NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

FEBRUARY 2022

1-5: A significant snow and ice storm unfolded during the first several days of February from central and southern sections of the Rockies and Plains into the mid-South, lower Midwest, and Northeast. Tens of thousands of electrical customers, many in
western Tennessee and environs, lost power as ice accumulated and temperatures plunged. However, the storm also provided much-needed moisture on the southern Plains.

Along the storm’s trailing cold front, heavy showers and locally severe thunderstorms swept across portions of the Gulf Coast region. Several tornadoes were reported in Alabama on February 3, while storm-total Southeastern rainfall locally totaled 2 to
4 inches or more. That system followed last week’s blizzard along the northern Atlantic coast, with only a small Northeastern overlap between them.

Early in the week, impacts from the January 29 blizzard lingered along the middle and northern Atlantic Coast, where cold, breezy weather prevailed. Atlantic City, NJ, achieved its snowiest January on record (33.2 inches; previously, 20.3 inches in 1987),
aided by a 16.0-inch total on January 28-29. Meanwhile, the month ended on a wet note in the western Gulf Coast region; in Texas, record-setting rainfall totals for January 31 included 4.22 inches in Austin (Bergstrom) and 3.40 inches in College Station.
On the 2nd was the snowiest February day on record in Lansing, MI, where 13.3 inches fell (previously, 13.0 inches on February 28, 1900). Other daily-record snowfall amounts for February 2 included 11.2 inches in South Bend, IN; 8.2 inches in Peoria, IL;
7.2 inches in Columbia, MO; 4.3 inches in Topeka, KS; and 3.4 inches in Pueblo, CO. From February 2-4, double-digit snowfall totals were reported in numerous Midwestern communities, including Springfield, IL (12.0 inches); Flint, MI (11.1 inches); and
Columbia, MO (10.1 inches). Harrison, AR, received 8.3 inches during that 3-day period. In Oklahoma, February 2-3 snowfall reached 6.8 inches in Oklahoma City and 4.9 inches in Lawton. As frozen and freezing precipitation shifted into the South on
February 3, daily-record totals of snow and sleet included 3.2 inches in North Little Rock, AR, and 1.5 inches in Dallas-Fort Worth, TX.
Meanwhile in western Tennessee, Germantown—a Memphis suburb— received 2.04 inches of precipitation, mostly freezing rain, on February 3, with a temperature range from 25 to 32°F and only a trace of sleet. Snow reached northern New England from
February 3-5, with 11.4 inches of the 12.6-inch total in Bangor, ME, falling on the 4th. However, many parts of New England affected by the January 29 blizzard received predominantly rain or freezing rain from the early-February storm. Portland, ME,
followed its 13.2-inch snowfall on January 29 with a daily precipitation record of 1.59 inches (and only 2.7 inches of snow and sleet) on February 4. In Boston, MA, the February 4 sum of 1.87 inches included snow and sleet totaling 0.7 inch.
6-12: Heavy rain fell on February 7 in Deep South Texas, where dailyrecord amounts reached 1.51 inches in Brownsville and 1.18 inches in McAllen. A separate area of rain along the Atlantic Seaboard produced a daily-record total for the 7th in Florence,
SC. Significant rain fell as far north as southern New England, where Providence, RI, netted 1.35 inches (and only a trace of snow) on February 7-8. Later, generally light snow and gusty winds swept into the north-central U.S. Fargo, ND, received 1.8
inches of snow on February 10-11, accompanied by a peak wind gust to 60 mph. Fargo also experienced a temperature drop of 55°F, from 39°F on the afternoon of the 10th to -16°F before dawn on the 12th. Late-week snow blanketed parts of the Rockies and
neighboring areas; Casper, WY, collected a daily-record snowfall of 4.1 inches on February 11. Meanwhile in Nevada, Reno’s spell without any rain or snow stretched to 45 days (December 30 to February 12)— a streak that included Reno’s first
completely dry January on record.
Meanwhile, Anchorage received 7.9 inches of snow from February 12-14. In Juneau, February 1-12 precipitation totaled 8.05 inches (400 percent of normal)— including 18.3 inches of snow—although the snow depth decreased from 14 inches on the morning of
February 5 to a trace just 48 hours later.
13-19: Stormy weather returned for a brief period, especially along and east of a line from central Texas to Lake Michigan. The bulk of the precipitation fell on February 17, when rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches triggered some minor to moderate flooding
in the Ohio Valley and environs. Meanwhile, a band of heavy snow stretched from eastern Kansas into southern Michigan.
As the week began, precipitation fell along the Atlantic Seaboard. In southern New England, February 13-14 snowfall totaled 7.2 inches in Providence, RI, and 5.9 inches in Boston, MA. Providence also collected a daily-record amount (5.1 inches) for
February 13. Later, the focus for generally light precipitation shifted to various parts of the West. On February 15, Bozeman (Montana State University), MT, received daily-record totals for snow (5.0 inches) and precipitation (0.43 inch). The following
day, recordsetting snowfall amounts for the 16th included 4.4 inches in Casper, WY, and 3.9 inches in Stanford, MT. Sudden and impressively heavy rain developed from the mid-South into the lower Midwest on February 17, when daily-record totals reached 3.
63 inches in Cape Girardeau, MO; 3.14 inches in Paducah, KY; and 2.25 inches in Evansville, IN, and Cincinnati, OH. In Lafayette, IN, the Wabash River crested 9.43 feet above flood stage on February 18—the highest water level in that gauge location in
4 years, since lateFebruary 2018. The heavy-rain event of the 17th extended into parts of the Southeast and the central Appalachians; selected dailyrecord amounts reached 1.84 inches in Birmingham, AL, and 1.57 inches in Wheeling, WV. Meanwhile, a band
of heavy snow fell on February 17 from the east-central Plains into the lower Great Lakes region; daily-record amounts included 7.0 inches in Kansas City, MO; 6.8 inches in Lincoln, IL; 5.3 inches in South Bend, IN; and 4.3 inches in Wichita, KS. Lincoln
saw its month-to-date snowfall climb to 19.3 inches, representing its second-highest February total on record behind only 24.0 inches in 1914. Late in the week, tranquil weather returned across much of the country. In the West, year-to-date precipitation
through February 19 totaled less than one-tenth of an inch (and less than 1 percent of normal) in locations such as Fresno, Stockton, and San Jose, CA (a trace); Reno, NV (0.01 inch); and Sacramento, CA (0.05 inch).
20-26: An active storm track from the southeastern Plains into the Northeast resulted in widespread snow, sleet, freezing rain, and rain. In parts of the lower Midwest, the latest round of precipitation led to an increase in lowland flooding. Meanwhile,
little, if any, rain reached the southern Atlantic region, which experienced record-setting warmth through the end of the week.

Farther east, however, early-week snow blanketed portions of the upper Midwest and upper Great Lakes region. Record-setting snowfall totals for February 21 included 9.7 inches in Marquette, MI; 8.0 inches in Sisseton, SD; and 6.3 inches in Duluth, MN.
The following day, on the 22nd, Marquette experienced its snowiest February day on record, with 21.6 inches (previously, 19.4 inches on February 26, 2002). Marquette’s February snowfall totaled 59.6 inches (162 percent of normal). Meanwhile, patchy
precipitation fell in the West, resulting in dailyrecord snowfall totals for February 22 in Nevada locations such as Winnemucca (3.9 inches) and Elko (2.8 inches). Elsewhere on the 22nd, heavy precipitation developed across the mid-South and Ohio Valley;
daily-record amounts included 2.22 inches in Jackson, TN; 1.75 inches in London, KY; and 1.40 inches in Dayton, OH. By February 23, locally heavy precipitation developed over the Southwest. Flagstaff, AZ, reported a daily-record snowfall (10.5 inches) on
February 23—the snowiest calendar day in that location since January 25, 2021. In southern California, Campo received precipitation totaling 1.51 inches in a 24-hour period on February 22-23. As precipitation again spread eastward, daily-record amounts
reached 1.53 inches (on February 24) in Bristol, TN, and 1.09 inches (on February 25) in Williamsport, PA. Des Moines, IA, measured a daily-record snowfall (5.2 inches on the 24th). As the week began, warmth briefly graced the Plains and Midwest.

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