• February 2020 National Storm Summary

    From jgmunley55@gmail.com@21:1/5 to All on Tue Mar 17 14:49:44 2020
    NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY
    FEBRUARY 2020
    2-8: Pacific moisture spilling across the Northwest and the northern and central Rockies sparked flooding in several areas, including northeastern Oregon and western Washington. In Oregon’s flood-affected areas, precipitation began as snow before
    changing to heavy rain. Farther east, a heavy-precipitation event unfolded across the Southeast on February 6-7. The rain, some of which fell on already saturated soils, triggered widespread flooding from the lower Mississippi Valley to the southern
    Atlantic coastal plain. Prior to the Southeastern downpours, mid-week snow blanketed southern sections of the Rockies and Plains. Wintry precipitation, including snow, sleet, and freezing rain, later spread northeastward across the lower Great region
    and into the Northeast.

    During the early- to mid-week period, a multi-day snowstorm unfolded across parts of the West. On February 2-3, Pocatello, ID, noted consecutive daily record snowfall totals (3.4 and 3.7 inches, respectively). In Montana, daily record totals for
    February 2 included 4.4 inches at the Bozeman Airport and 2.5 inches in Billings. On the 3rd, daily-record amounts reached 13.1 inches in Lander, WY, and 8.6 inches in Salt Lake City, UT. In Wyoming, weekly snowfall totals topped 50 inches in a few
    locations near Centennial. On February 4-5 in Oregon, 24-hour snowfall reached 10.0 inches at La Grande and 9.6 inches at Long Creek. Subsequently, runoff from heavy rain and melting snow sparked flooding in northeastern Oregon. La Grande set another
    record on February 5-6, with 1.55 inches (all rain) falling in a 24hour period. Previously, La Grande’s wettest 24-hour period in February had been February 22-23, 1986, when 1.50 inches fell. Elsewhere in Oregon, Meacham received precipitation
    totaling 7.45 inches during the first 8 days of February, including 2.51 inches on the 5th. Farther east, Midland, TX, measured 7.9 inches of snow on February 4-5. With a 5.7-inch total, the 5th was Midland’s snowiest February day on record (
    previously, 4.4 inches on
    February 23, 2010). Other daily-record snowfall totals for February 5 included 4.6 inches in Oklahoma City, OK, and 3.3 inches in Wichita Falls, TX. Meanwhile, heavy rain erupted across the South, where record-setting totals for February 4 reached 2.63
    inches in Paducah, KY, and 1.72 inches in Harrison, AR. The following day, Crossville, TN, netted a record-setting sum (2.96 inches) for February 5. The 6th was the wettest February and winter day on record in Greenville-Spartanburg, SC (5.36 inches),
    and Greensboro, NC (3.69 inches). It was also the wettest February day in Fayetteville, NC (3.33 inches), Danville, VA (3.18 inches), and Charlotte, NC (3.16 inches). On February 6, the Cumberland River at Pineville, KY, climbed 17.06 feet above flood
    stage—the second-highest level on record behind 19.80 feet above flood stage on April 5, 1977. Lookout Creek at New England, GA, also achieved its second-highest crest (8.53 feet above flood stage on February 7), behind only 8.73 feet above flood
    stage on August 17, 1982. On the 6th, the Emory River at Oakdale, TN (6.88 feet above flood stage), rose to its highest level since March 23, 1991, while the Pigeon River at Newport, TN (9.53 feet above flood stage), surged to its highest level since
    September 17, 2004. Eastern precipitation lingered through February 7, when Cape Hatteras, NC, measured a daily-record sum of 3.69 inches. Farther north, record-setting snowfall totals for the 7th included 12.8 inches in Caribou, ME; 9.2 inches in
    Syracuse, NY; and 5.1 inches in Pittsburgh, PA. Caribou received 16.2 inches of snow from February 6-8. Farther west, a final round of heavy precipitation spread across the nation’s northern tier. The 6th was the wettest February day on record in
    Lewiston, ID, where 1.24 inches fell (previously, 0.99 inch on February 11, 1897). By February 8-9, a band of heavy snow developed from South Dakota to Michigan. Huron, SD, received a 2-day snowfall total of 10.4 inches, aided by a daily-record sum of
    7.5 inches on February 8.

    9-15: Torrential rainfall (2 to 8 inches) across the interior Southeast sparked another round of flooding. The heaviest rain, totaling 4 inches or more, fell primarily on February 10-11 from northeastern Texas to the southern Appalachians. Southern
    streams and rivers quickly rose in many areas affected by significant lowland flooding only a month ago, in mid-January.
    As the week began, heavy snow blanketed portions of the Great Lakes region. Record-setting snowfall totals for February 9 included 9.6 inches in Rochester, MN and 8.5 inches in Wisconsin locations such as Wisconsin Rapids and La Crosse. On the same
    date, 5.0 inches of snow blanketed Houghton Lake, MI, and Manitowoc, WI. At mid-week, snow fell from the central Plains into the Northeast. Daily-record snowfall totals for February 12 reached 3.3 inches in Lincoln, IL, and 2.1 inches in Wichita, KS.
    Farther south, heavy rain erupted on February 10, when daily record amounts reached 4.49 inches in Tuscaloosa, AL; 3.89 inches in Greenwood, MS; and 3.43 inches in Monticello, AR. From February 10-12, Mississippi rainfall totaled 6.84 inches in
    Greenville and 6.43 inches in Greenwood and Tupelo. Other totals during that 3-day period included 6.19 inches in Tuscaloosa; 5.72 inches in Tyler, TX; and 5.55 inches in Monroe, LA. As the rain ended, the Noxubee River at Macon, MS, rose 8.97 feet
    above flood stage on February 12—the second-highest level on record behind 12.97 feet above flood stage on April 13, 1979. Elsewhere in Mississippi, several gauges along the Pearl and Big Black Rivers recorded the highest water levels since May 1983.
    On February 16, the Big Black River near Bovina, MS, crested 12.20 feet above flood stage—1.32 feet above the January 2020 high water mark and just 0.57 foot below the May 1983 record crest. Similarly, the Pearl River at Jackson, Mississippi, crested
    on February 17 at 8.67 feet above flood stage—the third-highest level on record and the highest since May 25, 1983, when the river rose 11.58 feet above flood stage.

    16-22: Rainfall (locally 2 to 4 inches or more) across the South maintained soggy field conditions and perpetuated river flooding. In the central Gulf Coast States, the highest water levels in 30 to 40 years affected portions of the Alabama, Tombigbee,
    and Pearl Rivers. On February 20, the northern fringe of the Southern precipitation featured snow, which accumulated in southern sections of the Appalachians and Mid-Atlantic States. Periods of snow also affected several other regions, including the
    upper Midwest and portions of the central Plains. Late in the week, a significant precipitation event unfolded across the Southwest. However, storminess again bypassed northern and central California, where minimal precipitation has fallen in the last
    2 months. According to the California Department of Water Resources, key watershed areas of the Sierra Nevada are reporting an average of only about one-half of the typical late-February snowpack.
    Near Leroy, AL, the Tombigbee River crested 9.35 feet above flood stage on February 22—the second-highest level on record in that location behind 11.89 feet above flood stage on April 1, 1979. Near Millers Ferry, AL, the Alabama River—which later
    joins the Tombigbee— crested 11.97 feet above flood stage on February 24. That represented the highest water in Millers Ferry since March 1990, when the Alabama River crested 16.90 feet above flood stage. On February 21 in Mississippi, the Pearl
    River achieved its highest level since April 1979 in Rockport (14.07 feet above flood stage) and Monticello (9.76 feet). Near Columbia, MS, the Pearl River rose 8.60 feet above flood stage on February 23, achieving the highest crest in that location
    since April 8, 1983. Some flooding also lingered in the southern Atlantic coastal plain, where the Ohoopee River near Reidsville, GA, surged 10.22 feet above flood stage on February 23. That marked the highest river level in Reidsville since March 11,
    1998, when the Ohoopee crested 11.50 feet above flood stage. Rain fell across many of the flooded areas, starting on February 18, when daily-record totals included 2.36 inches in Montgomery, AL; 2.06 inches in Birmingham, AL; and 1.79 inches in Hot
    Springs, AR. The following day in Texas, record-setting precipitation amounts for February 19 reached 1.00 inch in San Angelo and 0.90 inch in Abilene. On February 20, daily-record amounts totaled 2.40 inches in Jackson, MS; 2.17 inches in Meridian, MS;
    and 1.70 inches in Charleston, SC. Elsewhere on the 20th, daily-record snowfall totals included 2.5 inches in Raleigh-Durham, NC, and 2.2 inches on Wallops Island, VA. For Raleigh-Durham, it was the first measurable snowfall since December 9-10, 2018,
    when 10.8 inches fell. Snow had fallen earlier in the week in several areas, with daily-record totals reaching 5.5 inches (on February 19) in Sioux City, IA; 4.5 inches (on February 18) in Colorado Springs, CO; 4.2 inches (on February 17) in Rochester,
    MN; 3.5 inches (on February 17) in Missoula, MT; and 3.4 inches (on February 19) in Dodge City, KS. At week’s end, locally heavy precipitation overspread the Southwest. In Arizona, record-setting rainfall totals for February 22 included 1.04 inches
    in Phoenix and 0.76 inch in Kingman. For Phoenix, it was the wettest day since October 13, 2018, when 2.19 inches fell, and the wettest February day since 2003, when 1.42 inches fell on the 13th.

    23-29: Significant precipitation fell in Kansas and environs, as well as most areas from the middle and lower Mississippi Valley to the Atlantic Seaboard. Lowland flooding continued to plague parts of the South, as runoff from earlier downpours
    continued to drain into larger rivers. Wetness extended northward into the Ohio Valley and the lower Great Lakes region, but dry weather covered the remainder of the Corn Belt. Elsewhere, spotty precipitation was observed from the Pacific Northwest to
    the northern High Plains.
    Aside from the snow squalls in the Great Lakes region, significant precipitation mostly fell farther south and east. There was, however, some early-week snow across the northern High Plains and Intermountain West. East Rapid City, SD, netted a daily
    record snowfall (5.8 inches) on February 24, while parts of the Black Hills—including Lead and Deadwood—received as much as 18 to 30 inches. A day later, record-setting snowfall amounts for February 25 reached 4.8 inches in East Rapid City—for a 2-
    day total of 10.6 inches—and 2.4 inches in North Platte, NE. Rain across the South and East set few records, although New York’s JFK Airport collected a daily-record amount (1.00 inch) for February 27. Still, some Southern rivers continued to rise.
    The Pearl River near Bogalusa, LA, rose to its fourth-highest level on record—4.60 feet above flood stage on February 26. In Alabama, the Mobile River at the Barry Steam Plant crested 5.08 feet above flood stage on the 26th—the highest water level
    in that location since April 1980. Farther west, dozens of California locations reported their driest February on record, with zero or a trace of precipitation. Downtown San Francisco, with no rain, tied a February 1864 record. Downtown Sacramento,
    also with no rain, eclipsed a February 1899 standard of 0.04 inch. Not a single drop of rain fell during February in many other California communities, including Santa Rosa, Kentfield, Redwood City, Oakland, San Jose, Santa Maria, Redding, Red Bluff,
    and Stockton.

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