NATIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY
FEBRUARY 2020
2-8: Near or above normal temperatures prevailed across the eastern half of the U.S., but chilly conditions developed in many areas from the Pacific Coast to the High Plains. Weekly readings averaged as much as 10 to 15°F above normal in the mid-
Atlantic— and were at least 5°F above normal across parts of the northern Plains and in most areas from the Mississippi River to the East Coast. Late in the week, however, a brief surge of cold air delivered sub-zero temperatures in the upper Midwest,
extending as far south as northern Iowa. Elsewhere, early- to mid-week frost was noted in California’s San Joaquin Valley, with the coldest mornings generally occurring on February 4-5.

Early-week temperatures briefly soared across the central and eastern U.S. in advance of a storm system plunging southeastward across West. On the Plains, record setting high temperatures for February 2 climbed to the 80-degree mark or higher in
locations such as Hill City, KS (83°F); Borger, TX (81°F); and Tribune, KS (80°F). Other daily-record highs for the 2nd included 81°F in Harrison, AR; 79°F in Pueblo, CO; and 77°F in McCook, NE. Subsequently, warmth spread into the Midwest, South,
and East. On February 3, daily-record highs reached 79°F in Athens, GA; 74°F in Louisville, KY, and Knoxville, TN; 72°F in Columbia, MO; and 70°F in Evansville, IN. Consecutive daily-record highs were established on February 3-4 in Wilmington, DE (
64 and 68°F), and Mansfield, OH (61 and 59°F). In contrast, cold, windy weather engulfed the West. A wind gust to 76 mph was clocked on February 2 in Tonopah, NV. In Arizona, peak wind gusts on the 3rd included 78 mph at Springerville and 70 mph at
St. Johns. A gust to 79 mph was recorded on February 4 in southern California’s Fremont Canyon. Farther north, Meacham, OR, posted a daily-record low of -4°F on February 3. The following day in California, record-setting lows for February 4 dipped
to 21°F in Paso Robles and 28°F at the Salinas Airport. By February 5, Western daily-record lows included -34°F in Crested Butte, CO, and 19°F in Ramona, CA. In the wake of record-setting snowfall, Midland, TX, notched a daily-record low of 8°F on
February 6. Farther east, however, warmth lingered through February 6 across Florida, where daily record highs soared to 88°F in Fort Pierce and 85°F in Jacksonville. In the Northwest, warmth quickly replaced previously cold conditions. In Oregon,
record-setting highs for February 6 rose to 59°F in Portland and Troutdale. By February 8, warm weather expanded to other areas of the West, resulting in daily-record highs in Barstow-Daggett, CA (80°F), and Winslow, AZ (71°F).

Farther north, early-week snow blanketed parts of the Great Lakes region, followed by colder, drier weather. Later, a mid-week band of mostly light snow stretched from the central Plains into the (Continued from front cover) Northeast.
Precipitation also fell in parts of the Northwest and Southwest, but mostly dry weather stretched from California northeastward into the far upper Midwest. Deep South Texas and Florida’s peninsula also experienced mostly dry weather. The surge of
cold air into the Plains and Corn Belt, following a period of mild weather, helped to hold weekly temperatures as much as 10°F below normal across the upper Midwest. Late-week temperatures briefly dipped to 0°F or below as far south as northern
Missouri and central Illinois—and plunged to 20°F or lower in many locations from eastern Montana to northern New England. In contrast, warmth prevailed for much of the week in the Southeast, where temperatures averaged up to 10°F above normal. In
the West, warmth in northern California and parts of the interior Northwest contrasted with chilly conditions in the Rockies and environs.
9-15: Early-week warmth developed across northern California, where airport locations such as Sacramento (73 and 74°F) and San Francisco (72 and 74°F) posted consecutive daily-record highs on February 10-11. Later record-setting warmth developed
across the southern Atlantic region in advance of a strong cold front. From February 11-13, Jacksonville, FL, tallied a trio of daily-record highs (85, 84, and 89°F). Jacksonville’s high of 89°F also set a monthly record, previously achieved with a
high of 88°F on February 9, 1937, and February 26, 1962. Elsewhere in Florida on the 13th, highs also peaked at 89°F in Melbourne and Orlando. Farther north, daily-record highs for February 13 rose to 86°F in Savannah, GA, and 83°F in Florence, SC,
and New Bern, NC. In stark contrast, bitterly cold air invaded the northern Plains and upper Midwest, accompanied by high winds and blowing snow. Grand Forks, ND, clocked a northerly wind gust to 61 mph on February 12, followed by a low of -28°F the
next day. Similarly, Pierre, SD, noted a gust to 55 mph on the 12th, followed by a daily record low of -16°F on February 13. Rochester, MN, logged consecutive daily-record lows (-18 and -24°F, respectively) on February 13-14. Other record-setting
lows for February 14 included -26°F in Merrill, WI; -16°F in Dubuque, IA; and -9°F in Moline, IL. High temperatures on February 14 failed to reach the freezing mark as far south as Cape Girardeau, MO (28°F), and Jonesboro, AR (30°F). At week’s
end, frigid air swept into the Northeast, where Houlton, ME, notched a daily-record low of -31°F on February 15. It was Houlton’s lowest reading since January 26, 2009, when the temperature plunged to -36°F.

16-22: Warmth prevailed in California and parts of the Southwest, cold air remained trapped at some Western locations. As a result, weekly temperatures averaged more than 10°F below normal in western Wyoming and portions of neighboring states. Colder-
than-normal conditions also covered northern New England, the upper Midwest, and the southern Mid-Atlantic region, but near- or above-normal temperatures dominated the remainder of the central and eastern U.S.
On the Plains, temperatures dipped to 0°F or below on February 20 as far south as northeastern Colorado and northwestern Kansas. On the same day, sub-zero temperatures also affected most areas along and north of a line from Nebraska to Wisconsin.
Daily-record lows for the 20th dipped to -33°F in Hibbing, MN, and -14°F in Sioux City, IA. Later, on February 22, Charleston, SC, posted a daily-record low of 24°F, while downtown Charleston observed 32°F. It was the first freeze since January 18,
2018, in downtown Charleston, where the freeze-free span of 764 days (January 19, 2018 – February 21, 2020) demolished the former record of 692 days, set from January 2, 1949 – November 24, 1950. Chilly conditions also gripped parts of the West,
where Randolph, UT, collected a daily-record low of -26°F on February 21. In Challis, ID, sub-zero temperatures—ranging from -1 to -8°F—occurred each day from February 18-22. Similarly, Idaho Falls, ID, plunged below 0°F on 7 consecutive days,
from February 1723, including a low of -11°F on the 20th. In contrast, warmth in Florida led to several mid-week records. On February 18-19, consecutive daily-record highs were set in Florida locations such as Orlando (87 and 88°F) and Key West (84
and 85°F). Warmth also developed in California, where Stockton tallied a trio of daily-record highs (73, 73, and 74°F) from February 20-22.

23-29: Dry weather extended to the upper Midwest, where a lack of precipitation was beneficial in the wake of last year’s record-setting wetness. Colder-thannormal conditions in large sections of the Rockies and the South contrasted with above-normal
temperatures across the Far West and much of the nation’s northern tier. Weekly temperatures averaged at least 5°F above normal in much of California, Montana, western North Dakota, the middle Missouri Valley, and the Northeast, while readings
averaged as much as 5°F below normal in parts of the Rockies and scattered locations across the Deep South. A late-week cold spell sent temperatures tumbling to 32°F or below in the Deep South, although the lower Rio Grande Valley, the immediate Gulf
Coast, and Florida’s peninsula escaped a freeze.
Despite the late-week cold snap across the South, no records were set. With a minimum temperature of 29°F on February 28, Tallahassee, FL, reported its lowest reading since January 22 (also 29°F). In contrast, early-week warmth in the Great Lakes
region resulted in a daily-record high of 49°F (on February 23) in Marquette, MI. Later, Marquette received 9.7 inches of snow on February 26-27 to boost its snow depth to 37 inches. High winds accompanied the Great Lakes snow squalls, with a gust to
60 mph reported on February 27 in Watertown, NY. Heavy snow also spread across northern New England on the 27th, when Caribou, ME, received 8.1 inches of snow. In advance of the Southern and Eastern cold spell, temperatures briefly soared in Florida.
On February 25, daily-record highs in Florida rose to 87°F in Fort Pierce and Vero Beach. Meanwhile, consistent warmth developed in California, where Sacramento posted four consecutive daily record highs (76, 76, 77, and 74°F) from February 25-28.
Bakersfield, CA, notched a pair of daily records—82 and 83°F, respectively—on February 26 and 28. February 27-28 featured consecutive daily-record highs in California locations such as San Diego (84°F both days) and downtown Los Angeles (86 and 88Â
°F). On February 28, another wave of California records—in advance of a cold front—included highs of 91°F in Anaheim; 89°F in Santa Ana; and 86°F in Long Beach. Meanwhile in Washington, record setting highs for February 28 climbed to 66°F in
Yakima and 60°F in Spokane.

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