psb@verizon.net RGL   Ruther Glen, VA 38°0'45" N 77°32'29" W Danny Jessee 2003 danny@dannyjessee.com
CHO   Charlottesville, VA  Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport ASOS  (Rappahannock County) 38-08-18N 078-27-21W 192M AVL    Asheville, NC  Asheville Regional Airport 35-25-55N 082-32-15W 670M
DAN  Danville, VA, Danville Regional Airport, 36-34-22N 079-20-10W 175M  BRE    Brevard, NC 1SE Bob Keehn 1/1/90 rkeehn@brinet.com
IAD   Dulles - Washington-Dulles International Airport  38-56-05N 077-26-51W 93M  CLT    Charlotte, NC NWS Charlotte/Douglas International Airpot 35-12-48N 080-56-55W 220M
FCH    Falls Church, VA Erica Page - 3/7/94 Windie1970@aol.com HKY  Hickory, NC 
HAM    Hampton, VA 5NE Dave Kessel 1989 davidckessel@cox.net ECG  Elizabeth City, NC,  Coast Guard Air Station 36-15-47N 076-10-58W 11M
CTR  Chesterfield, VA Albert Arnold 06/03 FAY  Fayetteville, NC Fayetteville Regional Airport, 34-59-22N 078-52-48W 55M
HER    Herndon, VA R.M. Beall P- 10/76   T-  1/91 beall47@earthlink.net GSO   Greensboro, NC NWS Piedmont Triad International Airport 36-05-51N 079-56-37W 275M
HRN   Herndon, VA 4SW Russ Topping -  1985 weatherman@cox.net LBT    Lumberton, NC  Lumberton Municipal Airport 34-36-26N 079-03-36W 37M
LXI     Lexington, VA  Scott M. Lancey, WREL Radio -  06/96 weather@wrel.com RAL    Raleigh, NC 7NNW  Bob Woodson -  6/1/93 kf4mmm@qsl.net
LKU     Louisa, VA 1N Joseph Bowers 1944 - NWS ID  44-5050-02jmbiii@earthlink.net RDU   Raleigh-Durham, NC Raleigh-Durham International Airport 35-52-14N 078-47-11W 130M
LOU     Louisa, VA 6S John Bullock (about 1970) INACTIVE 1/1/02 ROX    Roxboro, NC 2SE Merriell A. Jay 1/93
LYH     Lynchburg, VA NWS Lynchburg Regional Airport 37-19-15N 079-12-24W 295M ILM     Wilmington, NC NWS New Hanover International Airport 34-16-06N 077-54-22W 9M
NEW    Newmarket, VA 2W Joyce Winfree joywood@shentel.net CHS   Charleston, SC NWS Charleston Air Force Base 32-53-56N 080-02-26W 13M
NPN     Newport News, VA 7N Gary Leonard -  6/91 GaryMLeonard@aol.com CAE    Columbia, SC NWS Columbia Metropolitan Airport 33-56-31N 081-07-05W 73M 
NOR     Norfolk, VA 3NE Jim Fentress 6/1/77 FLO    Florence, SC Florence Regional Airport 34-11-16N 079-43-51W 44M
ORF     Norfolk, VA 5NE 36-54-13N 076-11-31W 14M  1871 GSP   Greenville-Spartanburg, SC NWS Greenville-Spartanburg Airport 34-53-02N 082-13-15W 286M 
POR     Portsmouth, VA 36.81° North 76.33° West 3S Bill Trotter -  7/1/76 wxr@cox.net CRE    North Myrtle Beach, SC Grand Strand Airport 33-48-42N 078-43-26W 10M
MEC     Mechanicsville, VA Glen Martin 11/19/91 OGB   Orangeburg, SC  Orangeburg Municipal Airport 33-27-50N 080-51-13W 59M
FHC    Norfolk, VA  Fred Heutte Center 36° 54'N 76° 16'W 01/01/03 fhcgarden@cox.net AND   Anderson, SC 
RIC     Richmond, VA Richmond International Airport 37-30-40N 077-19-24W 50M TRI     Tri-cities, TN  (Bristol / Johnson / Kingsport), Tri-City Regional Airport 36-28-47N 082-23-56W 474M 
ROA    Roanoke, VA Roanoke Regional Airport 37-19-01N 079-58-27W 362M DAV  Davis, WV Dave Lesher wvweather@mountain.net